Tories “getting betrayal in early” on pensions, tax and NI: Lib Dems

The Liberal Democrats have seized on remarks by Theresa May and Philip Hammond that suggest the Conservatives will drop their commitment to the triple lock on pensions and might also hike taxes and National Insurance.

Alistair Carmichael MP, Liberal Democrats shadow first secretary of state, said:

“This is May and Hammond admitting that the cupboard is bare thanks to their disastrous hard Brexit.

“Liam Byrne famously waited until after the 2010 election to admit there was no money left. The Conservatives are causing so much carnage to the economy they have had to admit the country is broke before election day.

“Theresa May’s refusal to guarantee the triple lock is yet another massive U-turn by the Prime Minister. Conservative high command is clearly in total disarray as it attempts a handbrake turn every day, including on such major issues as immigration, foreign aid and the single market.

“The triple lock was a Liberal Democrat achievement in the coalition government and pensioners should now realise that their pensions are not safe in Conservative hands.

“Workers struggling with falling living standards and a Brexit squeeze will see that the Chancellor is already hinting that he will hike taxes. With the economy facing a £200bn Brexit black hole over the next 15 years, no wonder the Tories plan to raise taxes and slash spending.

“It just shows you can’t have a hard Brexit and a safe pension.”

 

Liberal Democrats double size of membership since 2015 general election

In the short time since the snap General Election was announced the Liberal Democrats have gained over 8,000 new members

A huge warm welcome to everybody who’s joined the Liberal Democrats in Bury over the past few days.

The Liberal Democrat General Election campaign has got off to a flying start as new members have seen the party double in size since May 2015.

In the short time since the snap General Election was announced the Liberal Democrats have gained over 8,000 new members.

Commenting on the surge Leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron said: “This election is a chance to change the direction of our country and thousands are joining our fight.

“If you want to avoid a disastrous Hard Brexit. If you want to keep Britain in the Single Market. If you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance.

Join the Liberal Democrats

“Thousands of people up and down the country are joining the Liberal Democrats so that we can send a message to Theresa May and the Conservative Brexit Government that we do not want a hard Brexit.

“In this General Election it is clear that only the Liberal Democrats can prevent a Conservative majority.”

Jane Brophy: 45% of crimes not investigated in Greater Manchester

Jane Brophy, Lib Dems GM Mayoral Candidate, has uncovered astonishing figures about the GMP’s ability to investigate crime in Greater Manchester.

The force failed to follow up almost half (45%) of all crimes reported in 2016. A whopping 57% of burglaries were not investigated, along with more than three quarters of pickpocketing and street thefts.

70% of bicycle thefts were also not followed up.

Jane obtained the figures via a Freedom of Information (FoI) request. She commented:

Visible policing has all but disappeared apart from Manchester city centre and our town centres, leaving many communities feeling unsafe. If I become Mayor I will work to ensure frontline policing is improved to restore people’s faith in the police.

The elected Greater Manchester Mayor will take on the functions of the current interim Mayor and GM Police & Crime Commissioner, former Labour MP Tony Lloyd. This entails setting priorities for GMP in how they tackle crime.

Jane Brophy highlighted the fact that figures for the current year show that 42% of all recorded crimes for the first few months of 2017 were not investigated, greater than the percentage in 2014.

Jane says:

Overall Greater Manchester Police are doing a good job at tackling serious crime, but there seems to be widespread failure to record and investigate all crimes properly.

As Mayor, Jane will be responsible for setting GMP’s crime priorities, as well as working with GMP on successful preventative approaches to reducing crime by working with local communities.

 

Best Year Ever for Liberal Democrats in Local By-Elections

The year since the last local election in May 2016 has been the best year EVER for Liberal Democrats in local by-elections, with a total of 33 net gains.

You can get involved in this success every week at the ALDC (Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors) offices in Manchester where they run a volunteer phone bank every Thursday evening, calling up voters in local by-elections around the country to help Lib Dem candidates win. Contact Jenny for more information.

Of course in Bury we have our OWN local by-election on 4 May 2017, Besses Ward in Whitefield with activity every day over the next month. Find out more by emailing Gavin. Donate to help Gavin win here.

Gender Pay Gap Reporting

A small, but important, measure which was championed by the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government, came into effect last week. When Jo Swinson was Minister for Equalities, she introduced the requirement for companies with more than 250 employees to report on their gender pay gap (the difference between what men get paid and what women get paid).

In this article in on the Huffington Post website, Jo Swinson explains that the gender pay gap is not the same as equal pay:

“The media often mangles the distinction, so it’s not surprising many people confuse the two concepts. Equal Pay is when men and women are paid the same for doing the same work, and this has been a legal requirement for more than four decades. The Gender Pay Gap compares the average hourly pay for men and women. So most companies have a Gender Pay Gap driven by a concentration of men in senior, higher paid roles and women in junior, lower paid roles, but may not have an Equal Pay problem.”

She goes on to say:
“Transparency on the numbers means staff, shareholders and customers can hold companies to account on progress, so communicate with them your analysis of the problem and what you plan to do.

Gender pay gap reporting is not a panacea, but it is an important and helpful tool to bring urgency and accountability to efforts to tackle the entrenched problems of gender inequality in the workplace”.

First Ever Bury Pride – this Saturday

This Saturday is the first ever ‘Bury Pride event’. Bury Pride will support the LGBTQ+ community and celebrate equality and diversity right here in Bury. Bury Pride will be held on Saturday 8th April 2017 and will be absolutely FREE to all members of the community. You can register for your free ticket here: https://www.fatsoma.com/mobile/products/e2igalq4

A parade runs through Bury town centre. At The Elizabethan Suite, there will be around 30 stalls from a range of local LGBT and family-friendly businesses, offering products, information and merchandise.

Bury Pride is a family friendly affair, with activities and performances suitable for all ages. It’s bound to be a fantastic day out for everybody, whether you’re taking part in the parade, coming along to the party at the Elizabethan Suite, or just watching from the audience; the coming together of the Bury community to help break down barriers for the LBGTQ+ community will be a fantastic day in our local history.

The full programme for the event can be downloaded here.

GMSF Phase 2 Consultation DELAYED

The Council Leaders who sit on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority have delayed the next phase of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework.

A revised version of Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, due out in March, has been delayed by six months. The proposals, which at present include plans to decimate Greater Manchester’s greenbelt, will now be out in <strong>September</strong>, with consultation period extended from six to 12 weeks.

There was a massive public response to the first stage of consultation with over 25,000 responses received. Many local people have campaigned against the proposals to destroy so much green belt land. Liberal Democrat councillors across Greater Manchester have used their local Council meetings to propose that the GMSF process be scrapped.

More information on this as soon as we have it.

<a href=”http://timpickstone.mycouncillor.org.uk/2016/10/21/massive-plans-to-build-on-green-belt/green-belt-mapjpg/” rel=”attachment wp-att-4328″><img class=”alignnone wp-image-4328″ src=”http://timpickstone.mycouncillor.org.uk/files/2016/10/Green-Belt-MapJPG.jpg” alt=”” width=”720″ height=”506″ /></a>

The full report being considered by the GMCA is <a href=”https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/download/meetings/id/1881/joint_gmca_and_agma_executive_-_31_march_2017_merged”>here</a> (it’s not very detailed). (Page 25)

Highlights are here.

Greater Manchester Mayoral Elections 4 May 2017

Residents will now be receiving polling cards for an extra election this year. Voters across Greater Manchester will be asked to vote for the first elected ‘Mayor of Greater Manchester’.

Voting takes place on Thursday 4 May 2017. If you don’t already have a postal vote but would like one, you can download form here. If you’re not registered to vote then you can find out how here.

People who already have postal votes will be sent postal votes for the Mayoral Election in late April 2017.

The ‘Greater Manchester Elects‘ website has basic information about the election.

 

The Liberal Democrat candidate in the election is Jane Brophy. Jane is an experienced councillor representing the Timperley area on Trafford Council. She works in the NHS and someone the Lib Dems in Bury have worked with over many years on campaigns together, for example on the GMSF, on Metrolink and on environmental issues.

Find out more about Jane on her website here.

 

 

Liberal Democrats call for ‘NHS Passport’ for the 59,000 EU Citizens who work in our NHS

The Liberal Democrats have called for an “NHS Passport” to secure the rights of the 59,000 EU citizens working in the NHS, as figures have revealed a sharp rise in nurses from the EU quitting the health service.

Over 2,700 EU nurses left the NHS in 2016, a 68% increase compared to two years ago. Separate figures from the Royal College of Nursing have shown the number of EU nationals registering as nurses in England has dropped by 92%, while there are 24,000 nurse jobs unfilled in the NHS.

Figures obtained by the Lib Dems show that 1,849 EU national left our local NHS Trust, Pennine Acute, in 2014, 2015, and 2016, including 558 nurses – one of the highest figures in the country.

The Liberal Democrats have called for an immediate guaranteed right to live and work in the UK for all EU citizens working in NHS and care services, in a motion passed by members at the party’s Spring Conference in York today. The motion also called for the urgent reinstatement of the nursing bursary to address the huge shortage of nurses in the NHS.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary Norman Lamb commented:

“These shocking figures show you can’t have a hard Brexit and a strong NHS.

“It is vital that we reassure NHS staff and social care workers from the EU that they remain welcome and valued in the UK following Brexit.

“These people save lives, yet this Conservative government is treating them with careless disregard.

“NHS and care services would struggle to cope if significant numbers of doctors, nurses and NHS staff from the EU left.

“Theresa May must do the decent thing and ensure the right to remain for all EU citizens, with an immediate guarantee for those working in health and social care.