Latest news with #CalumMiller
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Royal Mail 'failing countless people' in Oxfordshire, MPs say
Royal Mail is missing its targets in Oxfordshire and leaving "countless people in the lurch", a group of the county's Liberal Democrat MPs has said. In a joint statement, Calum Miller, Olly Glover, Layla Moran, Charlie Maynard and Freddie van Mierlo accused the company of "failing people here in Oxfordshire".The latest Royal Mail data found that 67.9% of first-class deliveries in OX postcodes were delivered on time over the past year - below its target of 93%.A spokesperson for Royal Mail said it was "working hard to deliver the standard our customers expect". The five Lib Dem MPs called for greater accountability on missed targets to help improve parcel delivery and for the industry regulator, Ofcom, to step in and "act on these unacceptable delays". "These missed targets are shocking and are leaving countless people in the lurch here in Oxfordshire and across the country," they said."This has been going on for far too long and people are understandably fed up of it."Postal workers are working hard to keep pace in an understaffed service – this isn't fair on them, or the individuals and businesses across Oxfordshire who need a well-staffed, reliable postal service they can trust."Royal Mail said: "We acknowledge that our quality of service is not yet where we want it to be, and we're working hard to deliver the standard our customers expect."It said the "vast majority" of first-class letters arrived the next working day across the UK, with 92.3% delivered within two days."It's also important to note that letter volumes have declined significantly in recent years," Royal Mail added."As a result, many households no longer receive post every day, which can understandably cause concern for customers who were used to more frequent deliveries." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The National
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
UK government urged to seek MPs' approval before sending troops to Middle East
The UK government is facing calls to seek the approval of MPs if it intends to deploy British forces to conflicts in the Middle East. MPs should be given a choice over sending troops to the region before the UK follows another US president into war, the Liberal Democrats have said. The party's foreign affairs spokesman, Calum Miller, said such a decision should be subject to 'the strongest democratic scrutiny', by giving MPs a vote in the House of Commons. The Armed Forces (Deployment Outside the UK) Bill, tabled by Mr Miller, would mandate parliamentary approval before sending the UK's armed forces into overseas conflict zones. It says retrospective parliamentary approval could be granted in cases of emergency military deployments or responses. Parliamentarians have voted on whether to go to war before, and the decision essentially rests on whether the prime minister of the time feels a moral obligation to gain approval from the House of Commons. Parliament has no legally established role and the government is under no legal obligation with respect to its conduct, including keeping parliament informed. In practice, however, successive governments have consulted and informed the Commons about the decision to use force and the progress of military campaigns. MPs gave their approval to Tony Blair's government to take action in Iraq in 2003 when they voted in favour. In August 2013, MPs vetoed British intervention in the war in Syria, defeating the motion put forward by David Cameron's government. He became the first prime minister in more than 200 years to lose a vote on military action, which he accepted. The UK took no action in Syria at that point, although Theresa May ordered an operation in Syria five years later without a vote. Mr Starmer opposed the invasion of Iraq and military action against ISIS in Syria. Polling by Savanta, commissioned by the Lib Dems, revealed 57 per cent of people believe Parliament should vote on any UK military action in Iran. Mr Miller said: 'With the Middle East in the throes of an all-out regional war, we are reckoning once again with the prospect of the UK becoming embroiled in foreign conflict. 'No one knows the fragility of peace in that region, or the price paid for our safety, better than our British troops. It's critical that, if they are asked to put their lives on the line for the UK in active conflict zones, this decision is subject to the strongest democratic scrutiny our country can offer. 'If the government chooses to put our troops directly in the line of fire, Parliament must be granted a vote on that choice before they are deployed – especially now, as the Prime Minister weighs up following another American president into war in the Middle East.'
BBC News
03-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Bicester East West Rail level crossing petition to be presented
A petition calling for a fully accessible underpass at a town's level crossing will be presented to Parliament on 4,526 signatures, it calls on the government to ensure any replacement of the level crossing at London Road in Bicester includes access for cars, not just cyclists and crossing is set to be closed on safety grounds when the East West Rail (EWR) line becomes fully operational but residents fear this will see the town "cut in two."EWR said it was looking into "all the potential solutions" and that it would present a final proposal to the public. The new EWR service will connect Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge and is due to be opened to passengers in the early Bicester residents are worried it will cut one side of the town off from the other. Petition creator Calum Miller, MP for Bicester and Woodstock, has previously warned of residents' a letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves last October, he said: "There is support for the new rail line but also a belief that its opening should not unfairly affect one town. They do not want to see Bicester cut in two."In the most recent consultation, which received more than 6,000 responses and closed in January, EWR had proposed a new footbridge or underpass for pedestrians and a letter from chief executive David Hughes later suggested the plans were under a meeting with Mr Miller and Baron Peter Hendy, the Minister for Rail, on 7 April, Mr Hughes wrote that "further work" had been undertaken as a result of said: "I can confirm that since our meeting we have held discussions with both Network Rail and the local council to understand the feasibility of developing the design to incorporate some form of vehicular access."Mr Miller previously told BBC Radio Oxford it would be "very hard" to put a bridge in place.A spokesperson for East West Railway Company said: "We welcome the public's continued interest in this important issue and continue to assess all the potential solutions for the London Road Level Crossing."Whilst this work is being carried out, we are working closely with our local stakeholders including Calum Miller MP and the local councils."Once all the analysis has been completed a final proposal will be published and presented to the public."The petition, which contains physical signatures only, will be presented by Mr Miller at 19:00 BST.A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "We recognise the strong views felt locally in Bicester and East West Rail Company is carefully reviewing responses to its consultation."Options for the future of the London Road level crossing are still being considered, but any option will need to balance cost with the impact on the community." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Independent
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Trump administration accused of hypocrisy after claiming the UK and Europe are ‘trampling democracy'
Donald Trump's administration has been accused of hypocrisy after claiming that the UK and Europe are 'trampling democracy'. In a post on the Substack blogging platform, the US state department accused governments of 'weaponising political institutions' to turn the continent into a 'hotbed of digital censorship, mass migration, restrictions on religious freedom, and numerous other assaults on democratic self-governance'. The piece broadly criticises the so-called 'global liberal project' but highlights the UK and Germany in particular. The comments echo previous US claims that the greatest threat to European security was not Russia but the continent's suppression of the right and anti-abortion activists. 'Americans are familiar with these tactics,' the post says. 'Indeed, a similar strategy of censorship, demonization, and bureaucratic weaponization was utilized against President Trump and his supporters. 'What this reveals is that the global liberal project is not enabling the flourishing of democracy. Rather, it is trampling democracy, and Western heritage along with it, in the name of a decadent governing class afraid of its own people.' The Liberal Democrats hit back at the post and accused the Trump administration of trying to enact a 'dystopian vision' of liberty. 'Britain doesn't need lectures about political freedom from the acolyte of a President who tried to undermine American democracy and now praises Putin,' Calum Miller, a Liberal Democrat MP and the party's foreign affairs spokesperson, said. 'The British people will see straight through this hypocrisy. We have a proud tradition of free speech in this country - and one which continues long after Trump has left office. 'It's Trump's own dystopian vision for America's future which poses the greatest threat to liberty in the US.' The blog post cited two Britons, Adam Smith-Connor and Livia Tossici-Bolt, who were both found guilty of breaching public spaces protection orders by standing outside abortion clinics holding signs and silently praying, as evidence of the UK's assault on free speech and religious rights. They also referred to figures published by The Times showing that 'at least 12,000 people a year' were being arrested for online posts. The author of the Substack post, Samuel Samson, a senior advisor for the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), met both Smith-Connor and Tossici-Bolt during a trip to the UK in March. The purpose of Samson's March trip, according to The Telegraph, was to 'affirm the importance of freedom of expression in the UK and across Europe'. His Substack post was titled 'The Need for Civilizational Allies in Europe', a reference to vice president JD Vance's claims that Europe is succumbing to 'the threat from within', namely European governments censoring those they do not agree with. The blog also accused Germany, France, Romania and Poland of implementing a 'strategy of censorship, demonization, and bureaucratic weaponization' by arresting, designating or banning far-right political parties, before suggesting Trump and his supporters had been subjected to the same treatment. It praised Hungary, run by an administration that has orchestrated a widespread crackdown on the free press and LGBT rights, as a 'Christian nation … unjustly labeled as authoritarians and human rights abusers'. 'Our concerns are not partisan but principled,' the paper claimed. 'The suppression of speech, facilitation of mass migration, targeting of religious expression, and undermining of electoral choice threatens the very foundation of the transatlantic partnership.' It added that Europe's actions were 'increasingly affecting American security and economic ties, along with the free speech rights of American citizens and companies'. The blog post was a follow-up from Mr Vance's February speech to the Munich Security Conference, in which he lambasted Germany for its post-Second World War policy of refusing to work with the far-right. As attendees expected him to speak of the renewed threat posed by Vladimir Putin's Russia, the US politician instead chose to claim European anti-extremism was the principal concern for the continent's security. The German far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) went on to win a fifth of the popular vote in national elections later that month. They have since been designated far-right extremists. The country's domestic intelligence said in a statement that 'the ethnicity- and ancestry-based understanding of the people prevailing within the party is incompatible with the free democratic order'.
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Bicester level crossing petition supported by thousands
A petition calling for a fully accessible underpass at a town's level crossing has received more than 3,000 by MP for Bicester and Woodstock Calum Miller, the petition calls on the government to ensure any replacement of the level crossing at London Road in Bicester includes access for cars, not just cyclists and is set to be closed on safety grounds when the East West Rail (EWR) line becomes fully operational, which many fear would cut off crucial access to thousands of residents. Mr Miller will present the petition, which can only be signed in person, in Parliament on 3 June. In the most recent consultation, which received more than 6,000 responses and closed in January, EWR had proposed a new footbridge or underpass for pedestrians and a letter from CEO David Hughes later suggested the plans were under a meeting with Mr Miller and Baron Peter Hendy, the Minister for Rail, on 7 April, Mr Hughes wrote that "further work" had been undertaken as a result of said: "I can confirm that since our meeting we have held discussions with both Network Rail and the local council to understand the feasibility of developing the design to incorporate some form of vehicular access."Mr Miller previously told BBC Radio Oxford it would be "very hard" to put a bridge in office said that in addition to the thousands of signatures it had gathered across Bicester, community volunteers had also taken it door-to-door in areas such as Miller, who launched the petition a few weeks ago, said the amount of collected signatures "in a very short period of time demonstrates just how strongly people feel about it"."East West Rail is a project of national significance – but it must not come at the cost of existing residents in our town," he said."The impact of cutting off this crucial artery would be a disaster for Bicester, no one wants the town cut in two."He said the petition was "a way of highlighting the issue" and said he would continue to press the government and EWR "to commit to deliver the solution that Bicester people want to see".The Department for Transport has been approached for comment. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
