Cllr Freda Roberts pictured left, said “I am very worried about the proposals. I have spent many years supporting and visiting people at the centres right across Aylesbury and we all should be concerned at how drastic these cuts are.”

Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesman, Cllr Steven Lambert, said “these are much more than just a drop in centre. They are a lifeline for meeting friends, taking part  in a social life or even getting a hair cut or personal grooming sorted out in a safe personal environment. All these things cannot be replaced by an impersonal ’hub’ many miles away.”

Lib Dem County Council Group Leader Cllr Mary Baldwin said “I very concerned that the County are proposing such as move and I have asked for a briefing to be made at the Greater Aylesbury Local Area Forum on 5th July. Quite rightly, people will have questions such as what will happen to the people and carers for family members who use the services and how the County Council intend to meet that need?   

Cllr Chester Jones has asked questions on the future of Swan Rider

Bedgrove County Councillor Chester Jones added “this is a blow to the elderly and vulnerable of our community and comes on top of the County Council’s decsion to outsource the Swan Rider Service and I have written to the Tory Councillor responsible for transport for more details on her plans.”

Cllr Mark Willis has also raised concerns about the lack of proper conculstation as the planned venues do not include a venue in central Aylesbury, where many elderly residents live. Cllr Willis said “one thing that  the Local Area Forum must insist on is that the plans are widely consulted on and that the people of Aylesbury can access a local Consultation event, or it will have no value.”

Cllr Patrick 'The Lib Dems have always supported the development of a new Civic Centre/Theatre'

Aylesbury Liberal Democrats have called for changes to be made to how AVDC manages allegedly confidential information after it was revealed that a number of non confidential items such as the amount of types a certain beverage would be available at the new theatre were included in confidential papers supplied to a Cabinet sub-committee. Apparently, it was “too difficult” to separate out confidential and non-confidential material.

Lib Dem Councillors have called on the AVDC Chief Executive to take action after it was revealed that the Tory leadership were once again abusing the council’s secrecy rules on the new Theatre.

Cllr Steve Patrick said “The Lib Dems have always supported the development of a new Civic Centre/Theatre – after all it was a Lib Dem proposal in the first place – but we withdrew from the committee that oversaw the project because the way that the secrecy rules were used by the Tories prevented proper public scrutiny of the plans. Nor could we reveal the run-away costs or openly challenge some of the decisions that were being made”

Lib Dem Leader Alan Sherwell said “Although we have significant reservations over the way that the cost of the new Theatre has escalated, we want it to be a success. We also accept that information that might adversely affect the value for money that the Council gets when negotiating contracts or contract revisions has to remain secret whilst negotiations are going on. However, the theatre has been paid for by Aylesbury citizens and they have a right to know, as much as can be released without compromising contract negotiations. Keeping information about the numbers and types of beer that are on sale locked up in secret papers is just nonsense and gives the public no confidence in the way that the Tories are managing this project.”

Cllr Patrick continued “Another example of the way that Councillors are being kept in the dark unnecessarily is the “Theatre Members Package.” Whilst it is perfectly reasonable for those managing the theatre to draw up a “benefits package” for regular users, the fact that the package costs £1,500 and provides a luxury member’s only area named after Tory Council Leader John Cartwright perhaps explains why Councillors were kept in the dark about it. I don’t think that is what the public expect over £40 million of their money to be spent on!”

Lib Dem Councillor Corry Cashman said: “The present situation is the sort of thing you expect to read about in Private Eye! It may not be a great public interest story to know how many draught beers will be for sale, or who is going to unveil the new statue at the theatre: but why keep it secret? More serious is that secrecy over these comparatively minor matters is symptomatic of a deeper problem of attitude on the part of an administration clearly anxious to avoid public scrutiny of its actions.”

Steven 'delighted Equitable Life victims are to get compensation at last.'

Victims of the Equitable Life collapse can finally expect compensation as Liberal Democrat MPs push forward new legislation.

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman for Aylesbury, Steven Lambert, who signed the Equitable Life campaign pledge, described the announcement as a “massive relief” for the millions of people who lost up to half their pensions in the collapse.

The Equitable Life Bill, which was outlined to the House of Commons last Wednesday, will give the Treasury the authority to make payments to policyholders or dependents who have been fighting the Labour Government for compensation since 2000.

A previous Liberal Democrat motion to get compensation for the millions of people involved was defeated in October 2009.

Steven said “The previous Government continually ignored the millions of people who lost their savings. Many people in the Aylesbury constituency, where Equitable Life was based, lost up to half their pensions in the fiasco yet Labour failed to act, ignoring Liberal Democrat advice, ignoring the High Court and ignoring an Ombudsman report. This Bill is a massive relief to thousands of pensioners and is long overdue.

“I am delighted that something the Liberal Democrats have been calling for can now finally happen. We are using our position in Government to give policyholders the money they deserve.”

The Scheme sets out financial protectrion for residential owner occupiers of properties the value of which may be seriously affected by the preferred route option for any new high speed rail link between London and the West Midlands, and who can demonstrate that they have an urgent need to sell their property.

Steven Lambert, Parliamentary Spokesman said “I’m pleased the consultation period for the scheme has been extended. Many people still don’t know about it and that it is vital that as many people as possible respond so that the Government can put a hardship scheme in place as soon as possible.”

Consultation documents can be found on the Department for Transport’s website here

Or you can join the HS2 Action Alliance and complete their simple response form here

The closing date for this consultation has been extended to 17 June 2010 in order to give those with an interest the fullest opportunity to comment on the proposals.

Your views can be submitted in writing to:
High Speed Two Ltd – Exceptional Hardship Scheme Consultation
55 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0EU
Or
EHSconsultation@hs2.gsi.gov.uk

An EGM was held by the Aylesbury Constituency Liberal Democrats to discuss the formation of a coalition government between the Tories and Lib Dems. As the Lib Dems in Aylesbury are the main opposition to the Tories, and we are their closest rivals at the general election, emotions were high. However, the EGM provided a fair and rational discussion about the national situation.

Overwhelmingly the response was positive, with members offering a cautious optimism about the prospects of a Liberal Democrat and Conservative alliance in government. An outline of the terms of the coalition reveal that the Tories have made real concessions, and this offers us a chance to implement some of the policies that we have been campaigning so hard for. This document can be read online here.

Steven Lambert, Aylesbury’s Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate who addressed the EGM, had this to say, ‘As a party we have long argued the case for proportional representation as a sensible, mature and democratic way to govern our nation. So this is our chance to demonstrate to the country that shared power can work and convince them to support electoral reform in a referendum.’

However, we must also remember that the local district elections are coming up in 2011, and a coalition between the parties in Westminster does not mean a coalition in AVDC. While we control the Town Council, we are the main opposition to the Tories in the District and County councils.

Steven commented, ‘We are still the Liberal Democrats, we are still a party, and we are still the Tory’s opposition here in Bucks. That has not and will not change and we are looking forward to the challenges presented by the 2011 local election.’

In terms of votes cast, our percentage share demonstrates a core body of Liberal Democrat supporters in this constituency. While the recent boundary changes mean the 2010 result can’t be directly compared with 2005, a BBC estimate of the 2005 election based on the new boundaries indicate we have clearly managed to hold onto and increase our core supporters.

Our team has also grown in strength and our membership in numbers. We have welcomed many new people to the party as full members, who have been impressed by our local campaign and agree with our national policies. We now have many more active individuals who are keen to see Lib Dem policies implemented locally and nationally.

Finally, it is clear that we now have a strong platform here in the Aylesbury constituency and a clear mandate to fight for change.

“Hello, my name is Hannah Spinks and I want a fairer Britain. I’m not going to patronise you all by acting like this society that Labour has built is great, because it’s not. The country is on its knees and Great Britain is no longer great; voting for the Liberal Democrats is the only solution. For too long now the power to lead our country has been shared between Labour and the Conservatives who have both proven that they are unfit to rule.

When the Liberal Democrats come to power we intend to make Britain great once more, starting by introducing a fairer tax system so that everybody has equal opportunities and so that no one group in society feels the burden more than any other, something which has been happening for far too long.

Part of our struggle for equal opportunities involves being the only mainstream party with a commitment to scrapping university tuition fees. We believe that this is vital as it is already hard enough for young people to get a job, get on the property ladder and make ends meet, without being saddled with thousands of pounds worth of debt. How will we make this possible? As I said before I will not patronise you by saying it will be quick and easy but we do have a six-year plan, at the end of which university will be free for all and nobody will be disadvantaged by feeling that they cannot afford to move onto higher education.

Another important issue that the Liberal Democrats feel strongly about is crime- crime figures are far too high and too many people don’t feel safe in their homes and in their town centres. We will face this problem head on and by using the money that Labour wish to allot to ID cards we intend to put 3,000 more police officers on the beat in order to make you safe.

The Liberal Democrats are the only party offering a real change and true reform and know exactly how we will pay for it. There is no longer a need for cold- war style nuclear weapons which zap £100bn in a lifetime and by scrapping this system we will improve you quality of life.

As you can see, the Liberal Democrats are the only party to stand for real change. A two-party system has dominated this country for far too long and it is time to vote for the party that is different, the party that believes in fairness and equality, the Liberal Democrats.”

Steven was impressed by the strength of Hannah’s convictions and has welcomed her to the Liberal Democrats Liberal Youth group. He commented, “One of the biggest strengths of the Liberal Democrats is that we are the party for Hannah’s generation who are tired of seeing the old parties swapping power with each other without real reform.”

This result will be uncomfortable reading for local Tories who seem to have taken it for granted that they will win this seat.

After seeing the results Steven Lambert, Aylesbury’s Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate, had the following comments, ‘David Cameron thought that he could walk into Downing Street unchallenged. David Lidington, the local Tory, is just the same. He though he would be elected MP for this constituency virtually unopposed.

He’s wrong.

People from across the constituency have been telling me how frustrated they are with the current status-quo, and how much they long for a fairer Britain; one that isn’t characterised by successive red and blue governments.”

This poll proves that this is no longer a ‘safe’ Tory seat. The return of a Liberal Democratic candidate, offering the real difference that people want for our area, is a real possibility.

With the online poll results this close, everything is to play for. We cannot let this opportunity pass. Tomorrow is our chance. Make sure that your vote tomorrow between 0700 and 2200.

If you need a lift to the polling station, don’t worry. Just give us a call: 01296 39 55 11.

Your vote WILL make a difference.

Tomorrow vote for Steven Lambert and the Liberal Democrats – because Aylesbury deserves better.

Steven said, “Both Labour and Tory parties trot out the same excuses and accusations without dealing with a recognised issue for people on the doorstep. After 65 years of both of them pretending its the other party’s fault, we can only conclude that they are both getting it wrong and we need to address this urgently. Only the Liberal Democrats will do this.”

ID cards will not solve this problem

Since the Conservatives and Labour abolished exit checks in the 1990s, no one has any idea how many illegal immigrants are living here. Economists estimate that it is around 725,000. Labour and the Tories say they’ll deport them all, but the truth is this is neither possible nor desirable. It would cost billions and take decades. Steven added, “Having a National ID card will not stop illegal immigration, nor will it stop criminals. But it will create an underclass of citizen and that is not acceptable. We need a cohesive immigration policy that is sensible and practical.”

Many of these people are hard-working families who want nothing more than to contribute to life in this country. Instead they are forced to exist as an underclass – working but not paying tax, lacking employment rights, citizen rights and access to basic services like healthcare and banking.

The Liberal Democrats would ensure an earned route to citizenship for law abiders. Irregular migrants who have been living in the UK for ten years (seven for those who came as children) would be able to apply for a two-year work permit. They would have to speak English, pass civic tests and demonstrate a long-term commitment to this country. Those with a criminal record would not be eligible. After two probationary years working and paying tax into our economy, they would then be able to apply for citizenship.

As applicants have lived outside the law for years and not paid tax, we would charge them to undergo this process. As many will be poor, charges would be waived for those who undertake community or voluntary service. Steven said, “This is really earning citizenship and will provide dignity and security to those seeking sanctuary or full citizenship in the UK.”

The Lib Dems will focus deportation efforts on foreign criminals who have betrayed this country’s trust and abused the British system, but we will take into account family circumstances and time spent in the UK when making decisions on a case by case basis.  Steven stated, “All this must be backed up by a cohesive and strong Border Force that will ensure our borders are protected.”  The Liberal Democrats will introduce a National Border Force with police powers to help secure our borders. The only way to enforce any immigration system is to undertake rigorous checks on employers and take strong action against those who seek to exploit illegal immigrants and profit from them.

I would like to clarify my position on the proposed high speed rail route through Buckinghamshire. I am deeply concerned about the impact of HS2 on our county.

The Labour Government’s preferred route goes through the only Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (the Chilterns) between London and Birmingham as well through our historic parks and homes. I too am personally affected by the route as it goes directly in front of my home.

There have been ‘public’ meetings called at which the Liberal Democrats have been prevented from speaking. Therefore I have decided to write publicly to state the facts.

If elected as your MP for Aylesbury constituency I will vote against the route as I believe the case for it as the best route has not been proven. To my knowledge David Lidington has only said we should take part in the consultation. This is not good enough. The job of being our MP is to fight for our community over such issues. I am prepared to do that.

All three major political parties are in favour of high speed rail in general. However, the Liberal Democrats would first ensure that our existing rail network is upgraded and dormant lines reopened. We would open thousands of miles of railway tracks and stations. Only once we have made the best of our existing network, should we be considering such an enormous investment in high speed rail, and where the route is best placed. We must also ensure that we minimise the environmental impact of any such proposal.

The Tories have publicly said that they will shorten the consultation process and bring the whole project forward by two years. Theresa Villiers MP stated “if elected to power at the election, [the Tories] would start work on the project in 2015 – two years earlier than the Government’s plan.” Hansard 11 March 2010: column 450.

The Tories have also confirmed that they would have a Heathrow spur, which would force the route through Buckinghamshire. This is both unacceptable and very dangerous.

We must be able to take part in a full and open consultation process to ensure that all the views of Aylesbury constituency are fairly represented. I have met with Norman Baker MP, Lib Dem transport spokesman, and we as a party are not wedded to this route. As your MP, I can confirm that I would fight for you and our beautiful county and vote against this route and push for a full consultation process to prove this.
Regards
Steven