Half of the Conservatives in Stoke-on-Trent South have resigned from the party in a bitter row with former political allies.The split involves allegations of mismanagement of city council funds. Authority managers, the police and the Standards Board for England have been asked to launch inquiries.
Commenting on the British Dental Association report on the state of NHS Dentistry published today, Paul Holmes, Liberal Democrat MP for Chesterfield said:
The number of children living in relative poverty in the UK rose by 200,000 last year, government figures have revealed. The first increase in nearly a decade casts doubt on Labour's target of halving child poverty by 2010. In 2005-6, 3.8m children were in relative poverty - defined as homes on less than 60% of average income net of housing costs. The figures represent an increase from 3.6 million in the previous year.
Dundee Liberal Democrats today (Tuesday 27th March) welcomed the launch of a new website from North East Scotland leading regional list candidate for the Scottish Parliament, Alison McInnes.
Commenting on the Royal Academy of Engineering report into privacy and surveillance, which warns that biometric details could be compromised by terrorists and criminals, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Clegg MP said: "This report confirms that the Government's fascination with big centralised databases carries long-term dangers. There is little merit in pouring huge amounts of taxpayers' money into creating these databases if they not only threaten our privacy but also, as this report predicts, remain vulnerable to being used by terrorists and organised criminals. The Government must now pause in the construction of the surveillance state, which is happening behind the backs of the British people, and ensure a proper public debate before they proceed further."
Speaking at a rally tonight to promote the Sustainable Communities Bill, Liberal Democrat Leader Menzies Campbell will challenge the Labour government to support it. The Bill, now in its Committee stage thanks to the support of opposition MPs, aims to give more power to local communities to counteract the influence of multi-national business and central government. Originally introduced by Julia Goldsworthy MP for the Lib Dems in 2002, the bill has already been defeated once by the government.