Plans by Conservative Wiltshire Council could see thousands of the poorest people in Wiltshire bearing the brunt of government changes to council tax benefits Changes being introduced by the coalition government will see a reduction of £3.5m in the total council tax benefits paid to Wiltshire Council.
Commenting on the Chancellor's Autumn Statement announced yesterday, Cllr Hazel Watson Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition on Surrey County Council said:
In a shock tweet, last year's Tory Mayor has told Shenfield voters to "Vote for someone other than the conservative candidate" at the Shenfield by-election this morning. Mrs Joan Holmes, former town centre councillor, has made the dramatic move, she says, in response to the fact that her colleague will be sacked for "speaking his mind". Polls are open until until 10pm tonight and the Lib Dem candidate, Liz Cohen, is in a neck-and-neck race with the Tory candidate with the other parties clearly out of the race and over 500 votes behind.
"European Union leaders are struggling to find a way out of their immediate difficulties without committing themselves to electorally unpopular long-term strategies. Years of panicky crisis management have taken their toll. Nobody at the top table has the nerve to deal seriously with blueprints, from whichever source, or roadmaps, to whichever destination. The current endeavour, indeed, is a scramble for the lowest common denominator of ambition and commitment.
"European Union leaders are struggling to find a way out of their immediate difficulties without committing themselves to electorally unpopular long-term strategies. Years of panicky crisis management have taken their toll. Nobody at the top table has the nerve to deal seriously with blueprints, from whichever source, or roadmaps, to whichever destination. The current endeavour, indeed, is a scramble for the lowest common denominator of ambition and commitment.
The Leader of the Official Liberal Democrat Opposition at County Hall, Cllr Brendan Glynane, has reacted with astonishment at the news that the new Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner is proposing to create 17 new jobs, several for his Conservative campaign team, costing up to £65k a year each.