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July 20 Local welcome for Liberal Democrat vision for BritainFair green future Local welcome for Liberal Democrat vision for Britain
Liberal Democrats in the Vale have welcomed the launch of the Liberal Democrats’ vision for Britain by Party Leader Nick Clegg MP. Called ‘Make it Happen’, the paper will be debated at the party’s conference in Bournemouth in September.
In ‘Make it Happen’ the Liberal Democrats say:
Mark Young chair for the Vale of Clwyd said, “I am delighted to be able to back ‘Make it Happen’. It sets out how the Liberal Democrats will run Britain.
“No resident of Vale has escaped the rising cost of food and fuel. The credit crunch is biting hard and local people are feeling the pinch.
“Nick Clegg has set out how we can help ordinary people through cutting taxes on those on low and middle incomes. Thousands of people in the Vale will benefit from this.
“We are taking the plans in ‘Make it Happen’ to the people of Vale during the summer to get their response. And in September, we will be heading to the Liberal Democrats’ conference where we are looking forward to taking part in the debate.”
July 18 Clegg pledge to make tax 'fairer'
July 17 Plaid Say No To Police Fair Pay DealI was amazed to read two letters in yesterday’s edition regarding the low morale and well – being of North Wales Police Officers from two people who are not only ex-police inspectors but prominent members of Plaid Cymru.
I’m sure that Mr Rees, a parliamentary candidate and Mr. Jones, a councillor, are aware that 6 months ago Plaid Cymru Assembly Members, their own AMs, voted against an Assembly motion to support the controversial pay deal for the Police. Whilst this is not a fully devolved power to the Assembly, if Plaid Cymru AMs had voted for the motion, this would have sent a very strong message to the Home Office Minister that the Police Forces in Wales deserves better. Instead, Plaid Cymru sent a clear message to our own Police Forces saying that they basically didn’t deserve their pay deal. Let me ask my Plaid Cymru friends, what effect did this have on Police morale?
July 15 Liberal Democrats outline radical plans to tackle youth crimeFair green future
Dyfodol teg, dyfodol gwyrdd The dual approach aims to stop young people committing crimes in the first place by enabling them to play a full role in society through increased training and volunteering, as well as stopping criminal behaviour early by making young offenders face up to their crimes. The main proposals contained in the paper A Life Away From Crime: · The creation of a Youth Volunteer Force, to engage with young people, involve them in community projects and give them skills to benefit them in later life · Establish Community Justice Panels across the country, where offenders admit their guilt to the community and agree on a Positive Behaviour Order as a course of action · Create a dedicated PCSO youth officer within every Safer Neighbourhood Team to identify and work with teenagers most at risk of offending · 10,000 more police on the streets by scrapping the ID cards scheme · Intelligence-led stop and search and ‘hot spot policing’ targeted at gun and knife crime · Restorative justice programs to be run in every community, specifically targeted at early intervention with widespread use in schools and care homes Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Affairs Secretary, Chris Huhne said:
"This Government has spent 10 years trying to sound tough while failing to cut youth crime. "In fact, ministers have embarked on the mass criminalisation of a generation of young people. By dragging more and more young people through the criminal justice system, they have reduced the fear of a criminal record and contributed to the problem. "Instead of shock tactics to grab headlines, we need practical measures that are proven to work. "Only the Liberal Democrats propose a dual approach to stop kids from getting involved in crime in the first place, and measures to make them face up to the consequences of their actions if they do July 08 Charity tractor run for YogiTractor drivers put the pedal down to raise care cash
TRACTOR fans are planning to take to the roads of North Wales to raise funds for paralysed rugby player Bryan Davies. The region’s farming community is staging a 24-mile tractor run next month, starting and finishing at Llandyrnog, near Denbigh. Father-of-two Bryan – known as Yogi – grew up in the village and played summer league football for Bodfari and Ruthin. He was left paralysed from the neck down while playing in his final game for Bala rugby club last year. Bryan, 50, is due home from hospital in Southport in late August now that a special extension has been added to his Bala house. The tractor run is on Sunday, July 13, Meet 10am starting 11 am. The route includes Bodfari, Tremeirchion, Rhuallt, Trefnant, Henllan and Denbigh. Some 30-40 tractors are expected. Entry fee is £10, with all proceeds going to Bryan Davies Appeal Fund. Details: Merfyn Parry, 07836 208446 or Mark Young, 07769 666239 July 07 “We can win,” says Welsh Lib Dem Euro candidate
Fair Green Future Dyfodol Teg, Dyfodol Gwyrdd Welsh Liberal Democrat members across Wales have selected Dr. Alan Butt Philip as their lead candidate for the 2009 European Parliament elections. And having won one election, Alan Butt Philip is confident he can lead the campaign to become the first Welsh Liberal Democrat MEP.
Based on the 2007 Regional Assembly Election, an election that resembles the European Elections in its proportionality, the Welsh Liberal Democrat’s only need a 2.45% swing from Labour to take the fourth seat. Taking the constituency vote, the swing required drops to less than 1%. If turnout at the 2005 General Election were repeated, the Welsh Liberal Democrats would win the seat comfortably.
Mike German, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said:
“I am very pleased that Dr. Alan Butt Philip has been voted by the Welsh Liberal Democrats to be our lead candidate in the European Parliamentary elections. This year, we have a very strong chance of taking that fourth seat, ensuring that our MEPs better reflect the political make-up of Wales.
“If we look at elections since 2004, the swing needed for a Welsh Liberal Democrat candidate to gain a seat from Labour has decreased from 3.83% in the 2004 European elections down to 2.45% in the Regional vote of the 2007 Assembly elections – the most comparable and most recent result that resembles the EU proportional vote.
“Since the 2004 local government elections, the vote for the Welsh Liberal Democrats has increased. We hope to further increase our vote in next year’s European election and win that 4th seat from Labour.”
Following Labour's disastrous set of local government elections result, the Welsh Liberal Democrats will seek to pick up a fourth seat when voters across the European Union go to the polls on 4th June 2009.
Dr Alan Butt Philip, lead Euro Welsh Liberal Democrat candidate said:
“I am delighted to be the lead candidate for the Welsh Liberal Democrats for the European Parliamentary Elections. If everyone who voted for the party at the local elections does so again, we will be able to make that Euro breakthrough. I will be campaigning very hard across Wales to make sure that the Welsh Liberal Democrats are represented in the European Parliament.”
NOTES:
The Welsh Liberal Democrat European result was: 1. Alan Butt Philip 2. Kevin O’Connor 3. Nick Tregoning 4. Jackie Radford
Wales’ four MEP seats are currently held by Labour (2), Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives. July 05 Welsh universities go for greenWales finds itself with two Firsts today as the results for the People and Planet’s Green League 2008 are published, ranking universities on their environmental performance. Welsh Liberal Democrat spokesperson for the Environment, Mick Bates AM, congratulates Glamorgan and Swansea Met who are leading the way with top class results and praises the hard work of all universities across Wales, who have made dramatic improvements in their environmental performance over the last year. The University of Glamorgan achieved a First once again and remains Wales’ top green university, ranking 13th in the UK. Aberystwyth University moved up 44 places to be ranked 53rd with a 2:2 grade. However there is still more work to be done to improve standards in some universities as Newport, which ranked second in Wales last year but has gone down 21 places and Cardiff, which has fallen two places.
Mick Bates comments on the results of the Green League’s second year: "The Green League is an excellent idea and highlights the importance of acting responsibly to safeguard our environment for future generations. The Green League’s success in Wales is a dedication to the strength of the student People and Planet members who have been campaigning for environmental change in universities across the country. Glamorgan and Swansea Met have achieved excellent results and Aberystwyth University in particular has seen a great improvement. "The popularity of this exemplar idea exposes the need for education centres to create a carbon reduction strategy to push down their carbon emissions each year. Schools, colleges and universities should lead the way in sustainability and best practice in environmental performance and with encouragement and support, I know this can be achieved."
Nick Chan, People and Planet’s Wales Campaign Advocate added: "In just the space of a year, the Green League has helped to dramatically move environmental sustainability up the agenda of university management. Universities have a vital role to play, not just in their research but in being exemplars of environmental practice to their staff and students. Having two first-class ranked green universities in Wales is certainly heartening, as is having more than half of Welsh universities being in the top half of the table, and I'm sure that fellow students will be expecting those at the bottom of the table to start making the grade."
Luke Robinson, People and Planet’s Wales Regional Representative and Aberystwyth student remarked: "The Green League Welsh results this year are mixed, however we seem to be moving in the right direction. Some individual universities, especially Swansea Met, Bangor, UWIC and Aberystwyth have made dramatic improvements. At Aber I expect that this positive change is in part a result of better monitoring and data collection, demonstrating how the clarity of information that the Green League demands is a basic first step toward a more sustainable university. I know that Wales is moving forwards and the Green League shows the progress that we have made, while also showing us that work is still to be done." July 03 Welsh Liberal Democrats claim success in bus cash rowLong delayed bus grants to support vital rural services have finally been announced - a whole three months after the start of the financial year. Kirsty Williams, Welsh Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson, has been pressuring the government on this issue for months: "I'm pleased that following the Welsh Liberal Democrat-led debate on this issue last week, the government has been made to feel sufficiently guilty that it has coughed up the cash. Local authorities across Wales have been waiting for this money a long time. Last year, the grant was announced in February - this year we have had to wait to run a July. That reflects badly on the efficiency of this Labour-Plaid Government. "The government has failed to appreciate the importance of bus services in Wales. Figures for the 2007/08 Assembly Government spending on Transport show that 49% of this budget went on roads whilst a meagre 13% went towards buses and 4% on Integrating local transport, walking and cycling. "The government have tried to evade scrutiny on this issue for a long time. I'm pleased we can finally see what they are planning, and that local authorities can get on with spending the money and improving bus services in all parts of Wales."
Notes:
Last week, in the Senedd, Kirsty Williams introduced the following debate: To propose that the National Assembly for Wales: Believes that the Welsh Assembly Government is failing to realise the potential of buses in developing an integrated and sustainable transport network It was voted down by the Labour-Plaid government. |
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We are quite unapologetic about saying that people who have got a lot of money will pay more 
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