“It’s time to scrap GMSF” says Mayoral Candidate

JANE BROPHY, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester, is calling for the Greater Manchester Spacial Framework (GMSF) to be scrapped.

The GMSF process will only go ahead if all ten councils in Greater Manchester and the newly elected mayor vote in favour of it. If any one of the eleven deciding vote against the plans, then it will fall – and the Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate is now pledging to do just that.

Jane Brophy said: “The Government and Greater Manchester Combined Authority should have worked together with local councils, local people and local communities to ensure no more houses were built on our greenbelt until all other options were exhausted.

“There was no attempt to have any conversation with local people and their voices have been ignored. We now risk blindly destroying our green spaces and depriving our children of the areas to grow and play in.

“Before we open up the greenbelt for development we must bring empty homes back into use, develop every old mill building, empty warehouse, factory, brownfield space and derelict piece of land that we can.

“Only when all those options were exhausted should we have considered moving onto the greenbelt. But our voices have gone ignored for long enough and it’s now time to scrap this GMSF process.

“There was no discussion about where was going to be developed, and clearly no intention to begin any discussion.

“The GMSF has been top down, rather than from the bottom up. We need a plan that fully involves local people and their communities right from the start.

“This should have been about responsibly building affordable homes in areas that are near public transport and existing links, and it should be for local people in each area to decide the future of their community, not for a secret group at Manchester Town Hall to present a completed plan.

“Therefore, I am now withdrawing my support from the GMSF process and if elected I will vote to block the process, and work to ensure each and every local resident and local community is involved properly in the process to build the much-needed homes.”

More information www.janebrophy.com

 

Councillor John Leach writes – Help save fire-rescue hero from deportation

By Manchester Lib Dem Councillor John Leach:

If I asked you to imagine your ideal community, who and what would be in it? What kind of people would you choose to have as your neighbour? Would you want a neighbour who would be there in your moment of need – maybe even go as far as risking their life for you?

Well, you may have heard that just over a month ago, a resident here in Manchester did just that.

Robert Chilowa ran to the scene of a ferocious blaze engulfing a neighbour’s house after hearing screams of terror. He rescued two young children from the flames and assisted another who had broken her ankle in the disaster that had already claimed the lives of their grandparents. His heroic efforts were the only saving grace in an otherwise tragic event.

Now, I’ll take a pretty good guess that you’d want this man as your neighbour, right? Well, despite braving the devastating fire in Withington, rightly garnering national headlines, he has now been threatened with deportation.

Mr. Chilowa received a letter from the Home Office informing him he had no right to stay and was to be deported back to Zimbabwe. Mr. Chilowa is a member of the political opposition party in Zimbabwe, and could face persecution for his political activity, were he to be forced to return.

Deporting this man would be an act of gross injustice, critically undermining our sense of humanity and our commitment to inclusion and tolerance. As a Liberal Democrat, as a local representative, as a Mancunian, as a citizen of the UK and the world, I will not stand by and watch this happen.

After meeting and speaking with Robert last week, I wrote a letter to Home Secretary Amber Rudd demanding that he be allowed to continue living here in Withington.

Yesterday, I made my letter public. And since then, more than 700 people have backed me.

An extension to his deportation deadline was granted, but a final hearing will be held this week to determine whether he can stay, and I need you to stand with me.

I need you to stand up for an open, tolerant and united country, and I need you to do it right now.

Because this may be happening in Manchester, but it is of national significance – just think about the kind of message we would send out if he were forced to leave the UK? Right now, whilst a family mourns, this Government, instead of lauding and thanking a hero, is trying to deport him.

I need you to add your name to my campaign. Please, go here, add your name and share it as far as you possibly can.

Lib Dems call for £7m extra for NHS in Bury

The Liberal Democrats have slammed the Government’s failure to provide enough extra cash for the NHS in today’s budget, warning that local services will struggle to cope with growing demand.

Ahead of the budget the Liberal Democrats called for a £4 billion funding boost for NHS and care services this year. That would amount to a cash injection of £7 million for local NHS services in Bury and £6.7 million for social care across Bury. The Budget announced by the Government today will instead see the share of national income spent on the NHS fall in the coming years.

NHS services in Greater Manchester currently face a funding gap of £897 million by 2020-21, analysis of local NHS plans has found. The NHS funding crisis also risks being made even worse by the Government’s hard Brexit plans, which are set to increase borrowing by £100bn in the coming years.

Liberal Democrat spokesperson Councillor Tim Picktone commented:

“The Government is refusing to stump up the extra cash NHS services in AREA so desperately need.

“This is a woefully inadequate response to the impossible pressure our NHS and care services are under.

“Chronic underfunding of our NHS is leading to longer waiting lists, cancelled operations and loved ones being stranded in hospital.

“Only the Liberal Democrats are being upfront with people that to protect our NHS and care services, we may all need to pay a little more in tax.

“We will also stand up against Theresa May’s reckless plans to pull out of the Single Market that will blow a £100 billion hole in the public finances. It’s clear you can’t have strong NHS and care services with a hard Brexit.”

We need an emergency £4 billion for the NHS and Social Care in tomorrow’s Budget.

The Liberal Democrats have called for an extra £4bn funding in this week’s Budget for the NHS and Social Care services to tackle the crisis emerging across the country.

Cuts to local government have hit social care badly, with more than a million older people having un-met care needs and thousands stuck in hospital for days after their treatment has finished because the care they need once they return home is not available.

Alongside this, the NHS has seen rising demand for treatment and needs more funding to deliver vital improvements such as achieving equality of access to timely treatment for those with mental ill health, and digitising the NHS to improve care and to make the system more efficient.

The Liberal Democrats believe we need a long term solution for funding Health and Social Care which will include raising additional revenue for these vital services from taxation.

The party had established an independent expert panel who will make evidence based recommendations on how this can be delivered in the fairest way.

Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron said:
“People across the country know the cost of underfunded health and social care services. It is the longer waiting lists and the trolleys in hospital corridors. It is the shorter care visits and the loved ones stranded in hospital because their local authority hasn’t got the resource to provide the care they need.

“The Government cannot continue to avoid this issue. More money is needed for NHS and care and only the Liberal Democrats are being upfront with people about the tough decisions that need to be taken and that will include fair tax rises.

“This looks like it will only get worse, with Theresa May’s reckless dealings with Europe hitting our economy, meaning even less resources will be available. The Government needs to face facts – you can’t have a strong NHS and care service with a hard Brexit.”

Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary Norman Lamb said:
“It is time for a new deal for our NHS and care services.

“Anyone using the NHS and care services knows they need more money and that is what the Liberal Democrats will deliver. We will set out a long term plan for funding, which will include fair tax rises. However we also know that services are at crisis point. Patients can’t wait any longer. That is why the government must put in this upfront investment without delay.

“Patients and their families are fed up with politicians sidestepping the difficult questions when it comes to improving the NHS and social care services. I am determined to set out a bold, new deal and a vision that will safeguard Britain’s health and social care services for generations to come”.

Liberal Democrats are calling for an injection of £4 billion extra funding for 2017-18 and that it should be delivered as follows, to ensure it has maximum impact and reaches those services where it is needed most:

£2bn additional funding for social care
£1.5bn additional transformation funding, to deliver modernisation and improve efficiency in the NHS
£500m additional dedicated funding for mental health

Stepping Forward for Education.

The Liberal Democrats have a bold vision for what education in Britain could become. As party leader Tim Farron has said:

“Education creates the level playing field so that every individual can play a full part in their community”

Lib Dems know that education is not just about tests and targets. It’s also about making sure every student has the opportunity to unlock their potential.

Kirsty Williams AM

Last week, Kirsty Williams spoke about the Liberal Democrats plans for education in Wales. In her Welsh Assembly role as Lib Dem Secretary for Education, Kirsty is making sure that ‘Liberal voices and Liberal values’ are heard so that we can create “an education system that the profession are proud of and that parents and learners have confidence in”

 

Mayoral Candidate: Jane Brophy

Here in Greater Manchester our Mayoral candidate Jane Brophy is speaking up for our local young people too. Speaking at a hustings event in the city centre Jane said she would press Greater Manchester’s council leaders to invest in services for young people and fight against budget cuts to youth centres. “We are not serious about aspiration if we choose to cut services for people who need them the most”.

 

KEEP UP with JANE and KIRSTY: 

Jane Brophy

Kirsty Williams

Reporting Back: Bury’s Budget Council 2017

At Bury’s recent ‘Budget Council’ Meeting the proposals from the majority Labour Group were voted through, which is a Council Tax increase from 1 April 2016 of 4.94%. Your local Liberal Democrat councillors voted against this budget.

The increase is made up of a basic increase of 1.94%, plus a further 3% ‘social care levy’. Bury has opted to ‘front load’; the Social Care Levy increases, so although this wasn’t announced last night, we can expect a further increase of 4.94% the year after, and 1.94% in 2019/20. This means Bury’s Council Tax will rise by almost 12.5% over the next three years.

When the Police Authority and Fire Authority charges are taking into account the actual rise for a Band D property will go up about £72 from April. A full list of the new Council Tax band rates is below.

One piece of good news is that an extra £10 million is to be invested in roads and highways over the next three years. The Council will borrow the money, paid back from the savings it makes from not having to make so many road repairs. Just how far £10 million will stretch remains to be seen – Lib Dem-run Stockport borrowed £100,000 million a few years ago which has enabled them to resurface about 1/3 of their roads – so I think we can all see that £10,000 isn’t going to do everywhere in across the whole of Bury.

The three-year budget sees ‘cuts’ of over £30 million pounds in almost every area of Council work following the relentless reduction in money that Councils get from the Government. We are very concerned that not enough detail is being given to members of the public about what these cuts will mean – what services will be cut, what jobs will be lost – and it would be better to be ‘up front’ about what the savings mean.

What did the Liberal Democrat councillors do?
The Liberal Democrat Group voted against the budget. Although we recognise that so much money has to be saved we felt that we couldn’t vote for £30 million of cuts when we didn’t know what they would mean to ordinary people.

We did propose changes to the budget:
– More money to help keep some of the smaller libraries open using volunteers.
– More money to help clear up fly-tipping.
– Money to provide for additional parking enforcement around schools.
These proposals were unfortunately voted against by the majority Labour Group.

Council Tax for 2017/18 is:

Band A – £1,096.26
Band B – £1,278.98
Band C – £1,461.69
Band D – £1,644.41
Band E – £2,009.83
Band F – £2,375.26
Band G – £2,740.67
Band H – £3,288.81

Powering a New Economy

This Morning Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron set out our vision for a new green economy.

Speaking at a Policy Exchange event in central London Tim said, “My plan is for Britain to become entirely energy self-sufficient.”

During the coalition government the Liberal Democrats worked hard to expand green industry but since then, the Conservatives have dismantled that progress at breath taking speed. Despite the governments recklessness, renewable energy has now overtaken coal as the world’s biggest source of power-generating capacity. Clean energy costs are tumbling, while the potential for industry growth is rapidly expanding. Britain has been at the forefront of developing this technology but we are in danger of falling behind as the rest of the world catches on.

Tim Farron speaking in central London

“It is a new industrial revolution. We can do as the Victorians did. Lead it, prosper from it, and stand tall across the globe as a consequence”

China is working towards becoming a green energy superpower, making huge investments in solar technology. India is making strides in their development of wind power. Ireland has voted to become the first country to divest completely from fossil fuels. This new global momentum gives British technology an opportunity to lead on the world stage, creating jobs, driving our economy forwards and reducing our carbon footprint in the process.

Bury’s Library Review – Formal Consultation

Bury Council is now formally consulting on its proposals to close 10 or 11 of our 14 libraries.

Consultations run until 27 April.

There are two options are:
1) to retain the following library buildings: Bury (plus Archives), Ramsbottom, and Prestwich;
2) to retain Bury (plus Archives), Ramsbottom, Prestwich and Radcliffe.

You can read the proposals online at http://www.bury.gov.uk/libraryservicereview or read a hard copy at any library or at Bury Town Hall, Whittaker Street in Radcliffe, and 3 Knowsley Place in Bury.

How to have your say:
Online – go to https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/bury-libraries-consultation
By post – to Bury Library, Manchester Road, Bury BL9 0DG
By email – to library.suggestions@bury.gov.uk

Liberal Democrats across Bury are campaigning to save our libraries – you can sign our petition below.

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Update: Unaccompanied Child Refugees

Last week, when media attention was focussed on the Article 50 vote in Parliament, the Government quietly back-tracked on the previous commitment to help unaccompanied child refugees.

Previously the ‘Dubs amendment’ had secured a commitment, with all-Party support, to take in 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees. The Government is now closing the door on child refugees with only 300 in the country.

Bury, along with 22 other North West Local Authorities, responded to a request from the Home Office and agreed to oversee 4 of these vulnerable young people whom were being moved from France under a National Transfer Scheme for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children.

These young people are being supported in appropriate accommodation to access health, education and build on their independence and life skills. These young people are now Looked After Children by Bury and we are their corporate parents.

Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron MP has written the following open letter to the Prime Minister on this change of policy:

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Tim Farron – Click to play

Dear Theresa,

Yesterday during your statement on the Informal European Council I asked you if you would guarantee that your Government would continue to take unaccompanied child refugees from Europe under the Dubs scheme (section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016). Your failure to give this reassurance in your response yesterday was concerning and I hope that in your response to this letter you can clarify the Government’s position on the Dubs scheme.

As you will know the DUbs amendment was borne out of cross-party support for Save the Children’s call for the UK to take 3000 children, our fair share of unaccompanied child refugeees who had fld conflict and arrived in Europe. The narrow criteria offered in the guidance on how to implement Dub was not in the spirit of the amendment in Greece and Italy, where many children continue to languish is far wider.

Whilst the number of arrivals to Greece and Italy have declined from their peak the crisis continues and we can expect arrivals to rise as the weather improves this year. It will therefore be of the utmost importance that the Dubs passage continues to be open to these vulnerable children throughout the rest of this Parliament.

I would appreciate if you could offer this guarantee in no uncertain terms in your response, anything less will be viewed as a betrayal by your Government of Parliament, the public and the unaccompanied child refugees who have risked their lives to reach safety and now face homelessness, exploitation and a lack of safety in Europe.

Yours sincerely,

Tim Farron MP

Stunning Lib Dem Victory in Labour’s Heartland

The Liberal Democrats have pulled off a stunning victory in the previous Labour heartland of Rotherham, taking the seat from Jeremy Corbyn’s party and receiving almost four times as many votes as Labour.

Local doctor Adam Carter came from fourth place last time to win 2,000 votes in Brinsworth and Catcliffe ward. Labour were second on just 519 votes in a five-way contest. It is believed to be the best win by any party since the ward was created, beating Labour’s huge 63.2% in 2011.

rotherham-bar-chart

Adam is the first Liberal Democrat to win a council seat in Rotherham this century. It is the 27th net gain in council by-elections for the Liberal Democrats since May, while the next best performing party in British politics has just three net gains over the same period.

Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “This just shows how in real votes cast up and down the country every week, the Liberal Democrat fight-back is gathering pace.

“It would be fair to say that Rotherham has not been an area where we have excelled electorally in the past, so to win by such a massive margin here shows that something is changing in British politics.

“We are not just winning in places such as Richmond Park. Rotherham voted to Leave, and many Leave voters feel let down by an uncaring and divisive Conservative Party but are also fed up with an extreme and unelectable Labour Party.

“With Labour hauling up the white flag, all over the country Liberal Democrats are showing that we are the real opposition to the Conservative Brexit government.”

Tim Farron has been reaching out to Leave voters abandoned by the two main parties and was himself in Yorkshire this week to talk to Leave voters in Doncaster.