Liberal Democrats have started their campaign to save Chatham Docks and are calling for the land to be protected for employment use only. The announcement that owners Peel L & P are to close the Docks by 2025 would be a body blow for Medway. The land being earmarked for new housing, leisure and retail under the Council's Strategic Land Availability Assessment (SLAA).
Medway Liberal Democrats welcome Medway Council's adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of Anti-Semitism.
The news that Medway Council has been given six months probation, to improve its failing children's services, is very worrying, say Liberal Democrats. These are very serious shortcomings, and the probation should be a wake-up call for the Conservative run administration. The findings of the Commissioner for Children's Services already follows two previous reports by Ofsted that judged the overall effectiveness of the Council's children's social care services to be 'inadequate'. Whilst we recognise that frontline staff are not to blame - and are dedicated to the children they support - there is poor oversight at a senior level. It shows they are failing children, and failing to provide an environment for good social work. Structures put in place by Senior Council Officers have clearly not worked as they have overseen a 'serious decline', - a failure of leadership at the highest level.
Medway sees the closure of Debenhams Chatham store this month, its loss having a huge impact on the look of the town centre. Nationally, Liberal Democrats are demanding reform to protect High Street retailers. Responding to news that Beales Department Store may have to call in administrators, Sarah Olney MP, Liberal Democrat Business Spokesperson, said: "We've seen Mothercare close its last branches, Debenhams shutting more outlets and now Beales announcing that they are at risk of collapse. Every closure will see people around the country face the bleak prospect of losing their jobs and livelihoods. "The internet age means shopping is changing. But that doesn't mean we should accept seeing our High Streets hollowed out. Too many online stores rake in profit but pay little or no tax, while High Street shops are saddled with costly business rates and exorbitant rents.
Responding to NHS England figures which have revealed A&E waiting times hit their worst-ever level in December amid growing pressures on the NHS, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Munira Wilson said:
