A Unite/Mori student survey carried out in January 2004 on voting intentions gives the Lib Dems a leading share of 34%, with Labour on 28% and the Tories third on 19%. Students will have a major impact in 2005, as the elections are expected during the university year, on May 5, unlike in 2001 when the elections fell during the holiday period.
Commenting on the launch of an online map to tell homeowners about flooding risks in England and Wales, Norman Baker MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, said:
Liberal Democrat Leader Charles Kennedy today launched the Liberal Democrat Pre-manifesto - the first important stage in the manifesto process, which will take the Party into the General Election.
Under new Liberal Democrat proposals police chiefs would sign contracts with local communities setting out how many officers they would deploy. The "minimum policing guarantees" would set funding levels for local police for a rolling three-year period. The guarantees are part of the party's new plans to tackle crime. The plans include using money earmarked for the government's ID card plan to hire an extra 10,000 front line police and 20,000 community support officers.
John Doran, Lib Dem spokesman on Transport, last week proposed a motion calling for more urgency in the development of the Transport Co-ordination Centre (TCC). In October 2004 the Executive of the Council had endorsed the proposal to set up a TCC, which was backed by all parties because it was claimed that there could be a 10% saving on a budget of £45 million.
The Conservatives running Surrey County Council have thrown out Liberal Democrat proposals to increase public involvement in its affairs by agreeing in principle to the webcasting of meetings. They also vetoed proposals to permit members of the public to address meetings of the full Council.
At the recent County Council meeting the majority Conservative group used a report on procedure to remove the right of Opposition groups to introduce motions for debate, without getting their permission first. Until now minority groups have had the right to introduce motions on any issues of concern and have them debated at the time. Now all decisions on whether to debate any motion have been put in the hands of the Tory majority.
A senior Conservative in Southall has defected to the Liberal Democrats, following the imposition of a candidate on the local party by Tory spin doctors. Mr Brij Mohan Gupta, Deputy Chair of Southall Conservatives has joined the Liberal Democrats and backed the Liberal Democrat by-election candidate Nigel Bakhai.
The Liberal Democrat group have called for Surrey County Council to introduce more effective workforce planning. In order to provide good quality, value for money services, the Council needs to plan and manage its workforce to ensure that it has the right number of people who are suitably qualified and trained and in the right places to provide the services that Surrey residents need. The first step towards achieving this objective is to develop an effective workforce plan. This plan should set out how the Council would recruit, support, develop and retain the employees it needs currently and in the future.
Surrey, Epsom & Ewell and Sutton Lib Dems all played key roles in the recent defence of Nonsuch Park, threatened by Surrey County Council (SCC) Tories' plans to "dispose" of Nonsuch Mansion, amidst local concerns that Tory plans would spoil this quiet haven of peace.
