Welcome to Crewe and Nantwich Liberal Democrats

Elections to the new Cheshire East Unitary Council took place on 1st May. Cheshire East Council will bring together the boroughs of Macclesfield, Congleton and Crewe & Nantwich, and Cheshire County Council, taking over local government services including highways, education, social services and refuse collections on April 1, 2009.

The Liberal Democrats took two seats in Crewe South, and are now the opposition to the Conservatives on East Cheshire Council.

• Contact details for Liberal Democrat Cheshire East Councillors for Crewe and Nantwich area.

• Learn more about Cheshire East Council.

Roy Wood Supports Nick Clegg's 'Four steps to a Fairer Britain'

8.49.49pm GMT Sat 16th Jan 2010

As a country, we face acute social, environmental, economic and political problems. The next Government will not only need to deal with the immediate crisis in the public finances. It must reinvent our rotten political system, heal the social divisions which still thwart the hopes of millions, and put our economy on a new, more balanced, more sustainable footing.

None of this can be achieved if we merely tinker at the edges - delivering big, permanent change is the real challenge.

Liberal Democrat plans are based on four big changes - more significant than anything Labour or the Conservatives will offer at this election - that together will reshape the country we live in.

Fair taxes.

A new, fair start for all children at school.

A rebalanced, green economy.

And clean, open politics.

Four steps to a fairer Britain.

As Liberals, we passionately believe in the potential of everyone to do well for themselves, their families, their communities - if only they are allowed and supported to do so.

That is why we have never shared the pessimism of the Labour party, a party still fixated with the idea that people's lives can only be improved if someone in Whitehall tells them what to do. And why we have always rejected the lack of compassion and imagination of the Conservative Party, a party still fixated with giving tax breaks to the wealthy few rather than opportunity to the aspirant many.

Liberalism, then, is all about giving people the power to get ahead.

Fairness means opportunity is for everyone.

And that means that power must be dispersed, and never allowed to accumulate among elites - be they political, social or corporate - who inevitably exercise that power in their own interests.

Our tax plan would be the biggest tax reform in a generation.

Under Labour's unfair taxes, however, power is taken away from the poorest and given to the richest because the poorest 20% pay the highest proportion of their income in tax….

While the richest people and the biggest corporations can effectively pick and choose what taxes to pay.

That is why tax reform is top of our list.

Only when everyone pays their fair share, and no-one is crippled by their tax bill, will we have a fair society.

We will close loopholes for the richest and introduce a tax on mansions to fund tax cuts of £700 for everyone else.

No-one will pay income tax on the first £10,000 they earn, meaning tax freedom for millions of low earners and pensioners, while millions more get hundreds of pounds back in their pockets. The biggest tax reform in generations. Only the Liberal Democrats will make taxes permanently fair.

Next: we will give every child the fair start they deserve by reducing class sizes and increasing one to one tuition in our schools.

Nothing is more important in dispersing power and delivering opportunities to people of every background than education, especially education when children are very young. Countless young boys and girls are falling behind at school not because of a lack of potential, but because of the circumstances of their birth.

That is why we are devoting significant new resources to our schools, freed up by taking above average income families out of the tax credit system. The money will be targeted directly at the most deprived children.

We'll be putting more money, £2.5 billion, into schools to pay for more teachers and catch-up classes.

Cutting class sizes so children get the individual attention they need to thrive.

Schools receiving an average of £2,500 extra per pupil for each of the million most deprived children in the country they teach.

Another big, permanent change we offer is a shift away from the traditional over-reliance on the City of London and on financial services. We will usher in a new era where growth is enabled in every part of Britain. And we place a new emphasis on infrastructure, on people, and on green technology.

Our vision is that, 10 years from now, our economy will be very different from the one we have today. Instead of bias towards the city, there will be balance. Instead of short-term fixes, we will seek growth that lasts.

Thriving local and regional banks, tied into their communities, with real knowledge of their customers. Diverse, thriving town centres. Reliable transport infrastructure so people can get to work without it costing a fortune or costing the planet. Wealthy people encouraged to channel their money into supporting local entrepreneurs instead of ferreting it away in offshore accounts. Each community, home, and office generating its own power and heat locally, instead of reliant on the centralised, polluting energy grid.

None of that will happen under any party other than the Liberal Democrats.

We are the only party that doesn't just want to rebuild the economy - we want to change it permanently so that we have growth that lasts.

The final change is the one that makes the others possible.

Political reform.

The fair society we seek to build will not be possible without it.

Our corrupt politics is not capable of driving through change.

It exists to block it, to protect the status quo and maintain the vested interests of an old elite.

Only a party which will really disperse power, breaking open the sorry, stale system of governance, rebuilding local government, and embracing fair votes for every level of election can reinvigorate our democracy. From the smallest parish council to the corridors of Westminster, we have to create a politics that opens its doors to every citizen. A politics that is open, transparent, and local, so that the power to push through change is in the hands of everyone.

That is why we will get big money and corrupt donors out of politics altogether.

Reduce the number of MPs by 150. Devolve power over the police and NHS to local communities.

Change the voting system to abolish safe seats and make every vote count.

And give constituents the right to sack corrupt MPs.

This means that some multi billion pound spending commitments we have promoted in the past - like new free childcare entitlements, a new citizen's pension or free personal care - will no longer be firm commitments in our manifesto, but will be put on hold until they become affordable again. And some of our other pledges such as the scrapping of tuition fees will have to be phased in over a longer period of time.

Roy Wood our new PPC

Speech by Roy Wood delivered to Selection meeting on Fri 18th Sep 2009

So, why am I a Lib Dem? Well, I think the party has been ahead of the game on so many issues over the years and we are a vital progressive force in British politics. Two key words for me are environment and empowerment.

I personally try had to keep my carbon footprint low in many ways, including by being vegan, never flying, and driving as little as practicable.

As you will know Liberal Democrats have put forward proposals, among other environmental measures, for a green tax switch. This was dismissed by the other parties but Chris Huhne has been working with Prof Ekins on an independent Green Fiscal Commission for the last two years. This has provided compelling backing for green fiscal reform. It found that increasing the price of polluting activities can be done in a way that is economically efficient. The market can be made to work sustainably and can raise stable revenues for years allowing other taxes to be lower. The UK's 2020 greenhouse gas targets can be met by fiscal reform and investment in low-carbon technologies would be stimulated. There would be a negligible effect on growth. The more Lib Dems we get elected the greener Britain will be.

Empowerment for me encompasses many ideas including our political reform agenda. Let me quote from Make it Happen, published well before the expenses story broke. ….

Also "It's time" It is a total disgrace the incredibly rich people like Lord Ashcroft can, in effect, buy seats by providing Conservative Associations with vast amounts of money. His donations are also, probably, illegal as his company that makes donations is not trading in the UK. Dave 'you can trust me' Cameron refuses to clear this up and George Osborne refused to answer a direct question about Lord Ashcroft in a long email exchange published last weekend. Money should not be allowed to but power.

As you know Nick Clegg called for there to be no Queen's speech today and that the remaining 70 sitting days of this parliament be used for real reform:

Reducing the power of Government in Parliament

Fixed term Parliaments

Reform of Party Funding

A directly elected House of Lords

A code of conduct for candidates

The power of constituents to sack their MP if he or she seriously misbehaves

Setting up a citizens committee on electoral reform to prepare proposals for a referendum to be held in year's time.

We also want to see more powers for Scotland and Wales and more real power for local councils - elected, of course, by a proportional system.

As Liberal Democrats we all believe, I hope, that the world is full of people. Not young people and old people, not Christians and Muslims, not black and white not British of foreign - just people. That is why we must be fully involved in the E U and other international organizations. We must constantly counter the scaremongering of the right wing press. This planet will swim together or sink together. Little Englanders are living in a time warp.

Of course honest Dave has nailed colours firmly to Euro-phobic mast

While we are thinking about these compassionate conservatives it is worth pointing out that they would scrap the Human Rights Act leaving us as the only Europeans without the right to go to our own courts to uphold the human rights accorded to every European. The government wants to scrap juries in some coroners court cases and, just last week, the conservatives failed to support a Lib Dem motion to defend this ancient right.

On the economy Liberal Democrats have been proved right and have the right policies going forward. Gordon Brown significantly reduced regulation of the City and Cameron said he had not gone far enough. Not what they are saying now. Vince Cable warned about the credit bubble but the main parties said he was wrong. The Tories only clear tax pledge is to cut inheritance tax for those leaving between £650000 and £2 million - a £3 million tax bonus for their friends. We, by contrast, would raise tax thresholds to significantly help low and middle income families.

Dave and his mates were also seriously wrong over the recession. Countries all over the world realised that governments need to spend to get out of recession.

As a governor of a large secondary school and a children's centre and as someone who worked in education for over 30 years I have seen the damage done by well meaning governments to the education of our children.

We propose scrapping the 600 page National Curriculum (and this is one tenth of the size it was when introduced) and replacing it with a slimmed down Minimum Curriculum Entitlement. We would have a pupil premium that would significantly increase funding for the 1 million most disadvantaged pupils. We would reduce testing, Introduce a general diploma to incorporate GCSEs, A levels and vocational qualifications, change the Academies and Trust School policies to create Sponsor managed Schools restoring Local Authority oversight and commissioning. We would have smaller classes for children under 7.

The government's emphasis on '5 A* to C grades' at GCSE has short-changed the most and least able. In their later years many young people are not educated, they are trained, often very effectively, to pass narrow exams. This is not providing what employers need or preparing most young people for the next stage of their education.

I like to share this quotation with you about an issue not given the priority it deserves:

The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the Civilisation of any country. A calm and dispassionate recognition of the rights of the accused against the state, and even of convicted criminals against the state, a desire and eagerness to rehabilitate all those who have paid their dues, tireless efforts towards the discovery of curative and regenerating processes, and an unfaltering faith that there is a treasure, if you can only find it, in the heart of every man. These are the symbols which in the treatment of crime and criminals mark and measure the stored-up strength of a nation.

From a speech by Winston Churchill, nearly 100 years ago.

The reality is that re-offending rates now are over 60% and are rising. That so many people in our prisons have mental health, drug and alcohol problems. That 40% have a reading age below that of an average 11 year old. So what would we do?

From our Pocket Guide to Policy

Make prisons fit for purpose -We will reform the prison system so that the most

dangerous and serious offenders are housed in adequate facilities with greater

emphasis on rehabilitation, restorative justice, drug, alcohol and mental health

treatment. We will ensure that all prisoners have access to education and training

as a route into work to reduce the likelihood of re-offending.

Make prisoners support their families and compensate their victims by ensuring that progress is made towards better paid work for prisoners including a scheme in which a proportion of money earned will be paid into a common fund for victims. Prison-based work schemes will be expanded to provide previous offenders with realistic alternatives to crime, easing the pressure on the prison service and

on the British tax payer. We will allocate resources to new secure mental health and drug treatment centers rather than new prisons.

This is the progressive way. The Liberal Democrat way.

There are many other issues I could go on about but I had better draw to a conclusion.

If you select me as your PPC I am not promising to work full time to be elected. What I would aim to do is build on the work that is already being done to increase the profile of Liberal Democrats in Crewe and Nantwich, to seek publicity for our policies and to be available to attend any meeting during the campaign. We all need to play our parts in increasing the Lib Dem vote.

Archive of earlier news stories.

Archive of earlier speeches.

News Story Feed (v1.0).

Speech Feed (v1.0).