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Liberal Democrats launch new maternity care pledge

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Liberal Democrats launch new maternity care pledge
Liberal Democrats launch new maternity care pledge12 hours agoShareSaveHelen Catt,South East political editorandDaniel Sexton,South EastShareSavePA Media Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey speaking during the Liberal Democrats spring conference in York.PA MediaLeader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, said his proposal would be "challenging"

The Liberal Democrats have launched a pledge of a new one-to-one maternity care scheme as part of their local election campaign.

The party's leader, Sir Ed Davey, was in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on Thursday, where he launched the scheme at a baby class.

Speaking to BBC South East, he said: "We put forward a package of proposals making sure every mother has a midwife by their side the whole time and every maternity unit has a consultant obstetrician, a specialist doctor 24/7.

"If we did that, some appalling situations we see wouldn't happen."

Davey said it would be "challenging" to do it, but he said it would be better to invest money into the system rather than paying for mistakes.

Getty Images Rain fills pot holes on a country roadGetty ImagesAcross East and West Sussex in the last month there were more than 17,000 potholes reported

Across East and West Sussex in the last month, there were more than 17,000 potholes reported - and social care takes up almost three-quarters of the councils' budgets.

Davey said he believed a Lib Dem-led council could fix these issues by "rolling up our sleeves" but also making sure "the government is rather more generous than it has been".

Some councils run by the Lib Dems have increased council tax by the maximum allowance. In Eastbourne, the council has increased parking charges and introduced charges to the public toilets.

Davey said other councils, including Reform UK-led ones, have also increased council tax by the maximum amount.

He added: "I do think that we have to tackle the cost of living as a country, not just in one little bit.

"The biggest problem I'm hearing from people is the fact that energy bills look like they're going to go up even more, petrol and diesel prices have gone up, mortgage costs have gone up."

He added "one of the biggest drivers of that" was the war in Iran.

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Originally reported by BBC News