Surrey County Council Liberal Democrats

Working for a better future for the residents of Surrey

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30 Most Recent News Stories

Surrey Police Plans for more Bobbies on the Beat New!

Mon 8th Mar 2010

The Surrey Police Authority is to hold a widespread public consultation on their plans to expand their force by about 200 new constables over the next 3 years, paid for by cutting about 50 senior officers and relocating Police Stations to council offices and supermarkets. About 100 of the new officers would join the neighbourhood police teams of "Bobbies on the Beat". This initiative has been supported by the Lib Dem members of the Surrey Police Authority.

Police

CFR's Help to Save Lives

Mon 1st Mar 2010

Community First Responders (CFR's) are volunteers who respond to emergency calls on behalf of South East Coast Ambulance Service. Would you like to make a real difference?

South East Coast Ambulance Service

South East MEP Sharon Bowles welcomes 'step in the right direction' on ending cruelty to horses

Fri 19th Feb 2010

Lib Dem MEP Sharon Bowles has welcomed the European Parliament's adoption of a written declaration outlining steps to end cruelty to horses.

Sharon Bowles feeding horses

Localism - Not a Good Start

Mon 15th Feb 2010

The new Conservative administration, following David Cameron's lead, has now proudly proclaimed a conversion to "localism" (the devolution of decision making to the lowest level) which is a complete reversal of the policies of the last Conservative government. However the first test of the new approach revealed that not much had changed.

Stephen Cooksey

Grit Bin Fiasco

Sat 13th Feb 2010

Throughout Surrey there was a failure to fill and top-up grit bins during the periods of heavy snow in December and January resulting in many justified complaints from residents. Just how chaotic the situation was has been revealed following questions from County Cllr Stephen Cooksey.

Grit bin in Epsom (photography: Colin Taylor)

Lib Dems oppose "Damaging" County Council budget

Fri 12th Feb 2010

The Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council have voted against the Tory administration's budget for 2010/11 at County Hall. Leader of the Liberal Democrats Cllr Hazel Watson said: "I support the 2.5% level of Council Tax increase proposed for the Council. Many Surrey residents are struggling to pay their bills during the economic downturn and therefore the Council Tax needs to be set as low as possible whilst allowing for adequate funding for services. I oppose, however, the content of the budget proposed by the Conservative administration as it does the opposite of what Surrey residents want."

County Cllr Hazel Watson outside County Hall

Lib Dems hold balance of power in European Parliament

Mon 8th Feb 2010

An independent analysis of the EU has revealed that the ALDE, the Lib Dem group of MEPs, holds the balance of power in the European Parliament.

ALDE Logo

Liberal Democrats pledge £ 25m extra for Surrey schools

Wed 3rd Feb 2010

The Liberal Democrats have announced a major funding commitment that would boost education in Surrey. Nick Clegg has given a Liberal Democrat manifesto commitment for a Pupil Premium that would mean investing around £ 25m of extra cash in Surrey schools, raising the funding for disadvantaged pupils to private school levels.

Nick Clegg and Sue Doughty at Annual Dinner (photography: Alan Muhammed)

Help for Young People

Fri 22nd Jan 2010

Do you know a young man or woman who has recently left college or university and finds they can't get job?

Hope for Young People

Mandelson forcing universities to lower standards and offer less choice

Sat 2nd Jan 2010

Commenting on Government plans to cut university funding by more than £500m, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Universities Secretary Stephen Williams said: "The Government failed to live up to its commitment to fund extra university places and now it seems to be punishing the universities that went out of their way to help the pupils that had been let down."

Stephen Williams

Surrey Police Seven Point Plan

Fri 1st Jan 2010

The Surrey Police Authority has recently approved a seven point plan for Surrey Police in order to address their anticipated funding shortfall over the next three years to increase front-line police officers and further improve policing. This initiative has been supported by the Lib Dem members of the Police Authority.

Surrey Police Authority Crest

Copenhagen Comedown

Wed 30th Dec 2009

Lib Dem Euro MP for the South East, Catherine Bearder, has expressed her huge disappointment at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen.

Catherine at The Wave

South East MEP Sharon Bowles calls for Eurostar overhaul

Sat 26th Dec 2009

Lib Dem MEP Sharon Bowles has called for an overhaul of Eurostar following weekend failures of its service which left thousands of passengers trapped in the Channel Tunnel and up to 60,000 people stranded. Sharon Bowles said: "Having seen the distress of people who were trapped in the Channel Tunnel over the weekend, some for up to seven hours, it is imperative that Eurostar gets its act together."

Sharon Bowles MEP at the Eurostar

Liberal Democrats Oppose County Council Cuts in Services

Tue 15th Dec 2009

Liberal Democrat County Councillors have voiced their strong opposition to cuts in services by the Conservative administration. The Conservative run Cabinet has this Autumn decided to terminate all Pegasus school bus services in July 2010, to reduce the ordinary public bus services and reduce the number of roads to be gritted in winter in advance of ice and snow.

County Cllr Hazel Watson outside County Hall

Liberal Democrats welcome Tory U-turn on Incineration

Tue 15th Dec 2009

For many years the Liberal Democrats have been arguing that there are better and safer modern green alternatives to mass burn incineration. The announcement by the Tories that they will abandon "energy from waste" (mass burn incineration) has finally recognised that the Lib Dem position has been correct all long. Apart from the environmental impact, mass burn incineration is known to discourage councils from recycling waste.

Cty Cllr Will Forster

Surrey County Council Rated "Adequate" by Audit Commission

Wed 9th Dec 2009

The Audit Commission has today published a report rating Surrey County Council's performance as merely "adequate". The Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) rated the performance of the organisation with scores from 1 to 4 for managing performance, use of resources, managing finances, governing the business and managing resources. The County Council only achieved a score of 2 out of 4 which means that it meets only minimum requirements and only performs adequately.

Cty Cllr Hazel Watson

The Liberal Democrats Carry the British Torch in Europe

Tue 8th Dec 2009

A number of concerns have recently been expressed over the appointment of Michel Barnier, the new EU Commissioner for the Internal Market.

Michel Barnier, the new EU Commissioner for the Internal Market

Green or a Deeper Shade of Blue?

Sat 5th Dec 2009

David Cameron's Tory MEPs have launched a last minute attempt to scupper the EU's Copenhagen position of cutting carbon emissions and increasing climate change aid for developing countries.

Copenhagen Pledge

Surrey County Council fails again

Fri 4th Dec 2009

The Care Quality Commission, the government agency in charge of assessing the quality of care available to vulnerable people, has rated the care services provided by Surrey County Council as "adequate" - the lowest rating awarded to Adult Services this year, shared only by another seven Councils in the country. According to their report, Surrey is still in need of special measures and the Council will be closely monitored by the Government to make sure services improve.

Fiona White

Local MEP Joins Fight Against Mega Trucks

Mon 23rd Nov 2009

Having fought against 30 tonne trucks with the Women's Institute in the 1980s, local Euro MP Catherine Bearder found herself fighting again when she attended a meeting of the No Mega Trucks campaign recently.

Mega Trucks

Streetlighting Repairs

Sat 7th Nov 2009

Surrey Highways are currently not repairing street lights except in the most urgent cases. A new PFI street lighting contract is expected to start early next year, which will involve replacing 80% of the existing lamp columns, so they are not spending money on repairing columns that will be replaced.

Man looking at unlit street light

Tories refuse to reconsider Pegasus School Buses

Tue 3rd Nov 2009

The Conservative Cabinet at County Hall have refused to reconsider their decision to axe the Pegasus school buses as from July 2010. The Tory administration is reneging on a decision made only last December 2008 to continue the service for at least two more years until July 2011. The Conservatives do one thing before the election and another thing after.

Pegasus Buses

Lib Dems force Surrey County Council to reconsider axing Pegasus school buses

Wed 21st Oct 2009

Due to the pressure and the thorough examination of Liberal Democrat councillor David Goodwin, Surrey County Council Transport Select Committee have forced the Council's Cabinet to reconsider their decision to axe the popular Pegasus school bus service and to proceed instead with a proper investigation to find out how it can be maintained in future for the benefit of Guildford children and parents.

Pegasus Buses

Lib Dem Dave Hodgson becomes the new directly-elected mayor of Bedford

Fri 16th Oct 2009

Dave Hodgson (Lib Dem) has won the public vote to become the new directly-elected mayor of Bedford.

Dave Hodgson

"Corner shops mustn't lose out" says Lib Dem MEP Sharon Bowles

Fri 16th Oct 2009

Local Liberal Democrat MEP Sharon Bowles is working to make sure the UK's corner shops don't lose out from a proposed EU Directive on the safety of Pharmaceuticals.

Sharon at Wyeth

Local Lib Dem MEP signs petition against cruelty to horses

Tue 13th Oct 2009

Today Catherine Bearder MEP signed a petition to stop the cruel treatment of horses during transport across Europe.

Petition against Cruelty to Horses

SCC Lib Dems call for urgent action on critical report

Tue 13th Oct 2009

The Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council have called for urgent action to resolve the problems identified in the report of the former Interim Chief Executive Mr. Michael Frater. This report described the Council's problems as a 'whole system failure'.

County Cllr Hazel Watson outside County Hall

Surrey Tories refuse to act on climate change

Tue 13th Oct 2009

Liberal Democrat Councillor Peter Lambell (Reigate Central) has condemned the recent refusal by Surrey County Council's Conservative administration to sign up to the national 10:10 climate change campaign. This high profile initiative is supported by all the main national party leaders. It seeks to achieve a 10% cut in carbon emissions in 2010.

County Cllr Peter Lambell

Tories to Axe Pegasus School Buses

Tue 29th Sep 2009

Less than a year since they took the decision to maintain the service until 2011 the Tory administration at County Hall has decided to axe the very popular Pegasus buses from the end of the current school year. The decision to discontinue the service has been made without consultation with parents or the schools.

Pegasus Buses

Aung San Suu Kyi sentence "slap in the face for democracy", says Catherine Bearder MEP

Tue 11th Aug 2009

Commenting on the sentencing of Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, local Lib Dem MEP Catherine Bearder has labeled the decision a "slap in the face for democracy".

Catherine Bearder

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