Message from Nick Clegg on the Fairness Premium

Today is a defining moment for the Liberal Democrats. Today we show what can be achieved as a party in power – that we can deliver on a promise that we put on the very front page of our manifesto: giving a fair chance to every child.

The Liberal Democrat’s purpose in Government is to make Britain a better, fairer nation. And ahead of next week’s comprehensive spending review, today we set out our plans for a four-year, £7 billion investment in improving opportunities for the most disadvantaged kids in this country.

Every disadvantaged two year-old will be entitled to 15 hours free early education – in addition to the existing entitlements at the ages of three and four. Every poor school child will get additional help from a Pupil Premium paid to their school. Every young adult who wants to go to university will be able to do so, undeterred by financial barriers.

By the end of the spending review period, we will be investing £3 billion a year on this Fairness Premium – including £2.5 billion on the pupil premium alone, £300 million on the extra help for two year-olds and £150 million on the university fairness scheme. From next year, we will he helping poorer children from two to twenty: from a child’s first shoes to a young adult’s first suit.

Given that we are having to cut spending these are sizable new commitments. But even as we cut spending, we are determined to invest in fairness.

Whatever Labour say, we have no choice but to tackle the deficit. Ed Miliband thinks otherwise. He says he represents a ‘new generation’. But he seems happy to saddle the next generation with the debt that his Government racked up. I am not.

Every day we lose more in interest payments to the financial markets: the amount we pay in interest is enough to build a new primary school every hour. Let me be absolutely candid: we have a hard road to recovery ahead of us. But also let me assure you, that as Liberal Democrats we are determined to ensure that road leads to fairness, too.

For me, this is personal. A decade ago I argued in favour of a pupil premium to help children and close the educational gap. Under Labour this gap has been left to widen and for too long the achievements in life have been dictated by the circumstances of birth. I represent a constituency in Sheffield where, for all Labour’s promises, inequalities still scar the community.

All of us are having to work hard in order to make the spending review fair. We’re all having to accept difficult cuts in many areas of public spending that we would very much rather avoid. Both parties in Government are having to negotiate and compromise. We’re all having to change our positions on some issues when the arguments demand it.

But all of us in this government, including the Prime Minister and myself, are not willing to compromise on a better future for the poorest children.

None of this would have been possible without all the hard work done by members up and down the country at the last election and over the many years before that. We should all be proud that we are delivering in Government the changes for which we have campaigned for so long.

Liberal Democrat Party Conference Report

Six members of the Lib Dem team here in Bury have just returned from the Liberal Democrat Party conference in Liverpool.

What a busy week it’s been. It’s the first time (since the 1930s) where the Liberal Democrats have been a Party of Government, and as a result there was more media interest, and interest from “lobbyists” and pressure groups. As a result this was by far the largest Lib Dem (or Liberal) conference in living memory – apparently over 7000 delegates, guests, press, lobbyists and staff!

Conference is a busy mix of debates, speeches, training and “fringe” events. So there was no shortage of events to keep the six delegates from Bury busy throughout the week.

Conference kicked off on Saturday with a Conference “rally” with Nick Clegg MP launching the Liberal Democrat support for the “Fairer Votes” referendum next May (when voters decide whether to switch to the fairer Alternative Vote (AV) system of electing MPs). Some of the team went on to the 2010 Campaigner Awards organised by the Association of Lib Dem Councillors recognising Lib Dem campaign success in the last year.

Sunday saw Q&A with the Deputy Prime Minister, where ordinary Party members got an opportunity to ask Nick about his role in Government. (Listen to a podcast (recording) of the Q&A here.) Debates in the main conference hall included an important debate on International Development where Lib Dems re-affirmed our long standing commitment to richer countries donating 0.7% of their GDP to the developing world.

Monday was dominated by the Leader’s speech. Normally we have this at the end of Conference, but Nick Clegg had to go to address the United Nations! You can read the full text here, of the speech here where the Leader sets out how the Liberal Democrats are delivering on our manifesto commitments in Government. The main debate in the hall was on “Free” Schools but also a busy day for delegates training – everything from being a better councillor to communicating well with local people.

Tuesday’s main speech was from Deputy Leader Simon Hughes MP. Delegates passed a resolution calling for equality in the laws around marrage (for mixed-sex and same-sex couples). On Wednesday the main speech for the media was Vince Cable (read here), and delegates reaffirmed Party policy that the replacement of Trident missiles should be reconsidered.

Some in the media probably expected this first conference “in Government” to be a difficult one for the Liberal Democrats. Our experience was the exact opposite:

At long last Liberal Democrats are delivering on our promises for a fairer Britain, a fair start for children, sorting out the economy and cleaning up politics.

Thousands of new members have joined the Liberal Democrats this year. There was a real “buzz” that this is a Party which is up to the challenge of Government and clearing up the mess left by Labour.

And Liberal Democrats are succeeding in real elections. Since the General Election Liberal Democrats have been making gains in the many local council by-elections that happen every week – including seven gains from the Conservatives!

There is more information on Conference on the national Party website www.libdems.org.uk. You can read our very own Councillor Vic D’Albert’s take on the leader’s speech here and Councillor Richard Baum’s write up on changes to local government here.

Statement on Council Chief Executive and Budget Savings

Following the announcement of the early retirement of Bury Council’s Chief Executive, and the need to make up to £24 million of savings over the next four years Liberal Democrat Group Leader Tim Pickstone said:

“We will be extremely sorry to lose Mark Sanders from Bury Council. Mark has been a key part of some significant progress in Bury over the last nine years and will be a great loss to the Borough.

“Even in the timing of his retirement shows leadership around the significant savings that the Council has to make over the coming years.”

On the £7 Million a year budget cuts:

“Everyone knows that significant savings need to be made across all areas of public spending after the deficit built up under the last Labour Government. Bury’s share of this will be a huge challenge”

“We believe that all parties need to work together on finding a way through these savings. We need to ask the people of Bury what they think so that the future services provided by the Council best meet what local people need and want”.

Statement on Local Area Grant Funding

Following the decision by Bury Council, supported by all three parties to support moves to restore the Local Area Partnership Grants, Liberal Democrat Group Resource Spokesperson Councillor Richard Baum said:

“When we heard that the Local Area Partnership (LAP) Grants were to end following the grant cut by the last Labour Government we were devastated.”

“LAP Grants have provided much needed funds to improve our local area. In Prestwich, where I am a Councillor, grants have seen projects like Prestwich Festival, the Farmers Market and the Graffiti Clean Up – to lose all of this would be a disaster”.

“It is great that there is cross party support, facilitated by a Lib Dem amendment in Council, to finding a solution to restoring grants both this year and in the future”.

Grants Cuts put Prestwich Festival at Risk

Prestwich Festival and many other important community projects may be at risk after an annoucement that Bury Council is to cut all Area Board Grants in the current financial year.

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The Conservative-led Council has announced that there will be no Area Partnership grants for Prestwich – or any other the other parts of Bury this year. This is a grant scheme which has been running by the local areas for the last ten years. In Prestwich the grants have funded projects throughout the community, with the support for Prestwich Festival being the most visible in recent years.

Local Liberal Democrat Vic D’Albert said “This is another decision to cut services taken by the Conservatives without any consultation whatsoever. It’s damaging and not what people want. Once again we think the Bury Conservatives have got it wrong. We all know that cuts are needed to pay off Labour’s debt, but yet again the Tories at the town hall are cutting without asking people what matters to them.

“The Prestwich Festival is something we’re really proud of. We will fight to keep it going, and the Council need to realise how much this means to local people. They have made their decision without asking anyone, and are making the people of Prestwich pay disproportionately for Labour’s debt mess.”

(Picture: Prestwich Carnival Parade this summer)

100 days – Message from Nick Clegg MP

Today, the coalition Government is 100 days old.

I want to take this moment to say thank you once again for all your support, all your hard work, all your generosity. Thank you for everything you did to help us win over a million more votes for the Liberal Democrats in the General Election. Thank you for getting Liberal Democrat ministers into government for the first time in generations.

Today I made a speech about how the Coalition government is building a fairer society in Britain. You can read it here.

Both David Cameron and I have always made it clear that we are governing Britain for the long term, not for tomorrow’s headlines.

One of our main long-term goals is to increase social mobility. A fair society is one where everyone has the chance to do well, regardless of their beginnings. A society where no-one is held back by the circumstances of their birth. Where what counts isn’t what school you went to, the job your parents did or the colour of your skin, but your ability and ambition.

Read the rest of this entry.

Victory on Traffic Improvements (Prestwich)

Councillors and residents victory with Prestwich traffic improvements
Local Lib Dem Councillors have joined residents in welcoming a pair of improvements to traffic hotspots in Prestwich. After lengthy campaigns, new restrictions on parking have been proposed for Queen’s Drive and School Grove, making roads safer for residents and fellow drivers.

The plans for Queen’s Drive will see extended double yellow lines opposite Rochester Avenue. Liberal Democrat Councillor for Sedgley Steve Wright said “I welcome these plans, as we have been helping residents campaign for them for years. Parking near to the police college has always been difficult, making the road dangerous especially for parents and children at nearby schools.”

In St Mary’s ward, the turning circle on School Grove will also be made a “No Waiting at any time” zone. Cllr Richard Baum said “This area is frequently packed with people stopping for the nearby school. It is dangerous for the children and not fair on the people who live on School Grove. These improvements will make things better for everyone.”

The plans have been considered by the Council’s Traffic Management Unit and will be formally advertised in the coming days.

Members and Supporters Events – Summer / Autumn 2010

Saturday 31st July, from 6.30pm
PIZZA AND POLITICS
Hosted by Cllrs Vic and Mary D’Albert
17 Prestwich Park Road South, Prestwich, M25 9PF.
Come along for an informal evening of food and political chat.
Cllr Donal O’Hanlon will lead a discussion on “The Big Politics: getting people involved in
politics without talking politics!”
£3 per person (pay on the night)

Monday 2nd August, 7.30-9.30pm
EXECUTIVE MEETING
Elton Liberal Club, New George Street, Bury BL8 1NW.
All welcome to join this meeting of party business.

Sunday 29th August, from 4pm
SUMMER BBQ
Hosted by Cllr Ann Garner and the Executive
182 Glebelands Road, Prestwich, M25 1NJ.
£10 donation per adult.
All contributions towards the BBQ, bottles and raffle prizes much appreciated.
Please book in advance by contacting Ann (ann@burylibdems.net, 0161 798 0117)

Friday 10th September, 7 for 7.30pm
QUIZ NIGHT
Elton Liberal Club, New George Street, Bury, BL8 1NW.
Tickets in advance or on the night.
For more information and for tickets contact Robert Sloss.
£15 per team (maximum of 6 people).
If you don’t have a team, come along and we’ll put together teams on the night.

Tuesday 21st September , 7.30pm
SCHOOL GOVERNORS’ MEETING
82 Glebelands Road, Prestwich, M25 1NJ
This meeting will be led by Cllr Ann Garner and is for members who are school governors
or those interested in finding out more about being a governor. The meeting will discuss
changes to policy and procedure and budget challenges. For further details contact Ann
(ann@burylibdems.net, 0161 798 0117).

Prestwich LAP Votes NO on Parking Charges

Prestwich Local Area Partnership voted overwhelmingly against Bury Council’s plans to impose parking charges on Fairfax Road at its meeting on 15th July.

The vote was taken after the controversial plans were outlined at the meeting. Angry residents in the audience grilled Council parking chiefs for half an hour after it was confirmed that the Council plan to charge motorists £1 to park for up to an hour, and £2 afterwards.

St Mary’s ward Councillor Richard Baum said “It was clear that everyone in the room was against these proposals. It’s all about making money for Bury Council by punishing the people of Prestwich. These charges mean that people going to the doctors or the walk-in centre will have to pay. That’s just not fair, and that’s why I voted against the parking charges at the LAP like I did at the Council meeting when they were first proposed.”

Sedgley Councillor Steve Wright said “Local people are angry and we need to make it clear to the Conservatives at the Town Hall that Prestwich opposes these proposals. They are bad for business, bad for traffic congestion and bad for the town. I appeal to everyone in Prestwich to try and beat these plans by letting the Council know how much we oppose these charges.”

Lib Dems call for Consultation on Cuts

Local Liberal Democrats have accused Bury Conservatives of threatening the future of the town after big cuts were announced to Town Hall budgets last week.

The Council confirmed a range of cuts to be made immediately, including a reduction in funding for children’s services, playgrounds and roads. The decisions were made with immediate effect and without the involvement of Councillors or local people.

Commenting, Cllr Tim Pickstone the leader of the Bury Liberal Democrats said “We all know that cuts need to be made because of the huge debts left by the last Labour government. But this is the wrong way to go about making those cuts. In just a few days the Conservatives have decided to slash vital services without asking local people what they think is important.

“Why didn’t the Conservatives at the Town Hall ask other Councillors to talk to local people and get a sense about where they would like to see the cuts made? If they’d have asked local people they’d have found out just how bad some of their plans are. For instance, all year people have been telling me how much the roads need better maintenance, and yet this is the first budget to be cut. That’s madness and it isn’t fair. Local people have also said that they want more facilities for young people, but this budget too has been cut straight away. Where’s the sense in that?

“I call on the Conservatives to start a big consultation with local people right now about the full options for these necessary cuts, and I call on local people to let us know what their priorities are so that local Lib Dems can work with local people as we make the best of the mess the Labour Government have left us in.”