Lib Dem Councillor delighted as Daily Mail begins "Bag Free" Campaign
With a formal "Motion" to the council already on the table (see earlier News Story) a campaign by the Daily Mail is now underway.
With a formal "Motion" to the council already on the table (see earlier News Story) a campaign by the Daily Mail is now underway.
When the Conservative administration at Surrey County Council took an axe to its Emergency Planning Department (as part of a major review), the 11 staff were reduced to just 7, but it gets worse ...
Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Jonathan Lees, has issued the following press statement against the borough council's increase in council tax of 4.5%.
For years Epsom has had arguably the worst display of Christmas decorations and lights in Surrey. At last this looks set to change.
Every four years Epsom & Ewell Borough Council spends about £10m on different projects : this is known as the 4-year Capital Programme. The budget is apportioned annually against projects considered necessary or appropriate for that year.
Epsom's Lib Dem group of councillors have put a Motion to the council meeting on 19th February which calls for support to retailers, businesses and commercial manufacturers to eliminate excessive packaging, in particular the widespread use of plastic bags.
The Tories' BDR (Business Delivery Review) will adversely affect the County Council's countryside services. The proposals, if approved, will:
The Tories' Business Delivery Review (BDR) will hit Surrey Arts, Music and Museums. Surrey County Arts currently provides 278,000 music lessons annually. However, tuition fees in Surrey are already 30% higher than the national average. Some 42% of local authorities do not charge any tuition fees.
Amongst the cuts in Surrey County Council front line services proposed by the Conservatives' "BDR review" is the closure of the local libraries, at Bagshot, Caterham Hill, Ewell Court, Hersham, New Haw and Virginia Water. The decision will be taken at the County Council meeting on 11th April. If it is agreed to go ahead, the libraries will be closed from September 2006. County Councillor Diana Smith, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Community Services. said: "It makes no sense to close these popular facilities, especially as the BDR itself admits that the aim is not to save money, only to meet a CPA target imposed by the Labour government."
Willie Rennie's election as the new MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, home of chancellor Gordon Brown, takes the total of Liberal Democrat in the House of Commons to 63. His by-election victory not only saw a 16% swing from New Labour to the Liberal Democrats, it also saw David Cameron's Conservatives retain fourth place with a swing of 9% from the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats.
Surrey County Council's Tory budget brought bad news for parents and youngsters in Sixth Forms and Colleges.
At the County Council meeting today, the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council opposed the 2006/07 budget proposed by the Conservative administration.