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.
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:
Liberal Democrat county councillors have called for a thorough review of fire safety in Surrey following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in North Kensington. At least 80 people were killed in the blaze, with an unknown number of people still missing and unaccounted for. Surrey Fire & Rescue Service attended the incident to provide assistance to the London Fire Brigade, due to the sheer scale of the disaster. Liberal Democrat county councillors have called for:
Liberal Democrat County Councillors in Surrey have expressed their deep concerns over plans by the Conservative administration at County Hall to axe £2.8m from the support it gives to the most vulnerable residents to support their housing needs. The county council has launched a consultation on the proposals which if enacted would reduce the Housing Related Support budget by 70% or £2.8m. Currently 4,477 people receive help but the county council proposes to withdraw all support from those who do not qualify for assistance under the Care Act (2014).
Liberal Democrat county councillors have criticised Conservative-run Surrey County Council after it emerged that after only two months of the new financial year, the county council is already predicted to overspend by £24 million pounds. According to the county council, this overspend has been caused by the failure to achieve millions of pounds of savings, as well as a significant overspend of £12.1m in the Children's Services department. Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council said today:
