Thank you to all who voted for her, and for the army of volunteers who put so much effort in.
The work starts now.
You can watch her gracious acceptance speech via this link.
The amendments to the South-East Plan proposed by the Secretary of State this week, in response to the Independent Panel Report on the draft prepared by the Regional Assembly, do not appear to further increase the demand for additional new housing sites in Epsom & Ewell, which could only have been provided at the expense of the Metropolitan Green Belt.
As a result of parental appeals, the Schools Adjudicator has announced that over-subscribed Southfield Park Primary School is to start admitting 60 pupils per year instead of 30, starting from September 2009. There will also be a formal catchment area, limited mainly to Clarendon Park and Livingstone Park, plus a few roads adjacent to the school gates. Extraordinarily, within that catchment area, pupils living FURTHEST from the school will get priority over those living nearer!
Following the Lib Dem Motion to Council and leaflet campaign, there have been notable changes in recent weeks.
Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council have called on the Council to respond much more quickly to enquiries and complaints, following a report highlighting failures in responding to residents in a satisfactory time scale.
The financial out-turn for 2006/7 was revealed at the Transport Select Committee recently. All County Councillors know that the poor state of Surrey's roads is the number one bone of contention for local residents. So the members of the committee were stunned to be told that last year was the third year in succession when the budget was under-spent by the Tory executive, this time by £5.2 million!
The Family First service, which helps prevent young people having to go into care, is under threat as Surrey County Council pulls its funding from this project. The service, which is a partnership between the County Council and the children's charity NCH, helps young people who have been excluded from school or who have problems at home.
Carers are not just support for their loved ones—they are the glue holding our fragile social care system together. They deserve more than token acknowledgements or empty promises.
Liberal Democrats believe that everyone has the right to enjoy clean, safe water and unpolluted rivers, lakes, and coastlines. We are committed to ending the national sewage scandal and holding water companies accountable for their environmental impact.
Liberal Democrats have passed new policy to stand up for bereaved families and kinship carers, so more young people can grow up in a loving, stable home.
