Liberal Democrat President, Simon Hughes, campaigned with West Dorset candidate Justine McGuinness today in Sherborne. The two canvassed in local estates and discussed issues facing West Dorset residents with voters in the town centre. “Justine McGuinness will make an outstanding MP for the people of West Dorset because she understands what is most important to local residents,” said Liberal Democrat President Simon Hughes. “I am proud to support her and I look forward to working with her to scrap the council tax, end tuition fees, and provide free care to the elderly.”

“I am proud to have the support of Simon Hughes and I appreciate him taking the time to speak with the people of West Dorset about issues that concern them,” said Justine McGuinness. “His visit adds momentum to our positive campaign for West Dorset.”

Mr. Hughes’ visit is one of a series of recent high-profile visits to West Dorset on behalf of Justine McGuinness. Ms. McGuinness is standing in one of the most marginal constituencies in the UK and is widely seen as running one of the Liberal Democrats’ strongest campaigns.

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West Dorset’s Justine McGuinness today spent time with Beaminster Playgroup’s members and mothers to learn more about their campaign to build new classroom accommodation. “The first year of a child’s education are vitally important, and deserves serious investment.

Beaminster Playgroup does a fantastic job; it’s time their long-running campaign for better accommodation was fully supported.”

The Liberal Democrats will invest in early years education, and here in West Dorset Justine McGuinness pledges to support Beaminster Playgroup and other facilities like it.

West Dorset Liberal Democrat office staff got into the campaign spirit on Sunday by taking part in a local Fun Run staged by the local charity fundraising organization Dorchester Lions Club. “Being part of a team running for an election is great fun,” said breathless team member Penny Jones, “but nothing could prepare us for a five-mile race up Maiden Castle! We did all make it to the finish line though - and collected funds for a very important cause, our Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.”

The three-strong team “Birds of Liberty” were raising funds for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, a vital service in West Dorset that is kept airborne only by public donations.

West Dorset’s Justine McGuinness was joined by the former Lib Dem president Lord Navnit Dholakia in Bridport today. They visited both the PVA Media Lab and the Bridport Arts Centre and to find out more about Arts in West Dorset. “The Bridport Arts Centre and the PVA Media Lab showed us today how integral the arts are to our community” said Justine McGuinness.

“I was delighted to show Lord Dholakia that the arts are so strong here in West Dorset.”

Justine and Lord Dholakia also had opportunity to walk around Bridport and listen to local residents as they discussed the issues facing them in their daily lives.

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Justine McGuinness and the Liberal Democrats today released their party manifesto detailing their plans to improve life in West Dorset and throughout the United Kingdom. “I am proud to stand side-by-side with Charles Kennedy in releasing our party manifesto today” said West Dorset candidate Justine McGuinness. “Our policies of scrapping the Council Tax, free personal care for the elderly, more police on the street, and lower class sizes, add up to a fair deal for West Dorset.”

Among the highlights of the Liberal Democrat manifesto released today are:

Ending unfairness in the NHS. That will mean free eye and dental checks and lower prescription charges, and an end to the hidden NHS waiting lists - with faster diagnosis so that, if you are ill, treatment can start quickly.

Free personal care for the elderly - help with things like washing and feeding for people with long-term illnesses.

More police out on the beat - cutting crime and the fear of crime. 10,000 extra police backed up by 20,000 community support officers. Part of a strong package on law and order which is tough, focused and smart.

An end to the unfair Council Tax - because the amount you pay should be based on the amount you can afford.

Better pensions - £100 on the basic state pension for the over 75s, who are the poorest and most vulnerable of our pensioners. A Citizen’s Pension for the over 75s will, for the first time, give women a full basic pension by right, addressing a scandal which has been ignored far too long.

Lower class sizes - with 21,000 new primary school teachers to give our children the best start in life.

An end to student tuition fees - because access to education should be based on the ability to learn - not on the ability to pay.

For a complete copy of the Liberal Democrat manifesto, go to: http://www.libdems.org.uk/party/policy/manifesto.html.

Justine McGuinness today continued her campaign to axe the unfair Council Tax, following Liberal Democrats warning that Council Tax payers in West Dorset face a tax bombshell. West Dorset Liberal Democrat Justine McGuinness said:

“Council Tax is unfair, and revaluation isn’t going to solve the problem - it’s going to make it worse. Local people should not have to struggle to find hundreds of pounds extra in Council Tax just because house prices have risen in West Dorset.

“It will be particularly unfair on West Dorset families because wages here are below national average.

“Both the other parties try and deny it, but they simply have no solutions to the ticking time-bomb of spiralling Council Tax bills. The biggest post-election tax rises will come from the Labour and Tory-backed plans for rebanding.

“The whole Council Tax system is bust, and it is time to scrap it. The Liberal Democrats and I will work to replace it with a fair tax system that will cut the typical family’s bill by around £450 a year.”

Council tax is currently based on April 1991 property values but the government is updating its valuation figures to take account of changes in property prices since then. Anyone whose home has gone up more than the national average since 1991 will be moved into a higher tax band. That means bills will rise by up to 22%. In Dorset house prices have risen nearly 50% faster than the national average.

Property prices TODAY will be the basis for Council Tax bills for the next 10 years.

West Dorset will be hard hit because house prices have gone up 219%, according to the latest research from the Halifax House Price Index. Homes could move up two, three or even more bands.

In Wales, where revaluation has already happened, some families will see their council tax bill TREBLE. That could be repeated in West Dorset.

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West Dorset Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate Justine McGuinness began her campaign today in what is widely expected to be one of the most competitive seats in the UK. Ms. McGuinness spent the day meeting West Dorset voters and listening to their concerns about the problems they face in their daily lives.

“Having grown up, gone to school, worked, and lived in West Dorset, I understand the problems Dorset residents face everyday, such as the unfair Council Tax, rising housing costs, and lack of free care for the elderly,” said Justine McGuinness. “The people of West Dorset deserve an MP who understands their concerns and will make their voice heard in Westminster.”

Today, Justine McGuinness’s campaign began an unprecedented effort, contacting thousands of West Dorset voters within the first 48 hours of the election announcement with a positive campaign message.

The Liberal Democrats have made considerable gains in West Dorset in recent years and are poised to capture the seat. The 2001 election was decided by only 1414 votes, and many see 2005 as their best opportunity to elect a local Liberal Democrat MP.

Justine McGuinness, Liberal Democrat candidate for marginal West Dorset, yesterday visited Footprints a faith based community project aimed at halving re-offending in North Square, Dorchester, and met Anthony Sherman who runs the project and former offend Justine McGuinness said:

“I was impressed with work and aims of the Footprints Project. They want reduce the number of victims of crime by halving re-offending rates.

“With over half of prisoners re-offending, it is time to make prison work. It is high time that re-offending rates were tackled and that is why projects like Footprint should be supported. We must get people of out the cycle of re-offending, if we are serious about tackling crime.”

Around a thousand businesses in West Dorset would save more than £600 a year on their annual rates bill under proposals unveiled from the Liberal Democrats. Welcoming the launch of the Liberal Democrat Manifesto for Business, Justine McGuinness, Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for West Dorset, said:

“This is great news for local small firms. Small businesses currently pay much more of their turnover in business rates than larger companies. This is just not fair. The Liberal Democrats will introduce a Business Rates Allowance that will deliver relief on business rates for smaller businesses, saving them, on average, over £600 a year.

“We will also slash the red tape, bureaucracy and over-regulation that are holding local businesses back. No new regulation will be passed until there is a full published assessment of its costs and necessity. Instead of bureaucratic central government business support schemes we will provide businesses with advice and support accessible on the ground where they operate.

“And we will equip school leavers with the kind of skills local employers really need. From the age of 14 we will give pupils greater choice on how they continue their education, including the option of taking up an apprenticeship or other accredited workplace training scheme.”

Voters who have “vanished” from West Dorset’s electoral register have only until this Friday, 11 March, to register to vote urged local Lib Dem Parliamentary hopeful, Justine McGuinness, today. In parts of West Dorset, including Dorchester, Bridport or Sherborne, nearly one in 10 houses is not listed on the electoral roll. On the streets with the most vanishing voters, in Bridport, the figure rises to one in every four houses.

‘In West Dorset at the next General Election every vote will count. This is one of the most marginal seats in the county,’ said West Dorset’s Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson, Justine McGuinness. ‘Anyone who wants to vote at elections in May needs to register to vote by this Friday, 11 March.’

West Dorset is one of the most marginal seats in the UK. The sitting MP has a ‘waffer-thin’ majority of 1,141. The Lib Dems only need a 1.7% swing to take West Dorset at the next General Election.

West Dorset has had no boundary changes. However, following changes introduced by the Government and the Conservative controlled District Council’s decision to cut the budget for encouraging people to register, the roll has fallen. Over 3,300 addresses occupied by voters on the electoral roll in 2004 do not appear on the 2005 register. Those homes housed over 5,000 voters, who now are unable to vote.