Canterbury & Whitstable Liberal Democrats

At the County Council meeting on Thursday 9th of February, Martin Vye, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Kent County Council, asked the Conservative administration to prepare plans for much greater involvement of local people in planning the services KCC provides for them.

He said: "Modern technology makes it possible for people to let their views be heard, via Twitter and Facebook, for example. Why not let their representatives in the council chamber and committee rooms know immediately what they think about what is being discussed and planned - so that councillors can bring those views into the debate? Already other councils have made big strides in this direction. Cornwall County Council, for example, has made it possible for comments of interested residents to be posted on the live webcast of council proceedings."

I devoted a large chunk of time recently to debating a load of old rubbish. We have all learned to be conscientious and recycle bottles, cans and paper. Yet still adopt an 'out-of-sight, out-of-mind' attitude when it comes to dumping a defunct fridge. One million tonnes is thrown out every year in the UK.

"EU laws would require small businesses to hand over €25,000 before they can start trading"

Claims made by UKIP's Paul Nuttall last month that EU laws would require small businesses to hand over €25,000 before they can start trading have been dismissed as untrue.

Mr Nuttall, who is also the deputy leader of UKIP, described the proposal as "outrageous" and an example of "unnecessary EU interference".

As families face more of a squeeze, Liberal Democrats are arguing for greater tax cuts for hard working people.

Between now and the Budget, Nick and Danny and I will be arguing for faster tax cuts, giving you a reward for hard work. And Nick has already set out our case in a recent speech.

Given the budget constraint we have to raise money for the tax cut elsewhere and have plans to raise an equivalent amount from the wealthiest taxpayers.

At the last election the Liberal Democrats promised to raise the personal allowance for ordinary taxpayers to £10,000. I am proud that the Coalition has committed to doing so over the course of this Parliament.

For millions of ordinary hard working people, that means paying £700 less in income tax each year. Low earners, mostly women will benefit from being lifted out of tax altogether.

But times are tough and quite simply, Liberal Democrats in Government want to help families who are currently being squeezed by moving more quickly.

Whether it's targeting an extra £7bn from tax evaders and avoiders, taking an extra £2.5bn every year from the banks in a balance sheet tax, or the announcement I made on Monday to curb the excesses of executive pay, this Coalition is taking important steps to deliver a fairer economy.

And we have already made a big difference, click here to see how.

We are building a new economy, one that benefits the whole country, not just bankers in the City of London. Making the tax system fairer is crucial to that. This is a huge task that will make Britain a fairer and more liberal country for generations to come.

Nearly two years ago, Liberal Democrats chose to do the right thing in the national interest at a time of crisis. We put tribalism aside and the good of the country first.

We didn't come into politics to make cuts, but with the economy on the verge of collapse we knew we had to take the difficult decisions necessary to get the deficit under control and the country back on track.

Amid fears that David Cameron's veto had isolated the UK in Brussels, MEPs from across Europe and the political spectrum have today re-elected Liberal Democrat MEP Sharon Bowles as Chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.

The committee, widely regarded as the Parliament's most powerful, is responsible for legislation in the headline areas of economic governance and financial services.

'Cllr Ellis really does need to get his facts right before he makes a statement to your newspaper (cllrs squabble over plans for football ground).

First, these are not 'Lib Dem attacks'. This is not a party issue. But they are arguments from cllrs representing residents who are likely to be affected by a process that has been secretive, biased and fundamentally undemocratic from the outset.

Apparently Labour don't have a 'Plan B' for the economy after all!

As I drove on Saturday morning, I was preparing to turn the radio off and then Ed Balls popped up. I listened with amazement. In his interview he admitted not only that the programme of cuts being carried out by the Coalition government were right, but that Labour would not over turn them if they were in Government. Unfortunately however he didn't go as far as to admit that the cause behind all the cuts - the dire economic situation - was in fact largely his fault.

"BARMY EU 'COLDER FRIDGES' ORDER WILL COST US £100M"

If you are a regular Express reader then you may have seen this story published this month.

Contrary to claims in the Express article, "Barmy EU 'colder fridges' order will cost us £100m", there are no new EU regulations ordering supermarkets to turn down fridge temperatures. The facts are far less chilling!

This month I joined my colleague in the South East Sharon Bowles in voting to exempt so called 'micro-entity' businesses from complex EU accounting rules. Millions of small businesses must now only comply with national reporting rules which usually demand very basic information.

Sharon said: "It is pure common sense to exempt small businesses that rarely operate across borders from complicated accounting rules. Of course it is important for small businesses to provide basic information to comply with national laws on transparency and tax regulation. But we must not make this process more complicated than necessary."