Hitchin and Harpenden Liberal Democrats

The saga of this major asset of the town, that has been neglected and run down by the Conservative-run Council, continues to drag on. In the past the Council has failed to support the work being done to bring our Town Hall up to modern day standards.

Lib Dem Councillors on North Herts District Council remain fully supportive of the project put together by the Community to bring the facility back up to standard. This follows the mismanagement by the Conservative administration. We will continue to fight to get this project up and running and support those doing the work.

THE Conservative-run County Council has rejected carefully-costed Lib Dem proposals to reverse plans to switch off some of the streetlights between midnight and 6am. These could include road junctions.

This, and other proposals, could have been funded by getting better deals on purchases, especially on road repairs, reducing the massive county press and publicity budget & senior management posts, by getting rid of surplus buildings & cutting councillors' free lunches at County Hall.

The Royal Mail has decided to leave its present sorting office site in Hitchin and is in the process of selling the site. It seems apparent that the current building will not remain and that a new development will be placed on this important site in the town centre.

Conservative-run North Herts Council have been caught out by this. Having said they would develop a planning brief, they failed to do this and are now developing one with the help of the potential developer. This is a vital site for the town and Liberal Democrat Councillors are concerned that local residents have not been consulted on this, although there will have to be consultation once a planning application is received.

Over 20 million working people will be better off next year after Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government delivered the biggest ever increase in the income tax personal allowance in the Budget.

The massive £3.5bn tax cut for working people delivers:

• The biggest ever single uplift in the tax threshold
• A personal allowance of £9,205 in April 2013
• 21 million working people getting an extra £220 tax cut
• Brings the total tax cut for basic rate tax payers to £550
• Brings the total number of people lifted out of tax to 2 million.

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg used his speech to the Party's Spring conference in NewcastleGateshead to call for the forthcoming budget to be a "budget for fairness" and pledged that it would help working familes.

The Deputy Prime Minister pledged that by 2015 Britain would have seen an end to control orders, the first gay marriages and the first elections to the House of Lords.

Fairer taxes, promoting green jobs, protecting your civil liberties - these are just some of the achievements of the Liberal Democrats in government.

We're building a freer, greener and more liberal country - and stopping some of the worst excesses of the Conservatives. Find out more in this infographic.

In his keynote speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference, Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has outlined his goals for the Government and the country over the coming years. He reiterated his commitment to liberal values on the environment and human rights and his determination to ensure a fair chance for every child, saying "every child can do good things, great things, if only we give them the opportunities they deserve."

Liberal Democrats have proposed changes to the Tory-run council's budget to save services for young people, freeze increases in residents parking costs and protect both public toilets and recycling facilities.

Liberal Democrat leader Steve Jarvis said, "The proposed budget identifies savings of £750,000 in the Council's costs and proposes a zero rise in Council Tax, both of which we have long argued are possible. North Herts has been an expensive Council for too long, but now the Coalition Government has forced the local Conservatives to make changes.

Harpenden Branch

Our Area

There are four electoral wards in Harpenden Town. Each ward has 3 District Councillors (St Albans District Council) and four Harpenden Town Councillors. All of the town's councillors are Conservative.

Key Issues

• The appalling state of the local roads and pavements (predominantly a Herts County Council responsibility - which is Tory controlled);
• The major expansion of capacity at Luton airport and the resulting increase in flights over Harpenden and traffic in the local road network;
• The impact of increasing traffic on residential roads, especially near local schools;
• Parking problems in the town centre and in the residential roads close to Harpenden station, particularly from rail commuters;
• The threat to the local environment posed by "town cramming" through inappropriate infill and backland developments and the threat of major developments in the local Greenbelt;
• The problems for local families caused by the severe shortage of affordable housing in Harpenden, whether social housing or houses to buy.
• Preservation of the character and economic viability of Redbourn Village.
• - Preservation of the Greenbelt around the village and the two rural parishes.

Hitchin and South Liberal Democrats

Our Area

The town of Hitchin and the surrounding villages return twenty members to North Hertfordshire District Council of whom four are Liberal Democrats. The District itself is Conservative controlled.

Hitchin has fantastic rail links into London and has become a commuter base for the capital. Although a large number of residents also work locally in Stevenage and Luton.