Councillor David Sawyer, Liberal Democrat De Parys Ward, is campaigning to improve the crossings in a number of streets throughout De Parys for disabled residents in the area. Three of the busiest junctions in the area are on Park Avenue as it meets St Augustine's Road, St Andrew's Road and Pemberley Avenue and they don't yet have dropped kerbs for people who have difficulty with mobility.
Lib Dem councillors are calling on the Tories running Brentwood Borough Council to reconsider the decision to scrap the "Vision" magazine or show there are concrete plans for its replacement following a lively discussion at the Policy Board last week.
The Liberal Democrats will debate changing the system of marriage and civil partnerships at the party's main annual conference this September. The motion, tabled by Lib Dems for LGBT Action (Delga), would open up both systems of partnership recognition to couples regardless of gender. It would resolve many issues with the current system, such as the restriction on religious groups using their places of worship for civil partnership ceremonies, the lack of recognition of same-sex marriages conducted abroad, and the forced divorce-and-remarriage that transsexual people face when their gender is legally recognised through a GRC.
I am delighted that the Bedford Academy was included by the government amongst the schools listed previously as 'for discussion' which will receive funding for the projects planned under the Building Schools for the Future programme. The Academy will replace John Bunyan Upper School, of course, and as John Bunyan's Chair of Governors and the former former Ward Councillor for Kingsbrook, not to mention a local resident, I know the community very well. I am therefore aware of just how important the investment in the education of current and future generations of young people in the area will be.
The Liberal Democrats were again well represented at Brighton Pride this weekend with the party's Deputy Leader Simon Hughes MP leading a large group of activists during the march. President of Delga Evan Harris also popped along to show support.
New Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins has been slammed for "blocking" a number of local residents from following him on the "Twitter" service which allows people to keep up to date with what he is doing.