I was out and about talking to residents on Bede Walk and Hexham Road yesterday finding out what issues matter to local people and picking up bits and pieces of casework. On Bede Walk the two big issues on the doorstep were dog fouling and the state of Reading Girls School's fence. This is frustrating for me as these are two issues I've been nagging the Council and the School about for the last four years. Glenn, Kirsten and I have put a lot of effort into getting the Labour-run Council to spruce up Hexham Road estate and we are making real progress. But we know there is still a long way to go. Over on my other blog I revealed earlier this week how Labour are not using the powers available to councils to clamp down on dog fouling. Talking to residents yesterday there was real anger on the doorsteps about this issue. They are fed up with the amount of dog mess on the pavements just outside their houses. As one resident commented "what's the point of having a dog warden if he can't do anything?" Labour's new service charges for RBC tenants were also deeply unpopular with many tenants I talked to yesterday - particularly those who are not receiving benefits. They were non too pleased when I told them about Labour's Council Tax hike of 2.2% As my colleague Kirsten has pointed out these will hit those on low and fixed incomes very hard in our ward. Anyway, we'll keep battling on on residents' behalf on all these issues. Vote Lib Dem in Redlands in the coming elections if you want to elect councillors that will work hard for you, whatever the weather, on the issues that matter!
Check out this video we made on Bede Walk last year to see us in action:
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