Saffron Walden Constituency Liberal Democrats

A fairer tax system, putting money back in the pockets of ordinary people, was demanded by Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg today in a major speech which has already received positive reaction from across the political spectrum.

The centre-piece of the speech was a call for the Coalition to move further and faster on introducing a £10,000 income tax allowance, taking millions more out of income tax completely and saving working people £700 per year on average.

Essex County Council's opposition Liberal Democrat group has criticised the Conservative-led council's recycling target of 60% by 2021 for not being ambitious enough.

In their response to the public consultation about Essex County Council's Waste Disposal Document, the Lib Dems call for a minimum recycling target of 70%. They claim that the Conservatives' lower figure of 60% means that the massive MBT plant at Basildon will have a larger capacity than is necessary. The Lib Dems say that the need to feed the MBT will remove the incentive to increase recycling.

The Lib Dems also raise concerns about the environmental damage and highway congestion caused by the huge number of journeys across Essex made by large lorries transporting all the residual waste to Basildon.

Mike Mackrory, Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems said "We have consistently argued over the years that the recycling rates were not set high enough and each time we have been proved right. The Council must be more ambitious with its target and alternatives for transporting waste - like rail - must be considered. Otherwise real damage will be caused to the environment."

Nick Clegg this week called on more British companies to offer shares to their employees, arguing it will improve productivity and unlock growth: "We don't believe our problem is too much capitalism - we think it's that too few people have capital."

* You can read Nick's speech in full at the Deputy Prime Minister's website here;

A BRENTWOOD county councillor has slammed changes made to Essex County Council's rules on expenses, which he claims have made it easier to 'abuse the system'.

Liberal Democrat Barry Aspinell, who represents Brentwood North, was one of the members who opposed the changes from the time they were first discussed. The move means councillors can now submit claims without senior members checking them first, claim mileage without any receipts and pay for hospitality on the premise that it makes the council look good.

Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government are determined to tackle the growing problem of youth unemployment, which Nick Clegg described as "an economic waste and a slow burn disaster". The aim of the Youth Contract is to ensure that all jobless young people are earning or learning again before long-term damage is done. Over three years, the Youth Contract will provide at least 410,000 new work places for 18 to 24-year-olds into work.

The Youth Contract includes:

Conservative councillor Robert Chambers is facing calls to have the recent investigation into his Police Authority expenses made public.

The calls follow Thursday's BBC reports that Uttlesford's finance chief Councillor Chambers, who is also an Essex County Councillor and the former chairman of Essex Police Authority, "has been asked to repay £10,000 in mileage claims expenses." The BBC report went on to say that "Robert Chambers had been chairman of Essex Police Authority for nine years when he resigned in February 2011, saying he was considering standing as a police and crime commissioner."

Lib Dem Deputy Leader on Essex County Council Mike Mackrory said "Councillor Chambers has already had to pay back £1,500 of mileage expenses to the police authority. The fact that he is now being asked to pay a further £10,000 of Essex taxpayers' money shows that there have been some serious errors here. I will be calling on Essex Police Authority to explain how these overpayments could have been made and what procedures have been put in place to make sure it cannot happen again."

Councillor David Morson, who is the Uttlesford Lib Dems' Deputy Leader, commented "We are obviously concerned that the man in charge of Uttlesford's finances can make such a grievious error in his own financial management. Essex Police Authority's own figures show that Councillor Chambers claimed nearly three times the mileage cost of any other member in 2008/9, but he continued to claim and the Authority continued to pay. The Lib Dems on Uttlesford want to see the results of Essex Police Authority's investigation made public so taxpayers can see how nearly £12,000 of their money was incorrectly paid to Cllr. Chambers."

Essex Police Authority published their members' expenses for the financial year 2008/9. The full document can be found here. Robert Chambers claimed a total of £7,713.03 for mileage in that year, the highest of any member (the closest claim for that year was £2,817.79).

The original article that was broadcast on BBC Look East on 8 December 2011 can be found here.

At the November meeting of Uttlesford District Council's Housing Board, Lib Dem Deputy Leader David Morson gained unanimous support for a review of council-owned land as potential sites for affordable housing in the district.

The call to action follows shocking statistics on affordable housing recently published by the housing charity Shelter. Their figures show that, in the last three months, only 450 affordable houses were built throughout the whole of the UK.

Uttlesford Liberal Democrats have relaunched their petition against police cuts in Essex, which they have been running since September. You can sign online at www.ourcampaign.org.uk/essexpolicecuts.

Essex Police are looking at reducing the number of frontline officers by 388 - 12% of the total officers in Essex, as well as cutting 100 PSCOs. Front-desk opening hours at 16 police stations, including Saffron Walden and Great Dunmow have been slashed. 20 more, including Stansted, have seen their front desk closed completely. The future looks bleak for 21 stations, like Stansted, which are likely to be closed altogether.

People in Old Mead Road, between Henham and Elsenham, have been calling for the closure of a dangerous pedestrian rail crossing. The call comes just days after it was reported that the Office for Rail Regulation intends to prosecute Network Rail for health and safety failings in relation to the tragic death of two young girls, Charlotte Thompson and Olivia Bazlington in December 2005, at the level crossing at Elsenham railway station, less than a mile south of the crossing on Old Mead Road. Leading the calls are local District Councillors Elizabeth Parr and David Morson.

Simon Wright, the Liberal Democrat MP for Norwich South, was the guest speaker at Saffron Walden Constituency Liberal Democrats' Annual Dinner on Saturday 12th November.

Mr Wright, who is Parliamentary Private Secretary to Minister of State for Children and Families, Sarah Teather, spoke about the many Liberal Democrat policies that are now being implemented as government policy. Schools across Saffron Walden constituency will be given £435,000 extra this year, fulfilling one of the top four Lib Dem pledges at last year's general election. Nationwide 140,000 two-year-olds from families earning £16,190 or less will be offered 15 hours of free nursery education every week.