South Lakeland MP Tim Farron has warned the government against overlooking the problem of rural deprivation, as the latest data show that poorer students in Cumbria are less likely than elsewhere to make it to university.
South Lakeland MP Tim Farron has welcomed the news that a free flood grant advice centre will open in the centre of Kendal.
Lib Dem Leader and Cumbrian MP Tim Farron has congratulated new councillor Thomas Sheriff on his impressive by-election win last night.
The main agenda for the 2016 Autumn Conference in Brighton has now been published online. This year, for the first time, the conference will begin at 9am on the Saturday, 17th September. It will end, as usual, with the Leader's speech, which is expected to finish by 3.30pm on Tuesday, 20th September. The deadline for amendments, emergency motions, requests for topical discussions and for online questions to Federal Committees, Parliamentary Parties and the Leader's and Education Q&As is 1pm on Monday 5th September. That is also the deadline for submitting requests for separate votes on motions that are being debated on the Saturday. For debates on other days the deadline for separate votes is 9am on the day before the debate. You can also submit late questions to the Speakers' table at conference - see the agenda for individual deadlines.
Whilst this weeks results were a mixed bag, with only three Liberal Democrat candidates running across the seven by-elections, we are delighted to announce that one of our candidates, 22-year-old Thomas Sheriff, won his by-election for the Eden District Council. Sheriff won 54.6% of the vote in the Alston Moor ward, compared to just 45.4% for the Conservatives, with two Independents choosing not to stand on this occasion. Sheriff is an active member of the community, responsible for running a local music festival, and he ran his campaign on an opposition to the proposed closure of essential cottage hospitals in the area. In East Riding of Yorkshire our candidate Helen Wright gained 4.1% of the vote, with the Liberal Democrats not having previously contested the seat. Whilst we have a long way to go to win this seat, with the victorious Conservatives gaining 917 votes to our 98, it is great to see more seats being contested by Liberal Democrats to maintain loyalty in local elections.
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