Reading Liberal Democrats

Redlands Lib Dem Councillors Kirsten Bayes and Daisy Benson have welcomed the arrival of the FIRST EVER glass recycling facilities in Redlands ward after a 2 year campaign by the Lib Dems.

Cllr Daisy Benson said:

“I’m glad that local residents in our area will finally be able to recycle glass locally. Labour-run Reading Council has been promising ‘jam tomorrow’ to residents in Redlands since 2006 (when fortnightly bin collections were introduced)”

“I gave the Council a list of sites back in June 2006 – Redlands has had NO glass recycling facilities and has lagged behind the rest of Reading.”

Glenn Goodall, local resident and candidate for Redlands ward in the local elections in May said

“Local residents have been saying to me they desperately want to be able to recycle glass without having to drive to another neighbourhood. Thanks to constant pressure by the Lib Dems the first bottle banks are now going to be installed in April.

Cllr Kirsten Bayes said “We are delighted. This is one step closer to our long term aim of getting glass recycling on the doorstep”

“Glass bottles have been building up on doorsteps in Redlands ward for too long. . I asked the Council again back in February how much longer residents would have to wait and they are finally being installed: in time for the local elections.

Cllr Gareth Epps, Lib Dem environment spokesman and Parliamentary campaigner for Reading East has been leading the Lib Dem campaign for kerbside collection of glass and weekly food waste recycling in Reading.

Gareth said: “Under Labour, Reading is lagging behind on recycling: too much waste is going into landfill. The obvious next step is for food waste to be collected weekly. This is both good for the environment and saves taxpayers money”

Editors notes:-

Liberal Democrats representing Whitley parents whose children have been overlooked for places at the Madjeski Academy have demanded to know what has happened to secondary school admissions in South Reading – and have made a Freedom of Information request to make public to which areas school places at the Academy have gone to.

Katesgrove Councillor and PPC for Reading East, Cllr Gareth Epps, has asked for information to be made public showing how far away from the new Academy its new admissions are coming from. Redlands Councillors Daisy Benson and Kirsten Bayes have joined Gareth in demanding an urgent meeting to address the problems, including transport issues, that stem from the admissions crisis.

Liberal Democrats are demanding to know why the Council failed to recognise the numbers of pupils from South Reading who were coming up to secondary age, and how they are to be transported to – in many cases – Prospect College in September.

Commenting, Cllr Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner for Reading East and councillor for Katesgrove, says:

“Academies have the right to select a proportion of their intake, for better or worse. It’s clear that children living in Whitley have not all got the places they wanted. Local residents have a right to know exactly what has gone on, and where those school places have gone to.

The decision of Reading’s Labour Council not to oppose the disgraceful closure of Ryeish Green has come back to haunt local parents. Unlike Reading’s Labour Council, I opposed that closure. There is an urgent need to revisit that decision.

There appears also to have been a lack of planning in this year’s admissions. The self-congratulatory press release issued by Council spin doctors is an insult to Whitley residents.”

Patrick Murray, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner for Reading West, says: “Secondary school admissions in Reading are in a mess, largely as a result of centralised Whitehall diktats that ride roughshod over the rights of local parents. It is time for the Council to show some leadership for once, and to take steps to ensure that the rights of our parents are put first. Otherwise the Academy’s gloss will rub off very quickly.”

Cllr Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner for Reading East, is warning residents of a potential rip-off after residents contacted him pointing out that Thames Water promised to cut water bills for thousands of local people living in flats – then put the rates up.

Gareth has written to the Chief Executive of Thames Water and to OFWAT demanding an explanation, and is writing to constituents living in flats advising them they could have been overcharged by up to £64 per year. A pensioner in a one-bedroom council flat in St Giles’ Close contacted Gareth after receiving this year’s bill for £264, having read a Thames Water press initiative only a month ago which stated that bills would be cut for residents living in flats where a water meter cannot be installed to as low as £200.

A statement on Thames Water’s website dated 5 February states that the company is abolishing the flat £245 charge for non-metered properties to £200 for a studio or 1-bed flat, or £217 for a two-bedroomed property. By contrast, the water rate for Gareth’s own terraced house in Central Reading is only £188.

Residents who think they may have been overcharged are urged to contact Thames Water on 0845 9200 888.

Gareth says:

“I simply cannot believe that the fat cats at Thames Water have the cheek to claim one week that they’re cutting people’s water rates – then send out bills the next that put them up.

These bills are going to pensioners on fixed incomes, living in council flats and already short of cash after paying much more for winter fuel. Thames Water owe local residents an explanation.

It is possible that thousands of Reading residents living in flats have been overcharged.

Residents deserve better – especially after a winter of spiralling energy costs. I am advising them to check bills very carefully and be prepared to complain in order to make sure they have not been charged over the odds.”

Editor’s Note:

The Thames Water press release entitled “Lower charges on the way for thousands of customers”, released on 5 February 2008, is available on the Thames Water website.

Read the full item by following this shortcut

Liberal Democrats in Reading have called Labour MP Martin Salter to account for failing to vote against the disastrous invasion of Iraq on the fifth anniversary of the start of the almost certainly illegal war.

Speaking at a meeting of members, Cllr Gareth Epps said, “Five years ago, the Labour Government led Britain into war in Iraq. The Conservatives were the cheerleaders for military action, with MPs from both parties attacking the Liberal Democrats for opposing the invasion.”

Patrick Murray, Liberal Democrat PPC for Reading West, said: “It is now clear that the war in Iraq and the occupation of the country were the worst foreign policy decisions taken by Britain in recent memory. Martin Salter failed to vote against this decision in 2003. Five years on from the start of the invasion 176 (26 March 2008 See BBC website for full details) British troops have lost their lives, £7 billion of our money has been lost on this appalling venture and, according to some estimates, 600,000 Iraqis have lost their lives as a result. Martin Salter should apologise to the people of Reading for his part in failing to block this disastrous venture.”

Cllr Gareth Epps, who marched against the war, said: “Without the support of Conservative MPs, the Labour Government would have lost the vote in Parliament and the UK would not have joined in this ill-judged expedition.”

“This was a war that we were told was meant to make the world safer. This was a war we were told was to get rid of weapons of mass destruction. This was a war we were told was a war to end terrorism. However the weapons of mass destruction singularly failed to be found despite extensive searching and the threat from terrorism has increased making the world a much riskier place. The Government are asking the men and women of our armed forces to put their lives at risk for little apparent gain for either Iraq, the UK or the world at large. Despite assurances by Gordon Brown that our troops will be coming home, they are still there with no apparent exit strategy.”

On a personal note Gareth continued “Last year, a friend of mine was killed working for the security services in Iraq. I would not wish that on anybody’s family least of all the innocent civilians in Iraq who are struggling to lead a normal life.”

“We are calling on both Reading MPs to join the Liberal Democrats in urging the Government to set a timetable for the full withdrawal of the remaining UK troops from Iraq. Lessons must be learnt so the mistakes of Iraq are never made again.”