Upper Calder Valley Liberal Democrats News (Dec 2004 - June 2006)
News:
Lib Dems Hold the Upper Calder Valley
Posted by admin on 5 May 2006 at 03:03 PM
| Nader Fekri and Peter Coles have both been reelected as councillors for Calder Ward and Luddendenfoot Ward respectively in the Calderdale Council Elections 2006. |
WWF and Greenpeace champion Lib Dem approach to tackling climate change
Posted by admin on 27 April 2006 at 02:49 PM
| The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Greenpeace have published press releases in response to Sir Menzies Campbell’s keynote speech on the environment in Norwich today.Keith Allott, head of Climate Change at the WWF, commented:”Sir Menzies’ speech shows that he has grasped the need for urgent action to tackle climate change. The range of measures, particularly proposals on green taxation for transport, including aviation, and energy use are welcome. We also support his call to make the new Sustainable Building Code mandatory for renovations and refurbishment as well as new build.”Sir Menzies has highlighted the steps the government must take to get back on track to meet its target of reducing the UK’s CO2 emissions by 20% by 2010. The Lib Dems are spot on - they realise that the best way of getting there is by taking much tougher action on the power sector using the European Emissions Trading Scheme. Sir Menzies is also right that the range of emissions cuts from heavy industry through the scheme, currently being considered by the government, are ‘not ambitious enough’ and that ‘we can and should, do better.”Stephen Tindale, Executive Director of Greenpeace, commented:
“Ming Campbell has set the gold standard for green speeches. He was not only rich on vision but rich on policy details too. He’s right that the failure to commit to very basic common sense measures in the face of climate change is the key problem in the UK, so Greenpeace endorses Campbell’s challenge to the other parties. There’s too much talk from New Labour and not yet enough substance from the Conservatives. “Campbell was quite right to highlight how vital it is to transform our power sector in particular. The Lib Dems must be credited for their honesty and objectivity in opposing new nuclear power. It is really excellent to hear the Lib Dem leader asking what has happened to the re-wiring Britain agenda. He is quite right that reforms to our electricity network are the kind of measure that will really close the gap between rhetoric and action.” In response, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Chris Huhne MP said: “It is great to gain endorsements from the WWF and Greenpeace. The Liberal Democrats are honest enough to accept that individual behaviour must change in order to halt climate change. We are the only party campaigning for an increase in environmental tax, while allowing other taxes to fall, to bring about this change.” |
Download the Lib Dem Local Election Manifesto
Posted by admin on 27 April 2006 at 01:41 PM
| Download the Lib Dem Local Election Manifesto from here |
Campbell sets out environmental challenge
Posted by admin on 27 April 2006 at 11:19 AM
| In a hard-hitting speech in Norwich today, Sir Menzies Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democrats, spelt out the Liberal Democrat challenge on the environment. He criticised “A failure of nerve from the government. And a surfeit of spin from the Conservatives.”In stark contrast to Tory leader David Cameron, Sir Menzies highlighted the fact that climate change is impacting on Britain now. He visited Winterton on the Norfolk coast - an area at serious risk from rises in the level of the North Sea.Sir Menzies sets out five points that David Cameron must agree to as a “minimum test of commitment”. He has written to the Tory leader today in an attempt to clarify the actual content of Mr Cameron’s policies.The five principles are:* Green taxes must be used to change behaviour. They have fallen as a proportion of national income from 3.6% in 1999 to 3% today. The proportion should be rising not falling. * Green taxes - including excise duty on fuel - should not fall in real terms from year to year. * There should be a substantial increase in the top rate of Vehicle Excise Duty. * The climate change levy should be reformed into a universal carbon tax - including household emissions as well as business emissions. * We should stop subsidising pollution from air travel - Air Passenger Duty should be restructured as a tax on aircraft emissions not passengers. Sir Menzies said: “These steps are common sense and they do not require eighteen months of deliberation by a policy review. Indeed, some of them may well require votes during the debates on the Finance Bill. “I have written to David Cameron today, making clear that, provided we can reach agreement on these five points, the possibility exists of a strong cross-party agenda to reform our tax system so that it rewards green behaviour. “But let me make it clear: these principles are a minimum test of commitment. Without these simple but serious steps, a cross-party agreement on climate change is impossible. “Let me also add to the government: anyone who believes there is a moral dimension to climate change would have no difficulty in embracing these ideas. Supporting action to tackle climate change now, Sir Menzies said: “We must press for international agreement on effective targets but we should not wait for agreement to act ourselves. We all have a role to play. We can turn down the thermostat, we can insulate our lofts better, we can buy energy efficient light bulbs. “Those who buy cars can switch to driving environmentally friendly cars. We can drive less. We can fly less. “I am determined that we shall not throw away in one generation the precious heritage of the centuries, and that we shall all play our part in rising to this challenge. “I am determined that we account to our children and grand children for what we did not what we said.” |
Calder Valley MP backs compulsory ID Cards
Posted by JohnBM on 24 March 2006 at 02:16 PM
| Calder Valley MP, Chris McCafferty, has yet again backed the introduction of compulsory ID Cards.Despite a manifesto commitment not to, Chris McCafferty has now voted with the Labour Government on three occasions this month to make ID Card registration compulsory for passport applicants and renewers.The Labour General Election Manifesto 2005 clearly states that: ?We [the Labour Party] will introduce ID Cards, including biometric data like finger prints, backed up by a national register and rolling out initially on a voluntary basis as people renew their passports.? What part of ?voluntary? does the Labour Government not understand?With more than three quarters of the population holding a valid UK passport, this is ID Card compulsion by the backdoor.Chris McCafferty Voting Record |
A distinctive and liberal democratic party
Posted by admin on 2 March 2006 at 03:23 PM
| The Liberal Democrats are a party that embraces new ideas, that cherishes our principles, and that refuses to sacrifice our values for convenience.Tony Blair has squeezed values out of politics. Under New Labour, politics has become managerial and not inspirational.David Cameron has taken the same course, shunning conviction and desperate only to copy the value-free managerialism of Mr Blair?s Number 10.Britain does not need a third managerial party. It needs a distinctive liberal democratic party. I believe that a modern Liberal Democrat party is better placed than any other to understand and address the most pressing challenges of our time:the overbearing centralisation of public life in Britain, which has led to a pervasive feeling of individual powerlessness, and to public services which still fail too many of the people they are supposed to serve;
the absence of social justice, with persistent levels of poverty and social immobility, and a tax system still biased against the poor; and the disturbing effects of globalisation and the urgent need to rebuild confidence in the international rule of law; the threat of catastrophic environmental degradation. These are the urgent challenges of our times. If you agree with me on these key issues facing our country, you can donate now to help our campaigns at www.libdems.org.uk Menzies Campbell |
Look to Gordon for your Council Tax rises
Posted by admin on 1 March 2006 at 12:58 PM
| Calderdale Council will set a budget on 1st March and yet again council tax will rise by just under 5%, much more than the rate of inflation. This has been happening ever since Labour came to power.Naturally the first thought that comes into people?s minds it that it is all the fault of spendthrift councillors. Suspend disbelief for a minute and consider the facts about this iniquitous and unfair tax.1. Our Labour Chancellor, Gordon Brown, has made a deliberate decision to shift the burden of taxation away from national taxes towards council tax. Ever since 1997 he has steadily reduced the percentage of total local government expenditure paid for out of government grant leaving local councillors with only 2 choices, put up council tax or cut services. He has done this so he will not be blamed for rising taxes but local councillors will. 2. Council tax is a highly visible tax. Everyone knows what they pay, whilst many don?t know what other taxes they pay. Income tax is taken off before you get paid, VAT is included in the cost of goods and services. So it?s very easy for the government to say ?It?s not us guv, just look at your council tax bill, it?s your councillors? 3. Ever since I rejoined the council in 1998 after a 10 year absence I have seen councillors struggle to keep services going. Any new service has to be paid for by cutting something else. Yet the same government that is steadily reducing its contribution to the cost of local services is also continually adding to the work it expects councils to do. 4. This isn?t to say there are not sensible economies that can be made. My Lib Dem colleagues and I are always on the lookout to cut costs and make services more efficient. 5. The chancellor is well aware that what he is doing is putting heavier and heavier burdens on those who can least afford it, pensioners, the disabled, the low paid, the sick and the unemployed. Council tax is not related to income so it is a far higher percentage of your income if you are poor than if you aren?t. Up to four times as expensive in percentage terms.So what should be done about it?The Liberal Democrat approach is clear. We want to scrap council tax and replace it with local income tax. Income tax is related to what you earn. If you are on low pay or a pension you probably won?t pay any tax at all. If you are quite well off you will pay a little more. It would also be possible to give councils much more control over their finances by reducing national income tax and allowing councils to raise the great proportion of their expenditure through local income tax and business rates. This would have the added advantage of taking away from the government the ability to manipulate taxes in the way outlined above. It would also mean that local elections would really mean something. Local people would have the chance to exercise real power through the ballot box and elect councillors according to what they intended to tax and spend on local services ? and to chuck out those who didn?t act responsibly. So my message to local electors is this. Start complaining about the iniquitous council tax and demand real local control over your local council and its spending. When your council tax bill arrives, don?t get angry with local councillors who in the main are trying to do their best in very difficult circumstances. Blame the man who is really responsible, Labour Chancellor and would be Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Councillor Michael Taylor |
Post Office to abolish Pension Card Account
Posted by admin on 21 February 2006 at 03:45 PM
| The Post Offices in this area serve a community function and those in Mytholmroyd, Midgley and Luddendenfoot offer a cash facility where there are no banks, especially to our senior citizens, through the Pension Card Account. A pension is small enough without having to fund a journey to a bank to have access to cash.This government is supposed to have a Rural Agenda supporting and sustaining rural communities ? eroding the services of our vital rural post offices is a contradiction of this agenda.Please contact Chris McCafferty and Stephen Timms to express concern ? those of you who are not yet in receipt of pensions will be one day! |
Todmorden Tourist Information under threat ? again!
Posted by admin on 16 January 2006 at 11:42 AM
| Todmorden Tourist Information Centre is under threat for the second year running under budget proposals put forward by Calderdale Council?s Tory Cabinet. Similar proposals last year were taken out of the budget at the last minute because of the weight of local opposition.The proposal ? which would save the Council ?12,500 in a full year ? is to withdraw the council?s staff and move the information centre to the Town Hall and is opposed by all six local Liberal Democrat Councillors for the area, who are determined that the proposal should be scrapped again.Cllr Janet Battye (Lib Dem, Calder ward and Calderdale?s representative on Todmorden TIC Trust) told us: ?It?s appalling that, having found out what the public thought last year, that the Tory Cabinet is having another attempt this year?.Councillor Clare Townley (Todmorden) told us: ?We are all in favour of making better use of Todmorden Town Hall, but we are not convinced that this has been thought through properly. Cutting the Calderdale staff would place more reliance on the volunteers provided through the Trust that runs the TIC and we suspect that this would mean a much-reduced service to the people of Todmorden and our visitors, which would not enhance the use of the Town Hall that much.?Councillor Nader Fekri (Calder) said: ?When the Tourism Development Unit was scrapped a few years ago we were told that this would mean work would be focused on the three Tourist Information Centres. Now one of these is under threat. Despite tourism being of major benefit to this area, the Tories on the Cabinet seem determined to run it down.?
Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Michael Taylor (Calder) told us: ?We will be doing our best to make sure that this proposal is dropped, but it is important that the people of Todmorden, its Town Council and those who use the Tourist Information Centre make their views known directly to the Tories who run the Cabinet?. |
Dave, I love the patter - it’s your politics that bother me
Posted by admin on 4 January 2006 at 02:27 PM
| With a lamentable record on social justice, the environment and Iraq, it’s hard to take Cameron’s compassion seriouslyChris Huhne Thursday December 22, 2005 The GuardianDear Dave,Thanks for your email inviting me to leave the Liberal Democrats and join the “modern compassionate Conservative party”. You have made a lot of people think again about the Tories, so you deserve a considered response.As you know, the Liberal Democrats are proud of being the most green of all the major parties. I was therefore delighted that you said that “my Conservative party believes passionately in green politics”. However, politicians should be judged by their deeds, not their words. And on that basis, the Tory party does not so much need a facelift as a body transplant. The last objective study of the parties’ voting record on green issues was by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth before the European elections in 2004. They found that the Conservatives were not just the least green party in Britain, but the least green in the whole of the European Union. Nor was I wildly impressed by your own vote against the climate-change levy, nor your commitment in your acceptance speech to more road building, nor your hints of more nuclear power. How does this square with your belief in open markets? No private sector company has been prepared to build a nuclear reactor without lashings of subsidy since Three Mile Island. Then there is your Europe policy. Pulling Tory MEPs out of the main centre-right group in the European parliament will damage British influence and business, which needs their clout to help amend daft proposals from the commission. Your MEPs will be marginalised between Ms Mussolini and Mr Robert Kilroy-Silk. There is another snag. We Liberals are keen on trying to ensure that relations between nations are governed by the rule of law, not war. It’s an old obsession, but it goes deep; my grandmother was an activist for the League of Nations and my grandfather was christened William Ewart Gladstone Murray, partly in tribute to the grand old man’s campaign against Balkan atrocities. I’m afraid neither would have approved of your vote in favour of our invasion of Iraq, and they would ask whether someone who could treat the United Nations so cavalierly could be trusted not to do the same again. Britain needs a foreign policy free of a mortgage to the White House, yet your decision to break links with Europe’s centre-right means that you risk being an even more slavish follower of Washington’s fashions. You undeniably hit a chord when you say that your party is “committed to decentralisation and localism”. But there is that “old deeds and words” problem again. When in government, your party abolished the Greater London Council and rate-capped any authority with ambitions to be more than a delivery arm of Whitehall. Maybe all that will change. I certainly hope so. But you have not begun to think through the political implications. If local people are to be trusted running public services, as they must, they need to be able to boot out those responsible when they do not like the results. Competition is useful in economics - but even more crucial to democratic politics. Yet council after local council elects an entrenched majority with less than half the vote, and it can prove agonisingly slow to get rid of abject failures. Where are your proposals to bring political choice back to Britain’s town halls? That means electoral reform locally and nationally, and you have not even mentioned the words. We need to remake our democratic system from the ground up if it is once again to inspire trust. Everyone’s vote needs to count equally, wherever people live. Then there is social justice. It really will not wash to argue that you can tackle poverty by “unleashing the voluntary sector”. If we are to have a cohesive society where everyone has chances, and there is a real safety net, the better-off have to pay. The Liberal state enables people to exercise choice and freedom when they are poor, and not merely when they are rich. A pound is worth far more to the pauper than the plutocrat. Yet you have already said that you want to split the fruits of growth between lower taxes and spending. Whose spending - and whose benefits - will you cut? Frankly, I also find your political journey odd. There you were as this summer’s writer of the Tory rightwing manifesto, and the protege of Thatcherites such as Norman Lamont and Michael Howard. What has changed your mind? It is important that we know this, or there will be a lingering suspicion that your “compassionate Conservatism” will be just like George Bush’s: useful before the election, and abandoned after it. Anyway, keep on travelling! Rhetoric matters in politics, and your rhetoric is certainly improving. It will be great when you have more than a policy to have policy reviews. Meanwhile, sorry to disappoint you, but the Liberal Democrats remain the only safe craft sailing to a sustainable future. Yours aye, Chris Huhne ? Chris Huhne MP is the Liberal Democrat shadow chief secretary to the Treasury |
Fire Station Closure Opposed
Posted by admin on 12 December 2005 at 03:05 PM
| Local Liberal Democrat Councillors have opposed the closure of Mytholmroyd Fire Station, leading to all services being centred on Hebden Bridge.Local Liberal Democrat Councillor, Councillor Nader Fekri (Calder) told us: ?We oppose the closure of Mytholmroyd Fire Station and the expansion of Hebden Bridge?s. We do not think that the current position of the Hebden Bridge Fire Station is good enough to allow for it to take on extra responsibilities. It is badly sited for access on to the major roads in the area.?Councillor Peter Coles (Luddendenfoot) told us: ?Local Liberal Democrat Councillors have pointed out that the Fire Station at Mytholmroyd is better situated for easy access straight on to the A646 and have suggested another alternative of building a new Fire Station between the two towns. It looked some time ago as if this latter option was going to be the one preferred by the Fire Authority, but they appear to have now changed their mind and dismissed it?.?The provision of good fire cover in the Calder Valley is very important and we are not convinced that the Fire Authority has got it right in this instance? said Cllr Fekri. |
Social Services Budget must be put right
Posted by admin on 12 December 2005 at 03:04 PM
| Calderdale Council?s Social Services budget is simply not big enough and needs to be put right says Liberal Democrat Spokesperson Councillor Peter Coles (Luddendenfoot).A report to the Council?s Cabinet shows that the Health & Social Care directorate is going to spend ?700,000 more than its budget allows and cannot reduce this without reducing its ability to provide statutory services.Councillor Coles told us: ?There is a problem with the budget in that it is just not big enough to provide all the services that are necessary. This has produced an overspend year after year after year.??Instead of ignoring the facts, the Cabinet needs to get its budgeting right, and it needs to do it now and every year from now on.??Officers are spending far too much time looking at the short term and cutting services to balance the budget when they should be looking at the long term issue of providing the best quality services for the people of Calderdale.?
?We can?t go on like this any more. It needs to be put right once and for all? said Cllr Coles. |
Lib Dems launch new site in fight against ID Cards
Posted by admin on 25 October 2005 at 01:09 PM
| The ID Cards Bill cleared the House of Commons last week, but the government?s majority was slashed to a mere 25 votes.Calder Valley’s Labour MP, Chris McCafferty, backed the government in every vote.In response to the vote, the Liberal Democrats have launched a new website to increase public awareness of the implications of such a measure, which could severely compromise Civil Liberties.The site also aims to put pressure on the House of Lords, who have yet to ratify the Bill. |
Blair anti-terror plans ‘wrong’
Posted by admin on 12 October 2005 at 12:40 PM
| Parts of the government’s freshly published anti-terror plans are just “wrong”, Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has told Tony Blair.The Terrorism Bill lets suspects be held for up 90 days without charge and makes “glorifying” terror an offence.At prime minister’s questions, Mr Kennedy said ministers would have to back down and that there was no “consensus” even within the government.But Tony Blair said the case for longer detention periods was “compelling”.’Charge them properly’
Mr Blair told MPs it was important to take terror suspects into custody “relatively early”, possibly holding them for longer. Police could then “get the evidence necessary to charge them properly”. The plans have been criticised by senior judges and opposition parties. Earlier, Conservative leader Michael Howard told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme ministers should avoid solutions which were “too simplistic” and not the most effective. BBC political editor Nick Robinson says concessions are likely as ministers try to win over Labour backbenchers. Currently suspects can be held for up to 14 days without charge. Mr Blair has said it would be “irresponsible” to ignore police requests for the new power. But Home Secretary Charles Clarke said the proposed 90-day limit was “not God-given”, although he admitted consensus was unlikely. Mr Howard accused the government of being “muddled” in its thinking. He added: “Just extending the period to three months is probably too simplistic and not the most effective way of dealing with this problem.” He also said: “It is obviously not the duty of a politician simply to say yes to whatever demand comes from the police.” Mr Howard called on ministers to “strike the right balance” and suggested looking at allowing more questioning of suspects after they are charged. A group including London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Muslim leader Sir Iqbal Sacranie will meet at Westminster City Hall to protest against the bill. Sir Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the proposals. “We all need to be vigilant in ensuring that the government’s proposed measures do not jettison fundamental freedoms at the cost of providing little or no guarantee of extra security,” he said. The Lib Dems have suggested holding suspects on lesser offences while investigating possible terrorism as an alternative to extending detention without trial. Source: BBC News Online |
Identity Fraud could increase with ID Cards
Posted by admin on 5 September 2005 at 12:05 PM
| http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4213848.stm |
Lib Dem Councillor becomes director of Upper Valley Renaissance
Posted by admin on 18 August 2005 at 12:13 PM
| Cllr. Christine Bampton-Smith (Luddendenfoot) has become a director of Upper Calder Valley Renaissance.In response to a request by UCVR for a director, Cllr. Bampton-Smith was nominated and voted by the full council of Calderdale MBC in recognition of her continuing work in the upper valley. |
Lib Dems Fear for future of sport
Posted by admin on 2 August 2005 at 09:04 PM
| Fears about the future of sport in Calderdale have been expressed by Calderdale Council?s Liberal Democrat Group.As part of the budget deal agreed in March between the Conservative, BNP and Independent Groups on the council, Calderdale Council is examining ways of transferring management of its sporting facilities away from the council in an attempt to save money.Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Michael Taylor (Calder) told us: ?My group is concerned that anyone who takes over the management of Calderdale Council?s sporting facilities will be driven purely by profit and that this will lead to less well-off people not being able to use the facilities available as the prices will have to rise well above what the council charges. Hundreds of Council staff will also be affected.??The Liberal Democrat group want to see sporting facilities available for everyone across Calderdale and not limited to those who can afford it or can afford to travel.??We certainly don?t want to see a two tier system with the better facilities only available to a few?, said Councillor Taylor.
?This is a big issue for Calderdale Council and for Calderdale people and the Council needs to get it right. I am therefore extremely disappoint to see in the Cabinet?s Forward Plan that the only groups to be consulted are the sports strategy steering group and Sport England. This is too big and important a project to be decided by such a small proportion of the people who will be affected.? ?We are also concerned what effect London hosting the 2012 Olympics will have. What we fear may happen is that funds will be diverted to those areas where events will be held so that some areas have outstanding facilities whilst the rest are starved of resources. What we would like to see is the Government acting in alliance with local authorities to build on the extra interest there is bound to be in all forms of sport and making better facilities available all over the country.? Councillor Taylor concluded: ?There is no doubt in my mind that sport will move up the political agenda as the 2012 Olympics move closer and the Government continues to focus on its health agenda. Calderdale must be in a position to respond to both of these issues and a privatised sports service may leave the council in a poor position to do this.? |
Scrapping energy saving targets is a disgrace
Posted by admin on 26 July 2005 at 01:47 PM
| Commenting on the Government’s plan abandon energy saving requirements in new planning regulations, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Norman Baker MP said:”This decision is an absolute disgrace, particularly coming after the Prime Minister’s hand ringing over climate change.”Improvements to energy efficiency are the most effective way of tackling climate change and reducing energy demand domestically.”It shows that once again the Prime Minister is prepared to lecture others abroad on climate change whilst taking no action at home.” |
Lib Dems at the Mytholmroyd Gala
Posted by JohnBM on 8 July 2005 at 02:03 PM
| The Upper Calder Valley Liberal Democrats will be holding a stall at the Mytholmroyd Gala this Saturday (9th July).Meet your councillors, pick up some freebies and bat the rat. |
Calder Valley MP backs ID Cards
Posted by admin on 3 July 2005 at 05:32 PM
| Calder Valley MP, Chis McCafferty, on Wednesday 28th June voted for the introduction of ID Cards.Recent independent research puts the cost of the card at up to ?300 each to the taxpayer and a massive cost to the civil liberties of UK citizens.With no discernable benefits to the card, the ?18billion needed would be better spent on more police and improving their equipment. |
Hacking of 40m credit card details sounds warning on ID Card database
Posted by JohnBM on 20 June 2005 at 12:36 PM
| News that 40m credit card details were stolen by a hacker in the United States highlights the dangers of a UK Identity database.Not only will an ID Card database cost UK citizens between ?100 and ?300 each, it could in fact, if hacked, increase the chances of identity fraud.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4107236.stm |
Hebden Royd Town Council backs Lib Dem proposal against ID Cards
Posted by admin on 16 June 2005 at 10:57 AM
| Hebden Royd is the first town council to back the Anti-ID Card campaignHebden Royd Town Council has passed a motion on opposing government plans for a national identity database and becoming the first town council to affiliate to the No2ID national pressure group.The motion proposed by councillor John Beacroft-Mitchell (Lib Dem, Cragg Vale Ward) called on the council to make representation against the proposals which will do nothing to help the people of Hebden Bridge, and to “only co-operate with the national identity card scheme where to do otherwise would be unlawful”.”ID cards will be of little use but a great expense to the people of Hebden Royd. A survey of businesses in the Hebden Bridge Times last week showed that more police are needed in our area. An identity card won’t stop shoplifting or anti-social behaviour but properly equipped police will.ID cards will not help to control illegal immigration and will have little impact on benefit fraud or identity theft.
According to recent studies cost of the scheme could rise to over ?18 billion which will be funded through the taxpayers pocket. Hebden Royd citizens will have to buy the card, at a cost of between ?100 and ?300, and if your card is lost or stolen you will be charged for a replacement.” Councillor Beacroft-Mitchell continued: “Anytime you move house, you will have to pay to have your details updated - and there is a presumption of accuracy in the database, you will be responsible for maintaining your own record. If there is an error in the database it will be considered your error. IT experts agree that any database of this size will have significant errors and could be tampered with. “At best, the scheme will be an expensive fiasco - at worst, it will fundamentally damage the freedoms of all British citizens including those of Hebden Royd. Taxpayers money, ?our? money, would be better spent on improving police support for areas such as Hebden Royd.” Councillor Nader Fekri (Lib Dem) seconding the motion, asked for a united front against the plans: “I hope we will hear a positive response to these moves from our MP and Calderdale Council. We are being asked tonight to take a stand against this scheme.” “These unprincipled government proposals will fundamentally change the relationship between the citizen and the state, and will cost the taxpayer a fortune to do it. We must fight them now, before they are written deep in the statute books, and the council has demonstrated it is determined to do that.” |
We back the Campaign for Democracy
Posted by JohnBM on 10 June 2005 at 09:21 AM
| The Upper Calder Valley Libdems are backing the Independent newspaper’s “Campaign for Democracy”.The campaign petition calls on Tony Blair to bring about “urgent reform of our voting system so that the British people are encouraged to believe that their votes count and that the result of a general election is more representative of their wishes.”Under a system of proportional representation Labour and the Tories would no longer be able to blackmail the electorate into voting on the basis of fear of the other “getting into No.10 by the back door” and ALL our votes will count.Sign the petition online at http://www.independent.co.uk/cfd/democracy.jsp |
?93 to prove your identity under Labour
Posted by admin on 27 May 2005 at 12:17 PM
| ?93 to prove your identity under Labour 25 May 2005Responding to the publication of the Identity Cards Bill, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Mark Oaten MP, said:”If there was ever any doubt that the costs of this scheme were going to spiral out of control, the new figures should put paid to them.”?93 is a ludicrous amount of money to ask people to pay, especially when you consider the combined cost for a family with children over the age of 16. Support for these plans will drop off very quickly when people realise the costs involved.”The failure rates in the biometrics pilot are astonishing. The Government is spending our money on a half-baked scheme, based on half-baked technology.” |
Anti-social behaviour
Posted by admin on 19 May 2005 at 03:42 PM
| Dear Sir,So, we are now into an historic third term for Labour and already a fashion item has become an indicator of anti-social behaviour, the Prime Minitster admits he can’t bring up everybody’s children and therefore the parents are to blame, and we have two new buzz words - hoodies and respect!!!The Government focus seems to be on young people and making them behave. Perhaps we should look at how we behave towards young people to see what we have done wrong - not giving appropriate boundaries, not giving disciplined schools, not providing a supportive and sufficient youth service, for many of our children. This should be the Government’s priority.At the May meeting facilitated by the Police, later this month, young people have been invited to discuss with us what they want in Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd. I hope this will be a start to a real commitment to listen to our youth and work with them to make them feel valued and respected.Yours sincerely
Christine Bampton-Smith |
Well done Liz!!!!
Posted by JohnBM on 6 May 2005 at 05:29 PM
| Liz Ingleton polled nearly 20% of the vote for Calder Valley Constituency in the General Election 2005, the highest Lib Dem proportion of the vote since 1987.Despite a short campaign Liz made great headway for the Lib Dems in the valley.Liz was the only mainsteam candidate to increase her party’s proportion of the vote. The Labour vote slipped by 4% and the Tories were down 0.5% whilst Liz’s vote increased by 3%.Well done Liz!!! |
Attorney General Deferred To US Lawyers
Posted by admin on 29 April 2005 at 08:15 AM
| Commenting on the full legal advice of the Attorney General, Lord Thomas of Gresford QC, Liberal Democrat Shadow Attorney General, said:”The full text of Lord Goldsmith’s advice to the Prime Minister reveals that he deferred to the United States’ lawyers. He was persuaded to abandon the ‘consistent view’ of the UK, as expressed by a succession of previous Law Officers ‘that, as the cease-fire conditions were set by the Security Council in resolution 687, it is for the Council to assess whether any such breach of those obligations has occurred’.”The Americans argued that whether Iraq was in material breach of its obligations was a matter of objective fact which they themselves were entitled to assess. Lord Goldsmith pointed out that he did not know of any other member state of the United Nations which took that view, but he said ‘I was impressed by the strength and sincerity of the views of the US Administration which I heard in Washington on this point’.”Now we know why the Americans said: ‘We had trouble with your Attorney General, but in the end, we got him round to our point of view’.”Lord Goldsmith advised the Prime Minister to follow the established UK view of the law, when he said: ‘The key point is that [the Second Resolution] should establish that the [Security] Council has concluded that Iraq has failed to take the final opportunity offered by resolution 1441, as in the draft which has already been tabled’. Of course, that did not happen. The Second Resolution was withdrawn.
“What did happen between the 7th and 17th March is that the Attorney General bowed down to the legal opinions he had heard in Washington and went along with the Americans. “The Attorney General believed the legality of military action could be challenged in the Courts and envisaged possible prosecutions for attempted murder, or for the war crime of aggression, brought by organisations such as CND in our own British courts. “His Advice of the 7th March was: ‘I judge that, having regard to the arguments on both sides, and considering the resolution as a whole in the light of the statements made on adoption and subsequently, a court might well conclude that OPs 4 and 12 do require a further Council decision in order to revive the authorisation in resolution 678′. “An unequivocal view that the war was legal? Rubbish.” |
Calderdale Lib Dem Candidate Websites launched
Posted by admin on 25 April 2005 at 12:30 PM
| Liz Ingleton - Calder Valley - www.caldervalleylibdems.org.ukMichael Taylor - Halifax - www.halifaxlibdems.org.uk |
The REAL Alternative Manifesto launched -
Posted by admin on 14 April 2005 at 04:12 PM
| Liberal Democrat priorities for the next parliament will be:* Ending unfairness in the NHS. That will mean free eye and dental checks and lower prescription charges, and an end to the hidden NHS waiting lists ? with faster diagnosis so that, if you are ill, treatment can start quickly.* Free personal care for the elderly ? help with things like washing and feeding for people with long-term illnesses.* Lower class sizes - with 21,000 new primary school teachers to give our children the best start in life.* An end to student tuition fees ? because access to education should be based on the ability to learn ? not on the ability to pay.
* More police out on the beat ? cutting crime and the fear of crime. 10,000 extra police backed up by 20,000 community support officers. Part of a strong package on law and order which is tough, focused and smart. * An end to the unfair Council Tax ? because the amount you pay should be based on the amount you can afford. * Better pensions - ?100 on the basic state pension for the over 75s, who are the poorest and most vulnerable of our pensioners. A Citizen?s Pension for the over 75s will, for the first time, give women a full basic pension by right, addressing a scandal which has been ignored far too long. The manifesto can be viewed at www.libdems.org.uk |
Labour Manifesto Will Not Cure Distrust
Posted by admin on 13 April 2005 at 10:00 AM
| Commenting on the launch of the Labour Manifesto, Sir Menzies Campbell, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats said:”All the promises and all the pledges in this manifesto will not cure the profound sense of distrust so many people have about Labour.”On May 5th, Labour will be judged not by what they say, but by what they have done.” |
Liberal Democrat Response To Conservative Manifesto
Posted by admin on 11 April 2005 at 02:15 PM
| Liberal Democrat Response To Conservative Manifesto 11 April 2005Charles Kennedy, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, responding to the launch of the Conservative election manifesto said:?People have already decided that they do not want the Conservatives back running health and education.?They also know that Conservative pledges to put money back into public services at the same time as cutting taxes and borrowing are simply not credible.?Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable added: ?The Tories do not deserve to run Britain?s economic policy. Tory spending plans are simply not credible. They are based on the James Review, which has time after time been proven to be implausible and unachievable.? Fact: The Tories claim to be able to save ?98 million in DEFRA by 2007 from the over thirty month scheme, but the Government announced in December 2004 the phasing out of this scheme. The budget for 2005 was ?91m, but will now fall to zero soon. Conservatives say they will save ?617m from abolishing Strategic Health Authorities, but their administrative budgets are only ?137m. On Education, Phil Willis said: ?This is the economics of the madhouse and would destabilise our entire education system. ?By removing the ability of local authorities to manage provision a Tory government would leave England?s 25,000 schools scrabbling around in a ?marketplace? competing against each other for pupils and funding. ?Using public money to subsidise private schools is a chilling reminder of the Tory party?s utter disregard for the state education system and should remind all voters where their priorities truly lie, with the privileged few rather than the average British family.? Fact: There are currently 613,510 pupils attending independent schools. If independent schools were to set their fees at ?5,500 in order to qualify for Tory subsidy (making up any shortfall in their budgets by encouraging parents to make private ?donations?) the deadweight cost to the economy of taxpayers? money being siphoned off into the private sector could be as high as ?3.3billion. (599,630 x ?5,500 = ?3,297,965,000) There are 585,760 full time and 27,750 part time pupils in independent schools (599,630 full time equivalents) Source:http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000495/schools_04_final.pdf (Table 42) National Statistics: Statistics of Education Schools in England 2004 Edition Reference ID: V05/200 On Crime, Mark Oaten said: ?Conservative plans for 5,000 more police a year depend on savings from the asylum system which are pure fantasy. Their discredited plans for ?honesty in sentencing? would actually mean a cut in prison sentences, putting public safety at risk.? Fact 1: The Conservatives claim they can save ?897m by introducing an Australian-style offshore processing system. They have no idea where these processing centres would be located or what the cost would be. Fact 2: Ann Widdecombe admitted in 2000 that Tory sentencing plans would mean judges would hand down shorter sentences. The policy would also mean that once a prisoner is released their sentence would have ended ? under the current system, releasing individuals before their sentence expires allows them to be recalled to prison if they break the terms of their release ?licence?. (Hansard, 3rd July 2000) On Immigration, Mr Oaten added: ?Introducing quotas on refugees would inevitably mean that people genuinely fleeing torture and persecution would be turned away. Arbitrary limits on immigration would damage our economy and push up taxes.? Fact: Immigration is vital for the UK economy. Home Office research shows that immigrants make a net contribution to the economy of ?2.5bn a year, equivalent to 1p on income tax. If the Austrialian points system is taken as the model, Conservative proposals would mean that Lynton Crosby, Michael Howard?s own election guru, would not be allowed into the country. On Foreign Affairs & Defence, Sir Menzies Campbell added: ?It is hard to discern from the few hundred words that the Tories have devoted to foreign affairs, defence and Europe precisely what Michael Howard?s foreign policy would be. A mere 12 lines is thought to be enough to deal with the complex problems of the developing world, and visceral Tory animosity to Europe is concealed in bland generalisations. Nor is this manifesto frank about the contradictions in Tory policy towards Iraq. International Affairs specialists will dismiss this part of the Tory programme as risible. Fact: Under the Tories, the aid budget, as a proportion of national income, fell by half from 0.51% to 0.26%. On Health, Paul Burstow said: ?The Tories have three kinds of health policy; uncosted, unfair and unbelievable. ?When Michael Howard talks about choice it is choice for the few and long waits for the rest. Subsidising private treatment for those who can afford it will cost the NHS ?1.2 billion before a single extra operation is ever performed.? Fact: Responding to the Conservative Party’s health manifesto, King?s Fund chief executive Niall Dickson said: ?We are concerned that the Conservatives have kept their patient passport policy, albeit under a different guise. This proposal would mean the NHS subsidising large numbers of patients who currently pay for the entire cost of their private treatment. It represents a large dead weight cost and would not be a good use of public funds.? On Pensions, Steve Webb said: ?They call means-testing humiliating, they say they will reverse its spread, but because of a last minute u-turn in their policy they will actually push a quarter of a million more pensioners into means-testing. ?Not one other organisation with serious proposals on pension reform supports them - at least 11 have proposals very similar to ours. ?They say they would use unclaimed assets in bank and building society accounts to rebuild the pension funds of those who have lost their occupational pensions when a scheme has been wound up without sufficient assets to pay its liabilities. But their plans were widely denounced by building societies as uncosted. It is also questionable whether the money could be legally withdrawn by the Government.? Fact: When the independent Pensions Policy Institute compared proposals to tackle the pensions crisis by a number of key organisations - not one other organisation supported came up with the same proposals as the Tories. At least 11 have proposals very similar to the Liberal Democrats’ proposals for a Citizen’s Pension: British Chambers of Commerce, Friends Provident, Help the Aged, Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow, House of Lords Economic Affairs Select Committee, National Association of Pension Funds, National Consumer Council, Norwich Union, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pensions Management Institute and Watson Wyatt. On Council Tax, Edward Davey said: ?The Tories are trying to disguise their hidden agenda on Council Tax with talk of their meagre discount for pensioners. But the truth is they are planning Council Tax hikes of 10% to fill their spending black hole and a nationwide revaluation that would land up to 7 million families with higher bills. The Tories invented Council Tax, and now they’re going to make it worse.? Fact: The Government is proposing a 5.4% annual increase in local government grant to 2007/8 (Pre Budget Report 2004), while Conservatives are proposing a 3% annual increase to 2007/8 (James Review, Value for Money). With a ?39.4bn grant affected by this funding shift, by 2007/08 the Conservatives would be spending ?41.8bn, in comparison to existing plans to spend ?43.8bn. There are 21m council tax paying households, who would need to pay ?95.20 each to make up the shortfall On Transport, John Thurso added: ?The Tories clearly don’t want to talk about transport, incredible given that it is one of the policy areas where Labour have clearly failed to deliver. Their record means they have every right to be embarrassed, so no wonder that their main proposal in this area, on speed cameras, panders to their boy racer instincts.? Fact: There are only six sentences on transport in the whole manifesto. It is not clear what “modernise Britain?s road network” and “bring stability to the rail network” actually mean. When they state that they will review speed cameras so they are not there to “make money”, this ignores the fact that no one actually makes any money from speed camera fines! On the Environment, Norman Baker said: ?This absence of any credible policies on environment in this manifesto shows that the Tories just dont care about it as an issue. Climate change is the biggest challenge our world faces today - even Michael Howard has admitted that in the past. Yet, this is simply not a coherent or credible statement of actions needed to tackle the problem and reduce emissions. When its comes to the environment there?s nothing more toxic than a Tory.? Fact: 69% are concerned about the impacts of climate change, yet Michael Howard when launching his manifesto did not even mention the environment, and there is less than even in 2001. In a speech to the Green Alliance last September Michael Howard said: “?I am here to make the case for new leadership in the way we manage our environment. Success is central to our pursuit of a better quality of life. The challenge has become more pressing as the evidence grows - both of the risks we are taking and our failure to respond effectively… Climate change is one of mankind?s greatest challenges” yet there is no leadership on this issue here. On climate change it merely states that they will “will phase out the use of harmful HFCs”, which is happening anyway, and that they “deliver greater incentives to make homes more energy-efficient.”, which gives no detail. This is not a coherent or credible statement of actions needed to tackle climate change. |
Council Tax is crippling the Calder Valley’s pensioners and low paid
Posted by JohnBM on 31 March 2005 at 01:13 PM
| Council Tax punishes you on the value of the property you live in rather than how much you earn.With the explosion of house prices in the valley in the last couple of years and a reassessment of the council tax bands due in the next couple of years it looks as though even more people will be taxed out of the houses they live in.A local income tax, taxed at source is the only way to redress the balance. It will mean we pay a fair share and the elderly and those on low incomes aren’t punished for the value of the houses they live in.Only the Lib Dems are committed to doing this.Help us to help you. |
Tories Need To Publish Secret Plans For Cuts
Posted by admin on 25 March 2005 at 01:22 PM
| Dr Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, today called for the Conservative Party to publish in full the James Report proposals for cuts in investment in public services.The call comes after Howard Flight’s admission of concealed Tory spending cut plans and the admission by George Osborne that the Tories have so far not publicly accepted some of the more politically sensitive James Report spending cut plans.Commenting, Dr Cable said:”It is now clear that the Tory Party has a hidden agenda of real cuts in public services, which Michael Howard and Oliver Letwin are not willing to reveal because of the political sensitivity of these plans. They have previously said that they have published the full James Report but that has now been contradicted.”The Conservative Party has made great play of demanding that the Government publishes the Attorney-General?s advice on the Iraq War. They now owe it to the British people to publish in full the James Report proposals ? and not simply hide behind their implausible claims of painless cuts in ?waste and bureaucracy?.
“The Liberal Democrat analysis, which I am publishing today, already shows that most of the existing James Report proposals are bogus and undeliverable. Now Howard Flight?s comments and those of George Osborne confirm that the Tories have real plans for deeper cuts in front line health, education and policing. “The only way for the Tory Party to clear up the uncertainty over their plans is for them to publish the real James Report in full. Until they do this, no elector in Britain can have any confidence in a secret cuts agenda and its implications for hospitals, schools and our police.” |
Gov’t must now release all Iraq legal advice
Posted by JohnBM on 24 March 2005 at 02:33 PM
| Revelations that the Attorney General changed his mind on whether taking Britain to war in Iraq was illegal or not has further damaged the Labour Government’s credibility on this issue.The Government must now publish all the legal advice that it received in the run up to war and clear up the matter once and for all.Hiding behind convention and censoring the release of documents is no way to run a democracy. |
Ten Good Reasons to Vote Liberal Democrat
Posted by admin on 22 March 2005 at 10:03 AM
| WE OPPOSE: Putting targets first WE PROPOSE: Putting patients firstWE OPPOSE: Tuition fees & top up fees WE PROPOSE: Scrapping student feesWE OPPOSE: Compulsory I.D. Cards WE PROPOSE: Spending the money on 10,000 more policeWE OPPOSE: Selling your home to pay for care WE PROPOSE: Free personal care for the elderlyWE OPPOSE: Ignoring climate change WE PROPOSE: Cleaner transport & cleaner energy WE OPPOSE: ?1.5 billion on the child trust fund WE OPPOSE: Means-testing pensioners WE OPPOSE: Hidden tax increases WE OPPOSE: Unfair council tax WE OPPOSE: Bush & Blair on Iraq |
Blair must accept responsibility for lack of public trust
Posted by JohnBM on 18 March 2005 at 10:52 AM
| According to a recent poll by the BBC, 80% of the public do not trust politicians. Tony Blair’s Labour Government must accept some responsibility for this.In 1997 we were promised a fresh start and a breakaway from the sleaze and broken promises of the Tories. Eight years later nothing has changed.Labour’s manifesto promises such as not introducing topup fees and raising taxes have been broken, the Labour government has allied itself with George ‘Dubya’ Bush, we have been taken to war on a false premise, sleaze and poor judgment has plagued government ministers. And still Tony Blair says not “Sorry” but “Trust Me”. The public replies: “Not likely!”Mr Straw told activists in Blackburn on Thursday that voters would have to decide at the next election which party “best deserves” their “future trust” (source BBC News)Jack Straw is right but that party is not the Tories or Labour but the Liberal Democrats, a REAL alternative. John Beacroft-Mitchell |
Prevention of Terrorism legislation
Posted by admin on 14 March 2005 at 11:20 AM
| The Liberal Democrats in both Houses of Parliament have led the fight to improve the Government’s anti-terrorism legislation.All parties agree that there is a serious threat of terrorism. All parties agree that there is a need to take appropriate measures to combat it. However, the Liberal Democrats believe that it is possible to maintain our security while still protecting our liberties. Throughout the passage of the Bill this is what we have sought to do, and we believe we have succeeded.The final Bill is not perfect but it is a much better Bill than the one the Government started with. No bill in living memory has been more successfully altered.The ImprovementsOver the last few weeks, substantial improvements to the Bill and other concessions have been made by the Government, and the Liberal Democrats have been prominent in achieving them:
? The role of judges is now much more central to the whole process and, although it’s not perfect, there is no question now of the Home Secretary making a control order without judicial supervision. ? Prosecution must be the first option before control orders are considered. ? No house arrest or derogation (from the European Convention on Human Rights) without the Home Secretary putting an order before Parliament. ? All control orders will be for a limited period. ? Suspects will have much greater opportunities to challenge the evidence which forms the basis of the allegations against them. (The court has control of what evidence defendants and their lawyers have access to and, where evidence is withheld, the court will require the prosecution to provide an appropriate synopsis.) ? A clear undertaking from the Home Secretary that evidence obtained from abroad under torture will be inadmissible. ? A commitment to work on a new counter-terrorism bill whose passage will be completed by the end of 2006, and with a ‘long title’ which will be sufficient to permit amendment or repeal of any part of this bill. (The Government’s previous proposal of providing for the renewal of the Bill would have meant an ‘all or nothing’ choice, with no amendments permitted.) ? A commitment that this new bill will include an offence of acts preparatory for terrorism, so a formal prosecution for planning a terrorist offence is more likely. ? A clear commitment from the Government to reviewing the use of intercept evidence (phone taps) in court. ? A sunset clause in all but name (see below). The Sunset Clause and the Standard of Proof The final sitting of the Commons to consider the bill had two outstanding amendments left to be resolved. The first of these was on whether there should be a ’sunset clause’ on the Bill. We take the view that this Bill is emergency legislation, making serious changes to our historic legal processes. It has been rushed through Parliament without consultation or adequate deliberation. We should be clear that this is temporary legislation which will need to be replaced. The second amendment related to the process for the granting of control orders. We said that, firstly, the standard of proof required for someone to be deprived of their liberties and restricted with a control order should be stronger ? a test of ‘the balance of probabilities’ rather than merely the Home Secretary?s ‘reasonable suspicion’. And, secondly, we said that non-derogating (lower) control orders (e.g. tagging) should have to be granted by a judge and not a minister. (The Bill simply requires judicial approval after the event.) On the issue of the “sunset clause”, we warmly welcome the government’s decision to review the legislation on a timetable that closely mirrors our own. We have sought and received confirmation from the Home Secretary that it will be possible to amend or repeal this Bill at a future date. This is a sunset clause in all but name. We have put on the record in the House of Lords that, if the government renege from their undertaking on a new bill, or delay it unreasonably, we will regard this as justification for departing from the usual convention that the House of Lords does not reject secondary legislation, and therefore vote against the renewal of the current Bill when it comes up for debate in a year?s time. On the question of the standard of proof required for control orders, and all control orders being granted by a judge, our disagreement with the government remains. We have taken a robust line on this. We have been assured that the government’s own review will directly consider this issue. However we did not regard that as sufficient and continued to press this case to the very last, pushing it to the vote once again. Sadly the Conservatives were not so robust and backed down on this issue, so we lost the vote on this. We will return to this issue under the new timetable and procedures the Government has now conceded. |
Lords must stand up to Blair’s blackmail
Posted by JohnBM on 10 March 2005 at 03:08 PM
| The House of Lords must not back down in the face of Blair’s blackmail over the Prevention of Terrorism Bill.The loss of liberty must be properly debated by parliament and further concessions need to be made by the Labour Government without threats from its leader.Rushed and flawed legislation will do nothing to fight terrorism. In fact; if justice is not seen to be done, rushed and flawed legislation will recruit more terrorists. |
Lords back Lib Dems on Liberty
Posted by admin on 8 March 2005 at 12:02 PM
| The House of Lords last night backed a series of Liberal Democrat amendments to the Labour Government’s draconian Terrorism Act.The Liberal Democrat amendments derail Government plans to allow the Home Secretary to restrict fundamental freedoms of British citizens without a fair trial. |
McCafferty AWOL again
Posted by JohnBM on 24 February 2005 at 09:22 AM
| Calder Valley MP, Chris McCafferty (Labour) last night yet again failed to turn up to vote on a parliamentary bill which erodes the civil liberties of UK citizens.The Prevention of Terrorism Bill is being rushed through parliament by the Labour government. If the bill becomes law, the home secretary will be able to place anybody under house arrest without a trial.As with the ID Cards debates, Chris McCafferty has failed her constituents by not turning out to vote. |
Calder Valley MP misses another ID Card vote
Posted by JohnBM on 10 February 2005 at 10:41 PM
| Calder Valley MP, Chris McCafferty, missed yet another crucial vote on ID Cards this evening.Of the three votes in the House of Commons on ID cards Ms McCafferty has attended none. The people of the Calder Valley have not been represented in this debate by their MP.All this comes at a massive cost to the civil liberties of UK citizens and with no discernable benefits.ID Cards will not combat terrorism. ID Cards will not prevent benefit fraud. ID Cards will require everybody to be fingerprinted, iris scanned and their details to available to this and any future government for whatever purpose they see fit.Everybody over the age of sixteen will be required to pay between ?35 and ?85 for the priviledge of being forced to carry an ID Card or biometric passport.
Shouldn’t the people of the Calder Valley have a voice when it will cost them so much in money and liberty? |
The Blair Legacy
Posted by admin on 7 February 2005 at 09:33 AM
| On Monday 7th Feb 2005, Tony Blair became Labour’s longest serving Prime Minister.His achievements include:
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Liberal Democrats - The Real Opposition
Posted by admin on 17 January 2005 at 02:02 PM
| The Real Opposition in Parliament and at the ballot boxOn a wide range of issues only the Liberal Democrats have opposed Labour?s proposals:ID Cards The Liberal Democrats are the only Party opposing Labour?s flawed plans to introduce ID cards. The opportunist Conservatives now support the plans, despite 82 of their 166 MPs failing to vote in favour of the plans at the Second Reading of the Bill (December 2004) in the House of Commons, including front-benchers Alan Duncan, Oliver Letwin, John Redwood, Nicholas Soames, David Willetts, and Tim Yeo.Iraq The Liberal Democrats were the only one of the three major parties to oppose the war in Iraq. In the House of Commons (March 2003) the Liberal Democrats were united in voting against the war, whilst only 3 Conservatives opposed the deployment of British troops.University Top-Up and Tuition Fees The Liberal Democrats have opposed the Labour Government?s introduction of both tuition and top-up fees for university students. Liberal Democrats believe that access to university should be based on ability to learn not on what students can afford to pay. Council Tax Success in by-elections At the Brent East, Leicester South, Birmingham Hodge Hill, and Hartlepool by-elections voters dismissed the Conservatives as irrelevant, with senior Tories admitting that many areas of the country were now no-go areas for them. In urban areas such as Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester it is the Liberal Democrats who are the Real Opposition to Labour. |
Tory defects to Labour to back Tuition Fees
Posted by JohnBM on 17 January 2005 at 08:57 AM
| Veteran Conservative MP, Robert Jackson, crossed the floor of the House of Commons to Labour over the weekend.His stated reasons for defecting to Labour include his support for Labour’s stance on tuition fees and the Iraq war.This shows how close Labour and the Conservatives have become in policy and action.Our opposition to the Iraq war, ID cards and tuition fees is evidence that the Lib Dems are the only “effective opposition”. |
Lib Dems - The only “REAL ALTERNATIVE” as Tories sack candidate
Posted by admin on 11 January 2005 at 02:57 PM
| The ?bizarre and shoddy? treatment of Tory PPC Sue Catling over the past three years leading to her being dumped unceremoniously last night was indicative of the total disarray that Calder Valley Tories are in.?The Tories are obviously desperate and feel threatened, realising they have little chance of winning, all they are doing is shuffling the deckchairs as the Titanic sinks,” said Cllr. John Beacroft-Mitchell, Chair of Upper Calder Valley Liberal Democrats.The Tories in Calder Valley have descended into disharmony and disorder. If people want to be rid of Tony Blair and his motley crew, then the only option is to vote for a real alternative in the shape of the Liberal Democrats.?We have the policies, we have the people, and we have the passion,” said Cllr. Nader Fekri (Calder Ward). ?We want to give the people of the Valley a real choice between the failed policies of this New Labour regime and the values of fairness and vision of a caring society under a Liberal Democrat government,” he added.Cllr. Michael Taylor commented further saying, ?We wish to introduce policies such as free off-peak local transport for all pensioners and disabled people, and an extra ?25/week on the pension at 75. As well as abolishing tuition fees, and axing the Council Tax. The former to make education affordable for every student, the latter to be replaced by a Local Income Tax which would be both fairer and more affordable, for the vast majority?. ?I tell you what, they?re a ruthless lot and they don?t hang about. If you go on their web-site there?s no mention of Sue Catling. It?s as if she never existed,” said Cllr. Beacroft-Mitchell. |
The Importance of Parish Councils (Letter to The Times)
Posted by Christine Bampton-Smith on 9 January 2005 at 02:27 PM
| Dear Sir,Thunderer Ross Clark on 7th January presented a view of Parish and Town Councils. May I redress the balance in respect of this important first tier of democracy.Twenty years ago I became a member of Hebden Royd Town Council, West Yorkshire, as a young mother - I am still there, but not so young. In 2003 we had a 100% contested election for 18 seats and have a balanced council of Liberal Democrats, Labour and Independants, our youngest councillor is just 28 and we have two members from ethnic minority groups.We already employ an environmental street warden, we provided and maintain a 24hour monitored CCTV system, have built a skate board park for our young people and give around 20k per year to community groups, amongst other positive action. We are a statutory consultee in planning matters and consult and challenge our district council in our efforts to support our community. Our members also have representation on local groups and are active in the regeneration plans for the area, we have membership of regional and national Parish and Town Council bodies, which act as a pressure group on Government, but most importantly we represent our ward members and help with their problems.Hebden Royd is one of many pro-active Town Councils - I invite Ross to visit us and see local democracy in action.
Yours sincerely Christine Bampton-Smith |
Help the victims of the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Posted by admin on 28 December 2004 at 06:07 PM
| Help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami which devastated countries bordering the Indian Ocean. Please send a donation to help the millions of people who now need your help.The Disasters Emergency Committee - www.dec.org.uk- is an umbrella group of UK aid organisations - including ActionAid, British Red Cross, Oxfam - working to provide clean water, food and shelter to thousands. To call from the UK dial 0870 60 60 900. |
Calder Valley MP misses ID Card Debate
Posted by JohnBM on 22 December 2004 at 10:35 AM
| On Monday night the Labour Government in a pact with the so called Tory ‘opposition’ voted to introduce ID Cards into the UK. The people of the Calder Valley constituency were not represented in the debate or the vote, as their MP, Chris McCafferty, did not attend.Labour’s ID Tax will come at a cost to the public purse of at least ?6 Billion without factoring in the ?35 to ?85 it will cost every person in the country.All this comes at a massive cost to the civil liberties of UK citizens and with no discernable benefits.ID Cards will not combat terrorism. ID Cards will not prevent benefit fraud. ID Cards will require everybody to be fingerprinted, iris scanned and their details to available to this and any future government for whatever purpose they see fit.?6 Billion will pay for 10,000 more police officers all equipped with the latest equipment. |
Lest we forget Mr. Blair
Posted by JohnBM on 21 December 2004 at 10:51 AM
| The Labour Party will be hiding Tony Blair from the electorate in the run up to the general election it has been revealed. Labour campaign boss, Alan Milburn, has announced that Labour will be doing away with the election battlebus and Blair’s daily election briefings.Labour cannot hide the fact that Tony Blair is the leader of their party, elected under one member one vote and supported by the vast majority of Labour MPs.Labour must take collective responsibility for going to war on a false prospectus, introducing university tuition fees, locking people away without charge or trial and a general erosion of civil liberties.As you won’t be seeing him on any Labour leaflets this spring and just in case you forget who Tony Blair, leader of the Labour Party, is, please see below (He’s the one on the left. ) |
Charles Clarke must ditch ID Cards
Posted by JohnBM on 15 December 2004 at 07:53 PM
| New Home Secretary Charles Clarke must take this opportunity to ditch the ill thought out ID Card bill. Now is the time bury this illiberal and expensive Labour pipedream and put the money saved into putting more police on the streets and giving them the latest equipment. |
Tories join Labour on flawed ID Cards
Posted by JohnBM on 14 December 2004 at 10:57 AM
| The Tories have joined Labour in their flawed plans to introduce compulsory ID cards.The Liberal Democrats are now the only mainstream party who stand up to this expensive and pointless proposal.ID Cards: - will not stop benefit fraud; - will not stop terrorism; - will not stop identity theft; - will not curb illegal immigration; - will increase racial tension; - will require everybody in the country to submit to fingerprinting and facial/iris scans or face a fine of ?2,500.All this will cost us ?5.5 billion at present estimates. Considering the Labour government’s inability to manage the computer systems contracts used by the Work and Pensions department or the Child Support Agency this figure could double or even triple.On top of this everybody over the age of sixteen will be required to pay between ?35 and ?85 for the priviledge of being forced to carry an ID Card. Only the Liberal Democrats stand against ID Cards. Stop Labour’s Identity Tax |
Tories get the wrong end of the stick again - Letter to the Halifax Courier
Posted by Nader Fekri on 8 December 2004 at 01:22 PM
| Dear Ed, Poor Cllr. Roger Taylor, I do believe he has not quite got the hang of democratic politics, a shadow cabinet is ?a group of senior members of the political party that is out of power; who would probably assume corresponding positions if their party was elected?. As Liberal Democrats we are absolutely committed to scrutinising every decision made by the Tory Cabinet, and to come up with valid and considered counter-proposals. In order to achieve this we meticulously examine the briefing papers that the Tories receive, and have thorough and exhaustive discussions as to what our alternatives would be. We do not have to ?shadow? the current cabinet by attending their every meeting, nor have we to ?inspect? them, rather our task is to put up a viable and credible alternative to the Tories for the benefit of all the citizens of Calderdale.YoursCllr Nader Fekri (Calder) Member of the Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet responsible for Schools and Children?s Services |
Welcome to the Upper Calder Valley Liberal Democrats
Posted by JohnBM on 6 December 2004 at 10:33 PM
| Welcome to the new website of the Upper Calder Valley Liberal Democrats.We hope you find it both interesting and informative.All the bestJohn Beacroft-Mitchell (Branch Chair) |
