Former Labour PPC Defects to Liberal Democrats

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May 272008

2005 Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Wycombe Constituency, Councillor Julia Wassell, has joined the Liberal Democrats.

Steve Guy officially welcomes Julia Wassell as a Liberal Democrat

Councillor Wassell sits on both Buckinghamshire County Council and Wycombe District Council. In 2005, she was the Labour Party Parliamentary Candidate for Wycombe.

Wycombe Liberal Democrats Parliamentary Spokesman, Steve Guy said:

I am delighted to welcome Councillor Wassell to the Liberal Democrat team in Wycombe. She has an outstanding record of campaigning hard on local issues and getting results. I believe she will be a great asset.  
We are all looking forward to working with her for the benefit of the people of Wycombe.

Councillor Wassell said:

I am looking forward to working with people who are putting their principles into practice. Working in a very local way to empower people and communities. The Liberal Democrats have welcomed me warmly and will be able to support my commitment to campaigning and casework in Wycombe. I have had the greatest respect for many members of the Lib Dems for a number of years whom I know personally. I am particularly pleased also to join the Lib Dem group on the County  
Council where I will be well supported in contrast to the previous situation

Posted by Steve Guy at 2:21 pm Tagged with: , , ,

Are we sleepwalking into a surveillance society?

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May 252008

Amidst all the excitement of the Crewe and Nantwich by election, I’d like to draw people’s attention to something they may have missed this week. Ministers are to consider a national database which will record details of:

  • Every phone call you make
  • Every email you send
  • Every website you visit

The plans are currently at an early stage, but may be included in a draft communications bill later this year. The reason given will be the ubiquitous ‘fight against terrorism’, which is now the justification for more and more erosion of our civil liberties. I am fully committed to the fight against terrorists: I value the freedoms that come with living in a democracy and terrorism is a threat to those freedoms. But moving closer and closer to the surveillance society is in itself an erosion of the very freedom we cherish. These plans would be a step too far. Telecommunications companies already cooperate fully with law enforcement agencies when it is necessary to investigate suspects. A statement from the Information Commission released this week says:

We are not aware of any justification for the state to hold every UK citizen’s phone and internet records. We have real doubts that such a measure can be justified, or is proportionate or desirable.

Defeating crime and terrorism is of the utmost importance, but we are not aware of any pressing need to justify the government itself holding this sort of data.

Quite apart from the appalling idea of a government invading individual privacy in this way, this administration has already shown it cannot be trusted with the security of sensitive data (as
recipients of Child Benefit will already attest to).

This government so often reminds me of the following wise adage (often erroneously attributed to Benjamin Franklin):

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety

Steve Guy, Wycombe Liberal Democrats Parliamentary Spokesman

Posted by Steve Guy at 1:45 pm Tagged with:

State of Art playground opens in Kingsmead- Cllr Trevor Snaith -May 2008

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May 022008

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The latest state-of-the-art children’s playground – the biggest of its kind in High Wycombe – was opened at the end of April, at Kingsmead Recreation Ground.
The £167,000 play area includes fantastic equipment for children from toddlers to teens, and the seaside theme for younger children was developed after consultation with local families.
The new play area, off Fennels Road, replaces an older playground. Wycombe District Council’s Play Strategy last year identified the eastern side of the town most in need of improved play facilities, and WDC’s Play Partnership agreed.
It has been funded by a £127,109 grant from the BIG Lottery and a £40,000 contribution from the Thames Water Wycombe Marsh housing development.
Cllr Trevor Snaith and Cllr Ray Farmer were at the opening when children from the Marsh First School were the first to use the new equipment. There are two distinct areas – one designed for children from two to 12, and the other for children from 12 to 16.
Cllr Trevor Snaith said, “This is a great boost for families in the east end of Wycombe. It’s something that the council should be investing in for other wards across the town “.
Cllr Ray Farmer said, “The area for older children includes a teen shelter as well as exciting new features like Aeroskate and Skysurf. The area for younger children has all the latest equipment designed to let children play energetically yet safely.”

Now lets see the similar level of new child play areas across the other Town Wards

Posted by Trevor Snaith at 12:03 am Tagged with: ,

Tory Councillors say NO to local democracy!

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Mar 222008

Tory Councillors say NO to local democracy!
At a meeting of the High Wycombe Town Committee on March 11th the Tory councillors voted against true local democracy by blocking a review, proposed by Councillor Snaith, to consider the advantages of a town council for High Wycombe.

Councillors Green, Lambourne and other Tory councillors had obviously been “whipped” to argue that a town council would cost more. The reality is that the financial numbers that the Tory group came up with are based on “a finger in the air” and guess at the cost. The Tory arguments were based on supposition and not fact. In fact, a town council carrying out duties performed everywhere else by parish or town councils could probably be more efficient than the District Council – and therefore less expensive!

Conservative councillors want to deny the 46,000 people in High Wycombe town the local democracy they are entitled by law to have!
Its unfortunate that the Tory members who have expressed support for a Town Council are being gagged by the Wycombe Tory party!

Councillor Snaith and Councillor Farmer are working with other political parties and local groups to deliver a truly non-political Town Council for the Town of High Wycombe. —- We welcome all councillors who want to be part of High Wycombe’s future to be part of a non-political team – even Tory councillors when they overcome their fears of the party whips!

Posted by Trevor Snaith at 3:59 pm Tagged with: , , ,

Spring Conference Update

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Mar 082008

Parliamentary Spokesman Steve Guy and Wycombe Chair Wendy are representing Wycombe Liberal Democrats at the Spring Conference in Liverpool. Steve caught up with Lynne Featherstone MP after the important debate on Ballistic Missile Defence, hear Lynne’s update by clicking on the video clip on the right.
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Later, Vince Cable took the Conference by storm. He promised to get tough on the super rich and said that non-domiciled foreign nationals avoiding UK tax was unacceptable – and that Tory and Conservative plans did not go far enough. He also announced plans to drop VAT on fruit juice from current 17.5% to just 5% – funded by rasing more tax on drinks with a high alcohol content. He made a savage assesment of the failures of Gordon Brown since coming to power – listing failures which included the handling of Northern Rock, where the government belatedly took Cable’s advice to nationalise the ailing bank.
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Check back soon for a full update on all of the news from Liverpool.

Posted by Steve Guy at 8:04 pm Tagged with:
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