The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.

Dorking flocks to hear Vince Cable

A packed audience listens to Vince Cable

Vince Cable MP - LibDem Deputy Leader and Shadow Chancellor - drew a large audience to a public meeting on Thursday 31st June. Over 100 people attended a packed meeting at the Christian Centre in Dorking. In his speech, Vince developed a cogent argument for the Government to negotiate with energy companies to return much of the £9bn windfall profits they received from the grant of carbon trading permits and use this money to reduce the impact on those worst affected by higher energy prices. He pointed out the inequity that those least able to pay are often forced to use pre-payment meters which attract higher tariffs than those who can afford direct debits.

In a wide-ranging speech, he also talked about the challenges of political leadership. Since 1990 each of the three main parties has had several changes of leadership - and few have been at the time of the leader's choosing. British politics, he argued, demands rapid and continuing success of its leaders.

Vince Cable - LibDem Treasury spokesperson

He finished by describing some of the distinctive aspects of Liberal Democrat values and policies. He explained how the public is no longer willing to accept a widespread tax-and-spend approach to funding public services, forcing all parties to look seriously at areas where Government activity should be curtailed. He identified the unfairness of a tax system which taxes many hard-working families at up to 40% on their income, but charges less than 20% on capital gains, which largely benefit the better-off. He re-stated the Liberal Democrats' intention to redress this balance by reducing the income tax burden on lower earners. He also confirmed the party's long-standing commitments to civil liberties and its deep commitment to green issues.

Following his speech, there was a question-and-answer session where Vince was joined by local politicians: Alice Humphreys - LibDem Parliamentary Candidate for Mole Valley and the LibDem leaders on Surrey County Council (Hazel Watson) and Mole Valley DC (Margaret Cooksey). The subsequent discussion covered a wide range of national and local topics, including the threats to services at Epsom Hospital and Ofsted's critical report on Surrey's Children's Services.

Defend services at Epsom Hospital

Alice Humphreys leads the protest at Epsom Hospital

Alice Humphreys and campaign group "Hope for Women and Children" held a demonstration to protest against threats to close the maternity unit's delivery ward and the in-patient paediatric ward at Epsom Hospital. The protest took place on Friday 7th March. Alice and many local residents attended the meeting of the Trust Board later that morning. Alice commented "Many residents in the Northern part of Mole Valley are very concerned about the continuing uncertainty over what services will be retained at Epsom hospital. The alternative of driving to St Helier hospital would be likely to delay the arrival of patients needing urgent medical attention. It is simply not good enough."

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Public Meeting on Monday July 21 re Bookham Supermarket proposal Wed 16th Jul 2008 The opinion survey carried out by Liberal Democrat Councillor Anne Howarth (see "Thumbs down to Lower Shott Supermarket" June 10 2008) has continued to reveal massive opposition to the idea first publicly announced in a statement by Conservative Councillor Janet Purkiss. A welcome initiative has been taken by Bookham Residents Association to call a public meeting at the Old Barn Hall, Church Road, Bookham at 8pm next Monday July 21. Members of the Council Executive will be present. A high turnout of local residents and traders is inevitable and searching questions will be asked. Clear answers will be expected.

Lib Dems united in opposing Capel incinerator - Tories face both ways! Fri 11th Jul 2008 Conservative controlled Surrey County Council - including several Mole Valley representatives - has approved adoption of the Surrey Waste Plan which includes building a major incinerator near Capel. Liberal Democrat County Councillors maintained their consistent stand against the plan and once again argued for consideration of alternative waste disposal technologies which would be more environmentally friendly and avoid the health risks which are widely feared to flow from mass incineration.

Dorking Halls Safe Fri 11th Jul 2008 Mole Valley District Council agreed on 3 June to maintain the in-house management arrangements for the Dorking Halls thereby removing the threat of privatisation that has hung over the Halls for more than a year. The controlling Conservative Group had decided that it might be cheaper to hand the management of the Halls over to a private company or a trust and engaged in a costly exercise to find out how much money they might save. The answer was very little and they have now agreed to abandon the exercise.

Thumbs down to Lower Shott supermarket Tue 10th Jun 2008 Only when one of the retailers in Grove Corner, Bookham spoke to Councillor Anne Howarth did she realise that a developer was seeking to build a large supermarket on this site in the heart of her ward. This would inevitably mean the demolition of the row of shops (including that rarity - a fishmongers) and several houses, albeit the suggested development was said to include some "affordable housing".

Lib Dems welcome change of mind on start time for free bus passes Mon 3rd Mar 2008 Following pressure from Liberal Democrat councillors, Tory-controlled Mole Valley District Council has set the start time for the new bus pass scheme at 9am thus reversing the original decision to delay the start-time to 9:30am on Mondays to Fridays. The previous plan would have prevented many residents from benefiting from the scheme when they needed an earlier start. In Box Hill, for example, residents would not have been able to use the new bus pass on the 9:15 bus, so would have had to wait till after 11:30 to start their journeys. Other villages with infrequent services would have faced similar problems. Even where bus services are more frequent, the later start time would have inconvenienced many people with hospital or doctors' appointments. Under the new decision, the start-time for the new bus pass will remain at 9am.

Archive of earlier news stories.

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