Sutton Coldfield and Erdington Liberal Democrats

Tyburn Ward campaigner Ann Holtom and all the Lib Dem candidates for the 2012 Birmingham City elections in our area want to say thank you to the hundreds of residents who supported them on Thursday.

Ann said: "The results in Birmingham and nationally have been very disappointing and residents have lost some excellent Lib Dem councillors who have campaigned hard for their areas and to keep residents informed. I have been proud to serve the people of Tyburn Ward on Birmingham Council for the past ten years and thank the nearly one thousand electors who supported me in Thursday's election. It is now up to the Labour Party to make good their promises in the running of our city."

You deserve local councillors that work hard for your community all year round. You deserve a local council that listens and gets things done for people in your area.

And tomorrow you can make that happen with a vote for Ann Holtom in Tyburn Ward and for all your local Liberal Democrat candidates in Sutton Coldfield and Erdington wards.

The Liberal Democrat candidates standing in the Sutton Coldfield wards in the Birmingham City Council elections on 3 May have issued a joint statement calling on the Boundary Commission for England to keep the historic town of Sutton as a single Parliamentary constituency. The Boundary Commission proposals would see Sutton New Hall ward transferred to Erdington constituency and Kingstanding ward put into Sutton Coldfield.

According to a recent survey of the top twenty Council Tax increases carried out by the independent, Local Government Chronicle, twelve councils were Labour run, six were Conservative run (including nearby Lichfield) and the other two were in no overall control. These results come after figures were published showing that no Lib Dem run council in England has raised Council Tax this year.

Liberal Democrat candidates in the Birmingham City Council elections on 3 May are asking electors to compare the record in office of the Lib Dems and compare it with the record of failure of the last Labour administration.

Birmingham Lib Dems record of success

Since 2004 the Liberal Democrats have worked hard for the City and improved council services. The independent Audit Commission, which monitors local government performance, have said about Birmingham that "This is a council that is improving well." The Lib Dem record in office shows:

Liberal Democrat candidates in the Sutton Coldfield and Erdington wards for the Birmingham City Council elections on 3 May have adopted the following policies, setting out their collective priorities to local residents for running Birmingham over the next four years.

You can also read the West Midlands Lib Dem manifesto for the local elections at: http://www.libdems.org.uk/siteFiles/resources/docs/policy/London%202012/Liberal%20Democrat%20West%20Midlands%20local%20election%20manifesto%202012.pdf

The candidates for election to Birmingham City Council on 3 May have been nominated. Of all the candidates wanting to represent Tyburn Ward only one, Cllr Ann Holtom (Liberal Democrat), actually lives in the ward. The Conservatives have even nominated someone who does not live in Birmingham at all, their candidate lives in Walsall. This reflects the fact that the Tories have never won a seat in Tyburn. The BNP and Green candidates come from miles away in Northfield and Edgbaston. Even Labour's man lives outside the ward in Stockland Green.

Commenting on the Birmingham Labour Party manifesto for the City council elections, leading local Liberal Democrat Cllr Ann Holtom said that: "If any reminder was really needed, the section on Council Tax shows we can never afford to go back to the way Birmingham was run under Labour. This manifesto is almost silent on Council Tax. Does Labour think it should stay low - or will they raise it thought the roof, like before?"

The manifesto says: "We will not increase council tax in 2012." That at least is correct, since it has already been set by the present administration and cannot be changed. Cllr Holtom said: "It is important to remember Labour's most recent record on Council Tax. Simply, it was a financial mess. Labour repeatedly failed to stay within budget, with sudden freezes of department budgets mid-way through the year. In 2001, for six months, the Transportation Department did not fill any potholes, as it was running over budget. The only way Labour knew how to govern was to increase Council tax above the rate of inflation."

Over 20 million working people will be better off next year after Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government delivered the biggest ever increase in the income tax personal allowance in the Budget.

The massive £3.5bn tax cut for working people delivers:

• The biggest ever single uplift in the tax threshold
• A personal allowance of £9,205 in April 2013
• 21 million working people getting an extra £220 tax cut
• Brings the total tax cut for basic rate tax payers to £550
• Brings the total number of people lifted out of tax to 2 million.