On Tuesday 14th July a super-insulated model house will be built outside Parliament by Kevin McCloud of "Grand Designs" and the Great British Refurb Campaign team to show what can be done and why MPs and the government need to back the campaign. A massive refurbishment program will make a major contribution to reducing carbon emissions from our homes and create thousands of "green collar" jobs in our communities.
Do we need a new Defence Minister? Bob Ainsworth's comments that helicopters do not remove risk is accurate enough but the underlying implication that the shortage of helicopters may not be important to the war is worrying. Helicopters get troops into position quickly with less risk from roadside bombs; they can also get troops out of tricky situations quickly. They deliver troops behind enemy lines, and in Afghanistan we are now fighting Taliban soldiers who are not fading away when attacked. They enable surprise to be achieved, flanks turned, and they get our seriously wounded back where they can be treated effectively. Suppression fire from 'attack' helicopters deliver a ferocious frightening assault. If we don't have the money to support our troops because our top brass, and top politicians think Trident adds to 'national prestige' then we need reform of more than the political system! Scrap Trident and make sure our troops have what they need!
Schools in Bedford Borough have not received any financial reports from the new Council, causing difficulties for schools trying to manage their budgets without key monitoring information. Local schools should receive monthly reports from the Council, but have yet to receive any since the financial year began in April. Liberal Democrats raised the matter at a meeting of the Council's Children's Services Policy Review and Development Committee on Thursday night, and received assurances that the first set of reports will be with schools by the the end of the summer term next week.
Wolverhampton South West Liberal Democrats have had stalls at the Wombourne Carnival and the Albrighton Fair which are held every July. At both events there were very large crowds eager to visit the stalls and this resulted in record profits.
Every week I travel around the country, meeting people in local town halls and listening to their views. Anyone can ask me (just about) anything, I also get a pretty good picture of how people across the UK feel about politics.
Over 11,000 children in England under-16 were being treated for alcohol and drug dependency in the last year according to figures highlighted by the Liberal Democrats.
