Single Farm Payment fiasco: Government must take responsibility
Speaking today following yesterday's debate in Parliament on the Government’s handling of the Single Farm Payment, Dan Rogerson, Liberal Democrat MP for North Cornwall said: "The Government have mishandled this process from the start, encouraging the Rural Payments Agency to reduce staffing members and restructure itself while attempting to handle the biggest workload it has ever faced." "It is time that Ministers took responsibility for this... Read More
Lib Dem MPs increase the pressure for action on flawed train timetable
Liberal Democrat MPs from Devon and Cornwall attended a meeting with Government officials to discuss the proposed timetable for the Greater Western Franchise. Despite extensive and pointed questioning, officials were unable to give any firm answers on whether changes to the timetable could be secured. The eight Lib Dem MPs in the two counties wrote to First Great Western several weeks ago asking for a meeting and are still awaiting confirmation as to when that meeting... Read More
Lib Dem MPs join forces with Postmasters to save local Post Offices
Sub-Post Masters and Mistresses from across Cornwall on Friday evening won backing from Cornwall's Lib Dem MPs in the fight to save local Post Offices. Sub-Post Masters and Mistresses fear they will be forced to close as a result of Government plans to scrap the Post Office Card Account. Lib Dem MPs, Matthew Taylor and Andrew George, joined Sub-Post Masters and Mistresses from across Cornwall to discuss how to fight the damaging effect of Government plans to discontinue... Read More
Pensioners hit by Budget tax snatch
Gordon Brown's 10th Budget brought an unpleasant budget tax snatch from hard up pensioners. The Chancellor took away the £200 Council Tax rebate he gave them just before last year's General Election. The news has been condemned by Cornwall's five Liberal Democrat MPs, who say Chancellor Gordon Brown's tax snatch will worsen pensioner poverty in the Southwest. The Liberal Democrats say the Chancellor should have taken the opportunity to scrap the unfair... Read More
Cornish Lib Dems back SW Water Bill
All five Cornish Liberal Democrat MPs were present in the House of Commons yesterday (March 15th) when fellow South West Liberal Democrat MP, Adrian Sanders, presented a Private Member's Bill to put a top limit on water and sewerage charges in the South West. The bill is entitled the Water and Sewerage Charges (Limit on Household Expenditure) Bill and seeks to put a top limit on charges so that no household would pay more than 3% of their income in paying their water... Read More
New OPDM role for Rogerson
Dan Rogerson Liberal Democrat MP for North Cornwall was yesterday given a new role as a spokesperson shadowing the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). In a move to continue the success of the Liberal Democrats, the new party leader, Sir Menzies Campbell MP, has given many of the new young MPs such as Dan the opportunity to really get to grips with key portfolios. Following a successful performance as a shadow DEFRA spokesperson Rogerson has now been rewarded with... Read More
Lib Dem MPs call for all party campaign
Following news that Chancellor Gordon Brown is to investigate water poverty in the South West; Westcountry Lib Dem MPs have called for all South West MPs to join together to make the case for action to the Chancellor. The South West is burdened with the highest water bills in the country, with average un-metered bills set to hit £700 a year by 2010. The Government has already set a cap on water bills in Northern Ireland – another area billed for the clean-up... Read More
