Kettering & Wellingborough Liberal Democrats

In his keynote speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference, Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has outlined his goals for the Government and the country over the coming years. He reiterated his commitment to liberal values on the environment and human rights and his determination to ensure a fair chance for every child, saying "every child can do good things, great things, if only we give them the opportunities they deserve."

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The Leader of the Official Opposition at the County Council, Liberal Democrat Cllr Brendan Glynane, has today launched an attack on the Conservatives for cancelling the meeting of Full Council due to take place on 16th December. The meeting was cancelled only hours after the Liberal Democrats had submitted a motion which gave all 73 county councillors the opportunity to debate the future of the County's Sure Start Centres.

Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition, and Police Authority Member, Cllr Brendan Glynane has called on the Conservative administration to come clean on cuts to the budget for PCSOs. Cllr Glynane put a question to the Conservative Leader of the Council at a recent meeting, but the Conservatives refused to give a straight answer.

The Conservatives have abandoned a major deal to dispose of the County's waste, 3 and a half years into the making.

Cllr Brendan Glynane, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition said "The Conservatives appear to have no plan B to the PFI scheme they put forward. The cost of sending waste to landfill is set to soar from its present cost of £48 per tonne up to £80 per tonne by 2018. Without a serious plan in place the cost will either have to be met by cuts to frontline services or hikes to taxes for hard pressed local taxpayers."

2010 Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Kettering Chris Nelson has joined local colleagues and 104 Lib Dem parliamentary candidates across the country in opposing plans to raise university tuition fees.

The petition has the signatures of 104 Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidates who did not win seats in the recent General Election. The petition's signatories also include Andrew Simpson, who was the Liberal Democrat candidate for Northampton North at the last election.

Cllr Brendan Glynane, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition on Northamptonshire County Council has attacked the Conservative administration for refusing to take responsibility for their financial mess at County Hall. In a letter to the local press, Cllr Glynane said:

"The news that Northamptonshire County Council needs to find savings of £136 million over the next four years should surprise no-one. The truth is that Northamptonshire's Conservatives have been wasting taxpayers money for years and while in times of plenty they could get away with it, now the money has run out. The total mess they made trying to sell off school sites, the £22m on consultants in 2009/10 alone, the £32m Carillion contract blunder, and the £629m debt from borrowing have made the cuts far more savage than necessary.

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Vince Cable today announced a £1.3 billion funding package over the next four years to maintain and modernise the Post Office network.

Dr Cable said the funding package will secure the long term future of the Post Office network and ensure that there will be no closure programme.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Member for Social Services, Cllr Marion Minney today visited St Andrews Hospital, a charitable trust which offers mental health facilities.

Cllr Minney met with the Chief Executive and toured the new hospital. Cllr Minney said "It was great to meet with St Andrews. They have some excellent facilities that provide specialist care to mainly NHS patients. I was really impressed with the standard of facilities and hope to return the visit by inviting them to the County Council."

Northamptonshire Liberal Democrats successfully passed a motion at Northamptonshire County Council ensuring that vulnerable residents are protected when the budget is set next year.

Cllr Glynane said "It's crucial that we do everything we can to protect frontline services that vulnerable residents rely on. I'm really glad that the Council has followed our lead and promised to do this. We know times are tough, but we also know that with the Lib Dems delivering more money for disadvantaged children and social care, the Council needs to make sure that money reaches the people it is supposed to and isn't siphoned off to fill budget gaps elsewhere."