Thank you so much to all of you supported us during the election campaign in 2005, especially our dedicated team of deliverers and canvassers, not to mention the County Council candidates who gave up their free time in the name of local democracy.
According to Henry Bolton, the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Runnymede & Weybridge, there is a real need to introduce a pension that ends means testing for the oldest pensioners and removes discrimination against women. He says, "Women should be entitled to a pension in their own right. The LibDems would address this immediately once in power."
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.
Lib Dems at Surrey County Council set out its proposal for a £26m (over 5 years) Road Safety Fund last week. Led by Group Leader Chris Botten, Lib Dem councillors had put together the alternative budget plan in response to the growing number of requests from the public to their Local or Joint Committees, for improvements to junctions, reductions in speed limits or the introduction of other road safety measures. These together with other outstanding local highway schemes amount to around £50m.
Cllr Paul Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Surrey's Police and Crime Commissioner, has criticized the decision of Surrey's Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro to press ahead with a 5.5% increase in his council tax precept, ignoring the concerns of the Surrey Police and Crime Panel and the public.
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.
