Werrington 84

Issue number 84

FOCUS SOUTH WERRINGTON & NORTH GUNTHORPE RESIDENTS’ NEWSLETTER There are many good reasons not to vote Conservative in the city council elections on 22 May. Here are just three …

News from Lib Dem councillors

Julia Davidson & Darren Fower

A TWO HORSE RACE! It’s a two horse race for Werrington and Gunthorpe in the city council elections on Thursday 22 May. Only Darren Fower and the Lib Dems can beat the Tories locally.

In 2010 when this seat was last fought the result was really close between the two parties.

This time there are four candidates but in the local council elections you are not voting to change the government and not voting to decide what happens about membership of the European Union. It is more simple than that. It’s about who is the best person to be councillor for Werrington and Gunthorpe.

Labour and UKIP cannot win in the council elections here. Labour has never won a seat in Werrington since the ward was created.

UKIP has never even had a candidate here before.

The city council elections in Werrington and Gunthorpe are a ‘two-horse race’ – only the Liberal Democrats can beat the Tories.

And when do you ever hear from either Labour or UKIP (or the Tories) other than at election time when they want your vote?

Quite simply, a vote for Labour or for UKIP in the local elections is a wasted vote.

Darren Fower has been councillor for this area for ten years, working hard to give Werrin gton and Gunthorpe an effective voice at the Town Hall and take up the issues that matter to local people.

At the Town Hall, Darren and his colleague Julia Davidson have been part of a strong Liberal Democrat group, speaking out against the council’s Tory administration on issues such as big pay rises for council bosses and the ridiculous Tory ‘brown bin tax’.

So on 22 May do yourself and your family a favour in the local elections. Vote for the candidate who works for you all year round – Darren Fower from the Liberal Democrat Focus Team.

ELECTION DAY – THURSDAY 22 MAY Vote for

Darren Fower Liberal Democrat FOCUS Team for service and action all year round

Why vote Lib Dem? The cabinet system at the Town Hall puts power in the hands of just a few councillors. Decisions – like the recent move to give council bosses huge pay increases – can be taken behind closed doors.

On the front page we set out three good reasons not to vote Conservative. Here are three good reasons to vote Liberal Democrat!

Lib Dems want to replace the cabinet system with a more open and more accountable committee system where all decisions are made in public.

Bus service cuts The Tories have cut public transport subsidy by almost half and many local bus services in Werrington, including the Local Link, have been lost.

The Liberal Democrats would prioritise investment in local buses. We would also have a 20 mph speed limit in housing areas, to make our streets safe again for people to walk safely and for children to play.

Sensible spending The Tory council has squandered money on grandiose projects such as the fountains in Cathedral Square (which often don’t work!) and a waste incinerator while cutting children’s centres, old people’s homes and day centres.

Meanwhile, some council bosses have had pay rises of over 25 per cent whereas ordinary people now have to pay to get their brown bins emptied. Liberal Democrats would freeze top officer pay and scrap the ‘brown bin tax’.

We need to refocus council spending on what matters most to local people.

A record of service – Darren Fower has tackled local issues.

A record of service Above all, when you are thinking of who you want to be your local councillor in Werrington and Gunthorpe for the next four years, consider that the Lib Dems have a record of service and action here going back over ten years.

In that time we have delivered over 80 editions of FOCUS, knocked (several times) on every door with residents’ surveys and kept in touch all year round.

Do you really want to abandon all of that and elect a Tory councillor who would just sit at the Town Hall and vote as he is told to? A Tory candidate who was kicked out by voters in North Bretton, then stood for election in North Werrington and now is standing here – making this area (and you!) his third choice!

CONTACT FOCUS Text or phone your local Liberal Democrat councillors:

Darren Fower – 07572 463 904

Julia Davidson – 0750 653 66 27

Via Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Flickr: Search for ‘SWNGFOCUSTeam’ Or visit the councillors’ ward ‘surgery': 6:00 to 7:00 pm, first Friday every month - Community Centre, Church Street 9:00 to 10:00 am , third Saturday every month - Brookside Methodist Church, Gunthorpe Rd Printed by PPS, Peterborough PE1 5XG. Published and promoted for and on behalf of the Liberal Democrats by Peter Chivall, 88 Elmfield Rd, Peterborough PE1 4HB