Gail ready for election fight

After 18 months of uncertainty, the Prime Minister has finally called a General Election.
Here in North East Somerset, the Liberal Democrats have re-selected well respected political activist Gail Coleshill to contest the election, which will be fought under brand new parliamentary boundaries.

Gail, who has worked for ten years on community projects and initiatives in the area, said:

“A lot has changed here since the last General Election. Not just do we have new boundaries, but our Labour MP has become even more unpopular and the Conservatives have selected a candidate who has no track record of doing anything in our area.
I’m 100% ready for the election contest and hope the people of North East Somerset will elect me as their new MP.”

The new constituency, previously known as Wansdyke, will be losing the Bitton, Oldland Common area to the north of Keynsham – which has had a Labour MP for the last 13years.
New additions to the constituency include Batheaston, Bathampton, South Stoke and Freshford (a total area of around 7,000 voters) – which have all been served by the Lib Dem MP Don Foster for the last 18 years.

Today, Gail Coleshill has published her four pledges for election to Parliament:

1. Economy: I’ll work with Vince Cable to help working families by raising the individual tax free allowance to £10,000. We’ll cut out tax loopholes for the rich and reduce income tax by taxing pollution.
2. Environment:
· I will continue to campaign to protect the environment, particularly against plans to build thousands of houses on the greenbelt.
· We do need more low cost housing, so I want to bring empty homes back into use for affordable housing and increase the energy efficiency of all houses to save money and keep homes warmer.
· I’ll work with other Lib Dem MPs to push for planning decisions to be taken away from central government and decided locally.
· I would like to make buses and trains affordable and reliable so that people have a real choice on how to travel. Re-open railway lines and stations such as Bathampton, Saltford and Radstock to Bristol.
· I support the local Lib Dems plans’ to give all young people free bus passes so they have better access to services.

3. Education: I plan to give teachers more time in the classroom by cutting administration. Raise standards in every school with a pupil premium for every child. Reduce and eventually eliminate university tuition fees.
4. Democratic Reform: The expenses scandal in parliament has put people off politics. I want to change this by using local groups to bring democracy closer to the people, to give people the freedom to sack their MP, and introduce a fairer voting system where every vote counts.

Gail believes the contest locally is wide open:

“Our canvass results are looking very good, with Labour finishing in third place. Every week I am meeting new people on the doorstep, and they’re telling me they want a change from the old-style politics and break from the two older parties.

As we get closer to polling day, election fever is sure to heat up in North East Somerset.”

To watch Gail’s General Election Campaign video visit http://www.nes-libdems.org.uk/

Fears arise over future of Community Transport

Fears have arisen over the future of community transport in Bath and North East Somerset, following the news that the Council’s designated Community Transport Officer role is being scrapped.

For several years, B&NES has employed an officer to work directly work with community transport groups in Keynsham, Radstock, Bath and elsewhere to liaise on behalf of the authority and represent the views of the groups within the Transport Department.

Now, after years of successful work, Tory-run B&NES Council has decided to pull the plug on the role and leave many of the voluntary groups without this vital support.

Senior Lib Dem Gail Coleshill, who is standing at the next General Election has her party’s choice in North East Somerset, said:

“I was very worried to hear that the Council has decided to scrap this role. Every year, hundreds of volunteers work hard to provide a transport service to the elderly, the disabled, and anyone else who finds it difficult to use Public Transport.

In North East Somerset, groups such as the Norton-Radstock Ring & Ride, Keynsham Dial-a-Ride, Bath Community Transport and the Swan Advice Network play a vital role in offering a life-line to residents.

Many people use these services to do their weekly shop, to visit friends and get to important medical appointments.”

Last year, 14,000 passengers used the Ring and Ride service in Radstock and Midsomer Norton. B&NES currently gives £94,000 a year to support the service, but with severe government cuts on the way this funding could be under threat. Gail added:

“The current government has got its priorities wrong when it comes to using public finances to improve public and community transport. Instead of investing £millions on building bus lanes that no one wants, money should be going towards extending the community transport schemes in rural areas.

Also, if the Tories win the next election, they are telling us to expect big cuts to public services. I wonder if the Tory Candidate for North East Somerset will distance himself from his party’s actions locally and their plans nationally?

I believe that in rural areas such as North East Somerset we can’t under estimate the importance of community transport and I call on the Council to reinstate the Community Transport Officer role before it’s too late.”