Marie Burnand was a founder member of the Social Democrat Party, and happily embraced Liberal Democracy when the two parties joined. The success of Liberals and SDP together as the Liberal Democrats was due to people like Marie who were determined to ensure cohesion.

She has served as Secretary and Chairman, and latterly her sterling service over the years was recognised when she was acclaimed President of the Wycombe Liberal Democrats. She stood as a candidate for local council several times, and came close to being elected. She chaired the governing body of a school for children with special needs for several years, doing her utmost to ensure those needs were met.

Marie was quietly supported in her political work by her husband, Gordon, who ensured she could attend meetings as her health deteriorated. Marie, and her smile, will be greatly missed, not only by her family and local Liberal Democrats, but also by the numerous families she helped in her professional capacity.

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!

In the light of her brutal assassination, the need for the full restoration of democracy in Pakistan in now paramount.

Setting out his priorities after being elected as party leader on December 18th, Nick Clegg said:

“I am greatly honoured to have been chosen by my fellow party members to be the new leader of the Liberal Democrats.

“Throughout Wycombe Liberal Democrats are already working hard to reach out to local people and listen to their concerns. In my leadership I will be taking that spirit nationwide, moving beyond party politics and making liberalism connect with the millions of people who share our values.

“Labour and the Conservatives have failed Britain’s families. I will lead my party to change politics, and change Britain, for the better. Only the Liberal Democrats are committed to giving the people of Wycombe a greater say in the decisions that affect their lives, by shifting power away from Westminster and back to local communities.

“I will fight for a fair deal for Britain’s families, campaign tirelessly to cut crime, and improve our NHS so it delivers the care people need.”

Commenting Steve Guy, Wycombe Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman said:

“Nick Clegg is going to be a great leader. Labour and the Conservatives share so many policies. The time has come for a politician who will speak up for real people and local communities – like ours in Wycombe”

“Under my leadership we will be ambitious. Together we can break the stifling two-party system and change Britain for good.”

On behalf of Wycombe Liberal Democrats, I would like to congratulate Nick on winning a close battle between two outstanding candidates. I am excited about our future, and I believe that, under Nick’s leadership, we are going to achieve new heights. Nick has pledged to reconnect with people, and articulate a Liberal vision for Britain.Steve Guy

Click below if you would like to read the full text of Nick’s acceptance speech:

My election as leader of this party marks a new beginning.
Today is about two things: ambition, and change.
Renewed ambition for the Liberal Democrats.
Renewed ambition to reach out to the millions of people who share our values, but have not yet voted for us.
It’s about renewed ambition for Britain.
Because we want to change politics, and change Britain.
I would like to thank Chris for the energetic and committed way he has campaigned in this leadership election.
We have been rivals in this contest. From today, we are colleagues again. I look forward to working closely with him for the good of liberalism in Britain.
I would also like to thank Vince Cable for the magnificent way he has led the party in these past two months.
There are few men who have excelled as an economist, a comedian and a ballroom dancer.
Finally, I would like to give my warmest thanks, on behalf of the whole party, to Ming Campbell. He took over the Liberal Democrats at a difficult time, and provided enormous stability and professionalism to the party. Without his work, building on the extraordinary achievements of Charles Kennedy and Paddy Ashdown before him, the party would not have the bright future which it now does.
I am a Liberal by temperament, by instinct and by upbringing.
My own family was marked, scattered and reunited by the tragic conflicts of the last century.
I was taught from an early age that Britain was a place of tolerance and pluralism, with a history steeped in democracy and the rule of law.
I believe that liberalism is the thread that holds together everything this country stands for. Pull out that thread and the fabric of the nation unravels.
We are a people with a strong sense of fair play and social justice. An instinct to protect the environment for future generations. We are suspicious of arbitrary power, wary of government interference. We want to play an active, enlightened role in the affairs of the world.
And we have always put our faith in the power of ordinary men and women to change things for the better.
So why is Britain still not the liberal nation we want it to be?
Look around us:
Our civil liberties casually cast aside.
Gigantic, faceless and incompetent Government bureaucracies.
Security and opportunity in short supply, particularly in the poorest communities.
Families struggling to meet each month’s bills. Struggling to balance the demands of work, and the time for a real family life.
Above all, our politics is broken.
Out of step with people.
Out of step with the modern world.
That is why I have one sole ambition: to change Britain to make it the liberal country the British people want it to be.
I want a new politics: a people’s politics.
I want to live in a country where rights, freedoms and privacy are not the playthings of politicians, but safeguarded for everyone.
Where political life is not a Westminster village freak show, but open, accessible, and helpful in people’s everyday lives.
Where parents, pupils and patients are in charge of our schools and hospitals.
Where fine words on the environment are translated into real action.
Where social mobility becomes a reality once again, so that no-one is condemned by the circumstances of their birth.
Why have we stopped imagining a better society?
Look at what we’ve got.
The Conservatives and New Labour have governed in the same way.
Top-down and centralising
I refuse to believe that the only alternative to a clapped out Labour Government is a Conservative party which has no answers to the big issues – environmentalism without substance, social justice without money, internationalism without Europe.
The challenge for my party is clear and simple: to define a liberal alternative to the discredited politics of Big Government.
I want to open up my party, open up Westminster, and open up politics for good.
To lead well, a leader needs to listen.
That’s why I will hold regular and public Town Hall Meetings.
That’s why I want to open up the Liberal Democrats to give people who support us, but aren’t members, a say on the big issues.
That’s why I will spend at least one day every week listening and campaigning outside Westminster.
That’s why I will set up a network of real families, who have nothing to do with party politics, in every region of this country to advise me on what they think should be my priorities.
If you once voted Lib Dem but think we’ve spent too much time focusing on ourselves.
If you once voted Conservative but don’t know what they stand for any more.
If you once voted Labour but feel let down after ten years of disappointment.
If you’ve given up voting altogether, but still care about the world we live in:
Then a newly united, energetic, optimistic Liberal Democrat party is there for you.
This is an unprecedented time of opportunity for liberalism in Britain.
If we are to grab this opportunity, my party will need to change.
We must start acting like the growing national political movement that we are. More professional. More united. More ambitious.
Liberalism is the creed of our times.
The old left-right politics has broken down. Labour and the Conservatives are mutating into each other, united in defence of a system which has let the people down.
Instead, we must start where people are, not where we think they should be.
In short, I want the Liberal Democrats to be the future of politics.
Because Liberal Democrats have the courage to imagine a better society.
To break the stifling grip of the two-party system for good.
To bring in a new politics.
Of politicians who listen to people, not themselves.
No more business as usual. No more government-knows-best.
I want today to mark the beginning of real change in Britain.
The beginning of Britain’s liberal future.

The second pub, Halfway House on London Road, has now been closed and fenced off for over a year. It seems that the car park has been used for car storage, but I feel that this is only a temporary arrangement and we will soon be seeing a planning application for yet more flats, that will only add to increase the congestion on London Road at the expense of yet another public and community amenity.

With this in mind I feel there is a need for the community to back these causes and make a stand against profit lead developers.

However, I have to comment there is a need for the district to build mixed dwelling homes in our semi rural, rural villages and out-of-town brownfield sites to sustain the local communities and meet the expected new government housing targets. We can’t keep dumping development in the town.
I note with interest and with some irony the reasons for rejection of five homes.
Cllr McCarthy states: “I think we need to remind ourselves that this site is exceedingly busy, I think the quality of the local environment will be harmed and the development will have an unsatisfactory impact. I do think there would be excessive pressure on the outside area by this development.”
Since joining the council, I’ve noticed a marked difference in our councillors’ views on rural/semi rural(urban) areas v town areas. This puzzles me somewhat as I’m aware that the rural areas need to look towards building homes to be able to protect rural communities and community cohesion

Let me point out some stark facts. A situation exists where we have seen massive building programmes in the town wards for several years.
Many of the town councillors grapple with these problems on a daily basis but often the scale of the problem is multiplied by the sheer size of the developments we are seeing being dumped in our wards. We all appreciate the need for new homes but they need to be in a controlled way.

A ward close to my heart (Ryemead) in Wycombe I estimate had suffered with over 400 new homes in the last ten years. Over 150 more are in progress – plus another 480 are to be built in the next three years in the Marsh area alone. That’s without the incremental builds we now face from back garden and knockdown incremental rebuilds.
The local environment and community is being harmed and developments are having an unsatisfactory impact across all of the east end of High Wycombe town.
We have a situation where Ryemead has the “accolade” of being one of the wards with the highest density of homes per hectare and highest growth in new homes in the Wycombe area
There is excessive pressure and lack of foresight and understanding on the pressure this will place on local schools, transport, roads, community facilities and community cohesion.
The entire east end of the town is suffering with increase in traffic on the A40 and surrounding roads and increase in congestion.

I would like to believe next time I or another town councillor raises concerns or objections regarding excessive housing developments and the social impact, be it on allotments, high rise apartments, or large estates in the highly-populated town wards, I trust we can count on support of our rural and out of town councillors in opposing them with the same vigour as the five homes in Hazlemere?

see www.planningsanity.co.uk

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Lembit is, of course, one of our most popular MPs and needs no introduction. We are looking forward to an outstanding evening, and expect the event to be a sell-out. Tickets are priced at £20 (£10 unwaged) and the price includes an outstanding choice of food, as always.

We are pleased to announce that a license has been obtained and beer and wine will be on sale!

Tickets may be obtained from Wendy Guy, telephone 01494 521121 or 07764 939710, and will be sold on a strictly first come, first served basis.

Please act quickly if you would like one of the remaining tickets!