http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/newsarchive.php Recent News Stories from Norfolk County Council Liberal Democrats en-GB Norfolk County Council Liberal Democrats http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/ Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/ (c) 2010 Norfolk County Council Liberal Democrats 2010-09-09T08:27+01:00 United Kingdom http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000064/leaders_july_report.html July 2010 was the month the Council came face to face with the harsh realities of the public expenditure cuts. The coalition Government's decision to make in-year reductions to the Area Based Grant meant the Council had to make savings of £10m to the 2010/11 budget. Make no mistake, this was a daunting task, but in choosing to make savage cuts to the Connexions service - reducing it by half - the ruling Tories took the easy option. We tabled an amendment at Council identifying alternative savings but to no avail. You can see the comments I made on my blog (July 27th) cllrpaulmorse@wordpress.com. Other Members in the group focused on what the service does (we are not convinced many Tories know), how employers benefit and the impact on rural areas. All to no avail. 2010-08-01T00:00+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000063/leaders_monthly_report.html The biggest news of the last month has been the coalition government's budget. Clearly the country's finances are in a horrendous mess - that is Labour's legacy. I was at a meeting of Lib Dem Group Leaders recently where Nick Clegg said the situation the government had inherited was far worse than expected. 2010-07-04T00:00+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000062/leaders_monthly_report.html The General Election seems an age ago now, but it is only 4 weeks ago that the nation voted. Given how high we had risen in the polls, losing 5 seats overall was a major disappointment. Why we were unable to sustain the momentum we had I just don't know. Locally we did well, with Norman Lamb increasing his majority significantly and Simon Wright winning in Norwich South. 2010-06-04T00:00+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000061/leaders_monthly_report.html This has been written on the eve of polling day. If the polls are to be believed we Liberal Democrats are heading for a share of the vote we could only have dreamed of at the start of the campaign. It is clear though that due to the vagaries of our unfair voting system the number of seats we get will nowhere near match our popularity. You can see the same phenomenon at play on the County Council- last year the Tories got 45% of the vote yet 71% (60 of 84 seats) whilst we received 25% of the vote and 15% (13) of the seats. 2010-05-05T00:00+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000060/undecided_voters_swing_to_lib_dems_following_final_leaders_debate.html Last night was the final of the three televised Leaders' debates. Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, debated with Gordon Brown and David Cameron about the economy. Subjects discussed included breaking up the banks, creating more jobs and reinvigorating the British economy. 2010-04-30T18:09+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000059/third_and_final_party_leaders_tv_debate_the_economy.html On Thursday 29th April from 8.30pm, BBC One will host the final live Prime Ministerial Debate of the General Election from the Midlands. Nick Clegg, Gordon Brown and David Cameron will again be going head to head in the run up to the General Election next Thursday. 2010-04-28T14:25+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000058/clegg_scores_second_win_in_party_leaders_debate.html An average of five polls conducted immediately after the Sky TV Leaders Election debate on Thursday night put Nick Clegg as the winner, with all instant polls showing him ahead of Gordon Brown. After the Foreign Affairs-led debate from Bristol dominated by issues like Iraq, immigration and climate change, Nick Clegg won 3 of the 5 polls on the night, building on his position after the first debate. 2010-04-23T15:06+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000057/second_party_leaders_tv_debate_foreign_affairs.html The second Party Leaders Debate is taking place this Thursday starting at 8pm on Sky News. Nick Clegg, Gordon Brown and David Cameron will again be going head to head in a TV debate in the run up to the General Election on May 6th, this time leading on Foreign Affairs. 2010-04-21T11:08+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000056/nick_clegg_storms_first_ever_party_leaders_debate.html The polls following the first ever Party Leaders General Election debate on ITV are showing that Nick Clegg has won a convincing victory over David Cameron and Gordon Brown. The debate was the first ever Leaders debate during a UK General Election campaign, and the pollsters are giving it as a big victory for Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats. 2010-04-16T00:01+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000055/first_party_leaders_tv_debate_domestic_affairs.html Tonight on ITV, Nick Clegg, Gordon Brown and David Cameron will be going head to head in a TV debate. This is the first of three debates that will be taking place in the run up to the General Election on May 6th. 2010-04-15T00:01+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000054/fairness__the_liberal_democrat_manifesto_launch.html Nick Clegg has launched the Liberal Democrat General Election manifesto. The manifesto sets out four clear priorities of fair taxes, a fair chance for every child, a fair economy, and a fair deal by cleaning up politics. 2010-04-14T10:24+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000053/apply_for_a_postal_vote_now_deadline_20th_april.html With the General Election on 6th May, there is still time to arrange a postal vote. Voting by post is an easy and convenient way of voting if you are unable to get to the polling station on polling day - for any reason. 2010-04-12T19:38+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000052/leaders_monthly_report.html It has been an interesting month. Increasingly it looks as if the Norwich Unitary will happen. The Conservatives showed their indifference by failing to support 'fatal motion' put down by the Liberal Democrat Peers. With both Houses of parliament having approved the Order, the chances of the Judicial Review overturning the legislative's views would seem slim. It also seems unrealistic that an incoming Tory Government would choose to find the time to reverse the decision. Norfolk without Norwich seems a remarkable concept, one which local Council Tax payers will have to pay for in the years ahead. 2010-03-31T00:00+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000051/victory_vince_cable_wins_channel_4_chancellors_debate.html The first ever TV debate between the three candidates to be the next Chancellor has seen Lib Dem Vince Cable win a clear victory. In a Channel 4 on-line poll carried out immediately after the debate, Vince out-polled both Alistair Darling and George Osborne. 2010-03-29T22:32+01:00 http://www.norfolkcclibdems.org.uk/news/000050/ask_the_chancellors_live_debate_on_channel_4.html At 8pm on Monday 29th March, Channel 4 will stage a live debate between the would-be Chancellors, Liberal Democrat Vince Cable, Labour's Alistair Darling and Conservative George Osborne. Krishnan Guru-Murthy will be asking the questions. 2010-03-28T10:38+01:00