Like everyone else in the country, residents of West Dorset are suffering from rocketing food and energy prices.
The government’s own figures show that bread is up by a fifth, butter and eggs by over a third, and potatoes by over a quarter.
West Dorset Parliamentary Candidate Sue Farrant recently joined forces with the Lib Dems’ Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable MP to highlight the real increase in the cost of living.
Graham asks, “sign my online petition calling for action to stop the abuse ... www.sayno.eu”
Graham Watson, the local Lib Dem Member of the European Parliament, is asking people to join his campaign to fight sexual abuse of children.
Every year thousands of Europeans travel to far flung countries as sex tourists and end up abusing youngsters.
“I ask you to join me in signing my on-line petition calling for action to stop the abuse, now,” commented Graham.
Currently few offenders are caught and the Liberal Democrat Petition, www.sayno.eu is calling for greater powers for Europe’s Police Agency, Europol. Greater European police cooperation is needed to stop the outrageous abuse of children.
“This is a great example of where Europe working together can protect vulnerable youngsters and stop abuse.” Successful police cooperation across the European Union can better protect our communities.
Sue Farrant with Gurkha campaigners
Dr Sue Farrant, Parliamentary Candidate for West Dorset Liberal Democrats, welcomed today’s High Court ruling in favour of retired Gurkha soldiers who want to settle in the UK.
Sue Farrant has been a strong supporter of the campaign to over-turn the government’s current policy on Gurkha veterans which she described as, ‘irrational and shameful’. Gurkhas retiring after 1997 with at least five years’ service have the right to settle in the UK. Those who retired before that date have no automatic right to stay and instead each application is decided by immigration officers.
Dr Sue Farrant at Budmouth Technology College’s 6th Form Citizenship Day
Dr Sue Farrant joined in Budmouth Technology College’s 6th Form Citizenship Day on Friday 27th June. Sue was very impressed with the students’ grasp of current affairs and with their research and presentation skills. “One of the highlights of the day for me,” she said, “Was to hear the students’ views on lowering the voting age to 16. This is Liberal Democrat party policy and I was pleased to find that these young people thought that 16 year olds definitely should be able to vote. They told me that the Citizenship curriculum helped to prepare young people for the responsibility of taking part in elections.”
West Dorset Liberal Democrats are working hard in support of Stephen Kearney, the Liberal Democrat candidate in the Henley-on-Thames by-election. The election was called when Conservative Boris Johnson resigned his seat as Henley’s MP.
Sue Farrant and Ngaire Streets, shown here with Lord Chris Rennard, the Liberal Democrat election supremo, have just come back from Henley. They report that Stephen is a great hit with the voters, whilst the Tory candidate is proving far less popular! Sue says, “Help is pouring into the LibDem campaign headquarters. On Sunday a bus load of retired Gurkha soldiers rolled up and volunteered to deliver thousands of leaflets!”
If you can help by making phone calls, donating money or in person, go to www.henleylibdems.org.uk.
Nick Clegg MP
The fuel protests hammer home a clear message. After the 10p tax rebellion, the local elections, and the Crewe by-election, no one can doubt the mood of the country any more. There is insurrection in the air. The British people are ready for change and they don’t believe Labour can deliver it.
So the next big question is: what kind of change do people want? And which opposition party can make it happen?
More than one-in-five of West Dorset’s Post Offices are set to close in the latest round of cuts - due to be announced in mid-July.
Unlike the previous cutbacks this time both town and village sub-Post Offices are facing closure.
“If they go ahead this round of closures will be devastating for many local communities,” said Dr Sue Farrant, Local Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate. “Many villages face losing their last and only shop. In the towns more people will be forced to join the already long queues in the main Post Offices. Local businesses will be pushed towards using private delivery firms.”
Dr Sue Farrant, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for West Dorset, has launched a petition demanding fairer treatment for service personnel and their families.
The Mayor of Bridport, Cllr Geoff Ackerman, was the first person to sign the petition, which calls on the government to honour the Military Covenant.
Sue Farrant was delighted with the response from the public in Bridport on Saturday morning. “We collected dozens of signatures very quickly,” she said. “People in West Dorset have a strong sense of fairness and they know that the current health and welfare services and the levels of compensation for serious injury are not fair. The Royal British Legion is doing a tremendous job with its campaign and Liberal Democrats are pleased to be able to support them in this way.”
You can sign the petition on-line here.
Dr Sue Farrant, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for West Dorset, has been asked to contribute to an investigation into service personnel’s welfare issues. The work is being led by Nick Harvey, MP for North Devon and the Lib Dem Shadow Defence Secretary.
Sue, once an Army officer herself, has been a specialist in housing management for fifteen years. She told the recent Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton about the very poor conditions she had seen at first hand when she led a review of service family housing in Germany, Gibraltar and Cyprus in 2004.
“Many service families overseas are living in conditions which would be considered totally unacceptable by any council or housing association tenant in this country,” she said during a debate on successive governments’ failure to honour the Military Covenant. “Commanding officers told me of their anger about highly skilled, highly trained men and women leaving the service because they could no longer put up with their spouses and children living in inadequate housing. What an appalling waste. What an appalling injustice.”
Sue also attended an event run by the Royal British Legion to publicise their “Honour the Covenant” campaign. “It is very sad that a campaign like this is necessary,” she said, “But I urge people to support the Royal British Legion in its efforts to get a fair deal for the people who risk their lives on behalf of the rest of us.” The Legion’s campaign website can be found at www.thecovenant.org.uk.
The Liberal Democrats are placing the environment at the centre of their Annual Conference this month and launching a campaign called the Green Switch.
Lib Dems have always placed the environment at the heart of their thinking. They were the only party with a Green Action section in every chapter of their manifesto at the last election. This helped to integrate environmental thinking into every policy area. Now they intend to go further with a series of proposals to ensure a sustainable future:
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