Bury’s Lib Dem Councillor Tim Pickstone discusses how to tackle the North West’s increasing suicide rates:

In Britain last year 4,700 people committed suicide. Three quarters of them were men, and suicide is the largest cause of death for young people and young men in particular.

The North West has the second highest numbers of suicide rates in Britain. Last year 567 men and 146 women took their own lives in the North West.

Yesterday the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, made an important announcement as part of a major commitment to ensuring mental health services get the same commitment as other health concerns:

Nick Clegg said: “Suicide is, and always has been, a massive taboo in our society. People are genuinely scared to talk about it, never mind intervene when they believe a loved one is at risk.

“This isn’t about blame. It is about doing more in every area of our society to ensure that people don’t get to that point where they believe taking their own life is their only option.”

In some areas of the the USA, health services have managed to get to a situation where there are zero suicides for people receiving healthcare support. Some areas of the UK already have plans in place to achieve this by 2017 (Liverpool, South West, East of England).

We believe this is something that should be tackled in our area, and Lib Dem Leaders across Greater Manchester are writing to the NHS in Greater Manchester asking for this issue to be raised.

You can join our campaign to stamp out stigma in mental health by signing up here.

It was reported yesterday that the Tories plan to strip people of their human rights and allow British judges to ignore rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), an essential court used for ensuring that the human rights of all people are being upheld.

Under their plans for a new bill which would replace the Human Rights Act, the Conservatives want to pick and choose who is entitled to human rights.

The Human Rights Act is essential in protecting the rights of the vulnerable and powerless. The Liberal Democrats in Government have refused to support the Conservatives’ plans to scrap the Human Rights Act and their latest plans underline how much they cannot be trusted to protect the human rights of individuals.

Their draft Bill of Rights would mean that illegal immigrants and criminals would be restricted to raising their right to family life in deportation cases.

Under the Conservatives’ plans, suspects and criminals would not be able to use their human right to family life to fight against deportation unless it was deemed an “exceptional” circumstance. In addition, the bill would also ensure that trade union membership in the police could be banned and that rulings allowing prisoners the right to vote could be overturned.

Liberal Democrats believe strongly in individual freedoms and protecting human rights, hence why the party has launched a campaign to say no to he Conservative’s plans to eradicate the human rights act.

Simon Hughes has warned against the introduction of a Snooper’s Charter, stating it as a step too far in tackling terrorism.

His comments came after the Conservatives announced plans to introduce a Snooper’s Charter if they are elected to govern in May’s General Election.

The proposed charter would see internet companies be required to keep a record of all websites visited by every single member of the public.

Liberal Democrats are calling for future security measures to be targeted, proportionate and to not infringe or trample on civil liberties.

Simon said:

“It is vital that the police and intelligence agencies are able to investigate and prosecute terrorists, including surveillance of communications. The Liberal Democrats have moved quickly in Government to plug the gaps in existing legislation to bolster these abilities.

“Future security measures must be proportionate, justified and necessary – and not trample on our civil liberties. The so-called Snoopers’ Charter, which would see the internet browsing of every single citizen stored for a year, fails these very reasonable precautions.

“The idea that you protect free speech by spying on every law-abiding person in this country is a contradiction in terms. You can’t have an open society if you are constantly worried that the state is prying into your daily life.”

A Snooper’s Charter would undermine the freedom of expression that all British citizens enjoy.

Passing a Snooper’s Charter would dramatically shift the relationship between the state and the individual. It would give governments the indiscriminate power to record every individual’s web history, e-mails and social media communications, irrespective of whether they are guilty or not.

Freedom of speech is a founding principle of our democracy and one which Liberal Democrats will act to protect.

Danny Alexander has called for cuts to be made to Bus fares following the news of falling gas prices. The Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury has also called on coach and package holiday operators to reduce their prices and reflect the recent drop in the cost of fuel.

In a series of interventions Danny has:

• Written to five major bus operators calling on them to pass on the dramatic falls in the diesel price to customers through lower fares. In his letter he points out that bus operators receive taxpayer support via a fuel subsidy and that fare paying passengers and tax payers will want reassurance that falls in diesel costs are being passed on.

• Written to London Mayor Boris Johnson urging him to ensure savings are passed on to bus users in London as swiftly as possible.

• Written to coach companies seeking re-assurance that long distance and commuting coach fares are reflecting the falling oil price fall as swiftly as possible.

• Written to package holiday firms pressing them to pass on savings accrued through lower air, coach and other holiday costs.

When commenting on his call for bus fare cuts, Danny said:

“With fuel prices dropping across the country it’s right that the full benefits are passed on.  Falling oil prices are like a giant tax cut to the economy.  But the positive effect will only be felt if the oil price falls are passed on.  While drivers are already seeing the cost of filling up the car come down, the millions of Britons who use the bus are still paying what they did a few months ago.

“On top of that many people will be planning their summer holidays now and looking for an early bargain. I want package tour operators to reflect the lower costs of fuel in their prices now.”

“Consumers have suffered the pain of high oil prices, it’s only right that companies and organisations do all they can to pass on as quickly as possible every last penny of oil price falls.”

“At the same time, these are worrying times for our valued North Sea Oil & Gas sector and they can be assured that I am committed to providing support where possible.”

We are now less than 4 months away from the 2015 General election, as well as an important round of local elections in Bury.

In the General Election we have two great Parliamentary Candidates – Richard Baum in Bury North and Paul Ankers in Bury South (see the full story here).

In the local elections our best chances will be in the Prestwich wards, where we have already selected our candidates. Four years ago (when these seats were last fought) we didn’t win any local council seats, so the only way is up!

The election is going to be tough, and we need your help to make sure Bury has a strong Liberal Democrat voice going forwards. Here is how you can help:

– help spread the message. Let us know if you would like to help out spreading the Lib Dem message in the press and on social media (Facebook/Twitter) etc – these are great ways to reach more people and let them know what we’re up to.

– stand as a local elections candidate. We need to make sure every part of Bury has a Liberal Democrat on every ballot paper. We have already selected our candidates in the Prestwich wards, but if you are willing to put your name forward in one of the other 14 wards in Bury please let us know.

– help on the campaign trail. Campaigning is taking place every week in our target wards in the Prestwich area, but to succeed we need your help. Sessions take place in both the working-week daytime, and at weekend – both talking to voters and leafleting. If you prefer to work in your own time we can give you a regular delivery round.

– help from home. If you would prefer to help from home there are two great ways you can help: We need help with clerical tasks, particularly writing addresses on envelopes which can be done from home; we also need help with phoning potential helpers to ask if they can help. We’re also planning some evening phoning sessions from city centre Manchester – which some people find more fun to work as part of a team.

– recruit a friend. Join the Party – from as little as £12 a year (£6 for young people) – or recruit a friend as a member. The more members we have the money we get from the national Party to use locally. You can sign people up online here.

– donate to local campaign funds. We desperately need money to make sure that every household in Bury hears from the Lib Dems in the election campaign. In the next few weeks we’ll be letting you know how you can help. Every little helps, no matter how small or big.

Any help you could offer us would be greatly appreciated, so don’t hesitate to contact one of the Bury Lib Dem Organisers, Michael Powell (07730 045287) or Ellie Hudspith (07758 215187), or alternatively send us an email to the following addresses:

michael.powell@aldc.org

ellie.hudspith@aldc.org

Yesterday the Liberal Democrats outlined plans to safeguard the future of the NHS. The plans increase a proposal to increase NHS funding by at least £8 billion per year in real terms by 2020.

The Liberal Democrats are the first party to present a plan which addresses the financial needs of the NHS as set out by Simon Stevens, the Chief Executive of NHS England in his Five Year Forward View.

To achieve this boost in funding by 2020/21, Liberal Democrats will do three things:

1) We will baseline into the budget of the NHS, the additional £2bn that Liberal Democrats secured in the Autumn Statement for 2015/16.

2) In addition to this funding we will invest a further £1bn in real terms in 2016/17, as we set out at our Autumn Conference. This will be paid for by capping pensions tax relief for the richest pensioners (saving 500m), aligning divend tax with income tax for those earning more than £150,000 (saving £400m) and scrapping the Conservative shares for rights scheme (saving £100m).

3) Once we have finished the job of tackling the deficit in 2017/18, we will increase health spending in line with growth in the economy.

As well as increasing NHS funding, the Liberal Democrats will also commission a non-partisan fundamental review of NHS and social care finances in 2015 before the next spending review, in order to assess the pressures that are currently being placed on NHS budgets.

We will focus extra funding on two key priorities that will help reduce cost pressures in other areas to help NHS funding remain sustainable. These priorities are:

1) Mental health. We want to end the discrimination against mental health and have pledged £500m extra a year to support this from 2015/16 onwards.

2) Prevention. Keeping people healthier for longer and supporting people to stay as healthy as possible and to receive care closer to home.

The Liberal Democrats are the only party to set out a credible road map for how we will safeguard the NHS over the next parliament.

Neither Labour or the Tories have a credible response to the funding challenges that the NHS faces. Labour have pledged £2.5bn only to be fully introduced by the third year of the next parliament and have not committed to any additional real term increases beyond that, while the Conservatives have made no specific real terms funding commitments.

The Liberal Democrats are the only party committed to increasing NHS funding by £8bn in real terms by 2020.

Norman Lamb has begun a campaign to get a fair deal for mental health services in the NHS.

The Liberal Democrat health minister said:

“People suffering from mental ill health have been let down by the NHS for decades. One in four of us who suffer from a mental illness in our lifetime, but there is an institutional bias against mental health, and it always been that way. Just £1 out of every £9 is spent on treating mental illnesses.

Liberal Democrats are changing that. We’re introducing waiting standards so that patients will have a right to treatment within a defined period of time. People with mental health conditions should have the same rights as someone waiting for an operation.

Next year we start with the first ever waiting standards for psychological therapies for people with conditions such as anxiety and depression and for ‘early intervention in psychosis’.

We just announced £150 million over 5 years for treating young people who suffer from eating disorders – with the aim of introducing a waiting time standard in 2016. It will mean fewer young people end up in hospital because of a failure to get help early enough.”

If you would like to show your support for Norman’s campaign to end the stigma which exists around mental health, then please click here.

Figures published last week by the Department for Education have revealed that attainment levels for primary schools are rising in every subject. In addition, the figures show that disadvantaged pupils are continuing to close the gap on their classmates.

Results taken from more than half a million 11 year olds (at Key Stage 2) show that the percentage of pupils achieving the expected level (level 4) in reading, writing and maths has risen by 3 percentage points to 79% while the proportion achieving the more challenging level 4b is also up – from 63% to 67%. The findings also show that since 2013, 22,000 pupils have improved their reading, writing and maths attainment levels.

Also despite a tougher new threshold, the figure’s show that the number of primaries judged to be below standard has remained stable.

Commenting on the figures, Liberal Democrat schools minister David Laws stated:

“I am pleased to see that primaries have responded to the challenge of a higher floor standard – we have raised the bar and schools have raised their game.

“It is also encouraging to see the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers continue to narrow and parents, teachers and pupils deserve to be congratulated for their efforts.

“But we know there is more to do and there are still too many areas with simply unacceptable levels of attainment for disadvantaged pupils.

“We are committed to helping schools do more and have increased the pupil premium they receive per pupil to £1,300 so they have the resources they need.”

Merry Christmas to everyone who helps, supports and is a member of the Lib Dem team here in Bury. We hope you have a very Happy Christmas and the very best for 2015. We’re taking a break from emails and texts for a couple of weeks, and we’re back in the office on 5 January 2015.

Michael Powell and Ellie Hudspith Bury Campaign Organisers