Category Archives: Liberal Democrats

New Brent Labour Leader needs to show he can listen says re-elected Lib Dem Leader

Posted on May 14, 2012 | Leave a comment

Commenting on the Labour Group’s decision to overthrow Council Leader Ann John and install Cllr Muhammed Butt in her place Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Paul Lorber said:

The face at the top has changed but nine of the ten Executive members who made so many damaging decisions are still in place. If Councillor Butt wants to prove that things have changed he needs to act quickly to reverse Labour’s unpopular library closures and cuts to street cleaning.

Cllr Butt also has the opportunity to turn over a new leaf in the council’s dealings with its residents. I have written to him urging that, unlike Cllr John, he listens to the views of local people and takes rapid action to re-open closed libraries and improve our street-cleaning service.

Last Tuesday (8 May) Paul Lorber was re-elected as Liberal Democrat Group Leader with Cllr Daniel Brown (Alperton) as Deputy. The Liberal Democrats have the most experienced Leadership Team in place with Councillors Lorber and Brown having served local people on Brent Council for around 50 years between them.

Speaking about his re-election Councillor Lorber said:

Over the past two years the Liberal Democrats have consistently held Labour to account in Brent for the damaging effect its policies are having on local people and their areas – culminating in Liberal Democrat Alison Hopkins’s excellent by-election victory in Dollis Hill.

We will continue to represent local residents and fight for their interests in the face of a Labour administration that has turned a deaf ear to local people’s concerns.

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Posted in Clean Streets, Liberal Democrats, Libraries

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Alison Hopkins says thank you to Dollis Hill residents.

Posted on April 11, 2012 | Leave a comment

Alison Hopkins wrote to local residents via the local press following her election as Brent Council’s newest councillor. Her letter was published in the Brent & Kilburn Times and the Wembley and Willesden Observer.

Dear Editor,

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all those in Dollis Hill who voted for me to be their new councillor at last week’s by-election. Having lived in Dollis Hill all my life, it is such an honour to represent my community on Brent Council. It is a real responsibility to be elected to serve my fellow Dollis Hill residents and I take it very seriously. I would also like to thank all those who helped me to win here.

During the election campaign I spoke to many people who are disillusioned and fed up with the decisions that Brent Council’s Labour administration is taking. Whether the issue is the closure of half of our libraries or the rubbish on the streets, there is an overwhelming impression that Labour is no longer interested in listening to what ordinary residents have to say.

 I am determined to be a councillor for everyone in Dollis Hill, not just those who voted for me. Along with my fellow Liberal Democrat councillors Javaid Ashraf and Jack Beck, I will be on the side of Dollis Hill residents. I will work to represent their concerns and will continue to fight for cleaner streets, to save our school crossing patrols and to cut waste not services at Brent Council.

Yours faithfully,

Alison Hopkins
Liberal Democrat councillor for Dollis Hill

Dollis Hill residents can contact Councillor Alison Hopkins by email at Cllr.Alison.Hopkins@brent.gov.uk, by phone on 07917 717797 or by post at  9 Humber Road, London, NW2 6EH.

Along with Cllr Javaid Ashraf and Cllr Jack Beck, Alison holds a regular surgery for residents on the 1st Saturday of each month from 11am to 12 noon at Comber Close Community Hall, Comber Close, Dollis Hill, NW2 7EG.

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Posted in Elections, Liberal Democrats

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Dollis Hill voters give verdict on Brent library cuts and Labour’s waste

Posted on March 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

Alison Hopkins, Liberal Democrat councillor for Dollis HillBrent’s newest councillor Alison Hopkins has thanked Dollis Hill residents for their support and for electing her to Brent Council yesterday.

Humber Road resident Alison Hopkins triumphed by 37 votes in the highly marginal Dollis Hill ward, which has been a Lib Dem / Labour battleground for the past ten years.

This is the first Lib Dem victory against Labour in the capital since the General Election in 2010. The Liberal Democrat majority increased from 27 votes in 2010 to 37 votes yesterday (on a lower turnout).

Victorious new Liberal Democrat councillor Alison Hopkins said:

It is clear that a huge number of Brent residents are still very angry at Labour’s decision to force through the closure of half of our libraries in the face of massive public opposition. They are fed up with the increased rubbish on the streets and the overflowing bins caused by Labour’s decision to target cuts at street cleaning. It’s time for the Labour politicians who run Brent Council to start listening to local people.

Now I have a seat in the council chamber I will use it to continue to argue the case for local libraries anc cleaner streets. I will speak up for the thousands of local residents and children who have lost out because of Brent Council’s refusal to listen.

I want to thank my fellow Dollis Hill residents for the warm welcome I received throughout the campaign, and everyone who voted for and helped me.

Dollis Hill has been hit hard by the Labour Council’s library cuts. When Labour councillors voted to close six of Brent’s twelve libraries last year, two of them (Cricklewood and Neasden) served local residents.

Alison Hopkins and Cllr Javaid Ashraf collecting petition signatures with other campaigners outside Neasden library

Alison Hopkins has a track record of campaigning for the local area. She has worked hard to challenge Labour's library closures.

The newly elected councillor collected hundreds of signatures protesting against the library closures last year. Neasden Library currently stands empty at a cost to Brent taxpayers of around £70,000 per year, as the council is unable to hand back the lease of the rented building until 2022.

The unpopular Labour council has also come under fire for its cuts to front-line services, such as street-cleaning, wasteful spending, and its refusal to listen to local residents.

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Posted in Campaigns, Clean Streets, Elections, Labour Failure, Liberal Democrats, Libraries

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Congratulations to Brent’s newest Liberal Democrat councillor: Alison Hopkins

Posted on March 23, 2012 | 1 Comment

Liberal Democrat Alison Hopkins is Brent’s newest councillor. She successfully defended the seat left vacant by the sad death of Alec Castle earlier this year.

  • Liberal Democrat (Alison Hopkins) – 1,205 (46.5%)
  • Labour  – 1,168 (45.1%)
  • Conservative – 140 (5.4%)
  • Green Party – 79 (3.0%)

The result reflects Alison’s record as a community campaigner and the hard work of the local Liberal Democrat team. Thank you to everyone who voted for Alison to be their new councillor and to everyone who helped Alison’s campaign.

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Posted in Elections, Liberal Democrats

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Vote Alison Hopkins in Dollis Hill today

Posted on March 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

Residents in Dollis Hill are going to the polls today to elect a new councillor, following the death of Liberal Democrat councillor Alec Castle. The election campaign has been a two-horse race between campaigning Dollis Hill resident Alison Hopkins and Brent Council’s Labour administration’s candidate.

It’s clear that the Conservative and other candidates can’t win. Polling stations are open until 10pm this evening (Thursday 21 March) at:

  • CDO1 and CDO 2: Kingfisher Youth and Community Centre, Crest Road, NW2 7LG – map
  • CDO3:Our Lady of Grace RC Junior School, Dollis Hill Lane, NW2 6HS – map
  • CDO4: Our Lady of Grace RC Infant School, Dollis Hill Lane, NW2 6EU – map

You don’t need your polling card to vote. If you have a postal vote and have not sent it back, you can take it to any of the polling stations listed above or to the Town Hall.

Alison Hopkins

Alison Hopkins, Liberal Democrat candidate for Dollis HillAlison has lived in Dollis Hill for over 55 years. She has a long record of campaigning for local people. As the Neasden representative of the Brent SOS libraries campaign she has fought the Labour Council’s plans to close half the libraries in Brent, including in Neasden and Cricklewood.

She is campaigning against the Council’s slashing of the street cleaning budget that has seen rubbish pile up in Dollis Hill’s streets and she has taken a stand against the Labour Council’s frittering away of thousands of pounds on luxury hotel away-days and expensive meals, money that could have been used to keep the libraries open and the dumped rubbish off Dollis Hill’s streets.

Published and promoted by R Wharton 19 Roe Lane London NW9 9BH on behalf of A Hopkins (Liberal Democrats) 9 Humber Road London NW2 6EH. Printed (hosted) by Automattic, Inc. 60 29th Street #343 San Francisco, CA 94110-4929 United States of America

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Posted in Clean Streets, Elections, Labour Failure, Liberal Democrats

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108,300 Brent residents get a Lib Dem income tax cut

Posted on March 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

Today’s Budget means that no one will pay any income tax on the first £9,200 they earn from next year.

In Brent that means 12,370 people will be lifted out of paying Income Tax altogether and a 108,300 people will receive a £220 tax cut. This is on top of tax cuts of £200 last year and a further £130 next month.

Stacks of coins

The tax cut was a key pledge on the front cover of the Liberal Democrats’ election manifesto in 2010. Local Liberal Democrats have welcomed the fact that the Coalition Government is delivering the Liberal Democrat committment to increase the Income Tax threshold.

The Liberal Democrats are working for a fairer tax system where help is provided for those who need it most and where the richest pay their fair share.

Raising the Income Tax threshold to £9,205 will help average working people in Brent who have been struggling with bills and the higher cost of living.

Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander said:

Liberal Democrats have been clear in our priorities for the Budget. We wanted to see a Budget for the millions, not the millionaires.

The Coalition Government inherited an unfair tax system from Labour, who in their 13 years hit ordinary working families hardest by abolishing the 10p tax rate while letting tycoons get away with shameless tax avoidance.

Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government are clearing up the mess Labour left behind, making sure the wealthiest pay their fair share by clamping down on tax avoidance, introducing a ‘tycoon tax’ and putting an end to stamp duty dodging by the super rich.

Raising the Income Tax threshold is a key Liberal Democrat commitment that the Coalition Government is implementing. The announcement in the Budget will mean almost 2m people will be taken out of paying Income Tax all together in the UK and give nearly 25m people a £220 tax cut.”

The Budget includes  measures to make the rich pay their fair share. These include a Tycoon Tax to cap tax breaks the wealthy can use; raising the rate of stamp duty to 7% for being who buy £2m mansions; and closing loopholes that allow people to buy houses in company names to avoid Stamp Duty when the property is sold.

When the Coalition came to power in 2010 the Personal Tax Allowance was £6,475. Increasing it to £10,000 will mean £700 back in the pockets of working people, or approximately £60 a month.

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Posted in Finance, Government, Liberal Democrats

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