Stockport Liberal Democrats

Stockport’s Liberal Democrat Group have launched a campaign to put pressure on the government to properly fund adaptations at railway stations to ensure that they can be accessed by all.

A motion to be debated at Stockport’s next Full Council Meeting calls on the Secretary of State for Transport to reconsider proposals which will see half of the funding for adaptations due to be spent in the current period pushed back until 2019-24.

This means not only will less be spent now but also fewer adaptations may be delivered in total by 2024. This will affect people with a permanent physical disability and also parents with pushchairs, those suffering a short-term injury and those who simply struggle to use stairs for whatever reason.

Cllr Laura Booth, who lost a leg as a child and regularly needs to use a wheelchair, said: “It is over twenty years since the rights of disabled people were passed into law, yet despite being one of the world’s richest countries, many people cannot use their local railway stations.

“The UK rail network still has a long way to go to improve accessibility, so it is very concerning to see the recommendation within the Hendy review to cut by 50% the ‘Access for all’ funding.”

Cllr Geoff Abell, who represents Stockport Liberal Democrats on the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, said: “Transport for Greater Manchester have shown how accessibility for all can be achieved in the design of the Metrolink system.

“Stations in Stockport such as Bredbury, Heaton Chapel, Reddish North, and destination stations such as Manchester Oxford Road, all have stepped access to at least one platform, making them inaccessible to many people. We are calling for action to increase spending on accessibility, not cut it.”

Stockport Liberal Democrats are encouraging residents to vote Remain in Thursday’s European referendum.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Cllr Iain Roberts, said: “According to a YouGov poll, most people in Stockport are voting Remain. Local residents constantly tell me that we need good jobs, safe streets, a well-funded NHS and to protect the environment. All of these are at risk if we vote to leave Europe.

“I’m passionate that we stay in Europe, because that’s how we can tackle our most important problems – through a strong economy that can pay for the NHS, and international co-operation to tackle complex challenges.

“Being in Europe keeps many jobs safe and brings more investment into Britain. It also helps us in simple every day ways, for instance cutting mobile phone roaming charges and making sure we have access to medical care while on holiday.

“It’s not just the Liberal Democrats saying this. Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis, the Governor of the Bank of England, the Conservative Home Secretary Theresa May and Labour’s Angela Eagle have all pointed out the risk to the economy and jobs if Britain leaves Europe.”

Cllr Roberts added: “Martin Lewis in particular has given a very good, well balanced summary of the issues on his Money Saving Expert blog. His conclusion is that the risks of Brexit are too high and that we are better off voting Remain. This is why your vote next week is crucial. The decision you make next Thursday will shape our country for years to come. “

We only have one chance – please make plans now for what time of day you will vote. You can vote at your usual place from 7am to 10pm and you don’t need to take your polling card.

If you want to read more, Martin Lewis’ blog can be accessed here.

Stockport Liberal Democrats are calling for a full investigation into the unprecedented flooding in Bramhall, Hazel Grove and Offerton over the weekend, and say questions need to be answered.

“We would like to thank the emergency services, council officers and residents who rallied round and made sure people were kept safe during the flood,” said Stockport Lib Dem leader Cllr Iain Roberts.

“But there are three important questions that must now be answered.

“First, there was a lot of rainfall in a short period of time, but not a record amount. Why did houses flood that have never flooded before? Why did houses flood where the Environment Agency has said the risk was less than once every hundred years? Why did houses flood where there are flood defences in place and where improved drainage systems have only recently been installed? Had local drains and sluices been maintained according to the council’s specifications?

“Second, once the water started rising, was everything possible done to protect people and property? For example, we have heard reports that the council did not act quickly enough to close Hazelwood Road, putting houses there at risk of water overflowing their front steps due to large vehicles driving past, and that the council’s emergency number was not answered and then went offline. We are concerned not enough happened shortly following the issue of the Environment Agency alert early on Friday evening.

“And third, what needs to be done to stop this happening again? What lessons can be learned from this event to reduce the impact of any future flood events.

“We will ask the council for a detailed report on all of this to come to the next Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee on 7th July.”

Cllr Laura Booth was one of the victims of the flood at her home in Offerton, despite being in an area the Environment Agency says is protected by flood defences.

Cllr Booth said: “I was very fortunate to only be lightly affected but this experience has given me a sense of the huge impact flooding has had on hundreds of my neighbours. They are now trying to pick up the pieces and contacting their insurance companies. It is essential that we find out the cause of these floods so we can stop the same thing happening again”.

In December the Department of Health announced a decision to cut funding for the community pharmacy budget by £170m, a reduction of more than 6% in cash terms.

Stockport NHS Watch estimate that this could result in the closure of around 100 community pharmacies across Greater Manchester. It will be the small, local pharmacies that close – the big chains like Boots will be able to offset the funding cut.

Community pharmacies are a vital arm of the health services received by our residents, often helping to moderate demand for GP and A&E services.

A substantial petition (over a million signatures) was handed in to Downing Street last month but pharmacists are keen to secure a parliamentary debate on this issue, which requires 100,000 signatures on their online petition here.

Please sign the petition and help us keep our community pharmacies. At a time when we are being told to visit our pharmacist instead of the GP or A&E for minor ailments, this is a false economy that will not only harm patients but could well end up costing the NHS more.

The country faces one of the most important decisions to be made in a generation – whether or not to remain in the European Union.

Liberal Democrats have always advocated remaining firmly within the European Union but, however you intend to vote, you must register first in order to vote.

The deadline for registering to vote for the EU Referendum is Tuesday 7th June and you can do so quickly and easily by going to the following government website:

https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Stockport Lib Dems have congratulated Stockport Homes for again being among the Top Ten Landlords nationally, having been chosen by a panel of judges for Housing 24 magazine’s award. There will now be a public vote to determine the order of the top 10 and Stockport Homes have come second for the past two years.

As Stockport Homes is one of the smallest landlords on the list we are encouraging everyone to show their support for the company who manage the housing stock on behalf of Stockport Council.

The public vote opened this morning and it is only open for a couple of weeks. Only one vote is counted per device but we’d really appreciate you spreading the word among your friends, families and contacts.

The voting link is here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RKLPF6V