Waveney Liberal Democrats

Beccles resident and Waveney Lib Dem chair, Doug Farmer, has been selected to contest the Worlingham by election for Lib Dems. Offers of help please to Dave O’Neill on 01986 893292.

I have a very simple message for you. We 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 Britian out of the longest recession since the War. And who will deal with the unsustainable level of Government borrowing.

Today in my speech to Liberal Democrat Party 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 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 publically. 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.

Are you one of the voters who turned to new Labour in 1997? Were you excited by the progressive promise? Did you believe that the ideals of fairness, social mobility, sustainability, civil rights and internationalism would finally have their day?

If so, you face a real dilemma. The choice between a fading, exhausted Labour Government and the ideologically barren Conservatives, bereft of any discernible convictions other than a sense of entitlement that it is now their turn to govern, is not a good one.

The Lib Dems want to offer you an alternative. Lib Dems are now making a simple argument: in the same way that Labour eclipsed a tired Liberal Party almost a century ago, the Liberal Democrats now offer a new rallying point for a resurgent progressive movement in Britain.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, launches ‘Liberal Moment’ pamphlet in which he argues that the Liberal Democrats have replaced Labour as the dominant progressive party in Britain.

Click on the link below to read more

http://www.libdems.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?title=Nick_Clegg%2c_Leader_of_the_Liberal_Democrats_launches_%27The_Liberal_Moment%27_&pPK=4b620a53-e2bf-488c-b3dd-baa1d5594080

Have you ever listened to a politician on the radio and thought “That sounds good, but what’s the full story?”

Want to shout at the TV with facts and figures instead of incoherent rage?

To be more informed, people ask for that little bit more in-depth knowledge.

The LIberal Democrats have brought together party news, media coverage, policy announcements and party blogs on one website for the first time:

Click on the Lib Dem News link at the side of the page or go straight to it on:

http://blogs.libdems.org.uk

Whether you’re a party supporter or just curious, you can get yourself informed:

• click through to the details behind the press releases and read our policies for yourself
• click through to find out the latest events and meet-ups in your area on FlockTogether
• watch YouTube films from our MPs (and why not respond by posting a video response of your own?)
• talk it all over with fellow liberals on the unofficial blogs at Lib Dem Voice and Lib Dem Blogs – it’s all here, the bad news stories as well as the good!
• get freshly-baked daily liberal news by signing up to our (RSS) news feed or Twitter updates

You’ll stay ahead of the media schedule, read newspapers with a more critical eye and debate with like-minded people. Next time you hear a politician on the radio, the chances are you’ll already know the ins and outs of what they’re talking about.

So now you can shout at the TV like the knowledgeable, media-savvy person you are. Don’t get angry – get informed!

Lib Dem plans to help families include tax cuts for low and middle income households, stopping unnecessary repossessions, action to cut energy bills and big cuts in interest rates.

Families are facing a difficult winter. Rising mortgage bills, the fear of unemployment and high heating costs mean that the shockwaves of the financial crisis are being felt in households across Britain.

When the banks were in trouble, they got rescued. Millions of families who are finding themselves in trouble must be helped too.

To find out more go to http://www.libdems.org.uk/news/liberal-democrat-economic-recovery-plan-12693499

Waveney Lib Dems have this week officially responded to the boundary committee’s recommendations on possible changes to local councils.

They suggested that their recommendations were “unworkable” and “undemocratic” as the suggestions didn’t serve the people they are meant to do. On the other hand, Waveney LIb Dems suggested that if change was inevitable, and they didn’t think that it was, the only way forward would be to revive the old East/West Suffolk councils with an East headquarters in the new Campus building.

More of the recommendations can be requested by contacting local party chair, Chris Thomas on chris.thomas@waveneylibdems.org.uk

The Liberal Democrats are now the only party that can deliver social justice, and the only choice for anyone who wants a fairer Britain, Nick Clegg said in his keynote conference speech.

The Liberal Democrat leader also set out the party’s Fairer Future economic recovery plan – four steps to a better economic future.

Nick began his speech by focusing on the current economic difficulties, which he described as ‘a firestorm’, “raging through our financial system, ignited by reckless bankers and fuelled by complacent politicians.”

He turned his fire on both the Government and the Conservatives.

Labour, he said, had nothing further to offer the country –

“Stumbling around with no idea what to do.

“They are a Zombie government.

“A cross between Shaun of the Dead and I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue.”

Read more about thier latest successful conference by logging onto http://www.libdems.org.uk

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg today launched the party’s Make it Happen document, which is a statement of the party’s vision and values. ‘Make it Happen’ sets out in clear language the party’s position on important issues such as the economy, taxation and the health service.You can read Make it Happen by clicking on the link opposite.

Waveney Liberal Democrats have responded with disappointment to the announcement by the Boundary Committee that their preferred option is for one single unitary authority to cover the whole of Norfolk and Lowestoft.

It would create a remote and unmanageable council. We should be bringing politics closer to the people not creating huge bureaucratic super authorities. Waveney Lib Dem leader, Andrew Shepherd, says “We believe that to make politics more accountable to local people, we should be making councils smaller, not larger.”

The public will be asked to have their say on the proposals between now and September 26. Final recommendations will then be made to Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by the end of December, with whom the final decision will rest.

The boundary committee’s draft proposals can be found at http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/boundary-reviews/all-reviews/eastern/norfolk/norfolk-structural-review

Remember that if you disagree with these proposals you need to let them know. Not saying anything may result in getting a council you don’t want.

The contacts for your responses are:

Review Manager,

(Norfolk and Suffolk Reviews),

The Boundary Committee for England,

Trevelyan House,

Gt. Peter Street,

London. SW1 2HW

or email reviews@boundarycommittee.org.uk

The new website for Waveney Liberal Democrats that you are able to keep up to date with what we are doing locally.

Following the 2008 District Council elections in May, the Liberal Democrats remain a strong opposition party on Waveney District Council. There are now 3 Lib Dem Councillors representing Kirkley. The Lib Dems will continue to offer a distinct and positive alternative to the Tory administration.

Rose Hudson was elected to Kirkley and Chris Thomas came within a whisker of gaining the seat in Carlton.