Vote Johnnie Curwen - SLDC Bowness North 3rd of May 2007

An independent review of SLDC under the previous Conservative led administration, dated 31st of March 2006 said of the Authority;

"The Council has made good progress in establishing clear ambitions for its locality.

Over the last year there has been a significant improvement in the internal capacity of the organisation to manage its improvement programme, and a fully staffed management structure is now in place. Although there have been difficult stages within the improvement programme the momentum of improvement has been maintained and the Council remains committed to further development.

The most recent information indicates good improvement trends during 2005-06. The Council has worked hard in the face of tremendous challenges. Progress has been achieved over the last two years and the people and processes that are in place or planned should enable this to be sustained."

In other words the previous administration was doing an increasingly good job.

The current Lib Dem Authority, which took control over a month after the report, would have you believe that they have achieved all this good work themselves. When in actual fact they are drastically cutting services, raising Council Tax above the rate of inflation whilst sitting on a surplus just short of a million pounds.

"History repeating itself as in 77, with the 3rd party looking set to back a looser!"

As I have always suspected the Lib Dems are going to attempt to prop up this corrupt Labour Government.

On what will be a bitter blow to Westmorland & Lonsdale Lib Dem MP, Tim Farron, who will be unhappy at the exposure of his parties left wing leanings. Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Menzies Campbell has opened the doors to a potential Lib Lab pact the next time the government goes to the polls.

This has the potential to return us to the days of Callahan's minority Government in 1977. When the Liberals under David Steel supported the Government on limited issues and kept it in power for a year. A period of British politics we'd all thought could never blight our nation again and a potentially disastrous lurch to the left in national politics. What's more they are endorsing the Governments actions over the last 10 years and are quite prepared to go into coalition with what history will remember as one of the most corrupt administrations in post war history. Further more this is the party that has vehemently opposed Labour over the war in Iraq, but is now happy to go into Government with them, as in Scotland, for the sake of a Ministerial desk or two.

But enough from me read the Daily Telegraph's full article below.

Campbell is ready to make a deal with Labour

By Brendan Carlin, Political Correspondent
Last Updated: 9:16pm GMT 04/03/2007

Sir Menzies Campbell opened the door today to a post-election Liberal Democrat pact with Labour as he set out five tests for a deal with Gordon Brown.

The Lib Dem leader signalled to Mr Brown that he was ready to begin talks on an agreement that could keep the Conservatives out of power.

But his party was plunged into disarray after close aides to Sir Menzies were forced to deny an official briefing that he also was ditching the party's historic insistence on voting reform before any coalition could be formed.

Sir Menzies, 65, appeared to slam the door on any formal co-operation with the Tories in a scathing attack on David Cameron's "teenage" politics.

He dismissed Mr Cameron, 40, as a politically immature leader obsessed with "gimmicks" and "soundbites".

With Labour's poll ratings sliding and the Tories yet to establish a consistently clear lead, a hung Parliament after the next general election is now a distinct possibility.

The Lib Dems, who could hold the balance of power, have so far stuck to their policy of "equidistance" between Labour and the Tories, despite suspicions that Sir Menzies leans towards Labour.

But in his keynote speech to the Lib Dems' spring conference in Harrogate, Sir Menzies opened the door to a deal with a Labour government.

Aides said that the Lib Dem leader was sending "his first signal" to the Chancellor - who is expected to succeed Tony Blair this summer - that they should talk.

In today's speech, he condemned Mr Brown for being fully complicit in Labour's failings since 1997.

Labour had failed on crime, the NHS and the environment, he said. "Why on earth should we believe that Britain will be better governed if he [Mr Brown] moves from Number 11 to Number 10?" asked Sir Menzies.

Audit Commission’s town hall revue.

The Audit Commission’s annual town hall league tables show that nearly 80% of councils are now in the top two star categories.

Once again Conservative councils dominate at the top, with Kensington and Chelsea, Wandsworth and Westminster all gaining four stars.

Of those improving strongly:

42% are Conservative.
33% are Labour.
17% NOC (no overall control)
0% Lib Dem.