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.
The Lib Dems on Surrey County Council are proposing an amendment to the Council's budget to invest in tackling road safety problems across the county.
Following a question from Lib Dem County Councillor Angela Goodwin at today's Cabinet meeting, the Council confirmed it was opening several Covid19 testing centres across the county for essential workers who have no symptoms (asymptomatic).
Cllr Paul Kennedy, Liberal Democrat Candidate for Surrey's Police and Crime Commissioner, is urging residents to respond to the latest proposal by incumbent David Munro for a 5.54% increase in the police element of council tax, and is calling for better value for money for taxpayers.
Today the Tory administration at Surrey County Council used its own amendment to vote down a Lib Dem motion that would have prioritised child food poverty in Surrey. If approved, the original proposed by Cllr Fiona White and seconded by Cllr Will Forster, would have committed the Council to taking the small, albeit valuable steps of ensuring the availability of breakfast clubs at Surrey schools as well as to lobbying central government for changes to the welfare system.
Paul Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Surrey's next Police and Crime Commissioner, has described as "very worrying" the continuing decline in positive outcomes for victims of high harm crimes such as rape and serious sexual offences, domestic abuse, child abuse and hate crime. He praised the efforts of domestic abuse and other victims' organisations to highlight the issue.
We have all become more aware of the need for free school meals in the last few months, but child food poverty did not start with Covid19. Surrey Lib Dems have called on the Surrey County Council administration to take steps to address this growing problem across the county.
