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Regular news now on www.stephenrobinson.org.uk
Observations on news and events in and around Chelmsford, Essex by local community campaigner Stephen Robinson - not Stephen Robinson the astronaut or the journalist or the guitarist!
For my very latest news, take a look at my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Robinson4Chelmsford - or the Twitter news feed on the right hand side.
Today the Liberal Democrats called on Parliament to back the 10:10 campaign on climate change. Sadly, the Labour Government whipped their troops to vote down any specific action (see Hansard report) - following the lead of Conservative Essex County Council, who showed the same lack of action last week.
I've joined 56 other Liberal Democrat candidates in writing an open letter calling on the House of Commons speaker Michael Martin to take radical action or resign. But I'm not expecting Chelmsford MP Simon Burns to take action, since he votes against a transparent Parliament, according to They Work For You.
Just back from a campaign planning meeting. (Loads to do between now and election day on 4th June.) Lib Dem leader on Chelmsford council, Mike Mackrory, reported on a council meeting last night. The Conservatives who run the council have COMPLETELY ignored the hundreds of people who commented on their plans for 4000 houses on green fields. (Details here.) They press on with their plans for an urban sprawl, leading to more congestion and negative impact on local services.
Very funny talk this evening at Round Table, from Darren Couchman – an Essex man who survived testicular cancer and wants to use humour to stop others suffering. 1 in 3 people will be affected by cancer of some kind; 1,800 men are diagnosed with testicular cancer in the UK each year.
The Liberal Democrats are reviewing their party policy on women's issues and it is now open for comment. You might ask whether it is still necessary to produce policy specifically aimed at women. Jo Swinson MP, the Chair of the Working Group says:
I blogged in the summer about how it was rubbish that immigrants were taking "our" jobs. There has been a big row again this last week involving foreign workers. This all suits the Labour government (and the Conservatives who invented most of the deregulation) - to divert attention from their central role in creating the problems we face.
Graham Watson MEP wants to make the European Parliament more accountable to the public that elects it. Graham is leader of the 100-strong Liberal and Democrat group and is the first MEP ever to publicly state that he wants to be President of the European Parliament.
Essex County Council has been shown to be good at publicity and bad at looking after vulnerable children. In the space of a week, it stood out in two league tables. The first rated Tory-run Essex and seven other authorities as the worst councils in the country for child protection. See The Guardian. The second was for spending on council publicity - where it came ninth highest. See the BBC report.