East of England Liberal Democrats

As the refurbished clock was unveiled in Brentwood High Street on Wednesday (25/1/12) it was great to see that Jill Hubbard, former Lib Dem councillor for Warley, was there to see it happen.

It was Jill who saw the clock lying in a sorry state at the Council's Depot in Warley, alerted the press and asked for it to be returned to it's rightful place in the High Street.

Attempts to prevent 12 staff from being made redundant to save just £41,000 were scuppered this week after the Conservatives voted to get rid of the Schools Library Service.

During the debate on the cabinet decision at a scrutiny meeting on Wednesday 25th January, the Liberal Democrat group highlighted that the closure of the service had been agreed without any reference to the County's own Education and Skills Cabinet Panel, despite the service being used exclusively by Hertfordshire's schools.

On Wednesday next week, a meeting of the Full Council will consider the budget which has been proposed by the all-party Executive. After we delivered a small council tax cut last year, I am pleased to report that we are again proposing to freeze bills for local households. While the Council is in a well-reported extremely difficult financial situation, with large cuts in government funding and factors such as inflation hitting it hard, times are tough for local residents and it is vital that the Council does not put more pressure on household budgets through the council tax bill. Under the former County Council, local households had to contend with year after year of inflation-busting rises. We're putting a stop to that, and I have pledged to ensure that over my four-year term of office Council tax bills will have gone up by less than inflation, i.e. a real-terms cut.

A message from Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills:

As families face more of a squeeze, today Liberal Democrats are arguing for greater tax cuts for hard working people.

Between now and the Budget, Nick and Danny and I will be arguing for faster tax cuts, giving you a reward for hard work. And Nick will be setting out our case in a speech today.

Given the budget constraint we have to raise money for the tax cut elsewhere and have plans to raise an equivalent amount from the wealthiest taxpayers.

At the last election the Liberal Democrats promised to raise the personal allowance for ordinary taxpayers to £10,000. I am proud that the Coalition has committed to doing so over the course of this Parliament.

For millions of ordinary hard working people, that means paying £700 less in income tax each year. Low earners, mostly women will benefit from being lifted out of tax altogether.

But times are tough and quite simply, Liberal Democrats in Government want to help families who are currently being squeezed by moving more quickly.

Whether it's targeting an extra £7bn from tax evaders and avoiders, taking an extra £2.5bn every year from the banks in a balance sheet tax, or the announcement I made on Monday to curb the excesses of executive pay, this Coalition is taking important steps to deliver a fairer economy.

We are building a new economy, one that benefits the whole country, not just bankers in the City of London. Making the tax system fairer is crucial to that. This is a huge task that will make Britain a fairer and more liberal country for generations to come.

Cambridge Liberal Democrats are tackling problems on the city's Fen Road head on by working cross-party and with multiple agencies to find a solution for residents.

Cllr Ian Manning (pictured) and resident Clare Blair took control of the issue this evening (Thursday, January 26) at a meeting of Cambridge City Council's North Area Committee.

A flagship Tory bus replacement project which no-one wants has already cost Cambridgeshire taxpayers £120,000 with another £40,000 committed.

Since launching a pilot for the planned countywide scheme, only one passenger has travelled three times between Sawston and Duxford Station. The traveller didn't have to buy a ticket as the route hadn't been registered so the journey was free.

Bedford Borough Council's Pothole Hit Squad service is celebrating its first birthday this month as new figures show they filled more than 5,000 potholes during 2011 - nearly three times the number repaired in 2010.

The Pothole Hit Squad service was launched in January 2011 to provide a quick response service which was able to carry out permanent repairs to potholes in the borough.

Norwich South MP Simon Wright has signed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons, in doing so pledging his commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and honouring those who died during the Holocaust.

Mr Wright will be visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau later this year with Norwich students to experience the camp first hand. The visit forms part of the Holocaust Educational Trust's 'Lessons from Auschwitz' Project, which is supported by Government funding.