Gainsborough Liberal Democrats
"Liberal Democrats aim to provide a secure environment in which a free and democratic society can flourish to the benefit of all."Gainsborough Liberal Democrats Statement of Purpose

Gainsborough Liberal Democrats covers the 455 square miles of the Gainsborough Parliamentary constituency, very similar to the area served by West Lindsey District Council where Liberal Democrats are the opposition to the Tories.

Gainsborough Town Council By-election result
The votes cast in the election for the Gainsborough North West Ward held on 26 April 2012 were:
John Beaver, UKIP, 203 (46.09%)
David Dobbie, Liberal Democrats, 267 (elected) (56.56%)
Spoilt papers 2
Total 472 (12.08%)

Return of Buses to Morton

Two weeks after routes 1 and 1A were withdrawn a temporary replacement service, 3 Bus Station  to Vanessa Drive and 3A Bus Station to Morton Laughton Lane End, is introduced following a campaign led by Councillor Lesley Rollings (West Lindsey and Gainsborough Town Councils).  Cllr Rollings says "This is a real victory for the people of Morton and Gainsborough." Watch our 40 second video The Morton Bus The new bus service started on  Friday 20 April and will run until September when it is hoped further improvements to Gainsborough bus services will be made.

The new bus timetable

One week Megarider tickets for £6.50 valid on all Stagecoach buses in Gainsborough within the boundaries of Morton, Lea and Park Springs can be bought from the driver. Even better value is the  4 week Megarider ticket that can be bought online for only £25.

Now it is up to the residents of Gainsborough to use their buses more if there is to be better services this autumn.

West Lindsey Lib Dem Councillor Lesley Rollings organises bus petition

Dave Skepper Stagecoach East Midlands Commercial Director is quoted in the Gainsborough Standard for 5 April 2012 as saying "Under the Transport Act 1985 councils have an obligation to consider any changes or withdrawals to commercial bus services and how they will affect local communities, which includes undertaking a consultation with local people and parish councils, to help them decide whether any journeys should be reinstated using funding from their supported services budget"

Councillor Rollings had been told by Lincolnshire County Council that "Stagecoach cannot be made to keep running services that they consider are not commercially viable" and that "The only way to retain the same service would be for someone to subsidise this service. The County Council is unable to do this as in April 2011 it reduced the budget that subsidises non commercial, essential services, by £ 1m (20% of the previous budget). It would be possible for the District and/or Parish to raise this subsidy if it required."

Lincolnshire County Council's commitment to the Lincolnshire Bus Quality Partnership includes a requirement for them to inform and consult with town and parish councils . In this case Lincolnshire County Council were made aware of Stagecoach's changes back in October 2011, so why have they not consulted with parishes?

Is Edward Leigh our latest supporter?

Gainsboorugh's erstwhile Tory MP Edward Leigh spoke during Questions on devolution to our party Leader, Nick Clegg on 20 March. Hansard records:-

Mr Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con): My right hon. Friend and I are already, in a sense, married politically - and very happily, at that - but as we have so much to do together on devolution, House of Lords reform and the Health and Social Care Bill, can we just leave it at that: as a partnership?

The Deputy Prime Minister: My hon. Friend is right that our in-tray is full, but, as I said before, I think it is a good thing that this partnership and this coalition is being as ambitious as we are

Campaigning with the Community produces results

The campaign led by our party treasurer to retain an hourly bus service between Market Rasen and Lincoln has been a success. Its an example of how working with the community Lib Dems can deliver results even though the Tories are nominally "in power".
Read the article in the Market Rasen Mail on Wednesday 28 March

Tax cut in half

Minimum wage earners have their income tax cut in half. The announcement in the Coalition Government Budget today that from 5 April 2014 no tax will be paid on the first £ 9,205 of earnings means that since 2010 tax bills for those on minimum wages, and that's a lot of people in the Gainsborough constituency, will have gone down by 50%. You can be sure that had the Tories won the 2010 General Election such significant tax reductions for the lowest wage earners would not have happened. Liberal Democrats promised that by 2015 nobody would pay tax on the first £ 10,000 earnings. The Coalition is on track to reach that goal a year earlier now.

Remember because Liberal Democrats are in the Government there has been

• The biggest ever uplift in the tax threshold to £ ?9,205

• 21 million working people getting an extra £ 220 tax cut

• Lib Dem tax cuts have saved average working people £ 550

Bus Times

Gainsborough Lib Dems Treasurer Guy Grainger who lives in Market Rasen writes:

"The editorial column of the March edition of the bus industry magazine "Buses" states "If public service cuts must happen it helps when those affected are given time to plan for the effects. The coalition government surely deserves credit for having done that with its 20% cut to the Bus Services Operators Grant in England from April." It explains that ministers announced the cut 18 months prior to its introduction and also pledged to freeze the grant for three years. Although this cut increases the cost of diesel by 8.6 pence per litre operators and councils have had 18 months to devise strategies to live with it. So why is Lincolnshire County Council threatening to reduce the hourly route 3 from Lincoln to Grimsby via Nettleham, Market Rasen and Caistor, to two buses a day? What has LCC being doing over the past 18 months?

Such a reduction will increase rural isolation and the attendant social and economic woes associated with it.

The removal of the subsidy for the No 3 bus route by Lincolnshire County Council - which resulted in the withdrawal of buses on the 3 route on Sundays and Bank Holidays in April 2011 - would have been made knowing that the BSOG would be reduced this year.

Are we seeing the step by step removal of a vital public service?

Loads of Rubbish

Lib Dem District and County Councillor Mick Tinker wants to know why Gainsborough Town Council left discussion of a proposed waste transfer station to be built on Heapham Rd Industrial Estate in Gainsborough until three working days before the matter was discussed at a Planning Committee Meeting at County Hall, Lincoln. Gainsborough Town Council were notified of the planning application on 28 November 2011 and have had three council meetings since that date at which the issue did not appear on the agenda. Lincolnshire County Council finally made a presentation to an informal meeting of Gainsborough Town Councillors on 7 February.

Councillor Tinker, who represents the uphill area of Gainsborough, objects to the proposal as it is within a few hundred meters of existing housing. He said "Plans have been approved by the District Council to build a further 2500 homes south of Foxby Lane over the next 12 years which is too close to a site that will see some 45,000 tons of rubbish pass in and out each year." Cllr Tinker also considered that a waste transfer station within the new Somerby Business Park will not help attract the types of business he would like to see come to the town. In his opinion the County Council should consider further other sites they have identified, which are more remote from housing and business parks.

More for Less at Gainsborough Town Council

Click on photo to watch our video trailer

The Council at their meeting on 3 Jan 2012 accepted the proposals of the Liberal Democrat Group to reduce the precept by 3.8 per cent while maintaing services and expanding budgets in some areas. Lib Dem leader Councillor Trevor Young said

"The Liberal Democrat group are committed to ensuring this council provide value for money quality services to the people of Gainsborough. With this objective in mind we want to develop the good services the council already provides but at the same time explore how the council in partnership with groups in our community can provide a wider range of services while being cost effective. So we aim to provide more for less."
Read more...

Mayor's Column

Harry Clarke, Liberal Democrat Mayor of Gainsborough is now writing a fortnightly coulumn in the Gainsborough Standard. Buy the Standard to read the current column. We post previous columns here.

Two Liberal Democrat Mayors

Liberal Democrats controlled Gainsborough Town Council elected Cllr Harry Clarke as Town Mayor with Cllr David Manning as his Deputy. Harry gave a short address hoping that the whole council would now work together as a team for the benefit of the townsfolk.`

Twenty miles East of Gainsborough in Market Rasen Liberal Democrat West Lindsey Cllr Ken Bridger was elected Town Mayor. In Market Rasen the Town Mayor acts both as chair and council leader so Ken is going to find little time to sleep in the forthcoming year.

Gainsborough Liberal Democrats Buck the National Trend

Read our Manifesto for Gainsborough Town Council

11 Liberal Democrats elected to West Lindsey District Council on May 5, 2011.

At the 2011 elections for West Lindsey District Council although Gainsborough Liberal Democrats lost two seats to Labour and one to the Tories (in a ward contested by Labour too) we retained eleven council seats :

• Gainsborough East - Mick Tinker, Mel Starkey

• Gainsborough North - David Dobbie

• Gainsborough South West - Judy Rainsforth and Trevor Young

• Market Rasen - Ken Bridger

• Nettleham - Malcolm Leaning and Ray Sellars

• Saxilby - David Cotton

• Stow - Reg Shore

• Thonnock - Lesley Rollings

The Tories retained control of West Lindsey, well that's not exactly true the council officers retained control as the Tories give them no clear policy directives and fail to effect scrutiny of the officer's management of the council. This is no criticism of council officers for if there is a void from their political masters officers have no option but to create their own policy for the council.

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