New figures for HIV show that across Britain there were 7,000 new diagnoses recorded last year - a rise of 6% on 2006. Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, Sandra Gidley, said: "These figures are very worrying but not surprising. They are the legacy of a government which has left sexual health services to languish by the wayside. It is crucial that we ensure future generations are not now put at risk."
Liberal Democrats in Shepway have demanded that Southeastern abandons its plans to impose a 8% increase in the price of regulated fares, season tickets and saver tickets for 2009.
The Chancellor should have cut income tax to make the tax system permanently fairer, say Wolverhampton South West Liberal Democrats.
The Federation of Small Businesses is taking action to save small shops, after a House of Commons All-Party Committee estimated there would be no independent retailers left by 2015. It is running a nationwide petition in support of the appointment of an independent "regulator", so that local planning decisions do not have a negative effect on the local community.
![Vince Cable [Photo: LDD Pics]](/fileadmin/_processed_/5/5/csm_vince-cable-photo-ldd-pics_a8e3e3f3df.png)
The government's plans to boost the economy by cutting VAT and to raise taxes on high earners are a "very limited fig leaf", says Vince Cable. The Lib Dem Treasury spokesman said he failed to see how a temporary reduction in VAT from 17.5% to 15% would give the economy a "major stimulus". Offering an extra £25 rebate to basic rate taxpayers was "pathetic".
The Chancellor should have cut income tax to make the tax system permanently fairer, say the Liberal Democrats.