Brentwood & Ongar Liberal Democrats

The news that Brentwood will no longer be sharing joint Chief Executive Joanna Killian with Essex County Council has been welcomed by Lib Dem leader Cllr David Kendall and his colleagues on the Borough Council. The controversial County Partnership was supported by both Conservative and Labour councillors.

Here are just six examples of the effect Liberal Democrat MPs are having in government:

• Lifting a million of the poorest workers out of tax and cutting taxes: not for the rich but for 23 million basic rate taxpayers;
• Making the well off pay their share by raising Capital Gains Tax; a new £10bn bank levy and keeping the 50p top rate of tax;
• The most generous rise in the state pension for a generation;
• A revolution in the way we support the children who need help the most when it matters the most, in the crucial early years and throughout their school lives;
• More apprenticeships than Britain has ever had before;
• And from this April, the Youth Contract, an ambitious £1bn programme to make sure every 18 to 24-year-old has the opportunity to earn or learn.

2011 saw Brentwood North Lib Dem Cllrs successfully persuade the Highways Committee to approve extended residents parking hours until 9pm. This is important as we need to ensure that residents living on North Road Avenue can park their cars upon arriving home late when the William Hunter Way Development has been built.

As the refurbished clock was unveiled in Brentwood High Street on Wednesday (25/1/12) it was great to see that Jill Hubbard, former Lib Dem councillor for Warley, was there to see it happen.

It was Jill who saw the clock lying in a sorry state at the Council's Depot in Warley, alerted the press and asked for it to be returned to it's rightful place in the High Street.

Further to the Brentwood Gazette's claim that Brentwood North's Cllr James Sapwell is considering joining the Conservatives, Cllr Sapwell has issued the following statement:

"In light of the puzzling tip off - presumably recieved from the Conservatives - and published in the Brentwood Gazette today, I wish to confirm my 100% committment to the Liberal Democrats and their commitment to Brentwood.

The decision by Cllr Nigel Clarke to leave the Liberal Democrats and defect to the Conservatives has left me and many of his former friends and colleagues feeling very let down and disappointed because we have worked closely with him and supported him over a number of years and shared many highs and lows.

Brentwood's Lib Dem team are running the Brentwood Mile at this year's Sport Relief Event.

They'll join hundreds of other fundraisers at Brentwood County High School and King George's Park and kick off the event at midday. They will all be running one mile, but there's the option to run three or six miles too.

Brentwood Liberal Democrats can confirm that Cllr Nigel Clarke, borough councillor for Brentwood West ward, has resigned from the Liberal Democrats and joined the Conservative party.

Clarke was elected as a Liberal Democrat in Brentwood West in May 2010.

Group Leader Cllr David Kendall said

"I am naturally disappointed that Cllr Clarke has made this decision as I believe he has not only let down his friends and colleagues but has also let down the many hundreds of residents in Brentwood West who voted for him in good faith as a Liberal Democrat. I believe that over time he may well come to regret his decision when he realises the local Conservatives are unable to meet his expectations.

An angry resident in Clarence road Pilgrims Hatch has aptly described the actions taken by the County Council as "unbelievable".

He has been witnessing from his home a succession of visits from operatives to replace a street lampstandard situated on the pavement that was badly damaged by a delivery van crashing into it