Burnley Liberal Democrats

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Manchester Rail Link Boost

Last Updated (Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00) Written by Martyn Hurt Thursday, 02 October 2008 10:29

Direct rail links between Burnley and Manchester got another boost on Thursday when the Lib Dem shadow Transport Secretary Norman Baker MP called for the re-instatement of the Todmorden Curve.

Burnley Council leader Gordon Birtwistle and other Lib Dem leaders from across the North West met party leader Nick Clegg and Baker on Thursday morning to discuss rail links.

Mr Baker said, "Passengers across the country and in Burnley deserve a better railway. But instead of investing in re-opening lines and building new stations, this Government is tinkering at the edges with a few extra carriages while cutting funding for the railways and pushing for higher fares.

"We propose that longer, rolling franchises are introduced so that it makes obvious financial sense to the rail companies to invest in re-opening lines like the Todmorden Curve instead of the fare payer having to foot the bill."

Progress towards re-establishing the link, just a few hundred yards of abandoned track, was made this summer after cost estimates were revised downwards.

Burnley Council leader Gordon Birtwistle said, "We're convinced that the way forwards for Burnley lies in real jobs - especially better paid, long term jobs in high tech industries.

"There are jobs in Manchester that can be done by Burnley people, and there will be jobs in Burnley that will attract people from outside the town.

"We believe that re-opening the curve will prove an important part of our jobs strategy and we're determined to see the plans succeed."

Success will depend on the Lib Dems convincing rail bosses and the Regional Development Agency that the scheme should be backed. Supporters say that the business case shows big returns for a low investment - probably as little as £4m. Journey times to Manchester could be reduced from around 90 minutes to as little as 40 minutes, making it faster than the X.43 and comparable with using a car.

Lib Dems In Control!

Last Updated (Saturday, 03 May 2008 10:25) Written by Martyn Hurt Friday, 02 May 2008 18:16

The Lib Dems in Burnley are celebrating tonight after winning 5 seats from Labour, meaning that they have taken Overall Control of Burnley Borough Council.

Your new Lib Dem Councillors are :

Linda White (Brunshaw)

Abdul Malik (Daneshouse with Stoneyholme)

Justin Birtwistle (Gannow)

Karen Heseltine (Rosehill with Burnley Wood)

Lynne Briggs (Rosegrove with Lowerhouse)

Bill Brindle successfully retained the Lanehead seat, after Cllr Ian Stanworth retired this year, and the three defending Lib Dem councillors, Bill Bennett (queensgate), Charlie Bullas (Coalclough with Deerplay) and Maggie Lishman (Briercliffe) all held onto their seats.

The full results were as follows :

Bank Hall
Julie Cooper	Lab	621
Asif Raja	Lib Dem	571
Paul Coates	Con	237
Lab Hold

Briercliffe
Maggie Lishman	Lib Dem	912
Patricia Thomson	BNP	326
Susan Nutter	Con	219
Laurence Embley	Lab	184
Lib Dem Hold

Brunshaw
Linda White	Lib Dem	633
David Halsall	Lab	451
Paul McDevitt	BNP	384
Arthur Coates	Con	233
Lib Dem Gain from Lab

Cliviger with Worsthorne
Michael Heys	Con	923
Paula Riley	Lib Dem	486
Steven Smith	EF	254
Brenda Lambert	Lab	214
Ben Smalley	BNP	149
Con Hold

Coalclough with Deerplay
Charles Bullas	Lib Dem	953
Scott Atkinson	BNP	274
Joanne Whitaker	Lab	205
Lib Dem Hold

Daneshouse with Stoneyholme
Mohammed Malik	Lib Dem	1234
Shah Hussain	Lab	1123
Lib Dem Gain from Lab

Gannow
Justin Birtwistle	Lib Dem	544
John Cave	BNP	473
Mark Townsend	Lab	386
Sharon Everitt	Con	212
Lib Dem Gain from Lab

Hapton
Sharon Wilkinson	BNP	674
Jean Cunningham	Lab	586
Alan Marsden	Con	323
Vincent McCrae	Lib Dem	162
BNP Hold

Lanehead
Bill Brindle	Lib Dem	852
Peter Kenyon	Lab	357
Michael Raistrick	Con	309
Lib Dem Hold

Queensgate
Bill Bennett	Lib Dem	740
Abid Sharif	Lab	571
Brent Wittam	Con	246
Lib Dem Hold

Rosegrove with Lowerhouse
Lynne Briggs	Lib Dem	637
John Rowe	BNP	491
Marion Smith	Lab	293
Peter Raistrick	Con	164
Lib Dem Gain from Lab

Rosehill with Burnley Wood
Karen Heseltine	Lib Dem	742
Colette Bailey	Lab	353
David Tierney	Con	316
Lib Dem Gain from Lab

Trinity
Tony Lambert	Lab	497
David Shapcott	BNP	283
Martyn Hurt	Lib Dem	244
Thomas Picton	Con	147
Labour Hold

Whittlefield with Ightenhill
Peter Doyle	Con	1025
Joan Shapcott	BNP	307
Michael McHugh	Lib Dem	292
Angela Donovan	Labour	264
Conservative Hold

FALSE LABOUR LEAFLET WITHDRAWN

Last Updated (Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00) Written by Martyn Hurt Saturday, 26 April 2008 09:28

LABOUR have been forced to withdraw a controversial election leaflet which falsely suggested that Burnley Council intended to destroy "most" homes in the Daneshouse with Stoneyholme ward.

The leaflet also claimed that the Council intended to destroy a mosque and made false claims that Labour's candidate had provided funds and delivered a project to improve road safety.

Burnley Council have put out a statement saying that the claims about the destruction of homes are "false".

David Brown, Burnley Council's Director of Environment responsible for planning, told residents in a statement: "An election leaflet is circulating in your area containing incorrect information. There are no plans by Burnley Council to demolish the Mosque being built in Burns Street and it is factually incorrect to state 'most' of the houses will be
demolished."

The Liberal Democrat election agent in the ward, Darren Reynolds, said, "The police are considering an investigation because the leaflet makes false claims about a candidate, and that's illegal. The leaflet also has no 'imprint' to say which individual was responsible for making false claims. That's also illegal and could hinder any investigation.

"Amazingly, the false claims about the Council's regeneration plans are not illegal; they're just wrong. I think it should be illegal to make any false statements in an election campaign with the intention of unfairly influencing the result.

"I also have a problem with the withdrawal of the leaflet. Labour have withdrawn it, but that's the end of it. They're not going to go round collecting the leaflets up again, and they're not going to deliver a retraction through the letterbox. All they've done is tell the Returning Officer they are retracting the leaflet and that's the end of the matter. How that makes any difference I've no idea."

The area's regeneration earlier made the headlines when the town's Labour MP came out of maternity leave especially to generate publicity around a petition against the homes' destruction.

Coun Reynolds added, "I don't know whether the local Labour activists hoodwinked the MP or whether she knew the claims were false, but either way it is an affront to democracy. The Lib Dem-led Council is a listening Council. There is a genuine offer for people living in regeneration areas to give the Council their views on what they think should be done in their area. We are residents ourselves. We have changed the plans before in response to residents, and if that is what residents want, we will do it again."

Fix My Street!

Last Updated (Friday, 02 May 2008 16:55) Written by Martyn Hurt Sunday, 06 April 2008 00:00

We've all wondered in the past, who do we report that illegally parked car to, or the bags of rubbish that have been dumped on the park, or the pothole that you just ran over in your car, well there's now an easy way to do it.

A new website, Fix My Street, allows you to easilly report any issues you have by pinpointing it on a map, giving a description, and even a photo. The site then sends the report directly to Burnley Borough Council or Lancashire County Council to deal with (or any other Council as you can report problems anywhere).

We are so impressed with this site, that we've added a link to it in the left menu, which will let you report issues without leaving this website, so go on, try it today, and please let us know if your issue was resolved, as we want to know from you if this system really helps.

Burnley Lib Dems Announce 2008 Candidates

Last Updated (Thursday, 15 May 2008 19:43) Written by Martyn Hurt Thursday, 03 April 2008 16:23

Liberal Democrats in Burnley have launched their campaign for the 2008 Local Elections.

With one seat up for election in each of the 15 wards, we are proud to field a full team of candidates.

Bankhall	Asif Raja
Briercliffe	Maggie Lishman
Brunshaw	Linda White
Cliviger with Worsthorne	Paula Riley
Coalclough with Deerplay	Charlie Bullas
Daneshouse with Stoneyholme	Abdul Malik
Gannow	Justin Birtwistle
Gawthorpe	Denise Embra
Hapton with Park	Vincent McRae
Lanehead	Bill Brindle
Queensgate	Bill Bennett
Rosegrove with Lowerhouse	Lynne Briggs
Rosehill with Burnleywood	Karen Heseltine
Trinity	Martyn Hurt
Whittlefield with Ightenhill	Mick McHugh

Breaking Ground in South West Burnley

Last Updated (Friday, 21 March 2008 12:15) Written by Martyn Hurt Friday, 21 March 2008 11:50

The regeneration of Burnley, under the leadership of the Liberal Democrats, is well under way, and work on the first new houses to be built in South West Burnley under the Elevate Scheme has started, with the Breaking Of the Ground taking place on Thursday, March 20th.

Council Leader, Gordon Birtwistle (Pictured right), attended the site near Fielden Street, for the "breaking of the ground", along with local residents and representatives from Keepmoat, Hasllam Homes and Burnley Borough Council.

Councillor Birtwistle said, "It's fantastic to finally see work starting here. I can't wait to see bricks finally going down."

The development, which will see 65 homes on the site, near Cog Lane, has been welcomed by residents, who have been campaigning for work to start as soon as possible.

This is probably one of the few developments where local people are likely to lie down behind the diggers, just to make sure they don't leave the site!

Work starts on new houses in South West Burnley

Lib Dem Campaigners Really Clean Up

Last Updated (Saturday, 15 March 2008 14:51) Written by Martyn Hurt Saturday, 15 March 2008 12:39

Campaigners across Burnley and Padiham have been busy making sure that the borough really is Cleaner, Greener and Safer by looking out for Grot Spots, and either reporting them to Streetscene, and making sure that the area is cleaned up, or by doing it themselves.

In Gannow, campaigner Justin Birtwistle has recently made sure that two Grot Spots near Dickson Street were cleaned up....

Cleaner, Greener, Safer & Prosperous

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