Saving Grange Lido from council vandalism

I'm supporting the campaign to save the last surviving coastal Lido in the north of England from being filled in. Will you help me? Signing the petition will help send a strong message to SLDC that they are being shortsighted in disposing of this Grade 2 Listed Lido, which, although closed in 1993, could become one of the jewels of the South Lakes if restored and developed with creativity and ambition.

Labour’s tragedy is Britain’s tragedy, said The Spectator.

The headline is right, but not in the way that The Spectator article by Nick Cohen states. But then The Spectator is no friend of democratic socialism. Its articles seem to spend a lot of time bashing anyone politically on the left.

Britain's tragedy is the current Tory austerity government propped up by the DUP after being promised £1.5bn, following on from 5 years of Tory/LibDem austerity government that systematically slashed budgets nationally and to councils.

It is their insistence on massive "savings" which in reality meant local services being cut: police, fire, social care and health, public sector pay freezes that have led to health service workers and police officers having to apply for food help at food banks to feed their families.  In 2017 over 67,100 were identified as being lost due to government cuts since 2010. 

It is the increase in the use of zero hours contracts to avoid providing proper workers' rights and employment protection, sickness and holiday pay, and pensions. 

It is the atrocious treatment of sick and disabled people under the benefits system, so bad that even the UN has declared the UK govt to be at fault, its report said that UK legislation has “failed to recognise living independently and being included in the community as a human right,” citing cuts to social protection schemes related to housing and budgets for independent living.

It is the appalling news that 78 homeless people died on the streets and in temporary accommodation this winter, and that rough sleeping has increased by 169% nationally since 2010. "An estimated 4,751 people bedded down outside in 2017, but charities say the official statistics fail to capture the true level of street homelessness."

It is the current situation with the #Windrush generation and the government's attempts to create a “hostile environment” for illegal immigrants which has spilled over to encompass immigrants who are here legally and who were invited to come here after WW2 to help rebuild this country and who are now facing deportation due to the Home Office and govt. maladministration of their records. It is also having an impact on EU citizens who are living here, who have felt increasingly unwelcome after the BREXIT Referendum result in June 2016. 

So yes, Labour's tragedy is Britain's tragedy and the tragedy of everyone in Britain who is suffering under the current Tory government. The answer is #VoteLabour.

That's not democracy it's dictatorship!

In one of the recent FOCUS ON LOWER KENTDALE sheets from the LibDems that we are being deluged with in my area, there was a bit piece on the bottom of the front page that states there are "just 777 votes in it!"

I'd like to point out to the LibDems that this isn't a General Election and that Tim Farron is not going to lose his MP seat on May 3rd, so the size of his majority is not an issue at all, it's just scaremongering and distraction!

On May 3rd we are going to the polls to elect new SLDC councillors. 

Currently 31 of the 51 SLDC councillors are LibDems. They have an absolute majority and can thus do as they please with no-one and no group able to stop them. That's not democracy it's dictatorship!

This is the current breakdown of councillors on SLDC:

You can see that currently even if the Tories, Labour and the Indie all join forces they still cannot prevent the LibDems doing anything!

All councils and all governments work better with an effective opposition. 

We need more Labour councillors on the district council: to give a balance, to provide checks on decision-making, and to be a voice for the people.

Labour are standing candidates in every SLDC ward in Westmorland & Lonsdale. Even if you usually just vote for LibDem or Tory as the two dominant parties, why not this year opt for a Labour candidate?  Most wards have three seats, so having one Labour candidate in a ward isn't going to bring the end of the world, but it will bring the start of a more democratic council! 

Please think about it on May 3rd.

Tories and LibDems together in government from 2010-15, and Tories alone since then, have been responsible for the biggest cuts to local services in my lifetime, and I suspect yours too. Do you really want to see more cutbacks in services, more money wasted on frivolous projects, more decisions taken by one dominant party, or would you rather have a round-the-table, common-sense, representational approach from your local council? 

It's in YOUR hands!

See also the South Lakes Labour news page here: https://www.southlakeslabour.org.uk/blog