Redlands Liberal Democrats

Students CAN vote here too!

Calling all students, we need YOU!!!

Having personally canvassed the area and meet many of you, I would like to call on all students to use their right to vote on 1 May. I am a strong believer in student integration into the local community and praise the work of RUSU and especially Sally Pearman who have helped reduce anti-social behaviour caused by students over the past year. Cllrs Benson and Bayes have also worked with RUSU (instead of against it) to achieve reductions in rowdy behaviour. Voting on 1 May is another step in student integration with the greater society – by having YOUR say in who helps govern Redlands.

The LibDems are calling for (among other things):

- Improved lighting around campus (we have been campaigning for this for some time now, not just during election time)

- Improved standards in shared accommodation (I’ve lived in some terrible houses during my time at university – landlords shouldn’t get away with it) via proper enforced HMO licensing

- Expanding existing cycle lane network

- Provide more secure cycle stores throughout the borough

- Encourage retailers to reduce the amount of unnecessary packaging

- Disinvest in ethically dubious assets the council has such as arms and tobacco

Voting takes minutes (so you'll still have plenty of time to revise) but makes a big difference – get involved in democracy :D

All politicians are NOT the same ;-)

Real Change for Reading

The Reading Liberal Democrats have published a full Manifesto for the up coming RBC elections on 1 May 2008. Myself, Kirsten and Daisy were all involved in its formulation - along with the rest of the  Reading Liberal Democrat membership.

Check it out here

Voting by Post in Redlands

By now, most people who have requested a postal vote form in Redlands ward should either have one, or be receiving it in the next few days. People increasingly lead very busy lives, so this is now a much more convenient way to vote for a lot of people.

Postal voting was first offered in the 1918 general election to soldiers returning from war. It was later made available to the disabled and people too ill to visit polling stations. In 1985 it was extended to people on holiday.

There was electoral fraud committed in Redlands in 2004, although the perpitrators were never caught. Sadly this episode gained Redlands national notoriety in the media.

As well as being a serious offence, this fraud seriously damaged public confidence in voting in elections in Reading by post.

Partly as a result of these frauds, the government tightened up the voting system to prevent possible electoral fraud but sadly it is still open to abuse to those who are determined.

Nationally, a number of journalists and politicians have expressed concerns about the security of our postal voting system.

In 2006, the Electoral Commission responding by bringing in a Code of Conduct for Political Parties, candidates, and canvassers. The Lib Dems fully supported this move and we have signed the code of conduct in Reading.

Some important things to remember about your postal vote:

• Your postal vote fom belongs to you. Only you should complete and send it.
• Do not give your ballot paper to anyone else. The Lib Dems will never call to collect your vote and it is illegal for any other political party to do so.
• If anyone tries to take your postal vote form, please call Thames Valley Police on 0845 8 505 505
• If you miss the deadline for sending back your vote, you can still vote by taking your postal vote form to the polling station on 1 May.

If you have any questions or queries about your postal vote or any other issues connected with voting, please ring RBC's election's helpline: 0118 939 0292 or check out About My Vote website, run by the independent Electoral Commission.

Obviously I hope very much that you will feel able to support our hardworking candidate, Glenn Goodall (No 2 on the ballot paper) in this election.

Whoever you vote for your vote will count in Redlands. Use it wisely and don't let others steal your vote.

Working 9 to 5...

It seems like a lifetime ago now, but when I was first elected, some Labour activists (sadly some of them women) put the boot in in the press saying that I would be too busy working to devote much time to my Council duties.

Today's Post article sets the record straight.

We are a long way away from equality in the UK in terms of political representation. The Councillors Commission report recently found:

"younger councillors are becoming a rarity with just 3.5 per cent under 30 and fewer than one in three are women."

An even more shocking statistic is that currently, only 1.9% of women councillors are from an ethnic minority.

Nationally, the Fawcett Society is doing some good work campaigning to change this.

Critical comments about women in public life (made by other women) does not encourage women in the public at large to participate in local politics. I hope that by standing for Reading Borough Council (at the ripe old age of 27), combining it with an everyday 9-5 job, that I will be able to encourage other women in Reading to consider putting themselves forward.

Getting my head round the DFG

Today I've been helping an elderly constituent on Corbridge Road, Mrs B, get a stair lift installed into her property. She likes her house and isn't inclined to move so this is the best option for her.

I managed to help Mrs B get a DFG - a disabled facilties grant from Reading Borough Council which means as she's on a low income she won't have to shell out for the lift. This is also good news for the Council  tax payer as it means she will be able to stay in her own home for a few more years and won't need to move into more accessible accomodation  (at least for the time being).

Recent surveys done by RBC have found that more and more elderly people In Reading are expressing a desire to stay in their own homes as long as possible, rather than moving into residential care. This means that given the impact on Reading of a growing elderly population, the Council will need to do more both to adapt its own housing stock, including building newer, more accessible types of accomodation more in tune with the needs of older people.

Anyway, back to Mrs B, the only slight complication in the otherwise smooth process of getting her a stairlift, has been the fact that RBC has recently outsourced the dministration of DFGs to Ridgway Care and Repair, so we don't know exactly when her stair lift will be installed (RCR are acting as the agent). Let's hope it's sorted soon.

Reading Lib Dems work harder - OFFICIAL!

Caswork facts and figures obtained from Reading Borough Council show that Cllrs Gareth Epps, Kirsten Bayes and I are amongst the hardest working Councillors elected to RBC.

Read our press release below for more details:

"Figures obtained by Reading Lib Dems from Reading Borough Council show that during the municipal year (May 2007 – Feb 2008), Reading’s Lib Dem councillors have reported a staggering 578 local issues to the Council for action.

Two Liberal Democrat councillors between them have reported more issues to the Council than the entire 14-strong Conservative Group.

The statistics reveal that Redlands Cllr Daisy Benson (Redlands)  has reported the most issues of any councillor: 266 issues, compared to her Labour counterpart, Cllr Riaz Chaudhri, who only managed to report 4 issues via the Council's casework reporting systems during the past 9 months.

Cllr Gareth Epps (Katesgrove), elected last year, reported 181 issues for action from RBC: more than four times as many issues reported by Labour councillors David Sutton and Richard Stainthorp.

Cllr Daisy Benson said::

“Bitter members of other parties attacked me when I was elected two years ago saying that because I have full time job in addition to my Council duties I I would be a ‘part time councillor’. I think these figures reveal these criticisms were totally baseless."

"These stats show that Lib Dems work hard all year round not just at election time getting things done for local people”

Cllr Gareth Epps, Deputy Leader of the Lib Dem Group said

“These facts speak for themselves. If the residents of Reading want to elect councillors to represent their neighbourhoods who work hard and get things done in the May 1 elections there is only one choice at the ballot box: Liberal Democrat"

Notes to editors

- Data obtained by the Lib Dems shows that during the municipal year (May 2007 – Feb 2008) Lib Dem Councillors in Reading have almost half the number of councillors compared to the Conservatives, but handle 12 % more casework.

- Lib Dem councillors in Reading so have been dealing with the highest average number of casework 'pieces' per councillor - almost twice the average for Labour and almost 3 times the average for the Conservatives.

Value for money?

A question to full Council last week by well respected Councillor and Lib Dem Group Leader, Bob Green, (who is sadly retiring in May), revealed that Reading's rate payers forked out almost £40,000 to pay for the glossy in-house magazine that was sent out by RBC with the annual Council Tax demand a few weeks ago.

Myself and other Lib Dem councillors received a number of complaints from residents who were unhappy with the content of the Council's supposedly non-political booklet which was sent to thousands of Reading Council Tax payers last month.

See our press release below for more details:

A question by Lib Dem Leader, Cllr Bob Green at yesterday's full Council meeting found that the glossy magazine which was sent out with the Council tax demand JUST WEEKS ahead of the local elections in May cost the Reading Council Tax payer a whopping £39,099.90.

Lib Dem Deputy Leader and Reading East Parliamentary Campaigner Cllr Gareth Epps also attacked the Labour administration for “shameless self-promotion and publicity seeking ahead of the local elections”, after Lib Dem research revealed a total of SIXTEEN mentions of prominent Labour Councillors (including two who are standing for election in 2008) and no mentions whatsoever of the TWENTY-ONE other ward councillors of other parties who represent residents in Reading Borough.

The document has even omitted the contact details of councillors, in a break with previous years.

“Once again the Labour administration is “playing politics on the rates”, just weeks ahead of what are likely to be Labour's worst set of local election results in a decade.

“It is cynical politics of the worst kind and Reading residents have written to us to say that they are well and truly sick of Reading Labour's propaganda tactics. It is a scandal that the Reading tax-payer has been forced to pick up the bill for what is essentially a Labour party manifesto from a failed administration.”

Editor's Notes:-
The breakdown of cost is as follows:
1. Design work £2,200

2. Printing of 150,000 copies £42,399.90 (However 63,000 copies were mailed out with the council tax bills. This was at no additional postage cost compared to previous council tax mailings. All of the information from page 24 onwards is information that has, in the past, been included as separate leaflets, which have then been mailed out together with the council tax bill. Some of the remaining copies are distributed to council outstations for 'pick up' with the remainder held by Council Tax and used to meet their needs for the coming year - as new people move into the area etc.)

3. Therefore the total cost for 150,000 copies is £44,599.90,(less £5,500 from Berks West PCT as contribution towards their pages at the back) comes to £39,099.90 (approx 26p each).

Introducing Glenn Goodall...

This week's Reading Chronicle features articles about our slate of Lib Dem candidates for the local elections in Reading on May 1.

Local campaigner Glenn Goodall will be standing in Redlands. Glenn has a record of local action for our area and will be fantastic addition to the team (if elected). Glenn has spent a lot of time with Kirsten and I listening to local residents' concerns and campaigning for a cleaner and greener Redlands. There is still plenty of work to do in the ward: we need someone to stand up for our area on RBC after years of neglect by the Labour-run Council.

Glenn is a keen cyclist and if elected he will raise the profile of cycling issues on Reading Borough Council. Glenn has just completed a PhD at Reading University and like Kirsten is a scientist by background. He is also passionate about the local environment and has been busy helping us report graffiti, flytipping and other issues to RBC for action.

Do you have a local issue or concern you would like to raise with Glenn? Contact him here.

In other local news there is also a short piece in this week's Chron about our campaign to get RBC to tackle parking problems in affecting residential around Reading University and the Royal Berks Hospital.

And finally, the Evening Post is running a poll asking for reader's views on introducing kerbside glass recycling  in Reading. Please show your support for this long-running Lib Dem campaign.

You can still sign our petition here.

Action for Hexham Road Estate

On Monday I visited Hexham Road estate off Northumberland Avenue with senior officers from RBC. I used the visit to  highlight a number of issues which are a continuing cause of concern to local residents including vandalism of the flat blocks, anti-social behaviour, flytipping and parking. We also spoke to a number of local residents and I gave them the opportunity to put officers on the spot.

I was very pleased with the constructive response from officers and am hopeful that we can get the Council to put more of a focus on improving the quality of life for people living in this area, after years of neglect.

Flytipping is still a problem around the estate. Glenn, Gareth, Kirsten and I visited estate yesterday morning and found more examples of it. The photo above shows a  regular 'hot spot' on the corner of Hexham Road and Bede Walk. Residents living nearby are getting very fed up with others using their area as a dumping ground. We have reported this collection of bicycles etc to the Council and Police and asked them to keep an eye on the area.

Yesterday was a bit different from normal as Radio 4's World This Weekend team accompanied us as we knocked on doors as part of their local election coverage. They are interested in the elections in Reading as many commentators have noted that this year could see the demise of the last Labour-controlled council in the South East region.

The programme's Producer recorded me putting leaflets through doors and did a 5 minute interview with Gareth. We had a good session and it ended well as I managed to recruit a new member!

UPDATE: Listen to Gareth Epps interviewed about the forthcoming local elections in Reading, and a snippet from one of my constituents on Corbridge Road here.

A typical mixed bag

First thing this morning I reported offensive graffiti in the public toilets on Cintra Park for removal following a report from one of the local PCSOs. This should be removed within 24 hours according to Council policy. We have a very close working relationship with the local Police team and it helps to share information to ensure issues get sorted quickly.

Later on I got in touch with RBC about the continuing problem of Erleigh Road's worn out road surface. A constituent who cycles I spoke to today pointed out the problems potholes etc cause cyclists in particular i.e. increased punctures. The Lib Dems have been campaigning to get the Council to invest in the local road network (instead of simply patching up the holes). On a separate note I heard today that the Council will be installing additional bollards on Corbridge Road to protect the grass verges there, following our campaign.

Over the weekend I noticed several properties (particularly in terraced areas) clearly struggling to cope with fortnightly bin collections around Kings Road. I contacted the Council about one such property which had a number of black bags outside only to be told by an officer that there may be up to 12 adults living there- and  only one bin! I'm glad to say that following my initial contact RBC's waste support team have been round to visit the household to offer advice and assistance.

As warmer weather approaches, the Lib Dems will continue to press the Labour Council to introduce weekly food waste collections and kerbside glass recycling. This will help reduce the amount of waste in people's bins and deal with the issue of smells. To quote the Council's PR blurb "we can't go on like this!"