Mole Valley Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat activist Lesley Bushnell is working with local residents opposed to the reopening of the Auclaye Claypit near Capel. If the proposed re-opening goes ahead, local residents are in for six years of noise pollution, dust and loss of amenities. Bad enough you might think. But by far the most serious prospect is an extra 149 HGV movements a day, turning into and out of the small Knoll Farm track along a double bend stretch of the A24 just south of Capel village.

That's going to be six days a week of slow lorries, hampering the traffic flow! That's going to be more heavy vehicles (an extra 20% HGVs) churning up the already poor road surface. Thundering over the accident-prone railway bridge, which has potholes on it now.

And think of wet clay on the road! Of course, if there is an incident, the whole road gets closed with lengthy diversions along the A29. Surrey County Council knows perfectly well how treacherous this section of the A24 is, having previously proposed improvement schemes, shelved for lack of funds. So, let's hope they will give this some serious safety considerations.

Following the launch of the 'consultation' on the future of Community Recycling Centres in Surrey which proposes the Closure of the Ranmore Road Tip in Dorking and three others in Surrey, the reduction in operating hours at Leatherhead and the other remaining tips and the imposition of further charges, Liberal Democrat Councillors have been working hard to oppose these proposals.

Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have launched a petition to save four community recycling centres earmarked for closure by the Conservative administration at County Hall after a huge outcry from local residents. The petition also calls for the county council to scrap plans to reduce the opening times of every CRC in the county by 2 days per week and increase the charge for residents disposing of waste. The four centres earmarked for closure are Bagshot, Cranleigh, Dorking and Warlingham.

Following news that the Conservatives have agreed to give 10 DUP MPs an extra £1bn for Northern Ireland as part of a sweetheart deal to deliver Theresa May's hard Brexit plans over the next two years, a Liberal Democrat councillor has called on Surrey's 11 Conservative MPs to demand that an equivalent sum (£100m per MP) be returned to Surrey.

Over the past 2 weeks, different local Liberal Democrat activists have made visits to the re-instated Sexual Health clinics at Leatherhead Hospital - 10-12:30 Mondays & Fridays. Whilst the clinics have been open and staff have been present, there have been very few patients. The reason is very simple - there is almost no publicity about the clinics and the processes to book appointments at Leatherhead do not seem to work. One of our activists tried to use the telephone numbers to book an appointment at Leatherhead; the first number (at Buryfields in Guildford) was not answered -at 2:30pm on a Tuesday. The second number was answered at Earnsdale in Redhill, but the person who answered was not aware of any clinics in Leatherhead. Eventually when we spoke to the manager at Earnsdale, we were told that they are having problems getting their computer systems able to make appointments.

Only a vote for Paul Kennedy can de-rail the Tory plans

The County Council elections saw a surge in support for the Liberal Democrats in our area, with the Party's vote climbing from 28% in 2013 to nearly 40% on May 4th. Liberal Democrat councillors Hazel Watson and Stephen Cooksey were re-elected with increased majorities.

Many residents expressed their anger at the Conservatives' appalling record in running Surrey County Council. Despite their "strong" majority, they have left a black hole in the finances, and are making huge cuts to vital services such as schools and social care.

The results of yesterday's County Council elections show no change from the previous County Councillors elected in 2013 for the 6 County Divisions in the area covered by Mole Valley District.

Liberal Democrats Hazel Watson (Dorking Hills) and Stephen Cooksey (Dorking South & The Holmwoods) were both returned with increased majorities.

Paul Kennedy is a former barrister, accountant and actuary with over 30 years' experience working in both public and private sectors. He helped develop the citizens pension policy which was introduced by the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government to give pensioners dignity and security in retirement. Paul now wants to use his professional experience as a full-time MP to serve the people of Mole Valley.

People in Mole Valley constituency should vote for the Liberal Democrats to prevent a hard Brexit and protect our local economy, the party's Parliamentary candidate Paul Kennedy has said today.

After previously denying she would hold an early election before 2020, the Prime Minister today [Tuesday] called a snap General Election to be held on the 8^th June.

The Liberal Democrats are standing on a clear platform to prevent a hard Brexit by staying in the Single Market, and to give the British people the final say on the Brexit deal through a referendum.

Paul Kennedy, Liberal Democrat candidate for Mole Valley, commented:

"This election is a huge opportunity for voters in Mole Valley to change the direction of our country and prevent a disastrous hard Brexit.

"People in Mole Valley voted to remain in the EU, and certainly did not vote for the extreme form of Brexit that Theresa May says she wants to impose on us.

"For all those who want to protect our local economy by staying in the Single Market and ensure the people have the final say over what comes next, this is your chance.

"The Liberal Democrats are the real opposition to the Conservative Brexit Government and the only party fighting for a Britain that is open, tolerant and united."