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20 Most Recent News Stories
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Sun 14th Mar 2010
The Liberal Democrats were right about the financial crisis. We warned of the dangers and led the debate when the crisis came. And now we have a clear vision for the future of the British economy. Now the public wants to know who can guide the country out of the present crisis. Who's going to deal with the broken, discredited banking system. Who's going to lead Britain out of the longest recession since the War. And who will deal with the unsustainable level of Government borrowing. In my speech to Liberal Democrat Party Spring Conference I set out the Liberal Democrat answers to these questions. The challenges are enormous. We have to be frank with people about the difficulties ahead. We have to be fiscally responsible. But the Tories and their cronies want to create a financial panic to frighten people into voting for them on probably May 6th.Only the Liberal Democrats have identified £15bn of savings to make from bloated bureaucracy and unaffordable commitments. We will identify our priorities and debate them publicly. That's open, democratic and Liberal.Only the Liberal Democrats will invest in jobs with a Green New Deal.Only the Liberal Democrats will change our unfair tax system so that 3.6 million people will no longer pay any income tax at all. Pensioners will be £100 better off and the average person's income tax bill will be cut by £700. People are desperate to see the back of this Labour Government. But they don't want the same old Tories. And make no mistake, the Tories are exactly the same. You can read the full speech on the National link on this page
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Thu 11th Mar 2010
Once upon a time very very wealthy men believed that they had a responsibility of some sort to the community in which they lived and made their fortune. So, as just one example, here in Fylde Lord Ashton gave us Ashton Gardens.[pictured] This is what really lies at the heart of the concern over Conservative Party financial backers in general & Lord Ashcroft in particular. The Financial Times (not noted for being anti-Conservative) ran best part of a full page analysis on 13th February. Since 2006 £ 4.8 million has come into Tory coffers from those involved in the property sector & five leading City supporters (not including Lord Ashcroft) have given over £9 million. One of these, Conservative Party Treasurer Michael Spencer, made £45million from the sale of shares in a company he controlled just weeks before a profit warning and the shares dived. He has done nothing illegal. Lib Dem Treasury spokesman, Lord Oakshott, drily described the sale as 'inspired'. These men (mostly men) probably can't even count how wealthy they are and wouldn't miss the taxes that they so assiduously avoid paying. It leaves a nasty taste and renders totally incredible the image that David Cameron would have us believe of a fair & transparent Tory Party concerned for the welfare of ordinary citizens.
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Mon 8th Mar 2010
Bill Winlow is the experienced, local candidate for Fylde in the General Election . He is the Challenger to the Conservatives here and with your support he can win. See him on YouTube at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqu3ywhM934
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Sun 7th Mar 2010
Liberal Democrat research estimates Lord Ashcroft's annual tax saving to be £12.76m. He has been a member of the House of Lords for a decade. Thus he will have saved some £127million since he entered the Lords. Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said: "Anyone who wants to pass laws in this country should pay this country's full taxes and not hide behind the special offshore status of non-doms. Non-doms have to tell the taxman that their first allegiance is to another country. No-one should be a British lawmaker whose first allegiance is not to Britain. On even the most conservative estimates, Lord Ashcroft has avoided vast amounts of British tax by deploying the non-dom tax dodge. If he challenges our estimate of how much tax he has dodged, then there is a simple solution: publish the figure."
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Sun 7th Mar 2010
The future of St. Anne's swimming pool has been all over the local press. Residents are not as dim, or of such short memory span, as Cllr Ashton seems to think with his quote in the LSA Express of 4th March about the opposition voting to keep the pool shut. Residents will remember the street & other protests at the time closure was mooted some two yrs ago in which Lib Dem Councillors, our Parliamentary Candidate Bill Winlow, and activists like Bob & Anne Fielding were prominent. Mayor of St. Anne's & Borough Councillor Tony Ford has been trying to follow the story. Please go to his blog via the link to the left of this page to get the bigger picture.
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Fri 5th Mar 2010
There were eight principal council elections held on the 25th February. The Lib Dems gained two seats. The gain from Labour in the Eastwood South Ward of Broxtowe District Council was especially important. This Ward lies in the new Ashfield parliamentary constituency in Nottinghamshire where Geoff Hoon has recently announced his retirement. Jump before you're pushed? Lib Dems won the County seat last June with 49.7% but the majority of our vote came from the Lib Dem held Eastwood North district seat. The large, historically Labour voting, council estate in Eastwood South presented a challenge. A great result that bodes well for the General Election.
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Wed 3rd Mar 2010
David Cameron's speech to the Tory conference was slick - what else would you expect. In terms of substance it was remarkable for what it did NOT say. He's going to restore the link between pensions and earnings, carefully forgetting that it was his party that broke the link in the first place. Nothing was said about Banks & Financial Services. No surprise here either. With possibly 50 Conservative MPs from financial backgrounds, most of his inner circle from financial services & most of his front bench (including George Osborne) millionaires, anyone that believes that his party would let him bring the the banks & their kind into line is living in fantasy land. He talked about the MPs expenses scandal, patting himself on the back for allegedly being the first to require his MPs to make re-payments, again conveniently forgetting that he, together with Labour, led his Tory MPs into vote AGAINST reform of the system just weeks before the story broke. There is more for anyone that wants to look.
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Tue 2nd Mar 2010
So the Tories have finally discovered 'Fairness'. So has Labour. Whoopee. In the 2005 General Election the Liberal Democrats campaigned on 'Fairness'. Fylde local man, and LibDem candidate for the forthcoming General Election County Cllr Bill Winlow [pictured], has campaigned for years for fairness on behalf of Fylde people. If you really want 'change' and 'fairness' why not VOTE for the Liberal Democrats, the party that actually believes in these things and has consistently campaigned for the measures that are necessary to bring them about.
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Tue 2nd Mar 2010
Sections of the media, and the financial markets, are speculating that, after the General Election no single party will have a working majority and are trying to scare us into believing that such an outcome would be an unimaginable horror and national disaster. What utter rubbish. For most of the last thirty years we have had an elected dictator running the country. Remember Thatcher and three million out of work; industry destroyed; banks de-regulated; poll tax riots and much else. And Blair - an illegal war; 3600 new criminal offences; further de-regulation of banks; snoopers everywhere and much else. The reality is that if the House of Commons was made to function like a democratic institution we might get some policies which actually addressed the nation's problems & were sensible enough to command widespread support instead of the yah boo Tweedledum & Tweedledee spectacle that we see far too often. No wonder the 'Markets' are scared. Such policies are likely to inhibit the ability of the tiny few to enrich themselves at the expense of the millions of the rest of us. If you want to stop that then vote Liberal Democrat & create a democratic Parliament.
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Mon 22nd Feb 2010
What will Liberal Democrats do to invigorate our economy? Nick Clegg & Vince Cable have sound plans. We have to shift the economy away from the dominance that the City of London driven financial services sector has enjoyed for nearly 30yrs into a better balance. Despite the damage it has suffered at the hands of Conservative & Labour alike the manufacturing sector is still a huge contributor to the UK economy. The closure of the CORUS steel works on Teeside sharply illustrates the problem. It is easy to shut a manufacturing business down. Much more difficult to start one up. It is comparatively easy to open an office & provide a 'service'. But the opportunities are there. Liberal Democrat plans will usher in a new era where growth is enabled in every part of Britain in a way that promotes green technology and creates lasting jobs. We will put an end to the casino banking that caused the financial crisis by breaking up the banks and encouraging regional and local ways to bring competition back to the financial sector and make sure businesses can find the money they need to grow. Under our plans, councils will regain control of business rates, reconnecting local enterprise with local politics. Local Enterprise Funds will help people invest in growing businesses in their area and Regional Stock Exchanges will give companies a way to move into public equity without the huge risks and costs of a London listing. The Liberal Democrats will also create a new National Infrastructure Bank to bring in private money to build the transport links, energy grid and public buildings we need for a sustainable, low carbon economy in every part of Britain.
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Sat 20th Feb 2010
Launching LD2010, an online weekly roundup and look forward to the latest news from the Liberal Democrats, Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable, said "I want to give you, the people whose lives and families our economic decisions affect, the opportunity to ask me any question about the economy and our plans for secure and sustainable growth and recovery." You can take Vince up on this invitation by using the link to the National Lib Dem website on this page.
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Sat 20th Feb 2010
The first batch of signatories on the petition spearheaded by the Fylde Liberal Democrats against the proposal to close the St. Anne's recycling centre has been posted. This proposal, from the Conservative dominated Lancashire County Council, makes no sense on any measure. The fight continues. To keep fully abreast of this issue as it unfolds please look regularly at Tony Ford's, Howard Henshaw's & Bill Winlow's blogs via links on this page.
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Sat 20th Feb 2010
The issue of empty shops, & the kind of shops that remain, on our high streets has considerable resonance in the Fylde. The Liberal Democrat policy document 'Vibrant Local High Streets' was launched by Nick Clegg and Ed Fordham, (PPC for Hampstead and Kilburn), last week. Core proposals include: encourage the development of a PostBank and freeing the Post Office from the Royal Mail to enable it to develop new business; introducing a local competition test for all planning applications for new retail developments to establish a fairer balance between local independent stores and large supermarkets and establishing a system of Local Enterprise Funds and regional stock exchanges to ensure small businesses get access to cost effective equity that meets their needs. Commenting, Nick Clegg said: "Thriving high streets are at the heart of local communities, but it has been our high streets that have borne the brunt of this recession, with boarded up shops scarring towns and villages across Britain. Ministers have overseen the rapid decline of the post office network leading to even fewer people visiting the local shops. The Government has tilted the planning system in favour of the haphazard expansion of ubiquitous supermarkets at the expense of hard-pressed independent stores. The Liberal Democrats understand that it will be small businesses that are key to building a healthy and balanced economy."
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Fri 19th Feb 2010
TV & other mainstream news has been dominated by letters from rival economists about when & how to cut Government spending, and, as usual, the distinctive, sensible & workable, Liberal Democrat view has struggled to be heard. Repairing the economy is not just about cuts. It is also about investment, and a properly functioning financial services sector. Data from the Institute of Directors shows that nearly 60% of businesses seeking bank finance in 2009/10 were rejected by their bank, and that 20% are financing their businesses to some extent with credit cards. The Banks are missing Government lending targets & plead that many business asking for money are not viable. That is a cop out and is NOT what taxpayers rescued the Banks for. One successful business man, turned down by our banks, has got finance from a Belgian Bank and Santander has increased net lending by some 16%. Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable said: "Instead of paying themselves large bonuses, the money should be used to strengthen balance sheets and to provide commercial lending to sound and solvent British companies. There is a huge gap between what the banks tell us and the experience of companies on the ground. Large numbers of small and medium sized businesses are still having difficulty in getting credit on reasonable terms."
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Fri 12th Feb 2010
Fylde Constituency held its annual dinner at Dahlias restaurant on 5th February. Chris Davies, our hard working MEP for the North West [seen pictured with Cllr Tony Ford] gave an amusing and informative speech. Our thanks to Chris, to the restaurant, to Karen Henshaw for her role in organising the event & to our visitors from neighbouring constituencies.
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Wed 10th Feb 2010
Commenting on recent figures showing a rise in corporate failures and the number of personal insolvencies at its highest level since records began, Liberal Democrat Shadow Business Secretary, John Thurso, [pictured] said: "These figures make grim reading. Time after time, the Government throws around big numbers in headline-grabbing pledges in an effort to convince business that it is helping, and time after time it fails to deliver. Now more than ever, ministers need to lay down the law with the semi-nationalised banks to make sure solvent businesses and individuals get access to the credit they need to survive the recession." Fylde Secretary, Mike Turner, is Chairman of a local business whose products make it a market leader and he can testify to the need for the banks to be made to implement & not frustrate Government policy. Mike says "We have a business plan for export expansion which is acclaimed by the financial services industry which then uses truly fantastic ingenuity to find reasons why they will still not support us"
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Fri 5th Feb 2010
The local Liberal Democrat year started with County Councillor (and Fylde LibDem Parliamentary Candidate) Bill Winlow challenging the ruling Conservative Group on Lancashire CC over plans to diminish the role of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee which would further diminish democratic accountability. As the 'big freeze' continued he praised the work of the gritting teams & the community spirit but was critical of some Council decisions on priorities such as not refilling gritting bins in villages. Bill also succeeded in getting a months delay on the decision to close the St. Annes waste recycling centre. Lib Dem County Councillor & Fylde Borough Councillor Howard Henshaw has also opposed this closure. The ongoing fight is being led by Liberal Democrat Fylde Borough Councillor Tony Ford. Howard has also been active on the County Council in opposing the Canatxx gas storage proposals. As Mayor of St Anne's Tony was delighted to take possession of the keys to an office for the Town Council & welcome the appointment of Dave Joy as Town Planner. Please go to individual sites at the left side of this page for much more information.
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Tue 2nd Feb 2010
Fylde LibDems set up camp outside the Everest Road Recycling centre on Saturday morning and in less than an hour collected over a hundred signatures on a petition to prevent the closure of this important local facility.
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Tue 2nd Feb 2010
Commenting on BBC reports that the Government intends to put forward a referendum on the Alternative Vote for the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said:
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Sun 31st Jan 2010
Liberal Democrat Phil Knowles took the Great Bowden & Arden Ward of [Market] Harborough District Council from the Conservatives. He gained 61.8% of the vote in a straight Tory/LibDem contest. Phil is seen here celebrating. In the only other principal by-election on 28th January we held the seat in Lyngford Ward of Taunton Deane BC. What a great start to the year!
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Archive of earlier News Stories.
 News Story Feed(v1.0).
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