Cantelowes Lib Dems

Local Councillor Paul Braithwaite and Lib Dem Leisure chief Cllr Flick Rea were recently given a tour of the work-in-progress that is the Kentish Town Baths and Sports Centre.  They were accompanied by the Bartholomew Area Residents’ Association (BARA) chairman, Des Bradley, who took valuable video footage.

The site is making tremendous progress and it seems that the builders, Wates, are doing a sensitive and loving job on the restoration.  To their credit, thus far, there have been no injuries.  The renovation is ahead of schedule and my guess is we may see the refurbished baths open not in the autumn of next year but some time in the summer of 2010.  The polythene covers that conceal the roof at present are due to be removed by this August to reveal a beautiful brand new slate roof which should last another 100 years as a fine legacy to Camden’s Victorian heritage.

It is a crowning manifesto commitment achievement of Camden Lib Dems that, despite Labour’s recession, these Baths (built in 1901) are being so lovingly restored.  The two adult pools AND the learner pool will be fully restored.  Additionally there will be a huge state of the art gym and a studio space for yoga, aerobics, dance and Pilates.

The British Youth Council is gearing up for the general election, and is putting together a Manifesto for young people. Have your say today, help shape the future and be in with the chance to win £50 of high street vouchers!

The next General Election must be held on or before 3rd June 2010 - but it could well be earlier. (The Lib Dems would end the ability of the Prime Minister to choose when to face the people in an election - for more information on the Lib Dem campaign for fixed-term Parliaments, click here or here.)

The British Youth Council wants to ensure that the new Parliament listens to the views and needs of young people, and wants your help to put together a youth manifesto for the next general election. (The Liberal Democrats and the British Youth Council both want young people to have a direct say in government by lowering the voting age to 16 - click here for more information on the campaign.)

Find out more about the British Youth Council’s ‘Our Parliament, Our Vision’ project for a youth manifesto here, and to take the survey and have your say, click here.

Tonight the Camden Community and Police Consultative Group (CCPCG) holds its Annual General Meeting - and will focus on what needs to be done to tackle the increasing problem of dangerous dogs.

The CCPCG brings together the Safer Neighbourhood Panels  from across Camden, members of the public, the Police and the Council to look at issues of crime and antisocial behaviour and to make sure everyone is playing their part to make Camden a safer place.

Tonight the CCPCG will hold its Annual General Meeting, and will then hold a presentation and debate on the issue of dangerous dogs, and what more can be done to tackle the problem. The problem of dangerous dogs, and antisocial behaviour involving dogs, seems to have been growing in recent years. To try and tackle this, Camden Lib Dems have brought in a range of measures: free training and support for dog owners, a series of “Dog Owners Get Smart” (DOGS) training events at community festivals and in parks across the borough, a Dog Training Hub that people who use and abuse their dogs in antisocial ways can be referred to for rehabilitation, and quicker, more effective action against those committing antisocial behaviour with dogs - but what more should the Council, the police and other agencies be doing?.

For more information on dog-related antisocial behaviour, download the Council’s information booklet.

The CCPCG meeting will take place in Camden Town Hall, Judd Street, tonight at 7pm. For more information about the CCPCG, contact them at admin@camdencpcg.org.uk or on 020 7278 5459

Local Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner Jo Shaw has attacked the new Home Secretary for ploughing ahead with the wasteful £5.6bn ID card scheme.

Despite announcements by Home Secretary Alan Johnson that ID cards would no longer be compulsory, Labour is pressing ahead with plans to place information on everybody on a national identity database whenever they apply for a passport. Johnson also announced the “acceleration” of the introduction of ID cards for foreign nationals. While trying to pretend that they are listening to the people, they are actually pushing forward with the unpopular, dangerous and wasteful plan.

“The announcement that ID cards will not be compulsory should mean that the wasteful £5.6bn ID card scheme is dead in the water,” Jo explained, “but Gordon Brown’s Government doesn’t have the guts to pull the plug”.

“Millions have already been wasted on this white elephant scheme, but it’s not too late for the Government to kill off this project that needs to be put out of its misery.

“Given how much people are hurting because of Labour’s recession, and how much of our hard-earned money is paying off Labour’s debt, it’s unforgivable to carry on with the introduction by stealth of a costly scheme that nobody wants or needs.”

The Lib Dems are committed to ending the ID Card scheme, and investing the money to put an extra 10, 000 police officers on our streets.

The Holborn & St Pancras MP Frank Dobson was one of the majority of Labour MPs that lined up to back the Government’s Identity Cards Bill in 2006. A fortnight ago he backed Gordon Brown’s stance that the inquiry into the disastrous Iraq war should largely be held in secret, and conducted by grandees hand-picked by Brown.

Local councillor Fred Carver commented; “Whether it’s on the wasteful ID card scheme, or Brown’s disgraceful secrecy over Iraq, Frank Dobson has proven himself to be one of Gordon Brown’s most slavish supporters.

“It’s not too late for him to stand with the Liberal Democrats and local people, and condemn his Government for throwing good money after bad.”

For more information on the wasteful ID Card scheme and why it must be defeated, visit the NO2ID campaign website.

As part of the Lib Dem commitment to changing the way we do politics to make it fairer, more transparent and more accountable, Nick Clegg has been getting out of the Westminster bubble and holding open meetings across the UK - no script, no planted questions, just an open, genuine public question time.

In another example of breaking the mould of politics, Nick was the first party leader to speak at Glastonbury.  In another first, on Monday Nick will be holding a public question and answer session live online.

Nick explained; “Every week I travel around the country to meet people in their local town halls and listen to their views. Anyone can come along and ask me (just about) anything and in return I get a pretty good picture of how people across the UK feel about politics and how they are being affected by the recession.

“Next week I am going to do another of my public Q&A meetings, but this time it is going to be live and online so that you can ask me your questions from home, your work or wherever you happen to be online. There will be no script and no special invitations - just get in touch and ask a question on subjects that concern you.”

Local councillor Ben Rawlings supports Nick Clegg’s efforts to break out of the Westminster bubble and listen to real people. “This has never been done before. Nick’s town hall meetings across the UK are fantastic - no script, no speeches, just honest and genuine answers. But by facing the people at Glastonbury and live online - where people can send in questions by email or even Twitter - he’s really reaching out to people who have been excluded by the yah-boo, childish politics of Westminster.

Join the Rally for a Change public meeting tonight, 6.30pm-8.30pm, Westminster Central Hall, and demand our say on how to clean up politics. The event is FREE, with music and poetry by some special guest stars as well as the chance to put a panel of politicians on the spot - no speeches, just them answering your questions. Download the flyer here

Politics is too important to be left to the politicians. Recent events have shown that our political system is not fit for purpose and stands in the way of real progress and fairness. Too many MPs seem more interested in changing their homes than changing the world, and the current electoral system only helps to reinforce the status quo and stands in the way of greater diversity of Westminster.

This needs to change! Politicians have their own kind of change in mind, but we don’t need anything that is too cosy, too easy, or too popular with our political class. We need a system that serves us the voters, and we should start be asking voters what they want from politics. That’s why we want a citizens’ jury to rewrite the rules of politics, by deciding on a new voting system for Parliament. Our relationship to our MPs begins at the ballot box, and politicians have lost the right to set their own rules.

The government has until the next election to deliver a referendum on reform to bring accountability back to Westminster. Join Stephen Fry, Daman Albarn, Vivienne Westwood, Philip Pullman and thousands of others calling for change at www.voteforachange.co.uk