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.
News that the future of the Library at Ewell Court House is secure was welcomed today by Cllr Nigel Pavey, who is treasurer of the Friends of Ewell Court Library. He said: "Those who worked so hard arranging a meeting with the Libraries chief and organising the petition against closure are to be congratulated. Everyone who uses the library will feel so relieved to know that this important community facility has been reprieved."
The threat to the YoYo Drop-in Centre for young people in Epsom Town centre was discussed at the recent meeting of SCC's Epsom & Ewell Local Committee. They unanimously passed a motion proposed by Cllr Colin Taylor calling upon SCC's Executive to re-consider their BDR review's proposal in the light of possible alterations to the facilities at the Lintons Youth Centre.
As well as Libraries and Youth Clubs, other Surrey County Council services threatened by the Tory BDR proposals include the Surrey History Centre, where the reduction in funding may seriously affect the quality of the service, and Surrey County Arts, which currently provides 278,000 music lessons annually. Proposals include increased tuition fees, even though tuition fees in Surrey are already 30% higher than the national average whereas some 42% of local authorities do not charge any tuition fees.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on the 10th of December a £340 million increase in this year's provisional grant for county councils, of which Surrey's share is £7.3 million, according to the Council's figures. The Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, Cllr Janet Maines says: "This is good news for Surrey residents who have been hit hard by Conservative Council Tax rises. The Liberal Democrats will put pressure on the Conservative Administration on Surrey County Council to use this money to keep Council Tax as low as possible, while making sure local services are protected. The Liberal Democrats have also recommended to the Conservative administration that they should put some funding into preventative measures that would keep the budget under control for future years."
Following a motion tabled by Lib Dem County Councillor David Timms, Surrey County Council has now publicly acknowledged its concern over a number of serious weaknesses in its Children's Services that were identified in a recent report by the Audit Commission and the Social Services Inspectorate. The Council has also committed itself to monitor progress towards overcoming these weaknesses.
At Surrey County Council's meeting on 21st October, Lib Dem Councillor David Timms challenged a statement made by the Conservative administration strongly suggesting that Surrey's Children's Services were a model to be emulated nationally. He asked why the Tories had not awaited publication of the results of a joint review of Surrey's social service department by the Social Services Inspectorate and the Audit Commission, before making this kind of boast.
The Liberal Democrats are standing up for our NHS, addressing the cost of living crisis, and ensuring everyone gets the support they need.
Time to elect fantastic Liberal Democrat MPs to champion their communities.
Families who remortgaged in 2023 are facing a mortgage bombshell of almost £9bn this year, with commuter belt areas in the Blue Wall hardest hit, new analysis commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.
