Changes at Unlock Democracy

In a farewell email. Peter Facey has announced that he is moving to Australia. His current deputy, Alexandra Runswick will be taking over.

US trade deal

Chris Davies MEP writes:

The hard bit is yet to come

Last week agreement was reached to open negotiations with the aim of securing an EU - USA trade deal. Commanding one third of the world's entire trade it could bring important job-creating benefits to both sides of the pond. But the difficulty will be in agreeing common standards. For example:

Having introduced tough vehicle emissions standards for every car sold in the EU, will we now have to relax these to allow the import of US-made cars that don't meet them?

Will we have to accept the import of meat containing growth hormones - a standard practice in the USA but banned in the EU?

And what about the safety of the tens of thousands of chemicals used in every aspect of production? The EU has a regime that requires every manufacturer to demonstrate that their product will cause no harm when properly used. Are we to relax these standards and put human health and the environment at risk?

I imagine there are going to be some stormy debates ahead. Of course, it could be that the USA will simply sign up to our generally higher standards. And, then again, pigs could fly.

Council tax benefit mess

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-22608298

Liberal Democrat committee member Eluned Parrott accused Welsh Labour ministers of being "far more interested in a having a spat with the UK government than it was in actually helping the people of Wales".  

She added: "Rather than getting on with the job in hand, the then local government minister chose to enter into a game of tit for tat and point scoring with Westminster.  "He continually blamed the UK government for not producing figures he said he needed, but on closer examination we found that not only was this problem not encountered in Scotland and England, but the minister himself admitted that what happens in England was of 'little significance' to him."

Liberal Democrat achievements in government

Pre-conference events

Welsh Liberal Democrats hold their Spring Conference this weekend 20th & 21st April. On Friday, Cardiff Liberal Democrats will hold a pre-conference fund-raiser curry night at the Haveli restaurant on City Road at 8 pm.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will be opening Conference, with speeches later on in the weekend also come from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander and Welsh Liberal Democrat party Leader Kirsty Williams.

Fewer obstacles for disabled candidates

Last year, Lynne Featherstone MP* launched the Access to Elected Office Strategy to provide additional support for disabled people seeking elected office. The Strategy is designed to level the playing field for potential disabled candidates and tackle the currently low levels of disabled people in political life. The Liberal Democrat HQ diversity team forms part of the stakeholder group for this initiative.  As part of this strategy, the Government has:

• Set up a new fund to help disabled people who plan to stand for elections with the extra disability-related costs. The fund will be open for applications until March 2014. It will help disabled candidates meet the additional costs they may face compared to a non-disabled person in standing for election, such as extra transport costs or sign language interpreters. Go to www.access-to-elected-office-fund.org.uk for more details.

• Provided new training and development opportunities for people who are interesed in a political career; including launching an introductory online training course and paid internships on the Speaker's Parliamentary Placement scheme. Go on www.access-to-elected-office-training.org.uk for more details on the online training.      
  Go to www.socialmobility.org.uk/speakers-parliamentary-placements-scheme for more details on the Parliamentary Placement Scheme, which is open for applications until 30 July 2012.

• Produced new online guidance on reasonable adjustments to help political parties meet their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
  Go to http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/public-political-equality/disabled-access-guidance/ to access the guidance  

Please visit www.homeoffice.gov.uk/access-elected-office for more information about the strategy.

* Lynne is the Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green. She was Minister for Equalities at the Home Office until her translation to Overseas Development last September.

When will Labour give up the millionaire bandwagon?

Keep up-to-date with 2013 Spring Conference

On Lib Dem Voice: Reportage | Live Twitter Stream | Contribute
On the official party website: Conference home

There is no live coverage on BBC-Parliament.

Neath Port Talbot among unhealthiest boroughs in England and Wales

Analysis of the 2011 census figures has revealed that of the ten local authority areas with the lowest levels of good health, five are in Wales and that Neath Port Talbot is one of these five.

Local Liberal Democrats say that this is a scandal. One sadly has to accept that where a person is born often dictates how healthy that person’s life will be, but more than 13 years of Labour rule in London and Wales has resulted in a more unequal society with a widening gap between the rich and poor. The disproportionate appearance of Welsh local authority figures in this dismal table points to failure by the people in Cardiff responsible for the nation's health since devolution.

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams has affirmed: “The Welsh Liberal Democrats believe that reducing health inequalities is a matter of fairness and social justice. We will continue to hold this failing Welsh Labour Government to account; for too long the people in South Wales have been allowed to be left behind.”

Peter Black AM's advice surgeries

Assembly Member for South Wales West Peter Black will hold advice surgeries in Port Talbot and Maesteg on Friday 1st February. Between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. he will be in Maesteg Library, and from 3.30 until 4.30 p.m. in Port Talbot library.

No appointment is necessary.

New Year honours

Congratulations to Welsh Liberal Democrats who appear in the New Year’s Honours list:

• Roger Williams, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and founder member of the former Social Democratic Party: CBE
• Rodney Berman, former leader of Cardiff council: OBE

There were also OBEs for Annette Brooke, MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, and Andrew Wiseman, one of the party's legal eagles, specialising in environmental law.

Fiona Hall, MEP for the North East and leader of Liberal Democrat MEPs, and Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat Leader on the London Assembly, are awarded MBEs.

Welsh LibDems win battle on regioanl pay

The Chancellor announced in his Autumn Statement that the Government no longer intends to expand regional and local pay – a policy that would have had a detrimental effect on Wales.

Kirsty Williams commented, “I am delighted that the Liberal Democrats have put a brake on George Osborne’s plans for regional or local pay. Yes, we need to rebalance the economy, but regional or local pay isn’t the answer.

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats have always believed that moves towards regional or local pay would further ingrain regional inequalities. That is why we took our campaign against regional pay to our Party Conference, which not only secured our party’s position on the matter, but also gave our Ministers in Government a clear direction. I am immensely proud that the Welsh Lib Dems played such a key part in this campaign.”

Those Labour tax claims in perspective

Kirsty wins another award

In a ceremony shown on TV last night, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Kirsty Williams was presented with the Welsh Politician of the Year award.

Labour holds Neath South ward

Labour's Andrew Jenkins won the by-election in the Neath South ward left vacant by the death of Mal Gunter. (pdf of the declaration here) We congratulate him and trust that he will serve the residents well.

Liberal Democrat candidate Charlotte Cross polled 130 votes to Labour's 399, a creditable performance for a first-time candidate in a campaign where we were not able to put out as much literature as we had hoped and in a ward which we had not previously contested since the county borough came into being.

Welsh NHS is a laughing-stock in Westminster

An £82m contingency fund to help struggling health boards with their finances has been announced by Health Minister Lesley Griffiths. But Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams said: "The minister is predictably denying that this is a bailout."

Griffiths had "plugged a hole in the NHS’ finances by raiding its capital budget. I struggle to see how this can be described as anything other than a bailout."

Kirsty added: “The basic fact is that this Welsh Labour Government has completely mismanaged our health service and has left the finances of the NHS in complete ruins. Simply rejigging money around is not going to solve all of the problems in our NHS.”

Conservative health ministers and David Cameron find the financial cuts in the Welsh NHS an all too convenient comparison with what is happening in England. For all the botched reorganisation in England, it cannot be denied that more cash is being put into the NHS there.

Yesterday's reply (column 860) by the Prime Minister to Ed Miliband was typical: "People do not have to look at manifestos for a contrast; they can look at what Labour is doing in Wales. The Labour party is in charge in Wales, and it has cut the NHS in Wales by 8%. As a result, waiting times are up, waiting lists are down, quality is down. That is what you get with Labour and the NHS."

Lack of care

Ann Clwyd, MP for Cynon Valley, felt that she had to take her distress over the treatment of her dying husband in a Welsh hospital to the national stage by asking a question of the Prime Minister yesterday. David Cameron was too diplomatic to point out the brutal truth which Karen Roberts has not shrunk from.

Frank Little

Wales gets £227m capital windfall

BBC-Wales reports that under the coalition government's autumn statement, £227 million extra capital funding, which pays for spending on buildings and infrastructure, is coming to Wales as its share of a squeeze on UK government departments.

Coalition government takes more low-paid workers out of tax

http://www.fairertax.org/_xxx_tac_cut_announced_for_ordinary_workers

Neath South polling day Thursday 6th December

Vote Charlotte Cross, Welsh Liberal Democrat, for a fresh voice on Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council

What did Nick Clegg refuse to do?