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 expressed their concern after an independent body, Healthwatch Surrey, criticised the county council for a lack of engagement and consultation after changes to the provision of sexual health services. Healthwatch Surrey has written to the county council outlining their criticisms in relation to HIV services. The letter states that:
Ofsted has today published a letter summarising the findings of the recent monitoring visit to Surrey Children's services. This is the 8th monitoring visit since the County Council was inspected in 2014 and found to be inadequate in the Ofsted report published in 2015. In the latest monitoring visit, Ofsted inspectors noted recent improvements. However some changes have taken too long to achieve and children continue to receive an inconsistent response to their needs and for some, potential risks are not explored quickly enough. Cllr Chris Botten, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Children & Schools, said:
Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have criticised the ruling Conservative administration for recruiting a £55,000 "Head of Strategy" post when at the same time planning staff redundancies and cutting services by millions of pounds. The advert, which has been posted extensively online and in the national press, seeks to recruit a "highly politically astute" individual who will be a "skilful networker" and "support the leadership" of the County Council. The salary offered is between £55484 to £66644 for a working week of 36 hours, with a laptop and mobile supplied.
Over two thousand residents have signed a Liberal Democrat petition against Surrey County Council's proposals to close four popular and well-used Community Recycling Centres (CRCs) in Bagshot, Cranleigh, Dorking and Warlingham. The County Council is also planning to reduce the opening hours of all the remaining CRCs, as well as scrapping the daily free waste allowance in order to save £2m from its budget. Cllr Stephen Cooksey, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for the Environment, said:
Liberal Democrat county councillors have expressed their concern after it was revealed that 6 care homes in Surrey are rated as "Unsafe" by the Care Quality Commission and have contracts with Surrey County Council. The information was revealed following a question tabled by Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, to the Conservative Cabinet this week.
Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have launched a petition to save four community recycling centres earmarked for closure by the Conservative administration at County Hall after a huge outcry from local residents. The petition also calls for the county council to scrap plans to reduce the opening times of every CRC in the county by 2 days per week and increase the charge for residents disposing of waste. The four centres earmarked for closure are Bagshot, Cranleigh, Dorking and Warlingham. Cllr Stephen Cooksey, Liberal Democrat spokesperson on the Environment, said today:
