‘Stitch-up’ sees Lib Dems removed from Northamptonshire crime panel
Posted May 16, 2013 * Comments(0)

The Northants County Council LibDem group elected 2 May 2013

The Northants County Council LibDem group elected 2 May 2013 outside County Hall

Tory leaders are protecting the Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commissioner, say Liberal Democrats following their party’s removal from the county’s influential Police and Crime Panel.

In the first new county council meeting, nominations to the panel saw an amendment proposed that would see an extra Labour councillor take a place on the committee at the expense of a Liberal Democrat councillor, leaving no Lib Dem representation.

The amendment went to a vote, but the Liberal Democrats, with six councillors, were easily defeated by the other two parties.

Councillor Brendan Glynane, the Lib Dem leader, claimed his party was entitled to a place on the panel. He said:

“It’s clear the Tories and Labour are stitching this up to protect the Tory Police Commissioner, Adam Simmonds, from scrutiny.

“Remember the Labour Party supported the Conservative Police Commissioner’s budget. It cut funds for 45 frontline police officers and spent £800,000 of taxpayers cash on Tory political cronies.

“Only the Liberal Democrats didn’t back it. The Labour Party have started out the new council term by showing that they are nothing more than Tory lapdogs. Labour are the opposition on paper only.”

Fawlty Towers?
Posted May 6, 2013 * Comments(0)

IMG_3253 crop copyright no skyIT MAY NOT be Torquay, but it’s certainly a farce!

MOST RESIDENTS in the Lift Tower Estate know that a planning application is underway for abseiling events at the Lift Tower to be permanently increased to 26 a year. The public consultation was due to finish 21 days after 12 March. The planning application was due to be heard on 25 April. It’s been extended to 22 May.

SOME people have commented that they believe that this highly unpopular planning decision had been deliberately delayed until after the county council elections on May 2. They may well have been right! Many people living in the Lift Tower Estate voted Lib Dem on 2 May, and as a result you now have me, Jill Hope, as your Lib Dem county councillor instead of a Tory.

THE Lib Dems have always stood up for local people against the nuisance and invasion of their privacy caused by these events. Former Lib Dem councillor Pam Varnsverry helped local residents to reject the idea of a visitor centre here, because this is where people have their homes, not a visitor attraction. Labour and Tory councillors have not objected – perhaps that’s why they were not elected.

IF you don’t want abseiling every week through the summer, write to Jonathan Moore at Northampton Borough Council at The Guildhall, Northampton NN1 1DE and tell him what you think or email him at planning@northampton.gov.uk

THE previous petition no longer counts, so if you want to object again you will need to sign another petition. I’ll bring one round before the cut-off date of 22 May.  

Jill Hope elected for Sixfields
Posted May 4, 2013 * Comments(0)

Canvas with Text
At the county council election on 2 May 2013, Jill Hope was elected as Liberal Democrat Councillor for the Sixfields Division.

The votes cast were as follows:

  • Jill Hope……………….865
  • Conservative…………813
  • Labour……………….637
Changes to Bus Services – April 2013
Posted April 19, 2013 * Comments(0)

Following the decision by First Northampton to withdraw some bus routes, Stagecoach has announced changes to some of their routes, notably numbers 10 and 12.

Please check the links to these services in the right-hand column, or follow this link to Stagecoach’s news item and timetables.

You’re in Sixfields division now – five very unconnected areas
Posted March 20, 2013 * Comments(1)
The new Sixfields Division for county council election - what a mess!

The new Sixfields Division for county council election – what a mess!

PART of St James has been moved into Sixfields division for the coming county council elections in May 2013.
WHEN you vote at elections, you’ll vote at your normal polling station, but instead of voting for a councillor in the old St James division, you’ll be voting for a councillor in Sixfields division.

SIXFIELDS is made up of five very unconnected areas – part of St James, a small part of West Hunsbury including Camp Hill, Briar Hill, Upton and Hunsbury Meadows (Banbury Lane). The small part of West Hunsbury included within Sixfields division is everything north of Green Lane except, very strangely, Hunsbury Close. The rest of West Hunsbury now moves into Shelfleys and East Hunsbury division.

IT’S as if Sixfields is made up from the bits left over from everywhere else! Read more »

Letter from the leader
Posted February 28, 2013 * Comments(0)

What a victory! After three weeks of seriously intense campaigning, we’ve done it. Mike Thornton is the new MP for Eastleigh. Letter from the leader

Waiting for news from the count was nerve-wracking. We knew we’d had a stellar polling day operation and got our voters out: but was it going to be enough? And then Hilary Stephenson, our campaigns director, texted me to say: the result is in. we’ve done it. And we did – a majority of nearly 1,800 votes.

There were hundreds of Lib Dems who made it to Eastleigh during this campaign. And the number of young people I saw out there confirmed for me, so clearly, that our party isn’t just alive but it’s thriving. The most exhilarating thing for me about this victory is that no-one can dismiss it as a protest vote like they used to in the past. Read more »

Laws: More Money for Pupil Premium
Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013 by craigwhittall

LawsPodium500crop

The Coalition Government has today announced how much Pupil Premium money each school in England will receive in 2013/14.

The cash targets extra money to schools depending on the number of children from disadvantaged backgrounds they have. The Pupil Premium is a major Liberal Democrat priority that is being delivered by the Coalition Government.

The Pupil Premium will be worth a total of £1.65bn, or £900 per child, in 2013/14. It covers any primary or secondary school pupil that has been registered for Free School Meals in the past six years.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Schools Minister, David Laws said:

“Liberal Democrats are building a strong economy and a fair society where everyone can get ahead. Education is absolutely at the heart of that.

“The Pupil Premium is extra support for the children who need it the most, whether it is catch-up classes, one-to-one tuition, extra IT support – whatever the school thinks best.

“Helping the most disadvantaged children helps every child. Fewer children falling behind means less disruption in class and a better education for everyone.”

You can find details of how much each local school in England will gain from the Lib Dem Pupil Premium, by visiting this website: http://bit.ly/TyVK6D

Image Copyright: Flickr/Educationgovuk

 

Liberal Democrats: Cutting Your Taxes by £600 a Year
Wednesday, December 5th, 2012 by aldcadmin

Commenting on the rise in the Income Tax personal allowance announced in the Autumn Statement, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson, Stephen Williams said:
“Liberal Democrats are working for a stronger economy and a fairer society, so that everyone can get on in life. That’s why we are cutting taxes for working people.
“Today’s announcement means that by April, Liberal Democrats will have cut your income tax bill by £600 a year.
“Liberal Democrats want fairer taxes, which is why we made raising the tax-free allowance our number one priority at the General Election – so important that we put it on the front page of our manifesto.
“When times are tough, with rising bills and wages not keeping pace with inflation, we want to give people real, practical help.
“Cutting Income Tax will not deal with all of those problems, but it will help. And I hope it will make a big difference to every family in this country.”

You can help Liberal Democrats keep cutting your taxes by supporting our Fairer Tax campaign at http://www.fairertax.org/

Liberal Democrats: Fighting for Fairer Taxes
Sunday, November 4th, 2012 by aldcadmin

Launched at the Lib Dems Autumn Conference in Brighton, the Fairer Tax campaign seeks to make sure that the super rich pay their fair share and to cut the tax bill of ordinary people.
If successful this would mean that since entering the Coalition, Liberal Democrats will have cut the Income Tax bill of most people by £700.
Commenting on the campaign, Deputy Prime Minister  Nick Clegg said: “In government, the Liberal Democrats have already delivered a 10% increase in Capital Gains Tax from 18% to 28%, a new tax on sales houses worth over £2 million and a £10 billion new bank tax.”
“But we believe we can make taxes even fairer.”
“That’s why we’re calling for tax loopholes to be closed and a new wealth tax on the super rich to be introduced. This should then allow us to cut the Income Tax bill of hardworking people.”
If you are interested in joining the Fairer Tax campaign, or learning more about how Liberal Democrats are working to deliver fairer taxes in tough times, please visit our campaign website: http://www.fairertax.org/
Baker: Reducing Fare Rises for Passengers
Sunday, October 7th, 2012 by aldcadmin

The Liberal Democrats in government have kept their commitment to fair pricing for rail passengers. As a result, next year’s planned rail fare rise (initially RPI inflation, plus three per cent) has been capped at inflation plus one per cent. This will save over 250,000 season ticket holders up to £200 over the next two years.

The money to fund the cap in fare rises will come from savings in the Department of Transport’s budget, and the government are committed to ending the era of above-inflation fare rises when the costs of maintaining and investing in the rail network allow.

The Secretary of State for Transport, Lib Dem Norman Baker, said “The Lib Dems have been making the case for a fair deal for passengers for years, and bringing down fares is the main thing I’ve been fighting for. But until the public finances are in a state that lets us do that, my priority is to keep the increase as low as possible.”

He added that the Liberal Democrats are “absolutely committed to ensuring the travelling public are not unfairly saddled with the cost of backfilling for years of underinvestment in the rail network.”

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