Reading Liberal Democrats

Global economic crisis, banks collapsing, government bail outs, a looming recession – suddenly you can’t get away from the economic situation.

One politician who predicted all of this was Vince Cable MP, the deputy leader and shadow chancellor of the Liberal Democrat party. With over 40 years of economic experience as a lecturer at LSE, a treasury finance officer, chief economist to Shell and finally as the Liberal Democrat treasury spokesperson, Vince Cable is well placed to review our current the economic position and how we might get out of it.

On Thursday 13 November Vince Cable will be giving a talk entitled “The truth about the economy”. This is being held at the University of Reading, Palmer Building (Room 109) from 7.30 to 9.30 pm. The meeting is open to members of the public and free to all to attend.

Parliamentary Campaigner for Reading East, Cllr Gareth Epps said “Vince’s speeches are always a pleasure to watch as his quick wit and strong knowledge of all topics is clearly apparent.”

Peter Walley, President of the Reading University Lib Dem Society, “The Liberal Democrat party clearly cares about young people, several key MP’s such as Lembit Opik, David Heath and Nick Clegg have been keen to come and talk to students in Reading.”

Editor’s Notes:

• Please contact Cllr Glenn Goodall for more information 0118 3750082 or Glenn_Goodall@hotmail.comor
• RU libdem Soc president Peter Walley at peterwalley@hotmail.com

Patrick Murray, the Lib Dems Parliamentary Spokesman in Reading West is offering his support to the campaign to stop development at Pincent’s Hill.

Patrick said “The plans for development at Pincent’s Hill are completely inappropriate. It’s a beuatiful spot that’s well loved by the local community. The developers also want to build on some recreation land as well. The combination of all the areas in the plan would deprive the local community of much needed open space. It’s particularly poorly thought out given the West Berks District Council are one of the few councils in the entire South East to have had their housing numbers reduced.”

“The extra pressure placed on local roads and schools is also very problematic. There are already difficulties and putting close to a thousand houses here doesn’t help. The plans seem to provide little in the way of extra infrastructure for local people whilst fundamentally altering the rural appearance of the area. Of course we need more affordable housing for local families across the region but this development is neither in the right place nor the right way to go about it. We must guard this beautiful area from development.”

Martin Salter’s Lib Dem opponant in Reading West, Patrick Murray, launched a stinging rebuke to the Labour MP after his recent comments on mental health.

Patrick Murray, who suffered from depression for several years in the late 90s and experienced first hand the results of New Labour’s disastrous mental health policy stated:

“The Labour Government has had ten years to change mental health provision in this country. Mental health is still a cinderalla service in New Labour’s Britain. In some parts of the country the wait for counselling on the NHS is measured in years rather than weeks. Drugs have been poorly regulated. Funding has been much lower than comparable physical health services. It’s no good for Salter and New Labour to suddenly discover this problem. I’ve lost a close friend to suicide and seen many people abandoned by the system. For some of us it’s not just about a photocall- it’s been our real life experience and we’ve repeatedly been let down by Labour.”

“The Labour Government’s only response for almost a decade was to attempt to introduce a new Mental Health Act. This was an horrific piece of legislation which would have deterred people from seeking treatment and criminalised those who were suffering. The obsession they have with Daily Mail approved legislation left many people alone and without desperately needed help.”

“We need mandatory training for GPs, often the first port of call for many people, more effective drug regulation as seen by the scandals over SSRIs- a drug I was placed on for a time that was later shown to increase suicidal tendencies, anxiety and depression amongst younger patients- and a huge increase in the availability of counselling. I’ve been incredibly lucky to make it through but many others aren’t. Warm words are not enough- we need action.”

Editor’s Note:

Patrick Murray recently gave a speech to the Lib Dem conference on his experiences during a debate on Mental Health provision. This can be viewed here: YouTube video

If you are a member of the Liberal Democrats you are cordially invited to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Greater Reading Liberal Democrats, which will take place on Thursday 20th November 2008 at 8:00pm at the Church Hall, Downshire Square, Reading.

Amongst other things, the AGM will need to elect the Chair and officers who will form the Committee for 2009 as well as Federal & Regional conference representatives.

Agenda for the Annual General Meeting 2008 To be held on Thursday 20th November 2008 at 8:00pm, The Church Hall, Downshire Square.

1. Apologies
2. Minutes of previous Annual General Meeting held on 22nd November 2007
3. Reports from:-
3.1. Chair
3.2. Treasurer
3.3. Conference Representatives
3.4. Liberal Democrat Groups of
3.4.1. Reading Council
3.4.2. Wokingham Council
4. Motions to AGM
5. Election of Officers
5.1. Chair
5.2. Vice-Chair
5.3. Secretary
5.4. Treasurer
5.5. Membership Secretary
5.6. Youth & Student Representative
6. Election of Federal and Regional Conference Representatives
6.1. Federal Conference Representatives (maximum of 7 + 2 reserves)
6.2. Regional Conference Representatives (maximum of 7 + 2 reserves)
7. To note the Accounts for 2007 (see note 1)
8. Appointment of Auditor for the 2008 Local Party Accounts

Reading Council’s budget is clearly under immense pressure says Cllr Gareth Epps leader of the Liberal Democrat group.

There is a substantial cash shortfall, caused by a number of factors. Foremost among these are a mean Government grant increase of only 1.5%, substantially behind inflation rates when it was set never mind now; a shortsighted budget passed by Labour and Conservative Councillors in 2008, and economic pressures caused by fuel price rises and the global financial situation.

Liberal Democrats on the Council take very seriously the need to put frontline services first. We are putting Council budgets under much greater scrutiny than they have ever been subjected to before, and will be looking at any signs of waste to be tackled first in order to protect vital public services.

A key problem is the way Whitehall increasingly takes money away from areas like Reading. Not only is our increase in council grant way below inflation, but measures like the “Tenant Tax” – siphoning off some £6 million of rent paid by Reading’s own council tenants – are absolutely unacceptable. Next year’s settlement is due to be even worse. It is time the Council confronted central Government – we need to fight for a fair deal for Reading.

Part of the trouble is directly due to the election bribe served up by Labour, and backed by the Tories, of a 2008-09 budget which stripped back vital reserves to keep council tax increases unsustainably low. I hate to say ‘we told you so’, but on this occasion we did. Their shortsighted action has contributed, arguably, up to £4 million – more than half – of the shortfall the Council is facing today. It has also removed the cushion provided by cash balances, which are now at a minimum. The Council’s own financial officers reported that this situation was If – and we hope it doesn’t happen – employees lose their jobs as a result, they will not thank the Labour or Conservative Groups on the Council.

Thankfully, at that meeting, other parties accepted our proposal for reviews of areas such as fees and charges, to take care of the Council’s longer-term financial interests. We will continue that responsible approach going forward into this budget process, and hope that the other political groups will do too.

Reading Central Branch Liberal Democrats formally invite you to a public meeting with Nick Clegg MP.

This will be taking place on Saturday 18 October 2008 from 6pm to 7pm in the Kennet Room of Reading Civic Centre RG1 7AE.

This meeting forms part of a series of “Town Hall” visits throughout the country. Nick Clegg is determined to do everything he can to be accessible to the public and make them feel they do have a voice to influence what happens in our country.

Nick has said:

“Since I became leader of the Liberal Democrats, I’ve held public meetings up and down the country. They are an opportunity for me to talk to real people about the matters they want to raise.

No scripted questions, no pre-prepared answers – just a frank talk between me and local people about issues, problems, and how we can solve them.”

Most people feel cut off from politics – left out or even ignored most of the time. They don’t have a voice to influence what happens in our country.

“It’s no use politicians waiting in Westminster and assuming they know everything. If you want to understand how things like the credit crunch really affect people, you’ve got to be out meeting people and listening.”

Lib Dem Group Leader and parliamentary campaigner for Reading East, Cllr Gareth Epps Said:

“There will be no scripted questions, no pre-prepared answers -just a frank talk between Nick Clegg and local people about issues, problems, and how we can solve them.

“You do not have to be a Liberal Democrat to attend this meeting or ask questions. We hope very much to see you there.”

Liberal Democrats in Reading have slammed a Conservative/Labour alliance to force through a ‘dismal’ Waste Strategy for the PFI authorities of Reading, Wokingham and Bracknell Forest, which appears to rule out the prospect of food waste composting across the authorities until well into the next decade.

Lib Dem group leader on Reading Borough Council, Cllr Gareth Epps, proposed that the strategy be “called in” until an unpublished Action Plan was brought in and scrutinised, alongside a separate Reading move to investigate piloting separate food waste collections for composting and kerbside glass recycling. The call-in was opposed by Conservative and Labour Councillors, who proposed that the Action Plan be scrutinised – but only after the Strategy itself has been agreed.

The re3 Waste Strategy – which runs from 2008-2013 – identifies a number of priority issues, such as:

• A shortage of landfill sites in Berkshire and the urgent need to divert waste away from landfill which is becoming increasingly heavily taxed
• The fact that food waste makes up 50% of all waste that goes into landfill – although the Strategy makes no explanation of what the PFI project intends to do to remove food waste which can be easily composted.
• The PFI Board has deferred decisions on what to do about food waste – despite pressure from Liberal Democrats to tackle the issue.

Commenting, Cllr Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrat Group Leader on Reading Borough Council, said:

“The Strategy is a dismal document, with no vision and apparently no action. Half of the substance has not even been published. The decision to approve it has been taken without anyone knowing what actions are being proposed.

There are now serious questions over how the waste PFI is to be managed. Serious action needs to be taken now to tackle food waste and invest in composting facilities. Labour and the Tories, however, are content to dump it in landfill, with residents footing a tax bill that will go up and up. It’s a crazy situation.”

Cllr Glenn Goodall, Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson, said:

“The Waste Strategy and PFI contract need proper scrutiny. Only constant Liberal Democrat pressure has forced this onto the agenda. Ultimately it’s Reading residents who will pay through the Council Tax for this short-sighted document, which barely merits being called a strategy.”

Editor’s Notes:

If you can’t read pdf documents you can download a free viewer from Adobe Systems Incorporated Adobe Viewer

Local Liberal Democrats took part in a debate at their national conference in Bournemouth discussing the introduction of safe standing areas at football matches. The motion was proposed by the MEP for our region, Sharon Bowles and Katesgrove councillor Warren Swaine was selected to speak in favour of it.

In a clear vote in favour of the motion, the Liberal Democrats’ Autumn conference backed proposals to change regulations that currently prevent football stadiums from providing ‘safe-standing’ area at Premier League and Championship games. The proposals recognise and seek to remedy safety problems that exist in all-seater stadiums where, despite regulations, large numbers of fans regularly stand in areas designed for sitting only.

Local councillor and football fanzine editor Warren Swaine told the conference that there was nothing in itself unsafe about standing and urged them to back the motion to allow clubs the choice to reintroduce limited capacity standing areas. Of particular concern to him was the effect that all-seater stadia have had on families and young children attending matches. Councillor Swaine told the conference: “It is sometimes cheaper to fly a family of four to the Costa del Sol than to go to a match.”
He also told the BBC’s Politics Show: “People don’t like being controlled and it causes a lot of trouble and resentment at football matches.”

Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, Don Foster said:
“This is a sensitive issue. But we cannot ignore the large numbers of fans who want to stand, and are doing so in seating areas, despite the existing regulations and the danger it causes.
“Given the seeming impossibility of policing existing regulations and recognising that some passionate fans want to be able to jump up and down when watching their teams each week then we need to look at technologies that allow them to do that safely.
“Football has taken enormous steps forward in recent years with more diverse fans, improved stadium designs and better policing. These proposals would in no way seek to undermine any of that progress and would only allow future ground developments that meet the most stringent safety requirements.
“But if some fans want to stand and clubs want to let them, then we should at least explore safe ways of achieving it.”

Editor’s Notes:

Cllr Daisy Benson, Lib Dem Safer Communities Spokesperson on Reading Borough Council took her campaign highlighting the poor response of Thames Valley Police’s anti-social behaviour hotline to the Lib Dems Annual Conference this week where she highlighted problems with Thames Valley Police’s anti-social behaviour hotline

Speaking in a debate on new Lib Dem crime reduction and policing policy on Sunday, Cllr Daisy Benson said:

“In order for Neighbourhood Policing to work as it was intended, local people must have confidence that they are being listened to and that the Police are acting on the real crime issues people are encountering locally.

“In Reading, local people who report crimes are struggling sometimes even to have their calls answered, and whey they are, operatives do not know the area because they are based in an out-of-town call centre and lack local knowledge.”

“This experience is putting many people in Reading off reporting crime and the lack of feedback from Police when they do report makes them wonder if there is any point in reporting issues”

Cllr Daisy Benson will also be highlighting these problems with Police chiefs at a meeting of the Safer Reading Campaign at the end of September.

Cllr Daisy Benson said:

“Local people will stop reporting crime if they feel they are not being listened to. Thames Valley Police must act now to improve their service to local residents in Reading, if Neighbourhood Policing is going to be effective in tackling crime in our local communities.’

Editor’s Notes:

Reading East’s Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner, Cllr Gareth Epps, has put Reading’s police funding shortages onto the agenda of the Liberal Democrats’ Party Conference for a key debate on crime on Sunday 14th September.

Gareth submitted an amendment on behalf of Reading Liberal Democrats to call for a reassessment of the way Central Government funds Thames Valley Police, in order to tackle longstanding difficulties of police recruitment and retention, and fund the Neighbourhood Policing programme to the extent it is funded in London. The amendment has been accepted into the motion by the movers, and will almost certainly become Liberal Democrat policy.

More than 10 Liberal Democrats from Reading will be attending the Conference at Bournemouth, which runs from today to Wednesday 17 September. They will be attending and speaking into debates as well as fringe meetings and training.

Commenting, Gareth says:-

‘It’s great to be going to the seaside with such a big group of Liberal Democrats – we think it’s the biggest group we’ve ever taken. It just shows how the party locally is going from strength to strength.

‘I’m delighted our amendment has been taken, so we can highlight the very real funding issues faced by Reading police today.’