FOCUSwww.peterboroughlibdems.org.uk

WALTON RESIDENTS' NEWSLETTER

Nick Sandford

CONTACT FOCUSBy phone: Call local LiberalDemocrat councillor NickSandford – 01733 268460or FOCUS Liaison Officer PennyFower on 01733 325541; or AsifShaheed on 0792 951 3865.

By post: Cllr Nick Sandford,Town Hall, Bridge St,Peterborough PE1 1HG

By e-mail: nick.sandford@Peterborough.gov.uk orpenny.fower@peterboroughlibdems.org.uk orasif.shaheed@peterboroughlibdems.org.uk

Or at the councillor‘surgery': 6:00 to 7:00 pm,first Friday of month inCommunity Centre, MountstevenAvenue.SEE OUR WEBSITE:www.peterboroughlibdems.org.uk

Issue 288

On Thursday 6 May there are two elections –o ONE – to elect a Member of Parliament.o TWO – to elect a local councillor.

So you will get two ballot papers andtwo votes. Please use them both!

Your Liberal Democrat candidates are -o Nick Sandford – as MP for Peterborougho Asif Shaheed – as local councillor for Walton

The Lib Dem priorities for Peterborough are:

1. Fair Tax: No-one in Peterborough should pay any income tax on the first£10,000 of their earnings, so many pensioners and low earners would pay no taxat all. Tax loop-holes should be closed so that people on very high earnings paymore tax. Council Tax should be replaced by a fairer local income tax.

2. A fresh start for children: Primary schools in Peterborough should be givenextra money so that they can reduce class sizes and give children a better start totheir education. We would pay for it by scrapping new Labour’s child trust fund.

3. A greener economy and transport: Make Peterborough the true environmentcapital by investing in renewable energy and insulating our homes. Scrap free carparking perks for councillors, water taxis, waste incinerators and large roadbuilding schemes and invest more in waste reduction, recycling and in publictransport, park and ride and cycling facilities.

4. Clean up politics in Peterborough: End unfair one party domination ofPeterborough City Council by introducing a fair voting system, reduce wastefulreliance on consultants and give power to local communities by giving realpowers and budgets to area committees and neighbourhood councils.

5. Tackle Crime: By putting more full time police officers on our streets to crackdown on anti social behaviour, paid for by scrapping new Labour’s wastefulidentity card scheme.

ELECTIONLEAFLETSYou may have noticed that thereis an election coming. Suddenlypoliticians are interested in you.Suddenly there is a flood ofpolitical leaflets coming throughyour letterbox.

This is issue number 288 ofFOCUS. Almost every month youhear from the Liberal Democratswith news of what is happening inyour local community and what weare doing for this area.

Where were the rest of thepolitical parties – who say they areso interested in you now – over thepast few months?

ELECTIONSPECIAL ISSUE!

Nick Sandford Asif Shaheed

Asif Shaheed

Printed by P’boro Lib Dem Printing Soc c/o 37 Swift Close, Deeping St James PE6 8QQ. Published and promoted for and on behalf of the Liberal Democrats by Peter Chivall, 88 Elmfield Rd, P’boro PE1 4HB

FIGHTING FOR YOUAT THE TOWN HALLOn the front page we have set out the five LiberalDemocrat priorities for Peterborough in this election.

Liberal Democrat council candidate for the Walton citycouncil ward , Asif Shaheed, says:

“These are five simplethings we will fight for ifwe achieve power inPeterborough.

“Add to that our recordof working with thepeople of Walton on localissues and you have apowerful argument forvoting Liberal Democraton Thursday 6 May.

“Labour cannot win inWalton. The only peoplewho can beat the Toriesand stand up for localpeople are the Lib Dems.

“The local Conservatives are hopelessly split in thiselection. They have deselected their councillor who waselected only in 2008 and told him he cannot stand as aConservative in the council election.

“The Tories have brought in a former councillor fromFletton. He is now quoting an address in Warwick Roadbut he has only just appeared on the electoral register atthat address.”

In contrast, Lib Dem candidate Asif Shaheed is a localman who has lived in South View Road for over 17 years.He is a governor at Ken Stimpson School and is wellknown in the locality.

He is the only one of the four candidates in the councilelections in Walton who actually lives in the ward.

MP and councillorPopular Walton councillor Nick Sandford is the Lib Demcandidate in the general election.

Nick’s council seat isnot up for election until2012 and, if elected toParliament, he has pledgedto continue servingWalton as a councillor.

Nick says: “The MPexpenses scandal has beena disgrace. People aredisillusioned.

“But now is not the timeto stay at home. Only byvoting for the LiberalDemocrats will you getreal change.

“Under a Lib Dem government, no MP will have a ‘safeseat’ and local people will have a means of quicklyremoving any MPs who are corrupt or misbehave.”

Asif Shaheed is your local council candidate and wewant to get him onto the council to serve alongside Nickand give Walton two hard working Lib Dem councillors.

Nick Clegg will be Prime Minister if the LiberalDemocrats achieve power at the general election. He hasreally impressed voters in the TV debates and the generalelection is now genuinely a ‘three way contest’.

SURVEY LATESTThe Walton Liberal Democrat survey – in which we are calling atevery house in the area to ask what you think about local issues –has now covered about half of the ward and we have receivedhundreds of responses giving us your opinions.

One of the questions in the survey asks what people think aboutcondition of the road in which they live.

Almost a third of people replying say their road is in poor condition.Particular areas of concern include Council Street, South View Roadand Paston Lane.

We have not yet surveyed the Balmoral and Sandringham area butwe know roads are very bad there also.

We will continue the survey after the elections.

ALLOTMENT SAGAThe saga of the allotments has taken a worrying turn. Our Tory-run council is so desperate to sell allotment land in Itter Park tohousing developers that it is frantically searching for green openspace which it can grab and turn into replacement allotments.

The latest area to fall victim to this is the Werrington Paddocks, abeautiful piece of land surrounded by hedgerows and rich in wildlifejust behind Warwick Road. Local residents got up a petition and localcouncillors Nick Sandford and Darren Fower presented it at a recentcouncil meeting.

Lib Dem candidate for Walton, Asif Shaheed, said: “I am amazed. Icannot believe that our Tory council wants to take away this valuableamenity, turn part of it into allotments and concrete over the rest tomake a car park and access road. I will fight it every inch of the way.”

Asif believes the ‘allotments saga’ is typical of the way the Toriesdeal with local issues. He is asking voters to think about what the Torieshave done for Walton or for Peterborough in the ten long years theyhave been running the city council. He points out that they have:o Given Walton a new school (and we are pleased to say ‘well

done’!) but out-of-school facilities for remain abysmal.o Put up taxes but squandered the money on grandiose pet projects

such as the Cathedral Square fountains, the proposed wasteincinerator and the daft water taxis.

o Built new roads in other parts of the city but left roads and paths inparts of Walton with broken paving slabs and potholes.

o Set up a ‘neighbourhood committee’ in our area but failed to give itany powers or any money to do anything for local people in Walton

Asif says: “Liberal Democrats have been working in Walton on behalfof local people for over 25 years. We fight for local people and for thechanges you want to see in your community.

“You must decide what you want another Tory councillor who willslavishly follow the party line and spend his time on internal partysquabbles …. or another Lib Dem councillor to work alongside NickSandford and be your voice on the council.”

Nick Sandford