More than 700,000 adults of working age have been claiming benefits for as long as Labour has been in power, new figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats reveal. That is the same number of people as the adult populations of Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol combined.
The Liberal Democrats are calling on Shepway Council to follow the example of other councils and make meetings available to watch on-line. Web-casting of meetings is increasingly common and low cost, and the Lib Dem motion seeks a partner company to make the meetings available at no or very low cost to local taxpayers.
Folkestone Councillor Tim Prater has put a motion to the forthcoming Shepway District Council meeting asking that in future, local residents get a say in where grants from the Council should go.
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has welcomed a new opinion poll in The Observer that suggests the next general election will not be a "shoo-in". Mr Clegg was speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show. The poll suggests that the Conservative lead over Labour has been reduced to just 6% and if repeated at a general election it would result in a hung Parliament.
Liberal Democrats in North Wiltshire are in great heart following their annual fundraising dinner in Calne Town Hall this week (Saturday 21 November). Following an excellent meal prepared by local caterers Andrew and Frances Evans, they heard from the Prospective MP Mike Evemy and Graham Watson, MEP for the South West and Gibraltar. Mike talked about his plans to unseat James Gray at the forthcoming general election whilst Graham focused on recent events in Europe including Conservative MEPs leaving the centre-right mainstream and the appointments of the Council President and High Representative.