At the launch of the new Draft Bill on energy, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State of Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey, writes:
Over the next decade, around a fifth of existing power plants are due to close, against a background of increased energy demand and increasing prices. We need new investment simply to keep the lights on.
But more than that, we need a clean energy revolution to meet our ambitious climate change goals and make this the greenest government ever.
That’s why I am bringing forward a new Energy Bill today.
You can read more about our clean energy revolution here.
We also need to transform our energy market to reduce the risk and cost of low carbon technologies.
That’s what our Bill does.
The UK is fast becoming a world leader in renewable energy, especially in off shore wind. I want us to lead the world in Carbon Capture and Storage too.
And we are also tackling rising energy bills. Without reforming the energy market bills will rise by around £200 in the coming years. Our reforms will mean bills are around 4% lower than they otherwise would have been.
Going green is good for the economy, good for Britain and good for you.
our MP is back to work outdoors, among her constituents after her nasty accident. Standing up, just one crutch barely visible, and cutting the cake with her mending wrist, what a trouper !!
I hope you can see that she draws strength from the local people around her
For me, nothing better illustrates the Liberal Democrat mission to make Britain a fairer place than our Pupil Premium: extra money for the most disadvantaged children in our schools.
We are letting schools decide the best way to spend this money. I want to strike a deal with our schools and teachers: we’ll give you the cash, the freedom, and we’ll reward and celebrate your success. But in return, we want you to redouble your efforts to close the gap between your poorer pupils and everyone else. We won’t be telling you what to do; but we will be watching what you achieve.
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It is shameful that, despite all the promise on a four or five year old’s first day at school, or the passion of their teachers, you can all too often plot that child’s path just by asking how much their parents earn.
The £2.5billion Pupil Premium was one of the four pledges on the front page of our manifesto. And now, with Liberal Democrats in government, schools are using the money for things like breakfast clubs; homework clubs; or to provide one-to-one-tuition. These are the sort of experiences many middle class children take for granted but a poorer child might rarely enjoy.
The Parish Council have finished a series of meetings about the Core Strategy (CM1) with as many of the interested parties as wanted to come and speak with them.
We have spoken with the Allotment holders, the County Council, Corfe Mullen Community group, young families needing Housing, and finally the Sports Association so that we can be aware of all their views before we put together a Response from the Parish Council to CM1.
CM1 proposes that houses be built on the Allotment site, after the Allotments have been resited (somewhere?), on the site of Lockyers School, once it has been rebuilt on the Recreation ground, and on the land behind Violet Farm, off the Wimborne Road.
Please would anybody with any comments put them to the District Council on the comment forms available from the Library or the Parish Office.
I wonder how many of you are aware that our MP Annette Brooke was brought back to Dorset by ambulance a few weeks ago? Anette suffered a serious fall outside Parliament, tripped over uneven paving stones on a Westminster pavement, and broke major bones in her leg.
After an operation to pin the leg in St Thomas’s Hospital she was, a few days later, returned to her home in Broadstone by a St Thomas’s ambulance. The journey was long and painful, then at Canford Bottom roundabout the ambulance SatNav failed to help and the driver had to wake Annette to ask her how ro proceed. Ridden with pain, they needed her to direct them how to get to Gravel Hill and her home.
As she says. If an Ambulance crew needed a badly injured resident to direct them, what hope a visitor ?
Annette is recovering, but she described the journey to me as a journey from hell, so wracked with pain she could hardly think, let alone give directions.
This week, Paul Burstow (Liberal Democrat minister at the Department of Health) has launched a national £4 million lung cancer awareness campaign. The campaign, the first of its kind, will use TV, radio and press adverts, and advertising on pharmacist bags and inside GP surgeries, to raise awareness of the disease.
One of its aims is to persuade anyone who has had a cough for more than three weeks to see their doctor.
With 33,000 new cases diagnosed each year, lung cancer is a blight on the lives of far too many of our families and an early diagnosis can make all the difference. Please take the opportunity of the Be Clear on Cancer campaign to find out more about prevention and diagnosis, and to visit your local doctor if you’ve had a persistent cough – it is always better to be safe than sorry!
5 District Council seats retained, all with clear and increased majorities !! Well done to Keith Critchley, Graham Holmes, Beryl Ezzard, Carol Tilling and John Taylor, and commiserations to Andrew Starr who increased his vote, but not by quite enough.
Official reports have confirmed that no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has increased council tax for their residents. This is unlike both other major parties, many of which are increasing council tax by up to 3.5% this year.
Commenting on Labour and Conservative councils’ record on Council Tax, Liberal Democrat Party President, Tim Farron said:
“While Labour and the Tories fight over how many of their councils raised Council Tax, it’s clear that with the Liberal Democrats your money is safest: no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has raised Council Tax.
“Ordinary working families are struggling already with paying bills, without their councils increasing the burden.
“The choice in next month’s elections is clear: vote Liberal Democrat for financially responsible councils that create jobs. Vote Labour and the Tories for waste, mismanagement and tax rises.”
As well as freezing council tax across the country, Liberal Democrat councils are protecting front-line services, fighting to keep libraries and Sure Start centres open. This is in addition to the achievements of the Liberal Democrats in government, which after the Budget include a £130 income tax cut for all working families, the largest-ever rise in the basic state pension, an increase in child tax credits for the poorest families, and an increase in the Lib Dem Pupil Premium to £600 for every pupil receiving Free School Meals.
At every level of government, the Liberal Democrats are cutting taxes for low- and middle-earners and better targeting help to those that need it the most. It is a record of financial responsibility of which we can be proud.
On Thursday Corfe Mullen PACT hosted a second Fun Day for the children at Springadle Road open space. The weather was good this time and lots of children came to learn about the Heath, the wildlife on the Heath, make badges, learn about what damage fire casuses on the Heath, slide down the slide and climb over the Fire Engine.
A first look at part of this week’s Liberal Democrat Local Election Broadcast. This clip looks at our key pledge to cut taxes for working families, and celebrates the fact that Liberal Democrats in government have achieved:
The biggest-ever single uplift in the tax-free personal allowance
A £3.5 billion tax cut for working men and women
840,000 of the lowest earners in the country lifted completely out of paying Income Tax
Next year, the allowance increases again (to £9,205) – within touching distance of our manifesto promise to increase the Income Tax threshold to £10,000.
These are all significant achievements that are already making a difference for millions of hard-working men and women across Britain. Real change for real families in tough times – promised and delivered by the Liberal Democrats.
