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.
Liberal Democrat county councillors have criticised Surrey's 11 Conservative MPs after they all voted in favour of the Local Government Finance Settlement in the House of Commons on Wednesday 7th February. The Settlement sets out the level of funding from central government to local authorities for the next financial year and has been heavily criticised for not providing adequate funding to councils to provide essential services. All 9 Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey had written to the 11 MPs asking them to vote against the Settlement but no Conservative MP in Surrey spoke in the debate and all voted in favour.
A petition set up by Liberal Democrat county councillors calling on Surrey County Council to axe its charges on residents disposing of DIY waste has attracted over 1000 signatures in just over 2 weeks. The petition was set up after the Government, as part of a wider consultation on fly-tipping, stated that "The Government's view is that residents should be able to dispose of household DIY waste free of charge" and "The Government will consider clarifying the law if councils continue to charge for disposal of reasonable amounts of DIY waste". The County Council introduced the unpopular charges, dubbed the "Tory Tip Tax", in September 2016 and earlier in January this year ended the daily allowance for local residents to dispose of waste for free.
Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have written to the county's 11 MPs asking them to vote against the Local Government Finance Settlement in Parliament on Wednesday 7th February. The Settlement sets out the level of funding from central government to local councils for the next financial year, and has been widely criticised for failing to address the financial problems that many councils face.
Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council have criticised the Conservative-administration for budget proposals containing £54m of further cuts to services and a 6% council tax rise. The budget recommendations will be approved by the Council's Conservative Cabinet on Tuesday 30th January, and then by the County Council on Tuesday 6th February.
Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have launched a petition calling for Surrey County Council to abolish its charges for residents disposing of DIY waste - known locally as the "Tory Tip Tax". The petition follows a consultation from the Government announcing that they oppose the principle of councils charging residents for disposing of DIY waste and will consider changing the law if councils continue to charge. Surrey County Council introduced these charges in September 2016 despite overwhelming opposition to the charges in the responses to the County Council's consultation.
The Government have stated that they wish to see an end to charges by local authorities, including Surrey County Council, for residents disposing of DIY waste. A consultation released this week by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) states that "The Government's view is that residents should be able to dispose of household DIY waste free of charge" and
