South West Surrey Liberal Democrats

The Conservatives have failed to represent local views, and plans for parking in Haslemere and planning in Farnham have caused great concern. Last year the Conservatives imposed a 2.99% Council Tax increase on Surrey residents. They were one of only two county councils that didn't accept the Government's freeze. Liberal Democrats at the time opposed the excessive increase and opposed this years 1.99% increase. We would have frozen Council Tax and looked to the £135 million in Cash Reserves and to protect services and freeze Council Tax, and still find an extra £6 million to improve the quality of Surrey's potholed roads. On Surrey County Council the Conservatives squandered money on expensive away days at Farnham Castle and planned an excessive £5 Million Magna Carta project until cancelled following Liberal Democrat pressure. On Waverley Borough Council, Conservative councillors have just given themselves a 94% increase in their allowances.

Our top priorities are to make Surrey safer, greener and fairer.
We want to maintain, repair, and properly grit our roads in winter and ensure that appropriate speed limits apply.
We want to improve planning for school places so children can attend their local schools. Too much money is spent on sending children away from their local schools. Insufficient school places are being planned for the future, especially in view of the additional housing being built.
We will keep all our libraries open and run by qualified librarians.
We will ensure that there is adequate respite care for carers and that residential accommodation is provided when needed.
We will maintain and enhance the youth service.
We will protect and improve public transport and increase bus services to schools.

South West Surrey Liberal Democrats would like to congratulate Mike Thornton and his excellent Eastleigh Campaign Team on their win in Thursdays by-election in Eastleigh.

Given the recent run of bad news stories combined with an orchestrated press campaign aimed at causing an upset, the local Liberal Democrats in Eastleigh have delivered a fantastic result in very difficult circumstances.

Nick O'Shea, the Lib Dem candidate in for a Police & Crime Commissioner for Surrey, is urging people in tomorow's election for a PCC.

This election will decide who will direct Surrey's Police for the next 3½ years. It is important that everyone goes to the polling stations. All the main candidates have been saying that this is not a political election; it is about people choosing the best persons for the job.

I have the skills, experience and ability to deliver an improved Police Service for Surrey

I will put more police officers out on the street, working with people in the community as much as possible; and won't open costly new police shops, putting police officers back behind desks.

I will use methods that work to ensure criminals stop re- offending and help their victims recover from the loss and damage their criminal acts cause, and won't follow unrealistic 'Zero Tolerance' policies which we know don't work.

I understand policing and respect the boundary between the Chief Constable's and the PCC's role, and I'm not an ex-police officers planning to be an American-style elected sheriff.

I will resist pressures to privatise the police and will not contract out front-line services, I didn't support the police authority quango wasting £160,000 of your money on a worthless consultants' report about the private sector.

I will put the needs of victims and witnesses of crime before priorities set by national parties and I'm not more interested in who delivers these services than how good or cost-effective they are.

I will consult local residents and businesses as widely as possible to ensure the police's priorities reflect what you want, and I wasn't on the quango that has run the police in virtual secrecy, and which is totally out of touch with the public.

My policies are in tune with the residents of Surrey but will only happen if you vote this.

Nick O'Shea, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Surrey Police & Crime Commission (PCC) has promised that he would not use private sector police on Surrey's streets.

"Liberal Democrats opposed the proposal for Surrey Police Authority to work with West Midlands police and various private contractors in the BPP project from the outset. This project finally cost Surrey residents £160,000 before the Liberal Democrats on Surrey Police Authority eventually got it cancelled in the summer," he told a meeting on Saturday.

I see no place for private contractors in providing front-line police services in Surrey. We can make major savings by working with other police forces, and in particular I want to expand on the present work Surrey shares with Sussex police.

Of course there are services and functions that it makes sense to have supplied from the private sector such as telecommunication, IT and motor vehicles, but even these can be purchased much more efficiently through public sector consortia.

We must find smarter, cheaper ways to provide our policing service if we are not to have major cuts in these services, which I think the people of Surrey would find unacceptable. I am committed to finding and implementing these to that we can improve Surrey police's clear-up rate and residents can be safe on our streets and in their homes.

Surrey Liberal Democrat candidate for Surrey Police & Crime Commission (PCC), Nick O'Shea launches his Manifesto "A Fresh Start" at the Lib Dem's regional conference in Guildford on Saturday 20th October.

He will be calling for an improvement in Surrey Police's record on catching criminals, which is well below the national average1.

"Surrey Police must focus on developing Neighbourhood Policing, supporting Victims and Witness and tackling rates of re-offending," he will say.

But we face many challenges, such as protecting front-line services if we have cuts in funding from Whitehall. As an experienced accountant and finance director, I have the skills needed to manage Surrey Police's finances and the ability to make every pound really count.

I support the police in working with colleagues across Europe by lobbying for the European Arrest Warrant and other collaborative arrangements to be kept. But the Tories have said they want to opt out of these - putting hostility to anything European ahead of national security and working with other police forces. We must fight international criminal gangs engaged in pushing drugs, people trafficking, money laundering and terrorism.

The out-going Police Authority is to be congratulated for recruiting 200 more officers last year - but not for wasting £160,000 in their abortive private sector venture with the West Midlands. What were they thinking of? What was their chairman thinking of - is he really going to be any more responsible with the Police finances in future than he was with this fiasco?

I have the experience needed to do this tough and demanding job. I have policies which the evidence shows work. What I need is your support to be elected Surrey's first Police & Crime Commissioner. Together; we can tackle crime; we can reduce re-offending; and we can give proper help to victims and witnesses.

"We should use the volunteering legacy from the Olympic and Paralympic Games to fight crime and help victims," says Nick O'Shea, Liberal Democrat candidate for Police & Crime Commissioner in Surrey. "I want to see a new programme to recruit more Special Constables and encourage people to come forward to work with charities giving invaluable help to local victims and witness of crime."

The South West Surrey Liberal Democrats party are aware of the resignation from his position of deputy chairman of the S.W. Surrey Conservatives. Though we are not privy to the full reasons behind Mr Munro's decision, we are led to believe it is connected to the Conservative administration's position on the proposed development at East Street in Farnham.

S.W. Surrey Liberal Democrats, whilst acknowledging our involvement at the early stages of the East Street development saga, believe the current situation is a shambles in terms of the proposed developments overall design, impact on Farnham and ongoing management of the contract. In the future it should be used as a case study on how local authorities should not carry out a development.

The high handed disregard shown by the Conservative administration towards local residents views has been, quite frankly shocking and a slap in the face for local democracy. There appears to be less and less accountability at Waverley which has now reached the point that even serving councillors are becoming disillusioned.

The S.W. Surrey Lib Dems view on East Street is that it is time to cancel this ill thought out scheme and start again with full public support, not the top down imposed monstrosity that is being forced on local residents at present.

The S.W. Surrey Liberal Democrats are very concerned with the way local residents, who have views on the East Street proposals in Farnham, are being treated by some councillors on Waverley Borough Council. We believe strongly in local democracy and listening to the concerns of residents who will be directly affected by the proposed development in the town in which they live.