Welcoming the coalition government's announcement that wheel clamping on private land is to be banned, Serena Tierney, Lib Dem Parliamentary Campaigner for Mid Sussex said:
Responding to the news that passenger rail fares may rise by up to 8% next year, Serena Tierney, Lib Dem Parliamentary Campaigner for Mid Sussex said:
With massive spending cuts being forced on the coalition government by Labour's financial mismanagement, particular care needs to be taken that no area is left unexamined by the need to ensure expenditure is rationalised. Yet Conservative Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, still seems fixated by the need for a replacement to the Trident missile submarine system, at a cost likely to be well in excess of the current estimate of £20 billion. It seems he was preparing a defence review which omits any discussion of the need to cut the program - given its dubious benefits and lack of relevance to current defence needs - yet Liberal Democrats have been successful in forcing the coalition to put the cost of a Trident replacement back in the defence budget where it belongs, rather than being met from general Treasury funding. If he is serious about making savings, then these should start with this outdated piece of cold war kit.
In just 10 weeks since the start of the Coalition Government, the Liberal Democrats have exerted a huge influence over its agenda.
Endorsing the call by Passenger Focus for ticket machines to be simplified, Serena Tierney, Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesman for Mid Sussex said:
Southeast Lib Dem MEP Sharon Bowles, who chairs European Parliament's influential Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, has hailed a new European Union law to rein in bankers´ bonuses a landmark success.
Local Lib Dem Serena Tierney yesterday called on councils in West Sussex to bid for money to secure green buses after Lewes MP and Transport Minister Norman Baker announced that the government is making £15 million available for over 150 new low carbon buses to join fleets throughout England.
One of the first decisions of the new coalition government was to scrap ID cards. Now Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is asking which other laws should be scrapped? The Liberal Democrats have always stood up for civil liberties, scrapping unnecessary laws and reducing the burden on businesses and charities. In our manifesto, we proposed a Freedom Bill to roll back Labour's attacks on British Civil Liberties. In government, we are doing just that. On Thursday, Nick Clegg launched Your Freedom, a national dialogue, on how to create a more open, inclusive society. Anyone can make suggestions about which laws we need to scrap and where we can cut red tape. The best ideas will be put into practice - because this is a listening government. This is the government we have long campaigned for. So tell Nick about every time you've felt snooped on by the state, or had to fill in the same form three times. You can e-mail Nick at: http://yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk/
Well we were warned to expect an "emergency budget" weren't we? And this is exactly what we got.
The outcome of the general election - a coalition with the Conservatives was not particularly desired or foreseen, yet what Nick Clegg has achieved is the best possible outcome given the only real alternative were a minority Conservative administration, that could if left to its own devices, have inflicted severe damage on the structure of our society and economic recovery.
Serena would like to say thank you for all those who supported her in Mid Sussex saying "Very many people told me how good our campaign was and the effect is clear in the 3000+ increase in our general election vote. In the end, the percentage difference between us and the Tories has hardly changed. The Tories clearly benefited from the electorate's determination to get rid of an unpopular and incompetent Labour government."
The letters page in today's Guardian includes this:
