You are cordially invited to a public carol service in Parliament Square at 6pm on Wednesday the 21st of December 2005. This inclusive service will contain both Christian and secular verse, and is expected to last no more than an hour. Candles and song sheets will be made available, with donations going to Medical Aid for Iraqi Children.
Cllr Lynne Beaumont has been elected as the new leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Shepway District Council. Cllr Beaumont was elected by a convincing margin at a special meeting on Thursday 15th December. She replaces Cllr David Dickinson who is stepping down, as he does not intend to stand for the district council again in 2007.
People in Kent have delivered a resounding 'yes' vote to retain their own county police force. Kent Police Authority was told at a meeting on Wednesday 14 December that nearly four out of five people do not want their police service to merge with others under Home Office proposals to create new strategic regional forces.
New figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show that since the beginning of 2003, over 119 million calls to Government helplines and call centres - or 36.6% of all calls - have been abandoned, were met with an engaged tone or went unrecorded by the system.
In a bid to reduce crime over the Christmas period, Kent Police have issued the following advice:
Maya Anne Evans, a peace protester from Hastings who was arrested at the cenotaph in London in October for reading out loud a list of solders who who had laid down their lives in Iraq, has had her case come to court. She was arrested in Whitehall under new laws the forbid protest within a 1km zone around Parliament.
The election of David Cameron as the new leader of the Conservative Party marks the end of the leadership of Folkestone and Hythe MP Michael Howard. Commenting, Simon Hughes MP, Liberal Democrat President, said:
Questions asked by the Lib Dems to Tory run Shepway Council have revealed that the new recycling scheme has broken its budget by more than £500,000. The majority of the losses are due to the withdrawal of the collection vehicles and reduced income from the recycling being collected together rather than separated at kerbside.
Thank you for having me! I'm delighted to be the Shepway Lib Dems Chair for 2006, and am looking forward to working with the whole local party. I would like to thank John Hughes and the other outgoing members of the Shepway Exec for their time, effort and huge commitment especially in the last year.
Train operator Govia has been given an eight-year franchise to run services across Kent and in parts of Sussex. The franchise includes running domestic Channel Tunnel Rail Link services. Govia, which also runs rail firm Southern, will take over from South Eastern Trains which was set up in 2003 after Connex lost its franchise.
'Keep warm, keep well' is the message South East Public Health Director Dr Mike Gill wants to get across to the South East's population this winter. According to the Met Office, the coming winter months may well be the coldest in recent years. This has health implications for us all, but particularly for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and those suffering from heart or chest problems.
The Lib Dem group on Shepway Council has helped defeat an attempt by the ruling Tory group to put a massive 45% on to the council allowance paid to the Conservative Deputy Leader. The Deputy Leader, Cllr David Monk, stood to gain an extra £3,753 in addition to his current allowance of £8,247.
