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.
Liberal Democrat County Councillors tried at today's council meeting to ensure that priorities important to Surrey residents are included in the Council's formal list of priorities for the next four years. Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the County Council, said: "The Conservative administration's plans need to be clearer and more specific. Important priorities are missing from the Conservatives' plans."
Surrey County Council's poor performance in the delivery of some of its key services, compared to other councils, was highlighted today by the Liberal Democrats. Of particular concern is its poor performance in improving the condition of the roads. According to recent Government figures nearly 40% of Surrey's main roads were in need of repair last year.
The new Lib Dem team at County Hall dived straight in today, putting forward proposals to give Surrey residents the right to present petitions to the Full Council. For the first time this would allow residents direct access to its most important decision-making body. The intention was to make the County Council more democratic by bringing it into line with the many other councils across the country that already give their residents this right. The motion was proposed by Eddie Owen (Guildford East) and seconded by John Doran (Horsell). However the proposals were voted down by an alliance of Conservative and Labour councillors, so Surrey residents will continue to be denied the rights available to residents in many other parts of the country.
Following the County Council elections on 5th May, the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council re-elected Hazel Watson as Group Leader, with Ian Beardsmore as her deputy. Colin Taylor chairs the group and John Doran is treasurer.
Sharon Bowles officially became a Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament on 25th May 2005, taking over from Chris Huhne who has been elected to the Westminster Parliament. As the Liberal Democrats latest addition to the European Parliament, Sharon now represents South East England alongside Emma Nicholson MEP.
The new enlarged Surrey County Council (now with 80 members) met formally for the first time on 24th May. A new chair (David Davis) and vice-chair (Angela Fraser) were elected. The previous leader Nick Skellett was re-elected and announced his new cabinet, including three new faces.
