National News

Have your say on local bus routes, urges Jon Whitehouse

Local county councillor Jon Whitehouse is encouraging Epping Forest bus users to comment on proposed changes to local bus routes.

Building more diverse council groups

I've seen a lot of posts on Facebook and heard questions at Lib Dem socials about how to recruit more women and diverse candidates for council elections. There seems to be a real willingness to do it but not always a clear idea of how. Here are my three top tips - I'd be interested in what others have done. SET TARGETS. Look at the demographics of your area and propose that your local party Exec or campaign team buy into the idea of taking some action and agreeing targets. You could decide that 50% of target council seats will be held by women; and/or 50% of all council seats. You can adopt targets for BAME /LGBT+ and people with disabilities too. Telling potential council candidates that you are taking positive steps to better reflect the local community you want to serve is a very strong recruitment message.

Lib Dems donate aid and volunteer in Calais

Comment on Muddled mandates and the EU Referendum

I've been screaming that the referendum was undemocratic for a number of the reasons given in the article, to as many MPs as I could, since it happened. I am EXTREMELY ANGRY AND DISAPPOINTED that you have not SHRIEKED this from the housetops, and with every fresh disaster due to Brexit that I see reported I resent the dereliction from duty that failure to do this represents even more.

Farron welcomes Staveley bridge progress but urges quicker completion date

South Lakeland MP Tim Farron has welcomed the news that the bridge in Staveley will be replaced by Easter, praising the hard work of local campaigners. However, he has warned that this date "might not come soon enough" for some local businesses and has urged the county council to continue looking at ways to bring the completion date forward.

Crime report shows need for police numbers in rural areas - Farron

A new report into rural crime highlights the need for increased police numbers in rural areas such as Cumbria, according to local MP Tim Farron.