Think NHS? Think Lib Dem!

Great news today that the Government has announced a period of extended consultation before steamrollering fundamental changes to that beloved, of all our public institutions, the NHS!

This backtrack by Tory Lansley follows on the back of the success of a motion at the recent Lib Dem Conference in Sheffield where, overwhelmingly, delegates registered their concerns over plans that could see groups of doctors spending time bogged down with budget and procurement issues at the expense of dealing with patient care.

So today, safe in the knowledge that he has party backing, Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg alluded to "substantive changes" in the proposal.  Importantly this statement finally gives the electorate the opportunity to see clear light between the caring, compassionate Lib Dems and the money-centric Tories whose primary concern is profit even if this does compromise the health of the Nation.

So the message is simple - if you want to ensure an enviable standard of free medical care for all, make sure that you don't vote for a party who clearly want to dismantle this important provision.  Instead think NHS, think Lib Dem this May!

LIBDEM/LABOUR COALITION – THE ROAD TO AV

Nice to see the Labour Party join up with the Lib Dems in what many would normally regard as the more natural coalition.  Today Ed Miliband joined with the upper echelons of the Lib Dems and Green Party leader, Caroline Lucas, to promote the case for the Alternative Vote.

Whilst Nick Clegg was absent from the stand, evidently on a trade visit to Mexico, rumours have done the rounds in Westminster that Miliband would only appear if Nick didn’t.  Not normally one to attack the Labour party, given my left of centre leanings, I can’t help but feel this was rather an immature response, if there is any truth in the allegation. 

Nevertheless whether Miliband  (“the tragedy for progressive politics historically has been that the division on the centre and the left has handed a united right victory after victory”) and Clegg are friends or not – it’s great to see the two Party’s working together in the Country’s common interest.  Saying ‘Yes’ on 5^th May is vital if we are to move away from the practise of first past the post which repeatedly fails to reflect the views of the majority ie one can win with less than 50% of the overall vote.

In an article he wrote for The Guardian in May last year, leading campaigner Peter Tatchell explained “every government since the 1950s has taken power based on less than 50% of the popular vote. None has won majority public support at the ballot box”.  Tatchell went on to say “Thanks to the unfair voting system, the anti-Tory majority have frequently ended up with a minority of MPs”.

It is no surprise therefore that the landed gentry of our current times, including Conservative MPs like Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex), object to voting reform.  They know that if the new system is introduced they will have to work harder, and represent all their constituents (and not just the privileged few) if they are to have any chance of retaining their seat going forward.

So on May 5^th go out there and vote!  Vote ‘Yes’ to AV; a fairer way to reflect the views of the electorate.

Fantastic News for Alarm Clock Britain!

Using Nick Clegg’s description of those hard working individual on a mediocre salary, never more than one pay cheque away from an overdraft, the Lib Dems in coalition have secured a fantastic tax concession for ‘alarm clock’ workers in Britain.

From 6^th April this year, the threshold for which basic rate tax is collected will rise to £7,475 (from the current £6,475) meaning that in West Sussex alone 1,750 people will no longer pay any income tax at all whilst a further 58,300 will pay £200 a year less!
As the concession is restricted, unlike tax breaks introduced by previous administrations, this one really is designed to benefit those on low or average incomes; putting money back into the pocket millions of workers across the Country as a whole.
This was of course centre-piece to the Lib Dem General Election manifesto and credit must be given to Nick and the team for persuading the Tories, not traditionally a party to look after the interests of the less well off, to go along with this!

Nick & Tony - In Conversation!

Local Campaigner and prospective Lib Dem Councillor for Herontye ward, Tony Joannou-Coetzee, recently met up with the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, at the Party’s Spring Conference in Sheffield.

It was clear during this event that Nick supports the work of Lib Dem councils up and down the Country and is aware of the issues that face communities in their daily lives.  Indeed he made the comparison between two north-west cities; Sheffield and Manchester citing how the former, run by a Lib Dem authority, had achieved far greater success in managing the impact of the Comprehensive Spending Review than their Lancastrian neighbours led by a Labour local administration.
In Sheffield there will, unfortunately, be 270 jobs but this is a far cry from the loss of 2,000 positions (17% of the workforce) in Manchester.  Clearly a Lib Dem run council is much more likely to be able to protect jobs and front line services in these times of austerity.
Back to East Grinstead, Nick was particularly interested in the ward Tony is standing in and enquired as to how these were going.  It is refreshing that the Deputy Prime Minister can show a positive interest in our town and it is the same ‘man of the people’ type of approach that Tony will adopt if he is returned as one of your two Lib Dem District Councillors on 6^th May.
Dame Shirley Williams definition of what it is to be a Lib Dem sums up Tony’s style of politics succinctly – “somewhat left of centre, in favour of public services, not against the market but see(ing) the market as being there to run part of the scene but not all of it.  And above all, people who are extremely conscious of inequalities in society”.

Tony is standing alongside existing Lib Dem Councillor Chris Jerry and many of you will already be aware of the tremendous work that Chris has done for Herontye over the past 4 years.