Derby Liberal Democrats

A recent opinion poll shows that people in Derby North are changing their views on leaving the European Union. In 2016 46% of people voted to remain in the European Union. In a recent poll by Focaldata, 52% of Derby North residents would now support remaining.

Lib Dem Derby North Candidate, Barry Holliday said "There are many reasons why views have changed. These will include the court's conclusion that the Leave campaigns broke the law. Most people also think the Conservatives are dealing badly with brexit. The realities and risks of leaving are also becoming clearer, with food and medicines being stockpiled, staff shortages worsening in the NHS and elsewhere - and the Pound falling against most other currencies forcing prices up.

Manor Kingsway parking

The City Council had started consulting on residents only parking for the new housing around Kingsway Boulevard. However, the developers have now implemented it. This means Kier must enforce the scheme until the roads are formally adopted by the Council at some point in the future, probably several years away.

Hartland Drive road surface is being reconstructed and resurfaced. The work begins during the week starting Tuesday 28^th August and it is expected to take about 4 weeks to do. The work will cover the whole of Hartland Drive from Instow Drive to Staunton Avenue / Freeman Avenue.

This road repair scheme was chosen by your Liberal Democrat councillors Ruth Skelton and Joe Naitta together with residents who attend the Blagreaves Neighbourhood Forum.

Millennium Wood path - next steps

The new route to extend the path through Millennium Wood to Oaklands Avenue has taken two steps forward. The planning application has been submitted, and the legal process to dedicate the route has begun.

It is hoped that work on widening the existing path through Millennium Wood and creating the link path to Oaklands Avenue will start in the autumn and be completed by the spring.

Fight to electrify Midland Main Line continues

MPs considering the electrification of railway lines said that electrification was the best long term solution for rail. They said that therefore the plans for the MML, from here to London, should be only postponed, not cancelled.

Read more at http://railjournal.com/index.php/europe/parliamentary-report-criticises-british-electrification-policy.html

Labour'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.

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.

Littleover Liberal Democrats are fighting to save the 35 bus service.

Notts and Derby bus company plan to cut the service on July 20th. This bus is a vital service for older residents in Bretton Avenue and Haven Baulk Lane area for town, Tescos and medical appointments.

The Focus team have surveyed passengers and are approaching businesses and groups with their findings. They hope that showing how vital this bus service is will encourage others to help fund the service.

Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse's Private Members Bill to make 'upskirting a specific criminal offence was shockingly blocked by Tory MP Christopher Chope.

After further pressure from Wera, the Government has used a rare process to take this bill through the House of Commons anyway.

Derby North Lib Dem campaigner Barry Holliday said: "I am disgusted by the action of Mr Chope. He is a disgrace to parliament and his Conservative party. Stopping a bill that specifically bans taking vile illicit photographs of women is irresponsible and fundamentally wrong. He should resign!"