Reading Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner and prospective MP for Reading East, Cllr Gareth Epps, has pledged his support for Vote Cruelty Free, a new non-partisan coalition of animal protection organisations working to put animals on the political agenda.

The alliance has sent its manifesto to all candidates announced for the next General Election and asked them to show their support for the issues raised.

Commenting, Gareth said:-

“Part of the mark of tolerance any society has is about how it treats the creatures surrounding it. Many of the initiatives supported by Vote Cruelty Free do not only demonstrate concern for the welfare of animals – they are good for the planet.

“It’s important for example that we make sure the government works with farmers and retailers so that ordinary people can afford to feed their families with humanely farmed food.”

A Vote Cruelty Free spokesperson said,

“Animal protection is an issue close to the UK public’s heart but this is often not reflected in current political debate. It is fantastic that Gareth Epps has shown he believes in animal protection issues as much as his constituents in Reading East; we are calling on all candidates to follow his lead by pledging their support for Vote Cruelty Free.”

Vote Cruelty Free comprises the BUAV, Compassion in World Farming, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), League Against Cruel Sports and Respect for Animals. It covers a broad range of animal welfare issues including wild and marine animals, animal experimentation, cruel sports, the fur trade and farming.

Editor’s Notes:

The Vote Cruelty Free campaign is urging all candidates to pledge their support for the initiative. Voters can track candidates who have signed up by visiting the Vote Cruelty Free web site

There is now less than eight months to save a new generation of young people from huge increases in university tuition fees, according to Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Reading East, Cllr Gareth Epps.

Gareth was speaking at a cross-party debate organised by Reading University Liberal Democrats on Thursday (15 October) on campus. The remarks come after the Conservatives suggested last week they will increase tuition fees to £7,000 if they take power at the next general election, which has to be held by next June.

That will see tuition fees for undergraduates more than double. Currently there is a cap of £3,300 in England and Wales. Peter Mandelson has already suggested that Labour will allow universities to charge more than at present if re-elected – though both Labour and the Tories are sheltering behind a proposed review of fees, too scared to push through the changes they want before June.

Only the Liberal Democrats will scrap tuition fees. The party believes university education should be free and everyone who has the ability should be able to go – and not be put off by the cost.

Reading University’s Liberal Democrats – the biggest and most active political group on campus – compiled a “Debtbusters” video which was launched at the debate. Interviews with 100 randomly selected students at the University showed a total debt of £1,525,700.

Gareth says: “I look around Reading and I see and meet people returning from university with no job and a bank balance tens of thousands of pounds in the red. What sort of message is that?

Rob Wilson was personally responsible for ending the Conservatives’ brief commitment to free tuition. The choice is clear: the people of Reading East can vote for a politician who will condemn a generation of youngsters or for the Liberal Democrats who will make education free again, giving young people the best possible start.”

Cllr Prue Bray, Liberal Democrat candidate for Wokingham constituency which covers half of the University campus, says:
“Labour and now the Tories are showing their true colours. They want to saddle them with staggering amounts of debt. One of the Conservative MPs serving Reading University, John Redwood has long been in favour of increasing tuition fees. I have challenged him to make clear his and his party’s views on student finance to his electorate.”

Mark Whiley, President of Reading University Liberal Democrats, commented:-
“Last week we organised a well-attended cross-party debate on Higher Education Funding with both Gareth Epps and Anneliese Dodds. From those attending it is clear there is still only one party that is committed to giving the choice of a University education based upon acumen and skills, rather than the ability to pay.

Labour and the Conservatives continue to support the broken tuition fees system and bow down to pressures from University bodies to increase the tuition cap – seeing students get into deeper debt isn’t considered an issue for them. The Tories left an empty chair for the debate, so shallow is their vision for students.

Selling off the Student Loans Portfolio to private firms or more than doubling the cap to £7,000 will bring young people into even larger sums of debt than the present average of £20,000 per student. You can only change this by voting Liberal Democrat.”

Editor’s Notes:-

The Labour Government’s flagship mortgage rescue scheme has – it was confirmed on Tuesday (13 October) – helped nobody at all in Reading since its launch in January.

Liberal Democrat campaigner Cllr Gareth Epps has slammed the failure of the Labour scheme that – while 40 households within Reading Borough saw their homes repossessed in the last quarter for which records are available, and 34 households applied for assistance under the scheme- none at all were found by the Council to be eligible under the scheme. The figures were released by Reading Borough Council at the Credit Crunch Summit and were published at the Full Council meeting.

On being questioned by Gareth about the reasons for this failure, Labour council leader Jo Lovelock admitted that the scheme was based too heavily on tackling negative equity – which is not the reason for the current wave of repossessions. The Lib Dems have demanded that more effective action be taken to tackle repossessions, by reforming mortgage law to allow courts to reduce repossessions. Lib Dems also called for a review of whether more effective steps can be taken by the Council to avoid Reading families losing their homes.

Commenting, Cllr Gareth Epps said:-
“It is clear the mortgage rescue scheme has utterly failed. It has been shown as little more than a publicity stunt that may have raised false hope for residents in the most difficult circumstances.

The Government’s own figures say that some 6,000 households are supposed to benefit from this scheme, but only 15 households nationwide have so far been found to be eligible. Repossessions are a ticking timebomb in the current economic climate. In the last recession I saw the effects repossession has on people; I would not wish it on anyone.

The Government should be reforming mortgage law to give courts the opportunity to resist pressure from lenders aggressively pursuing families. I hope the Council can work with Reading’s excellent advice services to outline what practical steps can be taken to prevent Reading families from losing their homes.”

Editor’s Notes:
The Mortgage Rescue Scheme “has been operational across the country since January 2009, aiming to prevent some of the most vulnerable families losing their homes and experiencing the trauma of repossession. The Mortgage Rescue package has two elements: (1) the ‘Government Mortgage to Rent’ option which involves an RSL purchasing the homeowner’s property, enabling the household to remain in the property as a tenant on an assured short hold tenancy, paying an intermediate rent; and (2) the ‘Shared Equity’ option which involves a RSL providing a loan to the homeowner to enable the homeowner’s monthly mortgage payments to be reduced.”

The impact assessment costs of implementation are available from the Impact Assessment Library here