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.
Surrey County Council Liberal Democrats have called on the Tory-run County Council to reassure the public, following the disclosure of details highlighting the appalling service from one of Surrey's highways contractors, Carillion.
As a result of last Thursday's local elections on Woking, the Liberal Democrats have gained an additional 3 seats and taken over as the largest party on the Council, with 18 seats out of 36 total, ahead of the Conservatives on 15 and Labour on 3. They took 8 out of the 13 seats being contested this year - and narrowly missed a further gain by just two votes!
The introduction of more 20 mph zones in appropriate locations throughout Surrey moved a step closer today with the passing of a Liberal Democrat motion proposed by Cllr David Goodwin (Guildford South West) and seconded by Cllr John Doran (Horsell). This highlighted research showing that the chances of being killed as a pedestrian when hit by a vehicle double between 30 mph and 35 mph.
Months of debate came to a head today when Surrey County Council voted on the Business Delivery Review (BDR) - with the Liberal Democrat group rejecting the proposals sanctioned by the Tory-run Executive to cut staff numbers. Staff members and representatives of their trade unions listened in the public gallery and the adjoining Ashcombe Suite as Liberal Democrats fought against the proposals, which included a reduction of 561 FTE (Full Time Equivalent) jobs. A recorded vote saw 56 in favour of BDR, with 14 against and two abstentions.
The Liberal Democrat Group on Surrey County Council has called for greater clarity from the Conservative-run Executive after the Council announced its proposed plans to close 18 youth centres county-wide were being "revised". The Lib Dems had been opposed to the closures ever since they were first proposed in the Business Delivery Review, designed to cut £50 million from the Council's budget. Together with voluntary and community groups, the Lib Dems have been urging the Council to rethink the proposals.
The Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, Cllr Hazel Watson, has welcomed the abandonment of plans to close four libraries in Surrey. She said: "I am pleased that proposals to close the libraries in Hersham, Caterham Hill, Ewell Court and New Haw are to be abandoned. However, it is regrettable that the libraries in Bagshot and Virginia Water are still under threat."