LGA Liberal Democrats Group

The Liberal Democrats have just under 4,100 councillors across the UK. Consequently, our Group at the LGA plays a major role in the organisation. We are the persistent defenders of local democracy, arguing that what a local community can do for itself is best left to that community, without interference from central government.

You can find more information about the Group by viewing the "About us" section to the left.

LGA LIB DEM GROUP ELECTIONS 2009

Nominations have now closed for the LGA Liberal Democrat Group Elections.

Over 80 Lib Dem Councillors have put their names forward, and most posts are to be hotly contested!

A full list is attached here.

Cllr Richard Kemp (Liverpool) has not been opposed as Group Leader, so he is automatically re-elected.

A full election mailing with artwork and will be in the post to all Lib Dem Councillors by next Friday (July 3rd), and the deadline for returning the ballot papers to the LGA Lib Dem Group Office is Friday July 31st.

LOCAL ELECTIONS 2009 - KEY POINTS

The Liberal Democrats:

* Have now overtaken Labour to be the second party in English Local Government, according to elections experts Rallings and Thrasher in the Local Government Chronicle (11 June 2009) - Lib Dems have 3,759 Councillors in England as opposed to Labour's 3,743 Councillors.

* Achieved a record high vote share of 28 per cent (BBC projected national vote share)

* Beat Labour into third place

* Were the only one of the three main parties to increase our projected share from last year's local elections

* Won almost three times as many council seats as Labour (484 Liberal Democrat councillors to Labour's 178)

* Added Bristol to the list of major cities run by Liberal Democrats that also includes Cardiff, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield and Edinburgh
* Won five of the six county seats in Burnley from Labour (the BNP won the sixth)

* Made big gains from Labour in Ashfield

* Became the largest group on the new unitary Bedford Council

* Took three seats from the Conservatives and one from Labour on Essex County Council

* Increased our number of seats on Surrey County Council with both the Conservatives and Labour seeing their number of seats fall

* Made net gains on many other county councils including Suffolk, Cumbria, Dorset, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Sussex and Worcestershire

* Defeated the Conservative group leader on Cumbria County Council and the Labour council leader on Nottinghamshire County Council

COUNCIL GROUP OF THE YEAR AWARD 2009

The LGA Liberal Democrat Group "Lib Dem Council Group of the Year" awards were announced at Harrogate on 6 March 2009.

The winners were:

Backbencher of the Year
Councillor John Marshall – councillor on North Yorkshire County Council for over 30 years service.

London Councils Award for Innovation in Candidate Recruitment
Liberal Democrat Group in Lewisham.
Highly commended – Lib Dem Group on Lambeth Council.

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour
Liberal Democrat Group on Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council.

Helping Children and Young People
Sheffield City Council Liberal Democrat Group

Improving Social Care Services
London Borough of Sutton

Supporting Culture, Leisure and Regeneration
Liberal Democrat Group on the London Borough of Islington.

Green Council Group of the Year
Liberal Democrat Group on Liverpool City Council
HIghly commended: Liberal Democrat Group on Cardiff City Council

Council Group of the Year
Liberal Democrat Group on Newcastle City Council
Highly commended: Liberal Democrat Group on Waltham Forest. and Liberal Democrat Group on Cambridgeshire County Council

A PDF copy of our latest FOCUS leaflet, with pictures of the winners, can be found here

LIB DEMS IN EDUCATION - NEW FOR MARCH 2009

A copy of the latest document, published in collaboration with the Liberal Democrat Education Association, can be found here. Details both good practice and new thinking from Liberal Democrats.

BE A CABINET MEMBER FOR YOUR WARD - NEW FOR MARCH 2009

The LGA Liberal Democrat Group, working in partnership with the Leadership Centre for Local Government, have produced a new good practice guide on taking a leading role in your ward. You can download a PDF here, or email libdem@lga.gov.uk for a paper copy to be sent to you.

SMART GOVERNMENT FOR HARD TIMES - NEW FOR MARCH 2009

Vince Cable MP joined Cllr Richard Kemp, LGA Lib Dem Group Leader, and Cllr Keith Moffit, Lib Dem Leader of Camden Council, to launch "Smart Government for Hard Times", a document saying what Liberal Democrat Councils are doing to help their local communities in this time of economic hardship.

You can get a PDF here, or the full press release is available here.

Children and Young People's Conference

The Lib Dem Group held its popular Children and Young People's services conference on February 6th and 7th.

Crime and Community Safety

The LGA Lib Dem Group held a one day portfolio holders conference with Lib Dem Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne MP, and guest speakers from Lib Dem Burnley and Stockport Councils.

Thanks to all who spoke and attended.

Environment and Transport

The LGA Lib Dem Group held a one day conference on Environment and Transport issues on Thursday 13th November 2008 with Norman Baker MP and Steve Webb MP.

As an example of what was discussed, a scan of the presentation from Lib Dem Portsmouth City Council on their 20 MPH speed limit in residential areas can be found here.

Health and Social Care

Norman Lamb MP, Lib Dem Shadow Secretary of State for Health, spoke at the LGA Lib Dem Group Social Care seminar on Friday 31st October 2008 at Local Government House.

As an example of what was discussed, a scan of the presentation from Lib Dem Caradon District Council on their award winning and innovative scheme to create healthy workplaces can be found here.

Councils and the Credit Crunch

Vince Cable MP, Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, was the guest speaker, along with finance portfolio holders from around the country at the Lib Dem Group one day conference on this very important conference on October 3rd. Thanks to all who attended and spoke.

More information on local authorities and those who had deposits in Icelandic bank accounts can be found at the main LGA website - http://www.lga.gov.uk

Sustainable Communities Act

A leaflet promoting the Sustainable Communities Act can be found here, and a letter and draft motions on the Act from Cllr Richard Kemp, LGA Lib Dem Group Leader, can be found here.

The Local Parliament

The LGA Lib Dem Group and the Leadership Centre for Local Government are holding a series of events to promote the vital role played by local councils.

The briefing note can be downloaded here

Local Income Tax

A report we carried out among Liberal Democrat activists into their views on the Liberal Democrat Local Income Tax Policy is available here. A large majority of activists from around the country felt that the party's policy was a vote winner from both Labour and Conservative Groups.

LGA Lib Dem Group Elections

The winners of the July 2007 LGA Liberal Democrat Group elections are attached (PDF, 2 pages, 47KB) . Any queries should be directed to Ed Fordham on 020 7664 3295. Please note that the elections have validity until August 2009.

Many thanks and congratulations to all the candidates and to all those who particpated in the voting - we are especially pleased to have opened up the franchise to all Liberal Democrat councillors whose authority is in LGA membership.

Election results 2007 (PDF, 2 pages, 47KB)

LGA Liberal Democrat group elections 2007 in full (PDF, 7 pages, 49KB)

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LGA Liberal Democrats Group

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