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.  I know last year was tough for many but economic recovery was slowed down by the problems in Europe.  2012 will be a challenge too.  No one likes change but doing things differently is the right thing to do.

I am proud of the influence Lib Dems have had in Government.  Last year many people in Warrington were lifted out of income tax altogether and thousands of working people had their taxes cut.  Lots of our children benefited from the Pupil Premium to help stop them falling behind at school and from free early years’ education for toddlers.  We restored the earnings link to guarantee our pensioners a decent pension increase.

We have persuaded the Conservatives to stand up to the bankers and invest more in our infrastructure, which we need for the long-term success of the country.  The focus needs to move away from the City of London to areas like the north west and successful towns like our own.  We want more apprentices than we have ever had before and we have pushed for the youth contract to get our out-of-work young people learning or earning.  Our moderating influence on the right-wing element in government has been good for the country and good for Warrington.

National issues were the main reason we lost control of the Town Hall last May, but we are very proud of our achievements during the five years we were in control.  We left the town in a much healthier position than when we took over.  In 2012 our task locally and nationally is to work for a fairer, greener and more liberal society.”