There weren’t that many press releases today, strangely, but here are the ones we’ve received:
Conservatives have “legalised littering”
Cole-Hamilton: Liberal Democrats stand ready to fix broken politics
Scottish Liberal Democrats welcome Edinburgh Jazz Bar re-opening as social enterprise
Conservatives have “legalised littering”
Responding to the Conservative’s announcement that fly-tippers face driving licence points, Liberal Democrat Local Government Spokesperson Helen Morgan said:
The Conservatives have effectively legalised littering. Under their government, fines for littering and fly-tipping are so low that people are being let off scot-free up and down the country.
The fact that fly-tipping is going unpunished is simply appalling. If people aren’t being fined, it’s no wonder that they think they can dump their rubbish on the streets without consequence.
The Conservatives have had years to get tough on fly-tippers and litterers but have failed at every turn. The Liberal Democrats are calling for real action against fly-tippers by increasing fines and using the profits to crack down on this anti-social crime.
Cole-Hamilton: Liberal Democrats stand ready to fix broken politics
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton today outlined how the party will fix our broken politics, as he unveiled its plan for cleaning up the sleaze and scandal created by both the SNP and Conservatives.
Alex Cole-Hamilton took to the campaign trail in central Edinburgh to unveil the plans to put power into the hands of voters, end the sleaze and cronyism and make politics work for you again.
His partyâs plan includes:
Making every vote count by introducing proportional representation for electing MPs;
NHS waiting lists rise to new record high as Sunak breaks pledge
Fly-tipping âeffectively legalisedâ as just one in 500 incidents lead to a prosecution
NHS waiting lists rise to new record high as Sunak breaks pledge
The number of people waiting for NHS treatment has risen to a new record high of 7.22 million, new figures reveal today, despite Rishi Sunakâs New Year pledge that âNHS waiting lists will fallâ.
Three million people have been waiting longer than the Governmentâs target of 18 weeks, while 360,498 have been waiting more than a year.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for an NHS rescue plan to relieve the burden on hospitals and bring down waiting lists, including recruiting more GPs to guarantee patients an appointment within a week and raising the minimum wage for care workers to fill the vacancies in social care.
Tim Farron has been speaking out about fly-tipping; specifically the fact that only 1 in 500 incidents last year led to prosecution. He claims that it has been “effectively legalised”.
He says:
The fact that fly-tipping is going unpunished is simply appalling. If people aren’t being fined, it’s no wonder that they think they can dump their rubbish on the streets without consequence.
Brits do the right thing with their waste, but a badly behaved minority is spoiling our environment.
The lack of action on this issue from the Government sends out the message that they do not take it seriously enough. They have effectively legalised littering through their inaction.
The Lib Dems take more action against fly-tippers by increasing the cost of the fine and using the profits to crackdown on fly-tippers.
With local elections around the corner, communities must vote to clean up the mess that the current government has created.
Fly-tipping is a good issue for campaigners in the current local elections, because it is visible and no one (apart from the culprits) likes it.
I’m sorry, though, that he didn’t mention some of the innovative solutions that are being used where Lib Dems are in control. It’s not simply a matter of increasing fines – it has to be about identifying and chasing the perpetrators. We learnt about one approach in a recent post from Cllr John Sweeney in Kingston upon Thames, who has a portfolio that includes waste and recycling. “Beyond potholes ⌠addressing fly-tipping is an issue LibDems can campaign on in cities everywhere“.
By John Sweeney
| Wed 22nd February 2023 - 10:20 am
Canvassing in the Hounslow by-election recently, I couldn’t help but notice old refrigerators, household waste, and builders’ rubble accumulated on the street corners and estates of Heston West. Residents were fed up and felt that they were being taken for granted. Statistically, Hounslow has the 2nd highest number of fly-tipping incidents in London. Even more depressing is that the Labour-run Council only bothered to issue 53 Fixed Penalty Notice fines for fly-tipping in 12 months. (Fly-tipping data for all UK Local Authorities is available here).
Fly-tipping is a real blight on the sense of pride everyone wants for the place they live. Council-run housing estates are especially popular locations for fly-tipping. Even worse, the daily exposure to stained mattresses, soiled nappies, and other waste constantly drags on the mental health and general well-being of the people living on them.
For Liberal Democrats getting serious about fixing urban fly-tipping is an opportunity to show city-dwellers what a community-minded approach can achieve. Our Heston West candidate has already adopted action on this blight as one of the major themes of his campaign. There is a lot Local Authorities can do about this problem, but only a few are doing enough. For challengers in Local Elections, this is an opportunity to demonstrate the difference a LibDem approach can make.
Two years ago in âleafyâ Kingston there was a noticeable increase inâŻfly-tippingâŻduring the pandemic. Statistically, Kingston is one of Londonâs least fly-tipped boroughs, but that is no consolation for people living with a problem in their area. Certain streets and locations of the borough received significantâŻdumps of household waste/furniture and black bags. Housing estates and flats above shops especially had problems. Council Departments in Housing, Highways, and Parks were not working together, and issues were being handled poorly, frustrating residents and Councillors. And just Like Hounslow at that time very few Fixed Penalty Notices were being issued.
With the support of the LibDem Group, I initiated a fly-tipping task force. The task force brought together councillors, officers, and the vast amount of data gathered by the Council to identify âhot spotsâ. We then systematically set about fixing the worst areas through site visits and engaging with residents and local businesses. Each area had a slightly different problem and some issues were more difficult to resolve than others.
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