Leicestershire County Council Lib Dems

Just wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful New year.

The County Council’s budget will be announced on the 5th January - this will have detail on how the Conservatives plan to shave £70m off the budget. Watch this space for our initial reaction.

Also, we plan to launch a new website in the New Year - we have had over 30,000 visits this year and i thank all of you for you ongoing support and interest in our work.

Cheers!

Simon

Hi, i am also posting a copy of the letter that Don Wright Lib dem spokesman for Children and Young People, sent to the Cabinet at its meeting on Tuesday. This issue plus the care homes is definately going to make the Budget season (in January) alot more important.

Revised submission to Cabinet re. Melton Schools reorganisation 15 / 12 / 09

The Liberal Democrat Group makes the following submission to the Cabinet with regard to the proposed closure of King Edward VV School, Melton and asks that it be considered:

1.    A three-school plan for secondary school reorganisation in Melton was adopted by the Administration two years ago and came into full operation in September 2009. This occurred despite much uncertainty and doubt about whether forecasted pupil numbers could justify such a scheme.  2.    The phasing of new school building on the John Ferneley site and the major extensions and improvements on the Long Field site, in contrast to no refurbishment on the King Edward site, made a considerable impact on parental choice. Understandably many parents were drawn to the excellent new facilities being provided at John Ferneley and Long Field and these attractions have overshadowed the fact that King Edward VII, without the advantage of extra building, has made major and rapid improvement in performance under its new and strong leadership.

3.    In view of unbalanced pupil numbers the Administration is proposing closure of King Edward VII just 12 weeks after the start of the plan – a proposal that has led to massive public protest. Melton parents have seen how the process has become unfairly distorted and understand fully the unique value of King Edward VII to the town and its huge contribution over a hundred years and now to the education of its children. They demand a fairer deal for this school.

4.    King Edward VII can make a strong case for its retention at KS4 Level as detailed in the information published by its parent support group. King Edward VII has by far the strongest case for leadership and involvement in teaching and learning at the new Post-16 Centre. Putting the needs of learners first is, of course, a key principle but effective learning can only be achieved through using and employing the best and most experienced teachers at the appropriate levels and King Edward VII has them in abundance.

5.    Under the pressure of recent events the Melton Partnership has begun to weaken and schools have openly declared that they see a two-school solution as the way forward. This Darwinian struggle for survival and supremacy is severely damaging the good intentions of the original partnership and is no basis for sound decision-making.

6.    Accordingly the Liberal Democrat Group calls on the Administration to delay any decision on this matter to allow a further period of discussion and negotiation and to enable a satisfactory conclusion to be reached, under which all three Melton secondary schools continue to have a role to play in this reorganisation.

I have decided to post a copy of what my fellow County Councillor Alan Bailey sent to Cabinet yesterday. The ongoing problems that the Conservatives are experiecneing in trying to sell these care homes is starting to look silly.

SUPPORTED ACCOMMODATION FOR OLDER PEOPLE IN LEICESTERSHIRE 

I note that at their meeting on Tuesday15th December, the Cabinet are to consider a report from the Director of Adult Social Care and Health entitled “Supported Accommodation for Older People in Leicestershire”. I would be grateful if copies of this letter could be shown to the Cabinet Members so that my comments, below, can be considered before they take their decision on this item.

My comments are as follows:-

I have real concerns about the recommendation to transfer nine of the Council’s remaining in-house Elderly Persons Homes (EPHs) and associated day care services, with the option of closing one or more of the homes should  there be “not sufficient market interest” or  if “a transfer cannot be concluded following a full tender process”.

My concerns include the following:-

1)     It is a high risk strategy to offer TEN care homes for transfer/sale when it has recently proved impossible to transfer ‘only’ SIX homes. The paper to cabinet admits that “in the current economic climate there remains a risk of market uncertainty and potential for a transfer not to be completed” and that “the fact that other authorities in the East Midlands are also putting their homes on the market within a similar time scale increases the risk.”

2)     Since March, 2007, this will be the third attempt to sell or transfer some, or most, of the remaining in-house care homes. The previous two failed, the most recent in June, 2009 “because of the impact of the prevailing and unprecedented economic climate.” The economic climate is no better now that it was six months ago.

3)     Playing High Risk Strategies with the homes of elderly people is wrong, especially when the stated aim of the process is to make savings.

4)     I am concerned that having gone through almost three years of uncertainty our elderly care homes residents are once again having the future of their homes put in doubt.

5)     Just this week a LGiU policy briefing quoted the Care Quality Commission Quality of Care reports 2008-09 as stating that “Council owned …(residential and domiciliary care) ….. services perform best, and private sector services least well.” It also says:- “It is interesting to note that council owned services perform best – out-sourcing is not necessarily always the best solution.”

6)     Council run homes are popular with residents, their families and staff. The Councils’ own consultation results prove this.

7)     Although about 90% of the County Council’s residents in residential care are already in independent care homes we believe that the remaining council run homes, few though they are, offer an element of choice.

8 )     These drastic proposals regarding the homes for elderly people are being made simply for the reasons of finance. Greater weight should be given to the wishes of the residents.

I believe that we should be exploring further the opportunities for in-house savings. In the Director’s paper in June, 2009, it was reported that “during the course of the discussions with the consortium a number of more efficient working practices have been identified which, when fully implemented across the 10 in-house homes will make a contribution to achieving this” (required savings).  Have these been fully implemented?

Yours sincerely

Alan Bailey CC

Liberal Democrat Spokesman, Adult Social Care & Health

Following on from recent events in Melton, the County Lib Dems have produced an amendment for next Wednesday Full Council. My colleague Cllr Don Wright is leading on this and the press release shows what we are trying to acheive: 

“Cllr Don Wright, Lib Dem Spokesman on CYPS, said: “our amendment proposes a way forward. It highlights key, factual and relevant points that need to be addressed in response to the problems of pupil numbers in Melton’s schools. We believe that people in other areas due for reorganisation such as Loughborough need to be reassured that this doesn’t happen again. But we disagree with Labour on the need for an independent enquiry, which would be costly, drawn out and undermines the efforts of the Director of CYPS” 

Cllr Simon Galton, Leader of the Opposition said “Our amendment allows for a proper mechanism by involving the Council’s Scrutiny Committee so that the necessary lessons can be learnt from the Melton review. I am sorry to say that the Labour proposal is not realistic whilst our amendment will enable the issues to be examined in an open and democratic forum. After all that is what Overview and Scrutiny is for and I’m disappointed that Labour doesn’t seem to have confidence in the system.”  

“There are also more issues to consider than simply launching an enquiry. I recently attended a conference where I heard the Conservative Shadow minister for Local Government, Caroline Spelman talk about the pressures faced by local government. After hearing what she said, I have serious concerns that the ‘Building Schools for the Future’ fund could be abandoned after the general election.  This funding is what the Council is relying on to modernise and improve secondary schools across Leicestershire. Many education authorities have already benefited from millions of pounds of funding but Leicestershire was placed towards the end of the programme and it would be grossly unfair if Leicestershire’s young people lost out because of planned cuts in public spending by who ever wins the election.” 

“At the end of the day, education isn’t about numbers of pupils on an attendance sheet – it’s about individual young people who deserve the best possible education. We must not forget this and simply get stuck in petty political squabbles.” 

Just wanted to up date you on developments  in Harborough - on Monday night (23rd) i managed to write a successful motion that won the vote.  It has some important points on the Co-op’s Eco-Town- and this will hopefully be the one of the final nails in the coffin

The motion said:

“That this Council following a request for clarification from the Rural East Have Your Say meeting:

1. welcomes the decision by the Government not to shortlist the Co-Op’s Pennbury Eco-town near Stoughton in the first wave of sites in England
2. notes the reasons why Pennbury failed to meet the Government’s criteria reflects the concerns raised by Harborough District Council during two consultation exercises
3. notes that the Chief Executive has recently advised the Department of Communities and Local Government that the opportunity to bid for support for studies of further locations was discussed at the Housing, Planning and Infrastructure Group. This group comprises of representatives from all authorities in Leicester and Leicestershire. The outcome of the discussion was that we would not be making a bid for support. Accordingly no further work is planned to be undertaken by the Council at this time.
4. acknowledges that the decision to formally withdraw the bid is a matter for the Co-op not the Council
5. believes that the issue of housing development is best decided at a local level by democratically elected local authorities. “

Liberal Democrat Councillor Don Wright has commented on the County Council’s Cabinet decision regarding King EdwardVII School. 

He said: “The level of protest from the people of Melton, Opposition councillors and other interested parties was so high that the Conservatives have been forced into playing for time. Even the local Conservative councillor spoke in support of the retention of King Edward

The Conservatives have five weeks to dig themselves out of a big hole and they will need a very large shovel, we remain concerned that despite postponing the decision the Conservative administration will eventually reinstate their original proposal to close King Edward VII.”

Liberal Democrat Councillor Helen Loydall has presented a statement to the Councils Conservative Cabinet urging them to reinstate the subsidy for the No.45 Bus. 

She said: “this issue is one of those clear occasions where ordinary people will suffer because the council’s administration refuses to look at facts. They hide behind policies and strategies and suggest there are alternatives – but no one has looked at the impact the loss of this service will have had on ordinary peoples lives. 

People could lose their jobs, or find that their commute to work takes three hours and costs twice as much. For people on low incomes this is just not viable. The No.45 bus is a lifeline that is about to be severed – as these bus users become the first casualties in the Conservatives budget. I doubt that low council tax increases will be small comfort if they cannot work.  

But I am glad that I have fought for this, if only to highlight that this isn’t a simple party issue, at the scrutiny committee – it was Lib Dems that pushed to get the idea referred back for consideration but plenty of conservatives supported the idea, and in fact Conservative councillor Jennings suggestion to look for an alternative in a small operator to run a minibus was a fantastic idea.  

It is just a shame that the plight of real people gets drowned out in convenient policy statements.” 

Cllr Bill Boulter, deputy leader of the Lib Dem Group said: “I think Helen has done a fantastic job, she has pointed out the facts, gathered support and campaigned fairly. She is a real credit to her community. “ 

“Public Transport is too important to simply hack to bits – we all know the Conservatives have a difficult budget, and cuts are inevitable but we have to show awareness and compassion in the face of such difficult decisions, andthe ongoing aloofness of the Cabinet is something that makes this terrible decision all the worse.”

Hi all, please see my latest press release on a proposal by the conservatives to close King Edward School in Melton.

“Liberal Democrats on the County Council have voiced their concerns at yet another consultation that could see one of Leicestershire’s schools closed.

Leader of the Opposition Simon Galton (Lib Dem) said: “it has been barely a month since the Conservatives decided to look at closing Holmfield School in Leicester Forest East, now we have a proposal to close a secondary school in Melton. This sort of change costs money and will severely disrupt pupils already in attendance in those schools.

But more importantly is the sudden change in strategy so soon after a full review of schools organisation was carried out in the Melton area. Throughout the review the County Council’s Scrutiny Committee, as well as former Melton Councillor Matthew O’Callaghan, constantly warned that parents would ‘vote with their feet’ and abandon King Edward in favour of the other schools in the area – time and again this issue was raised and each time the Cabinet Leader member Cllr Ivan Ould refused to take the concerns seriously and poured scorn on those of us who dared to challenge it. Now we find that, as predicted, student numbers have plummeted and the Council have to try and salvage the situation with drastic action.

What I want to know is the cost, and anticipated disruption that this will cause. Firstly the cost to the Tax payer who is already being warned of reduced services in the face of planned Tory cuts over the next 3 years and secondly, the disruption to parents with children at the school.

It seems with this proposal and Holmfield primary school that the Conservatives only solution to their failures is to threaten closures and reorganisations. I am sure that parents and teachers in Loughborough will be feeling pretty anxious as their reorganisation looms on the horizon – how many more schools are to be closed there?”

Sorry it has been so long since my last post - i am currently looking into a new website for the county group!

I sent this press release out last week on housing - let me know what you think!!!

Liberal Democrat’s response to Regional assembly on Housing 

Liberal Democrats have welcomed the decision of the East Midlands Regional Assembly to formally requested Ministers to delay the review of the regional plan that could include increased housing targets. 

Cllr Simon Galton said: “Having attended the meeting I was impressed at how the planning board accepted a lot of the comments and concerns raised by the various submissions to the recent consultation. These concerns are similar to the ones we included in our response which calls for the regional plan review to be delayed and abandon future increases to the targets.  

Local councils are already struggling to find the land to allocate for 97,000 Homes under the agreed plan and the task isn’t going to get any easier. A review now would simply increase the targets without improving the means to achieve them. The Leicester Mercury reported weeks ago about the potential for another increase in targets and these are linked to figures which would have to be included in any review. It is simple, we must build houses but these targets are making the task harder because they keep going up!  

As a group we have continuously raised this issue and have campaigned for sensible locally driven approaches to housing and this could be such an opportunity.”

Commenting on George Osborne’s address to Tory party conference, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: 

“This set of deficit reduction proposals is Lib Dem Lite. The sum total amounts to nothing more than a drop in the ocean and will not deal with the structural deficit.

 “What is more, Osborne has in effect guaranteed that these policies will merely pave the way for a return to traditional Tory politics – hitting the public sector now to pay for tax cuts for millionaires later.

“Only the Liberal Democrats have made a commitment to bringing public spending under control whilst making taxes fairer across the board.”

A press release from my colleagues in Oadby & Wigston:  

Liberal Democrats have reacted angrily about the decision to impose a member of the Conservative group from North West Leicestershire on the Oadby & Wigston Highway Forum. 

Michael Charlesworth one of the Oadby County Councillors said: “I find this all very frustrating, the people of Oadby & Wigston voted overwhelmingly for the Liberal Democrats in the recent

At yesterday’s full council Meeting, me and my fellow Liberal Democrats challenged the Tory administration to abandon its dogged pursuit of Zero Council Tax increases and consider all options. a copy of my quote to the press is below:

“It seems to me narrow minded and plain silly to just keep banging on about a Council Tax policy that relies totally upon a future Conservative Government being able to find the cash to give us the money we need to protect services. With public sector debt so high and the economy still struggling such promises are likely to be unrealistic (this is something I have discussed with Vince Cable).

Unlike the Conservatives we have not made our minds up on the budget – we are open minded but principled. Many Conservatives on the other hand seem to be relishing another round of cutting public services provided by local government and centralising power.  We are concerned that every budget cut and each member of staff made redundant, will affect essential services to the people of Leicestershire, especially the elderly and vulnerable. The Liberal Democrat Group will not stand by and allow vital services to be sacrificed on the alter of zero council tax.  

The Conservatives attempt to portray the Liberal Democrats as wanting to increase taxes is a diversion tactic because once again they want to suppress debate. Before any decisions are made about where the axe is going to fall, we want all options to be given to the people of Leicestershire and a proper debate to take place about how to meet the £70m shortfall in the Council’s budget over the next few years.     

Times are hard, but the continual empty rhetoric of the Conservatives is putting Council services at risk simply to keep a promise that they may not be able to fulfil.”

In the wake of the recession, the world has changed significantly and many of the old assumptions no longer apply. Given the state of public finances it would be dishonest for any party to go into the election with a long shopping list of pledges and not say how they can be afforded. What we need now is clear, open and honest policies to rectify the mistakes of Labour and avoid the Con of the Conservatives. I beleive that the Liberal Demcorats can do this and below sets out some of the reasons why.

• Britain is facing very difficult challenges and will do for many years: young people out of work, broken politics, climate change spinning out of control, poor housing, civil liberties under threat.
• Labour’s time is up and they’ve let you down. The Liberal Democrats are the only strong progressive voice in British politics. We have already taken over from Labour as the leading progressive party in the battle of ideas.
• The Tories simply believe that it’s their turn. They just say what they think people want to hear. You don’t know where they really stand. Arrogance without conviction. They offer phoney change, not real change.
• The Lib Dems have been straight about the difficult choices we face, even when it hasn’t been popular to speak out: on Iraq, the environment, the looming recession, Northern Rock, political reform, the Speaker, the Ghurkhas, Trident and Afghanistan. On all these issues and more, we’ve been prepared to speak out when others have remained silent.
• That’s how we’re different from the others. That’s why we offer different, straight answers: fairer taxes, a country fit for all children, green jobs, a total clean-up of Westminster.

The next government will have to make hard choices about spending. The Liberal Democrats would go about making those choices to:

• Create a sustainable economy: Putting people back to work through investment in green economic growth; breaking up banks so that the risks they take never again jeopardise the whole economy.
• Build a fair society: The best start for every child – so that young people do not pay the price for mistakes made today, through smaller class sizes, extra help for children struggling at school, cutting student debt, training and jobs for young people.
• Clean up Politics: Cleaning up Westminster – to stop Labour and Tories going back to business as usual after the expenses scandal; Fair votes – so that every vote counts and safe seats are a thing of the past.

And we will cut taxes for people on middle and low incomes – so that no one pays a penny on income tax on the first £10K they earn – paid for from green taxes and closing the loopholes for the very rich.

Recently the County Council announced a plan to save £70m off hte bdget through a combination of efficiency savings (doing what the council does cheaper) and the rest through a combination of service reductions (cuts) and possible redunacies (future cuts). below is a copy of the press release the Lib Dems released:

 Liberal Democrats have responded to the County Councils’ announcement of a £70 Million target for savings up to 2014.

Simon Galton, Group Leader said: “this report is something that we have feared, but knew was emerging. The simple fact is that the recession and national debt have created a toxic situation for local councils. With people needing more services but councils faced with receiving less money the position is incredibly difficult.

I am relieved that this report has emerged at such an early stage, and it demonstrates an act of good faith on behalf of the Conservative administration to allow complete involvement of opposition political groups, key stakeholders and the public in working on this very difficult task.  Obviously, I am concerned at the potential for service reductions on top of efficiency savings, but Liberal Democrats recognise that the budget has to be balanced – and we can only do what we can afford. I hope that all political groups will be involved in these discussions to work towards consensus– ensuring we balance our financial need with our responsibility to serve the people.  

On the issue of possible job cuts and redundancies, I am hoping that in most cases they will be a last resort after restructuring, service improvements and managing vacancies. I would argue we should start by going back over things like the office strategy to ensure that we save every penny we can first. This is a horrible time for council staff that have mortgages and loans like everyone else and I hope that alternatives can be found to limit the loss of staff which will inevitably reduce services further.  

I would also add that I am concerned at the continued pursuit of the 0% council tax which the Conservatives promised during the recent county council elections. I recognise that the public may feel that this is an appropriate response in these hard times, but we must strike a balance. Over 70% of our budget comes from council tax, and the loss of money from the Government coupled with increasing costs must not be forgotten. I am all for keeping rates as low as possible but if the obsession with 0% Council tax is relentlessly pursued it could exacerbate the impact on vital services and cause more essential staff to be lost. We must therefore question whether it is sensible to carry on planning for 0% when a conservative government couldn’t afford it or it could further undermine key services”

Dear all, Having spent a while reading through the documents and statements following the Governments announcement on eco-towns two weeks ago – I thought I would do an update on the actual situation.  

First things first, I think we should all be pleased with the fact that Pennbury didn’t make the primary list of eco-towns to be built. This must be in no small part to the tremendous effort of all campaigners and those of us who responded to every consultation and public meeting.   A further victory can be found in the fact that Pennbury didn’t make the reserve list. In fact, Pennbury is on a list that can only be described as ‘neither here nor there’, which is unfortunately part of its danger. Having conducted some research I am afraid to say that the announcement has not removed the danger of Pennbury, but has increased the likelihood that the Co-op may well withdraw it. 

The Planning Policy Statement: Eco-towns that contains the assorted lists, allows for future eco-towns to be applied for directly through the planning system, as well as being considered in the various regional planning documents local government produce. Therefore it is still technically possible for Pennbury to continue – either in its current location or moved elsewhere in the county in the future.   Now, I don’t wish to be blamed as a prophet of doom, everyone has achieved a lot by preventing Pennbury being on the list, but I do believe we may need to face up to the reality that this town could easily rear its ugly head again in the future, the question is if so when?  Simon

Dear All,

I have just heard that the Government may well be planning to announce the Eco-towns list tomorrow morning! As soon as i can i will put our reaction up here for you!

 ill keep you posted,

Simon

Dear all,

 Sorry for the long amount of time without a post.

Following the recent reforms of Scrutiny by the Conservatives, i have decided to establish a Shadow Cabinet to properly represent the opposition and ensure that our contributions to the Overview & Scrutiny in the Council is proffessional and effecitive.

Shadow Cabinet Positions:

• Simon Galton – Leader of the Group, Chair of Scrutiny, Spokesman on Housing & Regional Planning and the economy

• Bill Boulter– Deputy Leader and Shadow Member for Waste

• Michael Charlesworth – Whip and Shadow Member for Communities

• Keith Lynch – Shadow Member for Finance & Resources

• Sarah Hill – Shadow Member for Climate Change

• David Bill – Shadow Member for Highways and Transportation

• Alan Bailey – Shadow member for Adult Social Care and Health

• Don Wright – Shadow member for Children and Young People’s Service

• Helen Loydall – Shadow Member for Community Safety  

• Mike Griffiths – Chairmen of the Shadow Cabinet

• Stuart Bray – County Group Campaigns Co-ordinator

Dear All,

 i just wanted to say a big thank-you fro everyone who voted Lib Dem last Thursday - we are now the official opposition to the Conservatives at County Hall with 14 Councillors.

 I also want to thank those hard working Lib Dem activists who made this all possible - well done!

Dear all,

 I am writing to inform you of an article in todays Leicester Mercury that alleges that Senior Conservative County Councillors have possibly engaged in electoral fraud and have been reported to the police. The piece quotes the Liberal Democrats, but i must emphasise that these are allegations only.

What i would say is that at the current time, when the people are feeling betrayed by their MP’s over expenses and the Government over empty promises - the possibility of senior local Politicians engaging in something like electoral fraud is troubling indeed and will need careful consideration before and after the election.

The article is available at: http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Police-probe-allegation-election-dirty-tricks/article-1017451-detail/article.html

I will update you with information as i get it.

I am pleased to announce that the Liberal Democrat County manifesto for the June 2009 has been released. Thanks for everyone who has contacted us with ideas and contributions.

Below is our ‘Pledges for Leicestershire’ and the full manifesto is availble from the links on the left side of the page.

Simon

Our Pledges for Leicestershire 

• We will devolve many decisions (as appropriate) to Local Forums and allow the local Councillors to engage with their communities to make the decisions that will affect them

• We will continue to campaign against centrally imposed housing targets – with a clear emphasis on protecting

  Greenfield land & regenerating Brownfield sites

• We will start a committed recruitment drive to bring in Youth & Community workers to provide support and guidance to young people.

• We will halt the above inflation increase in charges for Home Care introduced by the Conservative administration over the last few years. (The Home Care hourly charge rose from £6 to £8.40 (40%) from 2005/06 to 2008/09).

• We will work with local businesses to preserve jobs and maintain workforce skills.

• We will re-establish the ‘Community Plus’ budget to support Community Associations in a fair and transparent way

• We will set ambitious recycling targets for household waste of at least 65%. And pursue alternative technologies for waste disposal rather than rely on mass scale incineration.

• We will get tough on anti-social behaviour across Leicestershire.  We will expand the work of the IMPACT teams to combat anti-social behaviour

• We will always focus on getting good quality services – not wasting tax payer’s money on gimmicks and pet projects.

Hi all,

 Sorry there has not been a post for a while, i have been snowed under with preparing the manifesto and a consultation response on ecotowns - its been pretty hectic.

However i can reveal that our manifesto will be released next week, and a copy will go on the website (if possible) or at least the main points. We had hoped to get it out sooner but the Governments Budget meant we decided to revisit some sections. I don’t particularly trust the government not to dump all of these ‘efficeincy savings’ on us, and with the recession getting worse - we thought our manifesto could do with some tweeking to ensure we can actually achieve what we say.

Responding to Alistair Darling’s Budget, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said:  
 
“Today we got a pick and mix Budget of recycled announcements from a government skilled in raising people’s hopes but incompetent at actually delivering help. 

“This Budget is a political supermarket sweep of random promises, without even a hint of a plan or any likelihood the promises will be put into practice. 

“The biggest disappointment in this Budget is its failure to sort out

The Liberal Democrats will fight the next general election with a pledge to cut income tax bills by £700 for people on low and middle incomes, Nick Clegg revealed today. The party will promise to raise the income tax personal allowance to £10,000 by closing tax loopholes exploited by big businesses and the wealthy.  

Speaking today, Nick Clegg said: “These plans will give money back to the people who really need it at the time when they need it most. “It is time to end the unfairness that sees big businesses and the wealthy treating taxes as something to be easily avoided, leaving everybody else to pay out. 

“For too long governments have been letting companies stash their money in offshore tax havens while taxpayers are left to foot the bill. “Over time a tax system has developed that creates loopholes for the wealthy and does nothing for those who really need help. 

“People who say there isn’t enough money to make our tax system fair are wrong. Our plans wouldn’t add a penny to the overall tax burden, but they would spread that burden far more fairly.  “Far from making this reform difficult, tight Government finances and a harsh recession make it absolutely vital. It will help millions of low and middle income taxpayers who are most likely to spend money so helping the wider economy. “The Liberal Democrats will create a fundamentally rebalanced system that is fair for all, putting hundreds of pounds back into the pockets of millions of British people, and taking four million out of paying tax altogether.” 

Notes for information Raising the personal allowance to £10,000 for all people will mean that those on the standard personal allowance will see an increase in their allowance of £3,525 in 2009/10; this will give an effective tax cut of £705 to anyone earning over £10,000 . 

Raising the personal allowance will take approximately four million people out income tax altogether: <http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/menu.htm> 

Measures which will be used to pay for this proposed increase in the personal allowance include:·

• Restricting tax relief on pension contributions to the basic rate ·
• Taxing Capital Gains at marginal income tax rates, allowing for indexation and retirement relief
• Tackling Stamp
  Duty,
  Land Tax avoidance and Corporation Tax avoidance·
• Subjecting benefits in kind to National Insurance Contributions as well as income tax and applying National Insurance to multiple jobs·
• Switching aviation taxes from per person to per plane and increasing taxation on non lifeline domestic flights. Full details of the costing of this tax package will be released in advance of the General Election based on latest HMRC estimates.

Following an intense debate on the issues of housing in the last County Council meeting before the elections in June, a Liberal Democrat amendment was agreed with all parties and moved with unanimous approval. Simon Galton Leader of the Lib Dem Group said: “I am delighted – after a very passionate debate on housing numbers and provision through the regional plan, it became clear that our amendment offered the most common ground for agreement. With some slight alterations, the amendment was passed and a forceful stance on housing issues has been achieved.” 

A copy of the passed amendment is below: 

County Council Meeting – 25^th March 2009   An amendment will be moved by Mr S. Galton    and seconded by  Mr Parsons    All of the words after first bullet point in paragraph a) of the motion be deleted and the following inserted In their place: 

•  The Prime Minister stated his intention that 3 Million homes are provided across England up to 2020 is no longer achievable.

•  The underline principles of the plan led system which involves local communities and is meant to give certainty about the amount of development which will take place is right but the top down process whereby Central Government imposes housing numbers is denying local people proper involvement and results in excessive amounts of Greenfield land being allocated for development.

•  That a further partial review of housing numbers and the legislation currently before Parliament will give Council Leaders on the proposed Leaders Board a key role in determining future housing numbers.

 All of the words after ‘b) That, accordingly, this Council’ be deleted and the following inserted:  

• Urges the Government to abandon nationally imposed housing targets based on population assumptions, abolish the NHPAU and introduce a system which allows Councils to plan for the needs of their communities in genuine consultation with local people and by working in partnership with other authorities

• Urges all members to attend the “Meeting the Local Housing Challenge” conference to be held 27^th March 2009 to allow members to explore possible solutions to the housing crisis and requests the 3 Leaders to meet as soon as possible after the conference to give consideration to any proposals which come forward with a view to the County Council exercising its community leadership role to address the housing situation through cross party co-operation;

• Urges District Councils in preparing their LDF’s to protect existing green wedges and open space and consider extensions 

• Believes that the polices in the adopted RSS of urban concentration and regeneration remain the right priorities and urges district councils and Leicester City Council  to encourage the redevelopment of Brownfield sites to minimise the use of Greenfield land

• The privatisation of the employment service and social fund:   The Liberal Democrats are not opposed to contracting out employment services per se, but examples from abroad suggest that private companies tend to cream the easier-to-help clients off the top and ‘park’ the most challenging cases, so that the people most in need of support do not receive it.  We are also concerned that the process does not involve a level playing field: Jobcentre Plus itself is not allowed to bid, and smaller voluntary and third-sector organisations, who often understand the clients’ needs very well, are crowded out by big multinational private organisations.  These organisations tend to pay lower wages to their staff and experience higher rates of staff turnover, which in turn has a detrimental effect on those that they are supposed to be supporting into work.  On the subject of the Social Fund, it is far from certain that any company would wish to take it on in the current economic environment. 

• Work for your benefit schemes:  ‘Work for your benefit’ involves people working for up to £4 less than the minimum wage^[1], which is completely unacceptable.  This measure will not effectively target ‘scroungers’ but will hurt those who already face the most significant barriers to work, such as those with disabilities or mental health issues.  The Government’s own research into similar ‘workfare’ schemes in the USA, Canada and
  Australia found little evidence that it increased the likelihood of finding work, and that it is least effective within weak labour markets with high unemployment; a situation that we are increasingly facing in the
  UK. 

• The abolition of income support:  We support the introduction of a single working-age benefit but this is not the way to do it.  Such a benefit needs it needs designing, modelling and piloting.  The Government claims that its reforms will simplify the system but simply moving people from one benefit to another, or changing the name of a benefit, just adds to the complexity and confusion, and we have concerns that people will lose out under these changes. 

• Cutting the benefits of single parents, carers and those with long-term illness:  The Bill would abolish all new claims for adult dependency additions on Maternity and Carer’s Allowance.  It would also phase out the additions for those already receiving Carer’s Allowance.  We are concerned that some of the most vulnerable people will see their incomes fall, and we have tried to remove these provisions from the Bill.  

• Requiring all parents of young children to seek work:  We do not support measures to compel lone parents with children under school age to undertake ‘work-related activity’. The Government clearly regards raising young children as a second class activity and these measures would place decisions about child care and child rearing into the hands of Jobcentre Advisers rather than the parents.  We tabled an amendment to the Bill that would have ensured that parents with children under the age of 7 would not have to carry out any work-related activity.   We would also want an assurance that appropriate and affordable childcare was made available across the country before the Government makes work-related activity a condition for lone parents to receive benefit.
  

[1] Estimate used by Citizens Advice and CPAG is that people may be forced to work for as little as £1.73 per hour, compared with the minimum wage of £5.73 per hour

Here is something to clarify the parties stance on the new climate change targets the Labour government will obviously write and ignore (not much point mentioning the Tories the only thing green in their party is in the Logo). As a party we have always been committed to envrionmental issues - and here is the proof:

Recent scientific studies have shown that climate change is an even greater threat than was understood even two or three years ago. The government now has a duty to react accordingly.   Liberal Democrats have always argued that targets for carbon emissions reductions must be based on science not on politics. We therefore support the Friends of the Earth campaign for the immediate adoption of a 42% reduction target by 2020.  

Liberal Democrats want to create a zero carbon Britain by 2050. In the Climate Change Act 2008 the government committed to an 80% emissions reduction target. Although we think the government could be more ambitious, the key now, as you make clear, is to establish a clear pathway to reaching that target.  Targets mean nothing without action to meet them. On April 22, at the same time as the most important Budget in living memory, Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will make an announcement about the first three, five year carbon budgets for the period up to 2022.   The introduction of carbon budgets is a welcome step. The full details of the first three carbon budgets will be announced in the summer, but the April announcement will set the tone. The carbon budgets must be ambitious. If they are not, we are in danger of being locked into high carbon emissions that we cannot afford. This will be much more expensive to correct, both environmentally and financially, after 2020.   That is why Liberal Democrats have proposed action now to address climate change. In these extraordinarily difficult times we are presented with an opportunity to rebuild our economy on green foundations.

Instead of the temporary VAT cut which is wasting £1 billion every month, Liberal Democrats would use those resources on immediate green measures, including plans to build 40,000 new zero carbon social homes, insulating our hospitals and schools and extending our national railway network.  In addition, Liberal Democrats have recently announced an ambitious programme to make every home in Britain energy efficient within ten years. Domestic households account for 27% of national carbon emissions. Yet less than 1% of Britain’s homes meet the energy efficiency standard. Inefficiency is costing households hundreds of pounds each year and adding hugely to our carbon footprint. A national programme to deliver change is needed urgently and we will continue to campaign for government action.  

The Liberal Democrat’s support an ambitious carbon emissions target for 2020 and beyond, we understand that our economic and environmental crises are linked. We will plan for the long-term by proposing action now to rebuild our economy on green foundations.

I thought you might like to hear about Liberal Democrat proposals for the G20 summit in

When i started this website it was my intention to use it to allow the public to keep up to date with the work of local Lib Dems on key issues.

 We have now uploaded three major documents to the Website - two of them are responses to Government Consultation on the Ecotown and the Third is a policy regarding waste treatment.

Now i know these don’t seem the most glamorous of reads but they are part of us being an open group - these are documents we have researched and produced as part of our wider work as an opposition group. You can access them through the page links on the left column.

Here is the link for the Harborough Mail video interview & coverage of Vince Cable’s visit - we were also lucky enough to get coverage from BBC radio and News as well as  ITV, which appeared last night. 

http://www.harboroughmail.co.uk/mail-videos/VIDEO-Economics-expert-Vince-Cable.5093957.jp

In the video - Vince discusses the purpose of his visit but also comments on the ‘fundamental’ flaws of the proposed Eco-Town.

Once again, i think it was fantastic that Vince visited the County and i am sure that he will come back in the future.

Simon

Local Liberal Democrats are pleased to announce that Dr Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, is to visit the County on Thursday.

Dr Cable will be attending a meeting with local business leaders in Mkt. Harborough before visiting the site of the proposed Eco-Town ‘Pennbury’. 

Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Simon Galton said “I am very much looking forward to the visit by Dr Cable. He is a much respected politician and commentator and his presence in Leicestershire highlights the importance of the County on key national issues.”   Brief Itinerary for eco-town site visit: 

14:40: Leave Business forum Mkt Harborough  

15:00: Arrive at proposed Eco-Town Site (meet & Greet plus press questions/interview) 

15:50-16:00: Depart site to return to Mkt. Harborough 

16:45: Depart Mkt Harborough Train Station for

Now the budget is “done and dusted” (with Lib Dems being the only councillors to vote against it), it seems that now is the time to explain our position, bearing in mind the difficulties we face with a Tory majority in the Council Chamber 

Why did we vote against the Budget? Well for one thing we don’t believe that enough provision has been made to prepare for the recession. The council tax rate has been paid for using a low inflation model – costing £1.5 million but very susceptible to increases in inflation next year. But the other reason was the blatant politics by the Conservatives over home care charges. 

Liberal Democrats have consistently campaigned over the last four years against the huge above inflation rises for care charges. But only this year have Conservative “back bench” councillors spoken out for a “lower” increase. The original cabinet proposal was for a rise in home care charges this year of 4.76%. But this was reduced to inflation levels (2.4%) after all councillors (including Conservatives) on a scrutiny committee sent it back to cabinet for reconsideration. Let’s look at the record of increases in home care charges under this Conservative administration over the last four years: 

• 2006/07:       20% Increase
• 2007/08:       5.6% Increase
• 2008/09:       10.5% Increase
• 2009/10:       2.4% Increase

These rises amount to a 40% increase even before this year’s inflation rise. 

As we can see, the Conservative back benchers have never cared before, so why have these Tory councillors complained this year and not in the three previous years when the rises were much higher?  In the 2007/08 budget the Conservatives voted down an amendment that would have scrapped the increase for that year. Such an inconsistent stance on this issue does not fill us with confidence that this has anything to do with helping people and not just to help with their elections later this year. 

Even if they are genuine what the Conservatives have yet to do is explain to the people of Leicestershire, why the sudden change of heart? Is it just an election gimmick?  

The Lib Dems welcome this year’s u-turn by the Tories but the crucial question now is what the Tories are going to do in future years bearing in mind their record of voting for massive increases in charges in previous years.  

Perhaps Mr Sprason would like to tell the public whether this is a one off or can we look forward to Conservative support in keeping future increases to inflation.

Liberal Democrats in Leicestershire have welcomed plans to boost affordable housing and avoid home repossession.

The plans, launched by the Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable MP and Shadow Housing Minister Sarah Teather MP, include:

• providing refurbishment loans for owners of empty homes if the homes are leased to housing associations,
• boosting the amount of private housing for rent including using empty commercial property temporarily as housing,
• bringing in a new type of secure mortgage to help boost lending to house buyers,
• letting councils and housing associations buy up unsold private houses and allowing them access to funds to bring them homes up to social housing standards,
• making sure the courts allow repossession only as a last resort.

Simon Galton said, “Many people in Leicestershire are struggling to get their own home or are facing repossession because of the recession. We must do all we can to help residents through these bad times.

“Giving housing associations and councils the opportunity to buy up empty homes that builders cannot sell will mean hundreds of local families will be able to rent a place of their own. In Leicestershire alone there are at least 4, 590 empty properties, in Leicester City there are 5,580; if all of these homes where brought back into use it would drastically cut the number of people waiting on the housing lists.”

The ICE (In Case of Emergency) initiative highlights an easy way to identify crucial contact numbers in emergency situations – which can actually save lives.We all carry our mobiles with names and numbers stored in its memory. If we were involved in an accident or taken seriously ill, how would emergency services staff know which of the numbers to call?Mobile phone users are urged to store the number of a person or persons who should be contacted in emergency under the name ‘ICE’. In an emergency situation, those personnel attending a patient who may not be conscious would quickly be able to contact the right person by simply dialling the number stored as ‘ICE’.All emergency services support the ICE initiative.

This notice was highlighted by Leicestershire County Council

The Leader of the Liberal Democrats in local government, Cllr Richard Kemp has welcomed the direction of the Tory proposals for local government, but has cited four major concerns. “This is a wholesale repudiation of the Thatcher and Major governments which stripped councils of their power and finance and made them into puppets of central government, but the plans lack substance in 4 areas”. 

1.  They do nothing to correct the imbalance between central and local funding. Whilst central government supplies up to 80% of the money spent by local government they will continue to call the tune asserting national priorities over local ones. They have similarly chickened out of tackling the way we raise money locally by keeping in place the grossly unfair Council Tax whilst we would propose a fair local income tax.

2.  They have learned nothing about local mayors. Some Mayors, and of course our own in Watford, have been successful. And where people decide that they want a mayor they already have the right to elect one. But of the 12 elected mayoral systems in

   England two are in deep trouble with Stoke already voting to end their mayoral system. If the same proportion of councils generally were in trouble there would be aid teams outside 38 Town Halls today 

3.  They have learned nothing about regionalism. They are, of course, right to rail against the bureaucracies of unelected regional government. But to suggest that employment, housing, transport and planning matters stop at the boundary of each council is ludicrous. Councils must and do work together and should be empowered themselves to develop sub regional and regional frameworks.

4. Proposals for elected commissioners for the Police are deeply scary. Most people believe that the head of the Police should be a serving and experienced police officer. Although the green paper does not define what an elected commissioner would do there would be no point in having such a position if that person were unable to radically change policing policy and operational policing activity. 

Cllr Kemp added: “In these proposals the Tory MPs are clearly not listening to their own councillors who would support many of these points especially the one about police commissioners. In particular they have shown that they know little about urban government with many major urban councils like Liverpool,

Commenting on today’s Conservative local government proposals, Liberal Democrat Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, Julia Goldsworthy said:“Rather than being radical, many of these proposals could have been copied straight from the Government’s agenda.

“The Tories only talk about localism when it suits them, and when they do they think it makes sense to force elected mayors on cities hand picked from Westminster.

“What this makes clear is that the Tories, like the Government, have no intention of reforming the grossly unfair Council Tax that they created. Rather than tinkering, the whole system should be scrapped and replaced with a fair tax based on the ability to pay.”

PLANS by the Liberal Democrats to massively increase the energy efficiency of all homes will lead to big savings in energy bills, say Liberal Democrats in Leicestershire. 

Lib Dem Envrionment Spokesman  Bill Boulter CC has backed the plans to raise the standard of home energy efficiency. 

“The energy efficiency standards of 99 out of every 100 homes fall well below what they should be,” said Councillor Boulter. “Nearly every one of us is spending money on bills to heat the great outdoors as so much energy escapes from our homes. 

“We want to bring home energy efficiency up to the highest level possible. In the past year, fuel bills have gone through the roof. But too often, our heat is escaping through the roof as well. Our plans will put an end to that. 

”By cutting energy waste, we are also cutting the damage we do to the environment. It’s a win-win situation: lower fuel bills and fewer emissions that are leading to climate change that has given us extreme weather.” 

The Liberal Democrats’ plans include requiring energy companies to use some of the £9 billion profit they have made from emissions trading to insulate the homes of the poorest residents. 

They will also set up a National Green Loans scheme which will pay for a complete overhaul of the energy efficiency of people’s homes. Repayments will be added to energy bills with the loan paid off from the savings in energy use. Loan repayments will not be allowed to be more than the savings. 

“This is a great idea for helping people to cut their energy bills and a great example of how Liberal Democrats work all year round developing real solutions to help local people,” said Bill Boulter.

Today’s article in the Leicester Mercury: http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/politics/Cost-road-gritting-rises-500-000/article-692216-detail/article.html

As the article shows the recent harsh weather has ended up costing tax payers more, for grit that Council staff feel is inferior and forcing staff to work longer. Essentially what is the logic in seeking to take more money out if the winters are going to get worse?  

Following the cabinet meeting today, I have welcomed the changes of stance over Home Care charges but cast some of my doubts over the council tax reduction. See below  

 “We have been hoping for this. The reduction of the proposed increase in home care charges is welcomed but I would stress that the Lib Dems have been calling for this for several years and have long highlighted the effects that above inflation charges have upon service users. This reduction breifly delays continuation of the year on year increases which elderly and vulnerable people have been required to pay under successive Conservative budgets. 

However, I am afraid that the reduction in the council tax increase is still viewed by us as merely a symbolic gesture. The Conservative administration believes that by doing this, the residents of Leicestershire will be grateful for their benevolence. 

Unfortunately I don’t see how such a small change in council tax does anything else other than take money out of the budget which will be under increasing pressure in future years. Lib Dems recognize the hardships that families are facing, and know only too well the burden of council tax. But as always with Conservative proposals, the devil is in the detail. A reduction from 3.5% to 2.9% in Council Tax is equivalent to giving a Typical Band D property receiving £6 for the whole year. For a family of four, a pensioner or someone struggling with massive personal debt that equals 12 pence a week. That’s not benevolent its shameful positioning ahead of the elections this summer.   This money could be much better used to actually help during the worst recession in living memory, Lib Dems don’t want higher taxes, we want Local government to be sensible and effective – this Council tax stunt does neither.”

Having checked our figures again it appears we double counted the actual saving for winter maintenance, the actual saving for 2009/10 is £215,000 which is bad enough but this already includes the £136,110 we highlighted separately. I am sorry for the mistake, but the point is the same - money is still being taken out of winter maintenance.  

Following the most extreme winter weather in recent memory, Liberal Democrat County Councillors have highlighted a contradiction in the Conservatives approach to the Budget in terms of Highways provision and winter maintenance. 

A shocking dossier from the Liberal Democrats has revealed just some of the ways our taxes are being wasted on extravagant and incompetent projects.

Despite the hardship many local families and residents face, Labour found £130 million to refurbish the Ministry of Justice’s office, £29 million to build accommodation for asylum seekers which was never built, £7 million for chauffeur-driven cars for ministers in just one year - and £50,000 for a party to which only 20 guests were invited!

A massive £13 billion has also been spent on an NHS records system which doesn’t work.

How our money is wasted

* £13 billion on an NHS record system that is a complete failure
* £130 million on refurbishing Ministry of Justice offices
* £81 million on a Department of Transport economy drive that was supposed to save £57 million
* £29 million on accommodation for asylum seekers that was never built
* £265.8 million the amount the government spent on advertising, marketing and public relations in 2007/8, an increase of £197.2 million since 1997-98
* £200 million wasted over the past five years on IT projects that were never completed
* £7 million on chauffeur driven cars for ministers in one year
* £28.78 million in rent for unoccupied houses for soldiers and their families
* £330 million overspent by government departments on their premises
* £4.2 million by the Government’s Qualifications & Curriculum Authority on hotel rooms in an 18 month period
* £50,000 on a party to which only 20 guests were invited
* £2,000 each on image and public speaking training for Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Culture Secretary Andy Burnham

 I have just put the following press statement out on the Conservatives proposed Council Tax reduction - i think it is just plain wrong to try and suggest that saving £6.12 for each household PER YEAR  would make any difference to the thousands who are struggling in Leicesteshire:

 ”Following the announcement that the Conservative Administration is considering a reduction in Council Tax rises from 3.5% to 2.9% - Liberal Democrat Group Leader Simon Galton has attacked the proposals as cynical and Short-term’  He said: “I cannot quite believe that Mr. Parsons and the Conservatives could be quite so sure that people will believe that they are serious about helping people through the recession when they offer a household a saving of £6.12 on their annual council tax bill.  

Do the Conservatives really believe that £6.12 will stimulate the local economy, save jobs and pay down the national debt? This is a cynical short term, publicity stunt to try and convince the people of Leicestershire that the Conservatives actually care about them in the recession.   The simple reality is that £6.12 per Household will not save jobs and it won’t protect frontline services – it will simply take money out of the budget. The Liberal Democrats believe that any responsible authority would look at the complete disarray of the Labour Government and seek too take a long term view that protects the interests of the tax-payers and the services to those in desperate need; long after the budget and the County Council elections in June. The people of Leicestershire need to keep services that will protect pensioners, educate our children and develop our local economy – we don’t need a cynical ‘bribe’ that will barely feed a family of four for one meal.”

 Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg today announced his team for the next General Election.

He said: “I am proud to lead the best front-bench team in British politics, a team which has consistently been ahead of the curve on the big debates that matter to the British people. “This team leaves the Liberal Democrats well placed to take the fight to both Labour and the Conservatives in the run-up to the General Election and to bring about the change that Britain needs.” The new roles are:

• Simon Hughes Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

• Steve Webb Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

• David Heath Shadow Leader of the House

• Jenny Willott Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

• David Howarth Shadow Secretary of State for Justice

• Susan Kramer has chosen to leave the shadow cabinet to take up a new role leading the party’s campaign against the expansion of Heathrow Airport.

• Nick Clegg is also creating an economic recovery group to co-ordinate the party’s ongoing response to the recession

• Nick Clegg has asked Lynne Featherstone to oversee the party’s online campaigning as Chair of the New Technology Board.

• John Sharkey, the Leader’s adviser on strategic communications, is appointed Deputy Chair of the General Election campaign. He will work closely with Lord Rennard, Chair of the General Election campaign, and Chris Fox, the party’s new Director of Policy and Communications. 

• Lord Wallace of Tankerness, former Deputy First Minister of Scotland, has been appointed to advise on the party’s engagement with senior civil servants

Here is the latest from Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg on the wider issues surrounding the Palestinian/Israel Crisis:

“Brown has to stop sitting on his hands, halt British weapons exports and insist the EU do the same 

The world watched in horror yesterday as the conflict in Gaza claimed its latest innocent victims in the rubble of a UN school. Any hopes of reconciliation are being snuffed out as anger spills into protests around the world. 

The past two weeks have been a telling indictment of the international community. We have an outgoing US president sanctioning Israel’s military response and an aching silence from the president-elect. We have a European Union encumbered by clumsy decision-making and confused messages. And at home we have a prime minister talking like an accountant about aid earmarked for Gaza without once saying anything meaningful about the conflict’s origins. Gordon Brown, like Tony Blair, has made British foreign policy effectively subservient to Washington. But waiting for a change of heart in Washington is intolerable given the human cost. 

Of course, Israel has every right to defend itself. It is difficult to imagine what it must be like to live with the constant threat of rocket attacks from a movement which espouses terrorist violence and denies Israel’s right to exist. But Israel’s approach is self-defeating: the overwhelming use of force, the unacceptable loss of civilian lives, is radicalising moderate opinion among Palestinians and throughout the Arab world. Anger in the West Bank will make it virtually impossible for Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, to continue to talk to Israeli ministers. 

Brown must stop sitting on his hands. He must condemn unambiguously Israel’s tactics, just as he has rightly condemned Hamas’s rocket attacks. Then he must lead the EU into using its economic and diplomatic leverage in the region to broker peace. The EU is by far Israel’s biggest export market, and by far the biggest donor to the Palestinians. It must immediately suspend the proposed new cooperation agreement with Israel until things change in Gaza, and apply tough conditions on any long-term assistance to the Palestinian community. Brown must also halt Britain’s arms exports to Israel, and persuade our EU counterparts to do the same. The government’s own figures show Britain is selling more and more weapons to Israel, despite the questions about the country’s use of force. In 2007, our government approved £6m of arms exports.

In 2008, it licensed sales 12 times as fast: £20m in the first three months alone. There is a strong case that, given the Gaza conflict, any military exports contravene EU licensing criteria. Reports, though denied, that Israel is using illegal cluster munitions and white phosphorus should heighten our caution. I want an immediate suspension of all arms exports from the EU, but if that cannot be secured, Brown must act unilaterally. Finally, the world’s leaders must accept that their response to the election of Hamas has been a strategic failure. The removal of the EU presence on the Egypt border in response to Hamas’s election, for example, has made it easier for the rockets being fired at Israel to get into Gaza in the first place. An EU mission with a serious mandate and backing from Egypt and Israel would help Israel deal proportionately and effectively with the threat from weapons smuggling. Attempts to divide and rule the Palestinians by isolating and punishing Gaza will not succeed. To secure peace in the Middle East, Hamas must turn its back on terrorism, and help create Palestinian unity. Only unified leadership in the West Bank and Gaza can offer Israel the security guarantees that it rightly seeks. 

My proposals to stay Israel’s hand in this conflict may be unwelcome to some, but they have the country’s long term interest at heart. No terrorist organisation has ever been defeated by bombs alone. Only a new approach will secure lasting peace for Israel itself.”

At first glance, the Liberal Democrat view is that this budget has been designed with County Council elections in June in mind. Government efficiency targets require the County Council to make significant savings over the next four years and this budget appears to be putting off difficult decisions by not clearly identifying where these reductions will be made. The budget should be characterised as the ‘Smoke and mirrors’ budget. 

The Liberal Democrat group has specific concerns with regard to certain proposed budget savings; including possible service reductions in public transport, and once again a proposal to massively increase charges for the elderly with an 40p an hour extra this year and next, resulting in an increased charge of £8.80 in 2010/11 and £9.20 in 2011/12. This will eat into the 5% pensioners will receive in April on their State Pension and will make Mr Parson’s council tax rises seem a lot more painful.  

However we do accept that there are some positive items for example, we welcome the provision of an extra £300,000 for the Youth Impact project – but would wish to ensure this results in sufficient permanent teams across the County to provide enough youth workers to combat anti-social behaviour issues e.g. Birstall.

We also welcome the fact that the Conservatives are proposing to build on our successful campaign to allocate £500,000 for flooding works last year, by including an additional £150,000 for climate change/flooding. Finally the group welcomes the official endorsement of the Grass Cutting panel’s recommendations by including an extra £300,000 for grass cutting, demonstrating that the Liberal Democrats where right to press this issue last summer.