Campaigning local councillor welcomes Liberal Democrat influence in government (Sutton Coldfield and Erdington Liberal Democrats)

Sutton Coldfield and Erdington Liberal Democrats <info@suttonanderdingtonlibdems.org.uk>

Campaigning local councillor welcomes Liberal Democrat influence in government

August 6, 2010 11:17 AM

Cllr Ann Holtom with Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.

In a review of the first weeks of the Coalition Government, Cllr Ann Holtom (Tyburn Ward), the Liberal Democrat prospective Parliamentary candidate for Erdington has welcomed the huge influence of the party over the government's agenda and the positive difference many of these measures will bring to local people.

Addressing members and supporters in Erdington at the end of July, Cllr Holtom said: "Going into the general election the Liberal Democrats made clear we had four key priorities: fairer taxes; a fair start for children with extra funding for disadvantaged pupils; a comprehensive clean up of our politics, including a fairer voting system; and a green, sustainable economy. Now thanks to Lib Dem involvement, the Government will deliver on each of these."

"There are also a large number of other Lib Dem policies and pledges that will now begin to make a real, positive difference to people's lives because of our role in the Coalition Government. These include everything from rolling back the surveillance state and giving people back their civil liberties, to prison and NHS reforms, fairer pensions, the ending of child detention and the scrapping of the third runway at Heathrow."

Commenting on Labour attacks on the government, Cllr Holtom added that "while Labour were quick to criticise the coalition for some of the savings needed to tackle the enormous deficit Gordon Brown's Labour had left behind, Erdington and Tyburn deserved better. Labour's approach both in Birmingham when they controlled the city and in government at Westminster was 'spend, spend and spend again' leaving us all on the brink of bankruptcy, then to keep spending in an effort to buy support right up until polling day and now to oppose every single spending cut we need to tackle the huge debts Labour ran up. Under Labour the gap between rich and poor got wider, unemployment got higher and government waste and bureaucracy spiralled. We all deserve far, far better and under the coalition government we're finally getting a fairer deal all round. "