First the good news, and that’s the poll from ICM which shows the Liberal Democrats up 4% to 16%. OK, so it’s only one poll but it’s a start.
On to other news:
In today’s Times, 115 Liberal Democrat councillors have called for the scrapping of plans for Police and Crime Commissioners. You can read more about the story at LocalGov, thereby saving you having to pay News International for the privilege of reading the story.
The government has announced plans for a coastal communities fund using money raised through the Crown Estates. This will allow people to bid for funds to support economic development along our coasts.
Andrew Stunell has written for Liberal Democrat Voice about the government’s plans to relocalise business rates and and at Huffington Post UK about the government’s first boost to social housing in over 30 years.
Around the country,
Hertfordshire County Council’s Conservative Deputy Leader says what he really thinks about consulting and involving local residents on issues “in local government, there’s a feeling you’ve got to involve the public. I think perhaps we try to involve the public for too long.”
In news from Liverpool, the Liberal Democrats there are leading the charge in trying to curb Labour’s gravy train of allowances at Merseytravel, the local Integrated Transport Authority.
Within the Liberal Democrats,
Linda Jack joins the debate on the reform of public services and Peter Downes writes about the overspend on academies.