Suffolk Liberal Democrats are supporting the campaign by the housing charity “SHELTER” to stop the new Tory government selling housing association homes. Housing Associations are “not for profit” organisations set up to provide social housing, often using land given at no cost by local councils. Selling these homes will just make the housing crisis worse NOT improve it!!
Penny Otton
Spokesperson for Education, Skills, Young People and Localities
Charles Kennedy 1959 -2015
It is indeed very sad news to hear of the sudden death of Charles Kennedy.
He led our party to some amazing successes and will always be remembered for his stand against the invasion/war in Iraq. Charles Kennedy was the one UK party leader to oppose the 2003 war in Iraq
Charles was a very committed family man and our thoughts go out to Charles’ family at this very sad time.
David Wood
Leader SCC Lib Dems
I guess a Tory majority had to happen at some point, just a surprise that in Babergh it took as long as it did – 40 years or so. Working in a ‘hung’ council had its positive and negative points but all of those are preferable to being on the back benches. Time will tell whether a Tory administration is good for Babergh but if the experiences at County are anything to go by then hold on to your hat it could be a bumpy ride.
Leader Jennie Jenkins assured those councillors not in the administration (8 Independants, 3 LibDems and 1 Labour) that their views were important and would be sought out, then proceeded to fill all of the policy panels with Tories. Talk is cheap!
A message that it would seem fails to reach Tories, both in the District and County, is that their residents would prefer to retain the fabric of their community rather than slavishly follow a zero tax increase and the resulting cuts necessary to balance the budget. Just look around you, in the winter the roads look like a rolling rubbish tip with the lack of greenery exposing huge amounts of litter. Then the growth comes in and covers it up, but this creates blind spots at every rural junction.
Now I agree that you shouldn’t have staff levels that are geared to peaks but if you have a rolling peak throughout the year then a bit of flexibility within the workforce could eliminate this perennial problem, that and not trimming contracts so that rubbish is only collected up to 2 metres from the curb when we can all see it up to and including the hedgerow.
Beginning to sound like a grumpy old man so I had better stop, but is it wrong to take a pride in our wonderful county?
Dave Busby
Do you want a say in who will be the new leader of the national LibDem party?
We’ve had 15000 new members since the election. Each member who signs up before the 4th June is eligible to vote!
Don’t delay, join today!
In the week after the General Election, Liberal Democrat membership across the country soared by over 25% and continues to rise hourly. This surge has – of course – been replicated here in Suffolk. The LibDem fightback has begun.
Over half of new members are aged under 35, and the vast majority have never been a member of the LibDems before.
A warm welcome to all our new members here in Suffolk! We are thrilled you have chosen to join us.
If you want to join, get in touch with our membership office on 020 7022 0988, via the national LibDem website, or simply click the ‘join’ button at the left of the page. And remember, if you join before 3 June, you are eligible to vote in the elections for the new LibDem Leader.
Caroline Page
Don’t forget there are also District, Town and Parish elections taking place across Suffolk this coming Thursday May 7th.
Local elections matter!
Support your local Lib Dem Councillors. These are the people you meet in the street, at local events, the ones who listen to your concerns about the areas in which we all live. We are the ones who act and try to make things better for us all. We don’t grab the headlines, but go about our business thoughtfully and diligently to the best of our ability. We are the ones who live in the areas we represent – we might even be your neighbour – we care passionately about our areas and want to do the best we can to maintain them.
“Just local elections”? No way! When you are casting your vote for the national picture this coming Thursday don’t forget to remember to vote for your local councillors as well. And make sure you vote for the person you can rely on to work for you.
OKAY – after all these weeks the finish line is coming upon us.
Your LibDem candidates on May 7th are:
Bury St Edmunds David Chappell http://davidchappell.org.uk/en/
Ipswich Chika Akinwale http://www.libdems.org.uk/chika_akinwale
Central Suffolk& North Ipswich Jon Neal http://www.libdems.org.uk/jon-neal
South Suffolk Grace Weaver http://www.libdems.org.uk/grace_weaver
Suffolk Coastal James Sandbach http://www.james4suffolkcoastal.com/
Waveney Stephen Gordon http://www.libdems.org.uk/stephen_gordon
West Suffolk Elfeda Tealby-Watson http://www.libdems.org.uk/elfreda_tealby_watson
A few things to remember when you cast your vote on Thursday:
In 2010 the Labour government left a mountain of debt for the nation. Liberal Democrats shouldered unpopularity to take the responsible step of forming a stable coalition government. In the last 5 years 2 million new apprenticeships and 2 million new jobs have been created and Labour’s deficit has been halved.
The following initiatives were in the LibDem 2010 Manifesto and would not have happened without us:
Some endorsements in the national press:
The Times “Nick Clegg made a bold decision to take the Liberal Democrats into government. Power has been a justified gamble for the Liberal Democrats…Their signature policy of taking people who earn £10,000 or less out of taxation altogether has been one of their successes.” http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/leaders/article4430579.ece
Independent “Many of the good things the Coalition has done are owed to the Liberal Democrats. Nick Clegg may not personally recover from the tuition fees debacle, despite being right (eventually). But history will record him as the man who turned a party of protest into one of government. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/editorials/in-defence-of-liberal-democracy-10224221.html
Sunday Times “…[the Coalition] did survive and this has been a period of political stability that would have been the envy of many majority governments of the past. Mr Clegg deserves to survive and so do his closest Lib Dem colleagues in government. Tory supporters in Labour-Lib Dem marginals may wish to vote for the Lib Dem candidate… http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/comment/article1551497.ece
Published and promoted by E Da Costa on behalf of the Liberal Democrats all at 16 Two Acres, Capel St. Mary, Ipswich IP9 2XP
Just what is going on with the Conservatives on Suffolk County Council?
First of all we have the Brian Riley fiasco – yes Hadleigh, sadly he still is your representative. Now we have the news that Council Leader Mark Bee is standing down. Was he pushed or has he left of his own free will? Regardless of one’s political beliefs, Mark came in and steadied a very rocky boat in the wake of the Andrea Hill episode.
Clearly with all the turmoil within the administrative party one has to ask oneself are they the right party to be leading Suffolk at this moment in time.
Asked by the EADT to comment on Mark’s resignation, Group Leader David Wood said ” I am shocked and disappointed to hear the news. Mark has always been fair to all parties. He’s always listened to what we have had to say. He’s always recognised that whatever our political backgrounds we are all keen to do what we see as best for the people of Suffolk. I know he has problems within his own group, and that might be because he’s been prepared to talk to us – but this is sad news for the county as a whole”.
Today’s (2nd April 2015) EADT states that some Conservatives had feared that whilst Mark Bee would have been re-elected unopposed at their AGM next week there would have been a vote of no confidence in the Leadership immediately before May’s annual council meeting. Oh boy! Conservative Democracy at work!!! We have seen how one of your Councillors operates – we have to ask ourselves is it spreading?
David Wood
Yes, of course the LibDems are fully behind solar energy – but not at the expense of valuable arable land! What is needed is a sensible approach.
So if we could find a place that delivers this energy and has a positive impact on 8 other issues then it could be considered a real winner.
Well, Dave Busby – LibDem councillor for Belstead Brook – may have just had that ‘eureka’ moment. He is proposing that we should cover the Copdock Park & Ride with solar panels.
Apart from the obvious benefit of additional power what else would this proposal give us?
“Generating income for the site would mean that
– Fares could be reduced – resulting in increased numbers using the service increasing, meaning less traffic jams and less pollution in Ipswich;
– The future viability of the site would be guaranteed;
– Students from Suffolk One could be offered cheap parking – eliminating the continuing thorny problem of them needing to park in surrounding residential areas,” Dave points out.
Additional benefits would be that
Solar panels could also be added at the Martlesham P&R site to provide similar benefits on the other side of Ipswich.
So will it happen?
“Watch this space,” says Dave Busby.
Suffolk County Council agreed its Budget at full council today. The LibDems had a free vote, but most – if not all – voted against the Administration’s proposals. As Leader, Dave Wood said:
Our group fully understands the financial needs of the County – and the absolute requirement the Council has to raise efficiency and to give good value for money. So of course, we fully support the proposed 0% increase in Council Tax.
However, we sincerely believe that the Pickles Bribe (eg central government’s council tax freeze deal) should actually be used, rather than placed in the reserves as seems to have become Tory practice. This money should be given back to the people of Suffolk – from whom it was extracted via their taxes – and used to support some of the services you are proposing to cut.
We are concerned – most particularly with Adult and Continuing Services – that apparent efficiencies are masking significant service resuctions. We have anecdotal evidence that this is the case.
It is a different case with Childrens and Young Peoples’ services. League tables show clearly that we are still performing badly, and yet we see substantial budget cuts. This just cannot be right. The future of Suffolk depends on the aspirations of its young people.
We welcome the gains you propose to make from the moving of CSD inhouse- but surely there has been a very hard lesson to be learned here. This project has been very badly managed for years now. It is proof, if proof was needed that outsourcing services doesn’t always make savings and is not always best.. SO surely the savings made from this and the Energy from Waste project should be employed to rectify the problems I have quoted.
On a personal level I’m deeply disappointed that the Council has decided to cut their contribution to Suffolk’s magnificent AONBs by 20% – especially as it is on the back of them being forward-looking and restructuring I know it is only a small sumof money in the grand scheme of things – but what sort of message is it going to send out to our other contributing partners, considering AONBs importance, and the contribution they make to the Suffolk economy? I wish that the reduction could have been phased in with a full consultation. As it is there in black and white in today’s budget, I hope the Portfolio holder will reassure us that he will take no more from the AONBs for the duration of this administration.
