Derby Liberal Democrats
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The Liberal Democrats have 5 councillors across the city.
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Article: Aug 16, 2018Labour's policy was to hand over 10 of Derby's libraries to the voluntary sector for them to run. Serious practical difficulties with this policy have been pointed out to Labour as far back as late last summer. These were ignored. It was well-known that new stricter data protection laws would come into force this May. This means that library members will now have to actively agree to the voluntary sector organisations having access to their personal data that the Library Service holds. This will only be done as and when library members visit a library. There may also be legal problems with making librarians redundant. Their work still exists, but will be done by others.
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Article: Aug 15, 2018
Polls are now showing that Derby North residents have switched from supporting Brexit to being in favour of remaining in the EU. Data gathered by Focaldata and published in The Observer shows that Derby North is now projected to support remaining in the EU with a majority of 52%, up from 2016 when 46% voted remain. Derby North is among the 112 parliamentary constituencies which voted to leave in the 2016 referendum which now have a majority of constituents supporting remaining in the EU.
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Article: Jul 18, 2018
Universal Credit
At the July Full Council meeting Labour tried to 'transfer funds' to help smooth the introduction of Universal Credit to Derby. They claimed this could be done from budget under-spends. However, with the widely reported 'black holes' uncovered in the budget since Labour left office, there weren't any real budget under-spends to allocate. Lib Dem councillors proposed amendments to the motion to make sure that the Conservatives "carefully monitor the effects of the implementation of Universal Credit in Derby" and give their "best endeavours to ensure sufficient funding is available to support Derby residents in the transition period".
Cllr Ruth Skelton said, "We don't want anyone to face difficulties as their benefits change, but Labour couldn't commit the Council to spending non-existent money. Thanks to the Lib Dem amendment to Labour's rather woolly motion, action will have to be taken if things don't go smoothly."
Action on Air Quality
Derby is one of several cities that has to tackle its poor air quality after the campaigning charity, Client Earth, took the Government to court to force improvements. This was announced in 2016 and the Council must submit its plans by September. The previous Labour administration failed to submit any plans that would satisfy the court judgement. Yet Labour tried to push through a motion saying time was running out, and demanding that the new Cabinet - in place just a few months - publish their plans.
People tell us they don't like 'yah-boo' politics, and that's exactly what Labour were doing - criticising the new leaders for not doing in two months what Labour hadn't done in two years. But action on air quality is important for everyone in Derby.
Thanks to a Lib Dem amendment, both Conservatives and Labour are now committed to publishing their plans to improve Derby's air quality, and the Council is committed to carrying out public consultation to get the best plans. The amendment also commits the Council to meet or exceed the clean air targets set out in the Government and court requirements.
Delays on A52 Works
Since Labour lost control of the Council it has emerged that the A52 project, started by Labour, is now likely to double in cost. An audit investigation was ordered as soon as Labour lost control of the Council in May this year. This is being done by Central Midlands Audit Partnership, who do internal audit for the City Council and others in the region.
At the July Council meeting Labour put forward a motion to have a second review of the project carried out. This would have cost the Council about £1 million and been slower.
Lib Dem councillors amended this motion to make sure that the report from Central Midlands Audit Partnership will be published in full and debated by Council. It also called upon Labour Cllr Asif Afzal, the previous Cabinet member with responsibility for the works, to fully co-operate with the investigation, and to say when he first knew of the overspend and what actions he took to mitigate the impact prior to him leaving his Cabinet position in May 2018.
Cllr Eric Ashburner said "We all want to know what went wrong to make the cost of the A52 works rocket. But Labour's stunt of trying to push for a slower, more expensive investigation into mistakes that happened on their own watch is just a silly game. I am confident the Audit Partnership will get to the bottom of how Labour let the costs rise so massively."
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Article: Jul 9, 2018
The recent Neighbourhood Forum was told that the Royal Derby Hospital has submitted a planning application for 100 extra beds to be built by next spring. Three wards on the front of the hospital would be extended above the current single storey building.
Across the road, beyond Aldi, an extra 600-place car park is to be built. It is hoped that Manor Park Way will be widened to help reduce queuing into the car park and general congestion.
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Article: Jul 5, 2018
It's 70 years since the founding of the NHS - brainchild of Liberal politician William Beveridge.
But sadly our health service is now at breaking point - with nurse numbers falling fast and waiting lists rising.
The Liberal Democrats have a fully costed plan - devised by health experts - to give our NHS the support it really needs.
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Article: Jun 25, 2018
Hundreds of thousands of people marched in London for a say on the final Brexit deal. Key members of the Government dealing with Brexit have resigned over the latest plans. Major UK companies are going bust or saying they'll stop investing in the UK.
This all makes President Trump's comment that the UK is in 'turmoil' sounds rather true.
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Article: Jun 6, 2018
Police were called to Stenson Road on the evening of 3rd June after reports of 2 cars stopping and the occupants fighting each other by the railway bridge.
Two people were treated in hospital for injuries they received during the fighting. Two men have been arrested on suspicion of affray.
If you witnessed the fight and haven't yet spoken to the Police, contact them on 101 quoting reference 18000255030. If you have information about the people involved, please contact the Police or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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Article: Jun 3, 2018President Trump has imposed a whopping 25% tariff on all UK imported steel and 10% on aluminium. Over 32,000 people in the UK are employed in the steel industry, nearly 5% of those jobs are here in the East Midlands.
Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Derby North, Barry Holliday commented:"President Trump has launched a petty and self-defeating trade war with his tariff on British and European steel. He's acting like a spoilt 2 year old not a world leader.
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Article: May 31, 2018It has come to light that the A52 widening project started by the previous Labour City Council administration is rocketing in cost. From a previous budget of £15 million, the works are now forecast to be an eye-watering possible £30 million. The new Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Campaigner for Derby North, Barry Holliday, has called on Derby Labour members to come clean about what they know.
At a meeting with Council Group Leader Cllr Ruth Skelton, Barry Holliday said: -
Article: May 29, 2018Former cabinet member for Sport and Leisure Joe Naitta has today called out the Tories on their "backwards" plans to change Moorways swimming pool to 25m, rather than the 50m length currently planned.
In their sports strategy plan, written when the Liberal Democrats ran Derby City Council, they left plans for a new 50m pool at Moorways - which Labour failed to act on, losing Derby's top swimming facility.