Lib Dems launch election campaign
The Liberal Democrats will be offering fresh choices to voters with pledges to cut crime and scrap the council tax, said Sir Menzies Campbell as he launched the Lib Dems 2006 local election campaign.
Local elections are set for Thursday, 4 May - with 4,360 council seats up for grabs across England. There are no elections in Shepway this May - the next full elections are planned for May 2007 when all Shepway District Councillors, Folkestone & Hythe Town Councillors will be up for re-election.
Ming Campbell says Lib Dems are ready to challenge Labour in the cities, and "fight the Conservatives" despite "their attempts to reinvent themselves".
At the launch of the Lib Dem local election campaign, Sir Menzies predicted his party "will be winning more votes, more councillors and control of more councils" than it did in 2002, when many of these seats were last contested.
He said the party's record in local government was "vital to our success nationally", adding that "people can see that voting Liberal Democrat makes a difference to their lives".
"You can be assured that wherever you are the Liberal Democrats will be offering fresh choices and new directions," he said.
"Putting a premium on protecting and improving the environment, as you might expect, but also improving community safety, tackling crime and clamping down on anti-social behaviour.
"Clearing up problems in some of our most deprived and neglected areas. Areas that were once solid Labour for generations but have got fed up of too much talk and not enough delivery
"We're challenging Labour in the big cities - where the Conservatives have long since disappeared from view.
"We're fighting the Conservatives in the shires and suburbs, and gaining ground in spite of their attempts to reinvent themselves."
The Lib Dems will be "placing a premium on protecting and improving the environment", he said.
They also plan to continue pressing for the abolition of the council tax, with average bills reaching more than £1,200, without last year's government offer of a £200 rebate for pensioner households, he said.
Instead, the Lib Dems want to see a local taxation system based on the ability to pay.
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