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 Councillors have strongly criticised Conservative-run Surrey County Council for agreeing to hike adult social care charges by over £1m for disabled and vulnerable residents. The new charges, due to take effect from 3rd October 2016, have been pushed through by the Conservative-run Council, despite a consultation which showed strong opposition to the plans by residents and disability groups.
Liberal Democrat councillors are warning that the Conservative-run County Council's plans to charge the public for using Community Recycling Centres, as well as reducing their opening hours, could lead to even bigger increases in fly-tipping across Surrey. Recent figures show that fly-tipping across the county has doubled in the last two years, from 2093 tonnes in 2013/14 to 4441 tonnes in 2015/16.
At the Budget meeting of Surrey County Council on Tuesday 9 February, the Liberal Democrats called on the Conservative administration to protect vital services for Surrey residents.
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the County Council to take into account the quality of life of local residents, including noise levels, when making decisions about different road surfaces.
The Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council are calling on the Conservative administration at County Hall to put more money towards improving Surrey's footways.
The Liberal Democrats have opposed the Conservative-run County Council's flawed decision taken by their Cabinet today to reduce the opening hours of Surrey's tips (known as Community Recycling Centres) and to introduce charges for DIY waste, gas bottles and car tyres at the tips.
