The Leader and Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems on Warrington Council have added their support to the Government’s decision to go ahead with high speed rail.

In a joint statement, Cllrs Ian Marks and Bob Barr said, “This is the right decision and we are pleased the Government has taken it despite all the opposition.  It would be very beneficial to the north west and a large infrastructure project like this will create thousands of jobs.  It will free up capacity on existing rail lines and be good for carbon reduction by taking people off planes and out of cars and by taking freight off the motorways. Read the full story!

An extra £520,000 for social care in Warrington will mean people can leave hospital earlier and receive better care at home.

This comes from an extra £150m announced by the Coalition Government last week to be spent on shortening hospital stays across the country during the busy winter period.

Cllr Ian Marks Lib Dem Leader on Warrington Council said, “Thanks to pressure from the Liberal Democrats, the cash can be used to access various preventative services such as better home care support, Read the full story!

Lib Dems should be taking the initiative in telling people in Warrington about their achievements. This was the New Year message from the Lib Dem Leader on Warrington Council.

Cllr Ian Marks said, “It is too easy to get depressed about the state of the economy and the state of our society.  The majority of people understand that we couldn’t go on spending money we didn’t have.  Changes just have to be made and dealing with the economic problems we inherited from Labour remains the number one priority for the Coalition Government.  Read the full story!

The Lib Dem Council Group Leader and Deputy are asking the Government to re-think its decision on the reduction of feed in tariffs on photovoltaic solar panel installations.

In a letter to Chris Huhne, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Cllrs Ian Marks and Bob Barr say they agree with the reduction in subsidy which was not sustainable at the high level, but they ask for it to be done on a slower timescale to allow the industry to plan for the reduction. Read the full story!

There is much in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement that can benefit people in Warrington.  This is the claim from Cllr Ian Marks, Lib Dem leader on Warrington Borough Council.

Cllr Marks said, “The Autumn Statement has been delivered in incredibly difficult and uncertain  times.   Getting the economic fundamentals right is crucial. In Europe, failure to take firm control of spending has had catastrophic consequences for some countries.  Here Labour wants to spend more, borrow more and increase debt – just at the point where we see that countries that borrow more end up in a state of crisis.

I know that Liberal Democrat Government ministers have pressed the Chancellor for resources to be prioritised towards offering practical help Read the full story!

Liberal Democrats have welcomed the opening of the Youth Café in Time Square.

The former Car Phone Warehouse shop opens its doors to young people on Saturday 3 December after the official opening the day before.

Lib Dem Council Group Leader, Cllr Ian Marks, said, “I am absolutely delighted the Café is finally open.  It all started in June 2009 when as Council Leader I organised a meeting at the Town Hall for councillors, council officers and representatives of the business community and the voluntary sector.  Read the full story!

At a meeting of Warrington Borough Council on Monday night, Cllr Keith Gleave succeeded in getting a Labour motion amended to ask for a broader approach to the problem of reducing alcohol harm.

The motion urged the government to bring in minimum unit pricing for alcohol but Cllr Gleave argued that this is not enough. An effective approach must include other measures. Read the full story!

Celebrating Sandra's Victory

The Liberal Democrats have retained their seat in the borough council by-election held in Poulton North ward on 17 November.  Their candidate Sandra Bradshaw won 776 votes with Labour second on 733 votes.  Read the full story!

Two Warrington Labour Councillors have made formal apologies to Liberal Democrat Councillor Bob Barr for strongly implied false allegations concerning land at Peel Hall in Warrington North.

These allegations were published by Cllr Geoff Settle and Cllr Brian Maher in Labour Rose leaflets in Poulton North and Poplars and Hulme wards. The apology is made on the North West Labour website and follows legal action Read the full story!

A controversial scheme for ten affordable homes in Lymm has got the green light from the Council’s planning committee.  They will be sited on the field at the corner of Rushgreen Road and Sandy Lane by the farmers Arms.

Cllr Ian Marks spoke on behalf of the residents.  “I have no objection to principle of quality affordable housing although I would prefer the land to be retained as green open space.  I realise this won’t happen. Read the full story!

The Liberal Democrats are making a real difference in government and we should be proud of our achievements.

This was the message from Lib Dem Council group leader Ian Marks to a meeting of party members on his return from a visit to his party’s conference in Birmingham where he spoke to a fringe meeting on economic development.

Cllr Marks said, “We went into coalition to get the country back on its feet but we have had to take some unpopular decisions to fix our economy.  It is more difficult because of problems in the eurozone and America. Read the full story!

Supporting the new Labour Council’s policies should be easy because nearly all of them are the same as those of the previous Lib Dem / Conservative administration.

This is the claim from previous council leader Cllr Ian Marks in response to a challenge from new leader Cllr Terry O’Neill that the opposition should be fair-minded and constructive.

Cllr Marks said, “This is a back-handed compliment because they must have thought we got most things right!  Labour failed to put forward an alternative budget but now say they will honour ours.  Read the full story!

The possible merger of Warrington and Halton Hospitals with Whiston is a result of Labour’s profligate and wasteful Private Finance Initiative scheme.

A row is brewing because of a statement by a government minister that such a merger is one of the options being considered to ease funding problems in the NHS. Read the full story!

The now scrapped regional fire control centres are a typical example of waste from the last Labour Government says Cllr Ian Marks, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Warrington Council.

Cllr Marks says, “The Fire Control plan was intended to replace forty six local control centres by nine new regional control centres as part of a £423m project.  But the new centres are all standing empty because of major problems with their computers.  Read the full story!

Liberal Democrats are calling on the Borough Council to make sure residents do not lose out when the Council for Voluntary Service closes at the end of the year.   They are putting a motion to the full Council next Monday asking for a review.

Lib Dem Group Leader, Cllr Ian Marks said, “It is very sad that after a hundred years of operation this organisation is having to close its doors.  It has done some very good work and has been a focal point for voluntary sector activity in the town.  We are extraordinary lucky in Warrington to have such an active voluntary sector and the town gets tremendous value from all the hours put in by volunteers. Read the full story!