Thank you to all who voted for her, and for the army of volunteers who put so much effort in.
The work starts now.
You can watch her gracious acceptance speech via this link.
Court Ward's new Lib Dem councillors are bringing their advice surgeries to the Longmead Centre in Sefton Road. The first surgery will be held on Saturday 8th December between 10.00 am and midday. The surgery is free and no appointment is necessary. The December surgery provides an opportunity for local residents to talk about the Hollymoor Lane redevelopment for which the borough council has now received a formal planning application.
Epsom & Ewell Borough Council has agreed that providing facilities for young people, specifically 11 - 19 year olds, should be a priority over the next few years in local recreation grounds. The proposal, put forward by the Lib Dems at October's meeting of the Leisure Committee, will be taken forward by the council.
Lib Dem councillors Nigel Pavey and David Buxton have been successful in persuading the Borough Council to look at the benefits of putting money aside into a Climate Change Fund.
The issue of waste remains high on the agenda in Surrey, with not one but two draft waste plans up for discussion. The first, which ended its 6 week period of public consultation in December 2005, comes from the position of Surrey County Council (SCC) as the Waste Planning Authority (WPA) and is called "The Surrey Waste Plan - The Preferred Plan". This basically sets out the County's overall strategy of where and how waste should be handled, giving site specific details. The Liberal Democrats at County Hall criticised this plan as being fundamentally flawed, back in September, because it was predicated on incineration and highlighted a preferred site, Capel. We are still awaiting the results of the public consultation.
Surrey County Council has outsourced its highways maintenance to two contractors, one for the west and one for the east. Since its start 3 years ago the management of this Tory-inspired arrangement has been heavily criticised, with work not being done on time or to budget. Lib Dems are seeking to ensure that these issues are addressed by beefing up the management of the contract and ensuring that its performance indicator criteria deliver on-time and on-budget results. We are very concerned that yet another Tory reorganisation of the transportation service (proposed in the Business Delivery Review) will damage the county's ability to manage the contractors. Also proposed in the BDR is a cut in the maintenance budget to spend more on capital. In the short term (5 years) that will mean worse roads in Surrey!
As part of the BDR review ordered by SCC's Tory executive - and endorsed at a council meeting with only the Lib Dems voting against - there are plans to close six libraries in order to ensure that SCC hits government CPA targets for the ones that will remain open.The libraries that are proposed for closure are:
Space is no longer science fiction – it underpins our economy, security, and daily lives. Our new policy will renew the National Space Strategy, support UK spaceports and hubs, and designate space as a strategic industry.
The UK’s asylum system is failing, leaving people fleeing conflict stuck in temporary housing, unable to work, and separated from their loved ones. Our new policy gives practical solutions to clear up the broken system left by the Conservatives.
The Online Safety Act was meant to protect people, yet its flawed implementation risks undermining privacy, free expression, and secure communication. Our new policy addresses our concerns and fights for a digital future where rights are protected.
