At the launch of the new Draft Bill on energy, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State of Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey, writes: Over the next decade, around a fifth of existing power plants are due to close, against a background of increased energy demand and increasing prices. We need new investment simply to keep the lights on. But more than that, we need a clean energy revolution to meet our ambitious climate change goals and make this the greenest government ever. That’s why I am bringing forward a new Energy Bill today. You can read more about our clean energy revolution here. We ... More

It was the annual meeting of the County Council this month and that meant a little more ceremony than usual. In previous years that would have been all that we would get but the rules were changed recently, at the request of the Lib Dems, to allow oral questions. There were also a couple of motions but even then we were still finished by lunchtime. John Powley was re-elected for a second year as chair with Kevin Reynolds as his deputy.And there was a minor cabinet re-shuffle with Steve Criswell stepping down from the hot seat of ‘buses, potholes and speed ... More

For me, nothing better illustrates the Liberal Democrat mission to make Britain a fairer place than our Pupil Premium: extra money for the most disadvantaged children in our schools. We are letting schools decide the best way to spend this money.  I want to strike a deal with our schools and teachers: we’ll give you the cash, the freedom, and we’ll reward and celebrate your success.  But in return, we want you to redouble your efforts to close the gap between your poorer pupils and everyone else.  We won’t be telling you what to do; but we will be watching what ... More

The scheme to improve the B1049/A14 junction for cyclists and pedestrians is taking another step towards implementation. Detailed modelling of a proposal to install Toucan crossings on all crossing points has demonstrated the feasibility of the scheme and it can now go to consultation. Concern had been expressed about the possible impact on queues and capacity so the CCC Traffic Signals Team has completed a ‘Linsig model’ to see what would happen based upon actual traffic flows. This work has revealed that there would be no negative impact on either queue lengths or the capacity of the interchange except in the ... More

The County Council has just published a newsletter to explain where it’s got to with respect to its project to bring ‘superfast broadband’ to Cambridgeshire. Click on the icon below to read it. This initiative is important because BT plans only go so far and would cover about 70% of the country in total. With the County Council’s ‘add-on’ that will rise to 90% in Cambridgeshire. Some parts of Cottenham, Histon and Impington are well served already, namely Histon and Impington. The rest of the division is poorly served. To find out how good your broadband speed is at the moment go to ... More

This week, Paul Burstow (Liberal Democrat minister at the Department of Health) has launched a national £4 million lung cancer awareness campaign. The campaign, the first of its kind, will use TV, radio and press adverts, and advertising on pharmacist bags and inside GP surgeries, to raise awareness of the disease. One of its aims is to persuade anyone who has had a cough for more than three weeks to see their doctor. You can find more information about coughing and lung cancer at the Department of Health website, here: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/05/coughing-could-be-a-sign-of-lung-cancer-2/ With 33,000 new cases diagnosed each year, lung cancer is a blight ... More

Our county councillors’ monthly report for April 2012 is now available on-line. Click on the icon below. Download this file ... More

Improvements to the Cottenham to Histon cycleway have now been completed. The £450,000 scheme was funded through the Housing Growth Fund administered by Cambridgeshire Horizons. Cyclists now have a pretty good route all the way from Cottenham to the A14 junction. Additional width was achieved by purchasing adjacent land and piping a watercourse. Local cyclists have been impressed with the smooth machine-layed asphalt surface with solar powered cats eyes to light the way at night and the scheme has already been successful in attracting commuters to cycle to Cambridge in preference to adding to traffic congestion by driving. To ... More

Official reports have confirmed that no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has increased council tax for their residents. This is unlike both other major parties, many of which are increasing council tax by up to 3.5% this year. Commenting on Labour and Conservative councils’ record on Council Tax, Liberal Democrat Party President, Tim Farron said: “While Labour and the Tories fight over how many of their councils raised Council Tax, it’s clear that with the Liberal Democrats your money is safest: no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has raised Council Tax. “Ordinary working families are struggling already with paying bills, without their councils increasing ... More

A first look at part of this week’s Liberal Democrat Local Election Broadcast. This clip looks at our key pledge to cut taxes for working families, and celebrates the fact that Liberal Democrats in government have achieved: The biggest-ever single uplift in the tax-free personal allowance A £3.5 billion tax cut for working men and women 840,000 of the lowest earners in the country lifted completely out of paying Income Tax Next year, the allowance increases again (to £9,205) – within touching distance of our manifesto promise to increase the Income Tax threshold to £10,000. These are all significant achievements that are already making a ... More