Latest Hale and Higham video update now online

Following on from their recent online video Focus update, Cllr Nick Bason of the Hale End and Highams Park Lib Dem council team is now asking residents to get him touch and let him know what they want to see in the way of cultural provision in our borough.

Cllr Bason and Cllr Jane Morgan, who were both elected in Hale and Higham in December’s by-election victory for the Lib Dems, are members of the Council Cultural Strategy panel, and they want to make sure they can best represent to Council what it is you want to see in the way of activities such as music and theatre for your borough.

So head over to www.youtube.com/nickbason to see their latest video update and to find out how to get in touch. 

Lib Dems Want Council Support for Post Office Plan

Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats are to ask the Council to support resident proposals for the reopening of local Post Office branches.

Local Lib Dem councillors have been approached by residents keen to see the reopening of branches axed under the Government’s Post Office closure programme and will request at Thursday’s Full Council meeting that the Portfolio Holder for Enterprise and Investment, Labour member Terry Wheeler, meets formally with local resident groups to hear proposals to reopen local branches using private investment.

Local Lib Dem Cllr John Macklin said that he hoped councillors from all sides would take the opportunity to show local businesses and Post Office users that the Council was “on their side”.

Cllr Macklin continued:

“From an economic point of view, the closure of local Post Offices couldn’t have come at a worse time.  The presence of a Post Office brings people to an area, benefiting neighbouring businesses. 

“Residents didn’t want their Post Offices to be closed, but have had that decision forced upon them.  If we as a Council are able to give practical support to efforts to have them reopened, then surely that is something that we should be keen to support.

“The efforts of residents and local businesses to get their Post Offices back are exactly the kind of entrepreneurial proposals that we should be supporting at a time when fresh thinking by small businesses is sorely needed.”

The Focus File updated!

The FOCUS file has now been updated with the latest Lib Dem news for Hale End and Highams Park, grove Green, Leyton and Cathall wards.

The FOCUS file allows you to keep up to date with you local Liberal Democrat ward team online and see how they are working for your area.  But don’t worry – you will still be recieving your regular FOCUS delivery right to your letterbox!

Head over now to the FOCUS file to read what we’ve been up to in your area.

Your local Liberal Democrats working for you all year round – not just at election time!

Local Lib Dems slam MPs fuel poverty snub

Winnie Smith (centre) with local Lib Dem campaignersLocal Liberal Democrats have hit out at local MPs after they failed to turn up in parliament on Friday (20th March) to support an effort to end ‘fuel poverty’ for Waltham Forest residents.

The ‘Fuel Poverty’ bill, which has the backing of organisations ranging from Help the Aged to Friends of the Earth, would promote energy efficiency and cheaper energy tariffs for the less well off.  However the Labour Government blocked the passage of the bill despite the efforts of the Liberal Democrats.

Now Waltham Forest Lib Dems have taken up the cause, calling on Harry Cohen, Neil Gerrard and lain Duncan-Smith to explain their opposition to the Bill.

Figures recently released by the group Consumer Watch revealed that Leyton and Wanstead (5th), and Walthamstow (8th) both ranked in the top ten London constituencies for the number of residents living in ‘fuel poverty’.  A household is considered to be living in ‘fuel poverty’ when it spends 10% or more of its income on energy bills.  The figures revealed that an estimated 17 out of 100 local households fell into this category.  Chingford and Woodford green ranked 30th.

The charity Age Concern have described the result of Friday’s voting as “a huge let-down for the 2.75 million older people living in fuel poverty” adding that “many will question why a Government which claims to be concerned about fuel poverty has acted in such a cynical way.”

Leyton councillor Winnie Smith, who will second the local Lib Dem motion on the issue to Waltham Forest Council at Thursday’s Full Council meeting said:

“The actions contained in this Bill would help some of the most vulnerable residents of Waltham Forest and my ward, Leyton, at a time when fuel costs are rocketing and many people are finding it tough.

“Our local MPs need to start standing up for residents by using their voices in parliament, where it really counts”.

Last year local Liberal Democrats successfully got opposition councillors to agree to a series of measures aimed at ‘greening’ the Council such as improving the energy efficiency of council buildings.

Lib Dems keep Council Tax promise but warn of “uniquely challenging times”

Waltham Forest councillors last night approved the borough’s yearly budget, with Liberal Democrats keeping their promise to set Council Tax below 2.5%.

The level for this year is set at a below average 1.9%, with additional funds being put into street cleaning services, mental health services and enforcement powers to clamp down on rogue property developers.

Lib Dem leader Cllr John Macklin spoke for the Liberal Democrat group and congratulated fellow Liberal Democrat members for their work on keeping local taxes low. However he criticised the government for their hike in council tenant rent costs, suggesting that this move typified a “completely outdated” central approach to local government.

Cllr Macklin also offered opposition Tory councillors the opportunity to put their ‘alternative’ budget material budget proposals – recieved just hours before the budget meeting – through a proper scrutiny process, adding that there should be “no political restrictions on good ideas for our borough”.

Read Cllr Macklin’s full speech to Council and let us know what you think!

Waltham Forest the winner with the Lib Dems!

Cllr Bob Wheatley with Chris Huhne and Lib Dem leader Nick CleggWilliam Morris councillor Bob Wheatley has a letter published in this week’s Waltham Forest guardian outlining the improvements in local services since the Liberal Democrat became involved in the Council administration.

Cllr Wheatley, who is one of the longest sereving councillors in Waltham Forest, goes onto credit the regular delivery of the Liberal Democrat FOCUS leaflets for our FOUR recent by-election wins in the borough. 

Have a look below to see what he had to say…

Remember – it’s now easier than ever to catch up with your local news through the FOCUS FILE!

The Focus file

As well as recieving your latest Lib Dem FOCUS leaflet direct to your door, you will now be able to keep up to date with all the latest news from your ward in The FOCUS file.All the latest issues of the popular Lib Dem newsletter will now be available to view here online, so you never have to miss hearing about the latest work being carried out on your behalf by the Lib Dem team in your corner of Waltham Forest.

So head over now to The FOCUS file to check out the latest news from your local Lib Dem team.

Get your FOCUS online!

Through our website you will now be able to keep up to date with the work of your local Liberal Democrat ward team via our popular FOCUS leaflets, as all issues will now be available online!

But don’t worry, you will still be getting your FOCUS delivered regularly to your door…

First up is the latest issue of the FOREST WARD Focus, featuring the work of councillors Farooq Qureshi and Samina Safdar.

Forest Lib Dem councillor launches blog site

Cllr Samina Safdar meets a local resident during last year's successful Forest Ward by-election campaign.Samina Safdar, who was one of the four Lib Dem councillors elected by Waltham Forest residents in by-elections last year, has launched a blog site covering news and iterms of interest in her ward.

Samina, who was elected in Forest ward, hopes that the site will provide another way for local residents to keep in touch with the work of their local Lib Dem councillors, but has ensured residents that they will continue to recieve their local FOCUS newsletter straight to their door!

If you’d like to see what Samina and the Forest Lib Dems have been up to, please head over to the Samina Safdar blog.

New community centre planned on site of Thatched House public toilets

The former Thatched House public toiletsWaltham Forest Council has recently received a planning application for the former public toilets on Crownfield Road.

The plan is to demolish them and, on the site, build a three storey community centre. The Catt Hall ward Liberal Democrats have already raised the issue of parking provisions through the local FOCUS leaflets and are asking residents to make their views known.

To read more about the plans, head over to the Leyton and Wanstead Liberal Democrats site.