Last Chance for Heaton Park?

Local residents campaigning against turning the St Margaret’s end of Heaton Park into a commercial soccer centre are fearful that a current request for review by the Secretary of State might be the “last chance” to save the park.

Manchester City Council passed the controversial plans for artificial soccer pitches, tennis courts, car parking and a club house which would take up the entire St Margaret’s corner of Heaton Park earlier this year. This was despite more than 10,000 people raising objections in some way to the plans, with letters, petitions and the “Save Heaton Park” Facebook group. Following the decision the campaigners have taken legal advice about the decision, and have asked the Government Office for the North West through Ivan Lewis MP to refer the decision to the Secretary of State for reconsideration.

Local Liberal Democrat Councillor Tim Pickstone, who worked with the campaigners said: “It’s a terrible shame but this really does seem like it’s the last attempt to save the park. Hopefully the powers that be will see sense. There is clearly so much wrong with this decision. How any elected official can ignore so much local opposition continues to amaze me”.

“The campaign group want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone who has been so supportive. The level of support for the campaign has been absolutely brilliant. We will keep people informed on how the referral to the Secretary of State goes.”

Vince Cable’s speech to Party Conference

Some of us are in Birmingham as Bury Liberal Democrat’s reps to our national conference.

Vince Cable spoke to Conference today. Here’s his statement and a link to his speech:

I have a very simple message for you. We the Liberal Democrats were right about the financial crisis. We warned of the dangers and led the debate when the crisis came. And now we have a clear vision for the future of the British economy.

Now the public wants to know who can guide the country out of the present crisis. Who’s going to deal with the broken, discredited banking system. Who’s going to lead Britian out of the longest recession since the War. And who will deal with the unsustainable level of Government borrowing.

Today in my speech to Liberal Democrat Party Conference I set out the Liberal Democrat answers to these questions. You can read it here.

The challenges are enormous. We have to be frank with people about the difficulties ahead. We have to be fiscally responsible. But the Tories and their cronies want to create a financial panic to frighten people into voting for them on May 6th.

Only the Liberal Democrats have identified £15bn of savings to make from bloated bureaucracy and unaffordable commitments. We will identify our priorities and debate them publically. That’s open, democratic and Liberal.

Only the Liberal Democrats will invest in jobs with a Green New Deal.

Only the Liberal Democrats will change our unfair tax system so that 3.6 million people will no longer pay any income tax at all. Pensioners will be £100 better off and the average person’s income tax bill will be cut by £700.

People are desperate to see the back of this Labour Government. But they don’t want the same old Tories. And make no mistake, the Tories are exactly the same.

Thank you for what you are doing in the Liberal Democrat campaign to change Britain for real.

Nick Clegg – “I am not the Kingmaker”

‘We’ve just returned from Birmingham as one of the delegates from Bury Liberal Democrats to the Party’s national Spring Conference.

There’s a link to Nick Clegg’s speech to Conference below – well worth a read. In a statement Nick said:

I’m not the kingmaker.

45 million voters are the kingmakers.

Today I’ve used my keynote speech to our Spring Conference in Birmingham to make that one very simple, very important point. Some days the papers say our party is doing a deal with Labour. Some days the Conservatives. But they can’t predict the future. I can’t predict the future.

Voters should give politicians their marching orders – not the other way around.

We’ve made it clear how our Party will change Britain.

Under the Liberal Democrats, no-one will pay tax on the first £10,000 they earn. That’s the most fundamental change to the tax system for decades.

We will give every child the fair start they deserve, by reducing class sizes and increasing one to one tuition in our schools.

We’ll rebalance the economy so that Britain is no longer just betting on things, but Britain starts building things again.

And we will build a clean, open, fair politics.

Things don’t have to be the way they are. The coming election is a chance to get fairness and to get change.

Almost 1 in 4 voters chose the Liberal Democrats at the last election. If that increased to 1 in 3, we could lead the next government.

That is what we can achieve together. Thank you for all you are doing to bring it about.

With all best wishes,

Bury Lib Dems Quiz Night this Friday

The Bury Liberal Democrats will be holding a fun quiz night on Friday 26th February.

The Grant Arms Hotel in Ramsbottom will be hosting us as we test to see if your brain has managed to defrost after the freezing winter! Entry cost is £15 per team,(max 6 per team) but if you can’t form a team, bring yourself along and we’ll make up some groupings on the night.

Start time is 7:30pm. 

We really hope to see you there – if you’d like more details, please get in touch.

Childrens Play at risk from dog mess

Children’s Outdoor play groups in the area are warning that dog fouling is threatening their future, making it unsafe for children to play outside. Local Liberal Democrat Councillors in Prestwich have called for the Council to fine offending dog owners and ask dog owners to be more responsible.
 
Cllr Andrew Garner, Sedgley ward Councillor, said “At a recent surgery we were told that a popular local children’s play group at St Mary’s Park is considering its future because the dog mess problem is so bad. Not only is it obviously unsightly, but it is a health hazard and children’s health are being put at risk. It’s very disappointing that beautiful parks are being spoiled like this, and that our children are suffering as a result.”
 
Local Councillors are calling on dog owners to take care that their pets don’t foul footpaths and park areas, and to clean up when this happens. There is growing anger that the Council are not doing enough to help residents with the problem and growing anger against selfish dog owners who don’t clean up after their pets.


A long-standing campaigner for Prestwich is Liberal Democrat Councillor for St Mary’s ward Donal O’Hanlon. He said “The Council have to do more to help us. Recently we discovered that Prestwich has significantly fewer dog waste bins than any other part of Bury. The Conservatives who run the town hall are neglecting Prestwich and it has to change. Where are our dog bins? Where are the dog wardens? Where are the clean up teams? This neglect of Prestwich from the Conservatives who run the Council is just not good enough, and now it’s harming our children.”

ENDS

A Fair Start for Children

Today at a speech to Barnado’s Nick Clegg announced one of our four key policies for the General Election campaign ahead – A Fair Start for Every Child.

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg today pledged to give every child a fair start in life by investing an extra £2.5bn in schools which could be used to cut class sizes, offer one-on-one tuition and provide catch-up classes.

In a speech to Barnardo’s this morning, Nick Clegg set out the Liberal Democrat manifesto pledge to introduce a Pupil Premium which would raise the poorest children’s school funding to private school levels.

Commenting, Nick Clegg said:

“One of the biggest challenges we face as a country is breaking this link between financial deprivation at home and educational under-achievement in the classroom.

“Despite all the money that has been spent by Labour, schools taking disadvantaged children aren’t getting the money they need to break this link by cutting class sizes and providing them with extra support.

“As we work our way out of this recession and rebuild a country which is fairer, we must ensure our school system gives every child a chance to fulfil their potential irrespective of their background and where they live.”

View a full copy of the speech here.

Read the rest of this entry.

TORIES CAN’T BE TRUSTED ON CRIME

Commenting on the launch of the Conservatives’ crime section of their draft manifesto, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said:

“The Tories love to tell you they are the party of law and order, when in fact they are the party of crime.

“Their disgraceful record in Government speaks for itself – crime nearly doubled, violent crime nearly tripled and robbery quadrupled. “A vote for the Tories is a vote for more crime; a vote for more tried and tested policies which don’t work. “The Tories cannot be trusted – one of their policies is to reduce one of the few remaining protections from the surveillance state.”

Vic D’Albert, Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Bury South added.

“The Conservatives’ crime policies are masked by a total disregard for the causes of crime and an insatiable determination to undermine Police resources. There policies are tough on paper, but don’t add up in the real world. As with their other “policies” pronouncements they are all spin and no substance.”

Nick Clegg Launches Youth Jobs Pledge

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg will today use a new and social media initiative co-hosted by the UK Youth Parliament to launch the party’s youth jobs manifesto pledge.

On the day that new statistics show the number of young people unemployed for more than six months has doubled in two years, Nick Clegg will announce the party’s plans using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The proposals would ensure young people do not spend more than 90 days on Jobseekers Allowance before they get more training, education, an internship or a place on a work programme.

Today’s announcement forms the next step in the Liberal Democrats’ economic stimulus and job creation package. The plans will invest almost £900m in increasing the number of further education places, giving students financial support to return to college and creating a paid internship scheme.

Nick Clegg said:
“Young people feel cheated by this recession. Everyone knows someone who has recently left college or university with hopes of starting a career only to find they cannot even get on the lowest rung of the job ladder. We must help them now or they will be left behind in any recovery.

Our promise of more training, education, an internship or a place on a work programme will give hope to the nearly one million young people who currently can’t find a job. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter play just as important a role as TV or newspapers in young people’s lives. Politicians can’t ignore new and social media if they want to connect with the next generation of voters.”

More information on the plans below:

Read the rest of this entry.

Lib Dems in fairer tax pledge

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg today pledged to put fair taxes at the heart of the party’s message to the British people.The party’s new tax plans will see tax cuts for millions of people, paid for by closing tax loopholes, making polluters pay and introducing a ‘mansion tax’ on homes worth over £2m.

Nick Clegg said:

“If you want to know how committed a government is to fairness then look at its tax system.

“Gordon Brown has created a tax regime that forces some of the lowest earners in society to pay hundreds of pounds in tax they can’t afford, while polluters and rich  tax dodgers avoid paying their fair share.  

“Meanwhile the Conservatives want tax cuts for millionaires, but say there might be tax rises for everyone else.

“Under our plans people won’t pay a penny on the first ten thousand pounds they earn. That would put £700 back in the pockets of the vast majority of tax payers, and take millions of people on low pay out of paying income tax altogether.

“Our plans represent the most radical, far reaching tax reform in a generation.

“They embody everything the Liberal Democrats stand for: fairness, protecting the environment, rewarding hard work.

“It is right to ask those with the broadest shoulders to bear a little more of the burden so that millions of people on normal earnings get the break they desperately need.”