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 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:
Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have expressed their anger and opposition to Tory plans to axe 4 Community Recycling Centres (CRCs) across the county. The plans follow on from the introduction of hugely unpopular charges to use the CRCs last year which were forced through by the Conservative Cabinet, despite widespread opposition by residents and Liberal Democrat county councillors. The Conservative-administration has stated that its preferred proposals are to:
Liberal Democrat councillors in Surrey have slammed the Conservative Cabinet at County Hall for cutting vital services provided to young vulnerable adults across the county. The cuts were decided at a meeting of the Conservative cabinet last week, with nearly £450K axed over the next two years from outreach services targeted at hard to reach young people in Surrey. The consultation period for the proposed changes was only 8 weeks in length, contradicting the County Council's own guidance known as the Surrey Compact, which recommends a 12-week consultation.
Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have expressed their concern over the removal of any mention of Cross Rail 2 from the Conservative manifesto in the forthcoming General Election, casting doubt over their commitment to the project. The proposed Crossrail 2 plans would connect north London to Surrey, with interchanges at rail routes through to Shepperton and Epsom, as well as linking up with Crossrail 1 stations in central London.
New rules that prevent councillors from funding street lighting, grit bins and highway schemes from their own local allocation budgets have been heavily criticised by Liberal Democrat County Councillors in Surrey. The rules, which were introduced by the Conservative-administration at the Annual General Meeting of the County Council held on 23rd May, prompted one Tory county councillor to speak out against their own Leader and several more abstained on a Liberal Democrat motion to drop the proposed change.
Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have welcomed the news that the Conservative-administration at County Hall has finally agreed to scrap the 4 Cabinet Associate posts which have so far cost the tax payer nearly two hundred thousand pounds since they were introduced. Liberal Democrats have consistently called for these posts to be scrapped and for the money saved to be used on front line services, rather than on excessive allowances for Conservative county councillors. The roles that will end are:
