RESIDENTS’ PROTESTS IGNORED

Residents protest outside the Town Hall over road closures introduced as part of the ‘Mini Holland’ scheme

The recent protest by over 1,200 residents against the road closures in Walthamstow and Leyton showed that the Council’s Mini Holland plans, including closing local roads, does not have the support of all residents despite the Council saying that they had.

Protesters not against the scheme or cyclists, but against road closures

The protesters went out of their way to say that they were not against the scheme or cyclists, but against the road closures. The Council’s plans have succeeded in causing division and anger across the Borough. The closing of roads has forced vehicles onto the already congested main roads like Lea Bridge, Hoe Street, and Leyton High Road and has resulted in a massive slow down of traffic, increased congestion and increased pollution.

Congestion and pollution bad for all

All of this is detrimental to residents, cyclists, pedestrians and bus users. Focus Team member Bob Sullivan, who was in the Town Hall listening to the Mini Holland debate, was appalled by the Labour Council restricting residents from hearing the debate, as they only allowed 12 protesters in, although the chamber can hold over a hundred. He was shocked by the arrogant, illiberal attitude with which Labour Councillors treated residents’ concerns. They were not prepared to review the Mini Holland plans despite residents’ requests and their own Labour MP’s request.

Council continues to ignore residents

They are, in fact, going to ignore residents and continue to put in similar divisive plans across Leyton, Leytonstone and Chingford!

PRESS RELEASE: WE MUST NOT ABANDON OUR HARD-WON HUMAN RIGHTS

Bob Sullivan and colleagues petitioning residents outside Coronation Gardens last Saturday

We must not abandon our hard-won human rights

Lib Dem campaigner Bob Sullivan urged the people of Leyton and Leytonstone to back a Liberal Democrat campaign to save the Human Rights Act.

So far more than 25,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Conservatives to scrap plans to abandon our commitment to human rights.

It comes as David Cameron said he would consult on the future of the Human Rights Act in the UK.

Now Bob Sullivan has urged local residents to speak up for legislation that has:

1. Stopped the state spying on us, supported peaceful protest and protected soldiers.
2. Helped rape victims, defended domestic violence victims and guarded against slavery.
3. Supported those in care, shielded press freedom and provided answers for grieving families.
4. Preserved our right to a fair trial, prevented indiscriminate stop-and-search and protected minorities.

Bob Sullivan said:

Our human rights laws have already achieved so much and we must not let the Tories trample all over them.

The Liberal Democrats blocked David Cameron from scrapping the Human Rights Act in Government and we must stop him again now.

That is why we need everyone everyone to get behind our campaign to stop the Conservatives riding roughshod over our hard-won rights.

A link to the Lib Dem petition can be found here: http://change.libdems.org.uk/human-rights-act

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS ELECT NEW LEADER

Lib Dem Leader Tim Farron speaking at Conference

Long-serving former councillor Bob Sullivan welcomed the election of Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Tim Farron said that under his leadership, the party would oppose the cuts to tax credits and other benefits in the Conservative’s budget and push for greater spending on infrastructure such as transport and broadband.

At his first speech as leader, Tim said,

If you care about human rights join us. If you think you shouldn’t have your emails snooped on join us. ‎If you think everyone deserves a decent home join us.

You can watch Tim’s inspirational speech here.

Bob Sullivan said,

These principles are at the heart of what drives the Liberal Democrats, our members and activists. More than ever Britain needs a party that will stand up for what we believe in, so we’re continuing our fightback and I’m asking local residents to be part of it.

There has never been a more important time to join the party.

Across the Country since the General Election 20,000 people have joined the party. Locally we have been joined by dozens of new activists and members this year, including a large number since it was announced that Tim Farron was elected. The Liberal Democrats have also seen stunning election victories at local council by-elections across the UK, beating both Labour and the Conservatives.

If you would like to join please go to www.libdems.org.uk and join the FOCUS Teams’ fightback.

REMINDER – VICTORIA LINE DELAYS 8 – 30 AUGUST

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem Transport Spokesperson at the London Assembly, has forwarded this reminder from Transport for London (TfL)

Passengers reminded to plan ahead for major work that will improve Victoria line services

Improvements are a key part of enabling 36 trains per hour to run on the full length of the line next year

  • Three-week closure for work between Seven Sisters and Walthamstow Central from Saturday 8 August to Sunday 30 August
  • Services between Seven Sisters and Brixton will run but at a lower frequency
  • Customers advised to plan ahead and allow more time for their journey

Passengers are being reminded to plan ahead for improvement work on the Victoria line next month, which will lead to the operation of 36 trains per hour next year. This will provide a train every 100 seconds during peak hours, making the Victoria line the UK’s highest frequency railway and comparable with the very best in the world. All peak-time trains will run the full length of the line from Walthamstow Central to Brixton, giving a 40 per cent capacity boost for customers northeast of Seven Sisters.

The Victoria line now carries more than 200 million passengers each year and as on the rest of the Tube network demand keeps rising.

At present only 24 trains per hour can be run beyond Seven Sisters due to the layout of the points at Walthamstow Central crossover, which transfers northbound trains to the southbound line for their return journey. Renewal of the crossover is essential to achieve 36 trains per hour.

From Saturday 8 August to Sunday 30 August LU will rebuild the crossover, replacing the concrete track-bed and the rails and point work. During this period all northbound Victoria line trains will only go as far as Seven Sisters. The nature and scale of the work means it is not possible to do it during the very limited engineering hours available at nights and weekends.

David Waboso, Capital Programmes Director at LU, said:

To meet increasing customer demand for the Victoria line we are making the service the most frequent in the UK, with 36 trains per hour in 2016. We will also run all peak time trains to Walthamstow Central from Brixton, a capacity increase of more than 40 per cent for customers north of Seven Sisters.

During the work we won’t be able to run Victoria line trains between Seven Sisters and Walthamstow Central. Our engineers will be working around the clock to keep the closure period as short as possible.”

During the closure there will be rail replacement buses for passengers. Services between Seven Sisters and Brixton will run at a lower frequency. The three-week closure means that other stations on the Victoria line will be busier, as will parts of the Central Line and London Overground. Customers are advised to plan ahead and allow more time for their journey. LU will publicise information about the work and how to avoid delays, with customer emails, online information including via the @victorialine Twitter account, posters and announcements in stations.

Rail replacement buses will run from Walthamstow Central to Seven Sisters station as well as from Walthamstow Central to Stratford and Stratford International stations. In addition, a temporary local bus route 558 will run between Chingford Mount and Seven Sisters, calling at Blackhorse Road and Tottenham Hale. Other options for passengers include the London Overground service from Walthamstow Central to Liverpool Street. LU tickets will also be accepted by other train operating companies on a number of routes.

For the most up to date information, including alternative travel options, visit www.tfl.gov.uk/victoria-line-closure

Notes:

  • During the closure, two rail replacement bus services and one temporary additional bus route will be introduced, as follows:
  • Replacement bus service A: Walthamstow Central – Blackhorse Road – Tottenham Hale – Seven Sisters
  • Replacement bus service B: Walthamstow Central – St James Street – Stratford International – Stratford City Bus Station for Stratford station (Monday-Friday only)
  • Temporary local bus route 558: Chingford Mount – Chingford Mount Road – South Chingford – Chingford Road – Walthamstow Crooked Billet – Billet Road – Higham Hill – Blackhorse Lane – Blackhorse Road station – then non-stop to – Tottenham Hale station – then non-stop to – Seven Sisters station (Monday–Friday only)
  • The London Overground service between Walthamstow Central and Liverpool Street will provide an alternative rail route, and LU has also agreed ticket acceptance with other train operating companies on the following routes:
  • Abellio Greater Anglia: Liverpool Street – Tottenham Hale –Liverpool Street – Stratford, and Stratford – Tottenham Hale
  • Great Northern: Finsbury Park – Moorgate via Drayton Park, Highbury & Islington, Essex Road, Old Street
  • Southeastern: Brixton – Victoria
  • South West Trains: Vauxhall – Waterloo
  • Improvements are underway across the Victoria line, including the redevelopment of Victoria and Vauxhall stations to increase capacity and make them step-free. A step-free access scheme is also planned at Finsbury Park station. This year, staff are moving from behind ticket windows to ticket halls, gate lines and platforms to offer assistance to customers where it is needed most. As part of these station improvements, Visitor Centres will open on the Victoria line at King’s Cross St Pancras and Victoria. The 24-hour Night Tube service will run on the full length of the line on Friday and Saturday nights from 12 September 2015.

PRESS RELEASE – LIB DEMS BACK CALL FOR VOTES AT AGE 16!

We need to stop denying our young people their rights

Local Lib Dem Focus Team campaigner Bob Sullivan says:

I regularly meet lots of the young people in Waltham Forest. They’re passionate about such a wide range of issues – from the cost of local buses and their education, to climate change and international affairs.

The time has now come to give 16 and 17-year-olds a say on the issues that affect their lives.

We often hear people say they don’t understand politics. But this can’t be said of the younger generation, who are the first to receive a proper education in citizenship and democracy.

They understand what’s at stake. We’re teaching them how to be a full and active citizen but not letting them take part.

Most of us are quite happy to allow a 16 year old to serve us in a shop or to help protect us in the Army. We allow them to get married, have sex, pay taxes and drive cars.

Yet we are stopping them from having a say in how their taxes are spent or what direction our country goes in. Imagine how frustrated and angry you’d be if you were denied the same rights.

In the next two years we are going to decide whether Britain stays or leaves in the EU. This decision matters – it matters to our jobs and prosperity, and its impact will be felt for decades.

It would be so wrong to prevent the 6,021 young people in Waltham Forest whose future we are talking about from having a say in this decision.

Last year, 16 and 17 year olds were allowed for the first time to vote in the Scottish Independence Referendum. Three-quarters of them did.

This proves young people can and will engage when given the opportunity. That’s why I am pleased Liberal Democrat MPs voted to amend the bill on the EU referendum to give 16 and 17 year olds the vote.

Liberal Democrats have actively supported changing the law on this issue for over ten years. Now there is growing support throughout Parliament and the Conservative Government must listen to us and stop denying young people a voice. 

You can show your support by signing the online petition at: http://change.libdems.org.uk/votes-for-16-year-olds

NIGHT TUBE SERVICES

Transport for London (TfL) has just announced that the Night Tube will operate all night on Fridays and Saturdays, following the launch of the service in the early hours of Saturday 12 September.

There will be a train about every ten minutes and standard off-peak fares will be charged.

Lines served:

Central Line: Ealing Broadway to/from Loughton/Hainault via Newbury Park

Jubilee Line: Entire line

Northern Line: Morden to/from Edgware /High Barnet both via Charing Cross

Piccadilly Line: Cockfosters to/from Heathrow Terminal 5

Victoria Line: Entire line

To see a copy of the Night Tube map,

click here: https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/images/nighttube-map.jpg

PRESS RELEASE: MEMBERSHIP SURGE – JOIN TODAY

More than 10,000 new members since polling day

Since polls closed last Thursday, more than 10,000 new members have joined the Liberal Democrats.

The surge continues as Liberal Democrats across the country have been fighting back and making the case for liberal values of freedom, liberty and change.

key_10000-members.jpg

We’re recruiting people who have never joined a party in the past but want to stand together against the things this Conservative government is already promising to do.

Liberal Democrat President Baroness Sal Brinton said:

Something quite extraordinary is happening across the country and our party membership has never grown faster. Events are taking place all over the country and we are delighted so many new people are joining the liberal fight back. 

People were devastated by the results last week, but rather than sit back and lick their wounds, people have been invigorated and inspired.

They are coming together to rebuild a strong, Liberal Democrat party, showing that the politics of hope and tolerance can thrive in the face of the politics of grievance and fear.

To join this growing party, or for more information, please contact:

Clyde Kitson – 020 8534 2947 – c.kitson61@gmail.com

or online at:

http://www.libdems.org.uk/fightback?splash=1

NEWSFLASH – 31 May

The number of new members joining the Liberal Democrats since the General Election has now reached 14,928

POLLING DAY – A MOST IMPORTANT DECISION

Voters face the biggest political decision of their lives

On the penultimate day of the election campaign, Nick Clegg said “you face the biggest political decision of your life”.

With the polls neck-and-neck and no party likely to hold a majority in parliament, voters face the prospect of a new government lurching to the extreme left, the extreme right, or breaking up the country unless they vote Liberal Democrat to anchor Britain to the centre ground.

Nick Clegg said only the Liberal Democrats will provide “stability, unity and decency” after Polling Day, highlighting six ‘red lines’ which must be agreed to as part of any coalition negotiations in the next government. These key policies will benefit millions of people across the country by creating a stronger economy and fairer society with opportunity for everyone.

The Liberal Democrats outlined six ‘red lines’ during the election campaign covering: education, the economy, tax, health, public sector pay and the environment:

  1. Invest an extra £2.5bn in education – benefitting 11.5 million pupils aged 2-19
  2. Invest £8bn a year by 2020 in the NHS – benefitting 53.9 million people in England
  3. £2.7bn of pay rises for public sector workers – benefitting 5.4 million workers
  4. Cut taxes by £400 for working people – benefitting 30 million individuals
  5. Introduce a ‘stability budget’ in the first 50 days – benefitting the entire UK population
  6. Fight climate change and protect nature – benefitting the entire UK population

Nick said:

Tomorrow, you face the biggest political decision of your life. Our economic stability, our decent British values of openness, generosity and tolerance and the unity of our United Kingdom are all at stake.

Without Liberal Democrats to keep the next Government safe, stable and fair, Labour or the Conservatives will be left to run a messy and unstable minority Government, dependent on the SNP on the one hand or UKIP and the DUP on the other.

The Liberal Democrats will give a heart to a Conservative Government and a brain to a Labour one. Every Liberal Democrat MP makes Labour’s reckless borrowing and the Conservatives’ ideological cuts less likely. And every Liberal Democrat MP is a barrier between Nigel Farage and Alex Salmond and the door to 10 Downing Street.

We face a second election before Christmas without the Liberal Democrats in Coalition

Britain faces a second General Election before Christmas without Liberal Democrats to provide stability in coalition, Nick has warned.

The Liberal Democrat leader said it would be impossible for a minority government to pass key legislation without signing off controversial concessions to the nationalists and Nigel Farage.

It means a Labour or Tory-minority would collapse if they failed to offer ‘sweeteners’ to the SNP, UKIP or the DUP – or their own backbenchers rejected these backroom deals.

This makes a second General Election in 2015 election almost inevitable without more Lib Dem MPs in parliament.

The warning comes as party analysis reveals:

  • A minority Labour government would not be able to pass a Queen’s speech without conceding full fiscal autonomy to the SNP.
  • A minority Labour government would not be able to pass a Spending Review if reliant upon SNP “ending austerity” votes, without conceding on their plans to make savings in the first year from departmental budgets and welfare cuts.
  • A minority Conservative government would have to find an additional £1bn for Northern Ireland to buy DUP votes to support a Spending Review.
  • A minority Conservative government would have to slash funding for international aid to buy off UKIP and Right Wing Tories.
  • A minority Conservative government would not be able to pass a Queen’s Speech without conceding to UKIP’s demands to hold an EU referendum this year – undermining Cameron’s claims he wants to stay in Europe after negotiating a new settlement.
  • A minority Labour government would not be able to pass key budgetary votes as the SNP have stated they will vote against estimates if they include the cost of Trident.

Nick said:

The last thing Britain needs is a second election before Christmas. But that is exactly what will happen if Ed Miliband and David Cameron put their own political interest ahead of the national interest.

The only party that will ensure stability is the Liberal Democrats.