The Northern no.

49
March

Democrat
2010

The newsletter for Liberal Democrats in the North of England

Change that
works for you
Liberal Democrats met in Birmingham over the weekend of
12th-14th March for the party’s last Conference before the
general election.
And with the battle for votes looming on the horizon, Nick
Clegg launched the Liberal Democrats 4 key policies to change
Britain. Nick told Conference:
l Under the Liberal Democrats, no-one will pay tax on the
first £10,000 they earn. That’s the most fundamental
change to the tax system for decades.
l We will give every child the fair start they deserve, by
reducing class sizes and increasing one to one tuition in
our schools.
l We’ll rebalance the economy so that Britain is no longer
just betting on things, but Britain starts building things
again.
l And we will build a clean, open, fair politics.
“Things don’t have to be the way they are,” said Nick. “The
coming election is a chance to get fairness and to get change.
“Almost 1 in 4 voters chose the Liberal Democrats at the
last election. If that increased to 1 in 3, we could lead the next
government.”
With speculation growing that neither of the old parties will
be able to win a majority in the election, Nick also told the
Conference that as Liberal Democrat Leader, he is not the
“Kingmaker” when it comes to deciding who should form the
next Government. lThumbs up -
“Some days the papers say our party is doing a deal with Nick Clegg at
Labour,” Nick told the Conference. “Some days the the rally held at
Conservatives. But they can’t predict the future. I can’t predict the start of the
the future. Conference in
Birmingham
“Voters should give politicians their marching orders - not
the other way around. I am not the Kingmaker. 45 million voters
are the kingmakers.”
Produced, printed and promoted by Jonathan Wallace, 7 Laburnum Grove, Sunniside, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE16 5LY
 Northern news
Newcastle HQ opens for business
The Newcastle Lib Dem Campaign HQ is now up and running. It is located at the Newcastle Falcons Rugby Club,
Brunton Rd, Kingston Park in the East Stand. Go through the double doors in the club house, up the stairs go straight
ahead past the lift, turn right and the entrance is at the end of a short corridor! Our office phone number is: 0191 214
2857 and office hours are from 10-4.

Help stick on the label of success!

Newcastle North Liberal Democrats are holding a sticking day from 10am-6pm on Saturday 27th March for the Royal
Mail Freepost at St. Andrew’s United Reformed Church, Wyndham Avenue, Kenton, Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE3 4QJ. Come along for an hour or two and help Ron Beadle be elected the first Liberal MP in Newcastle for over
80 years!

Wendy on her way to House

of Commons
Liberal Democrats in Newcastle East
Constituency have chosen local councillor Wendy
Taylor as their candidate for the General Election.
A consultant in Clinical Oncology at the Northern
Centre for Cancer Care in Newcastle Freeman
Hospital, Wendy has been a councillor for Dene Ward
since 1988.
Commenting on her selection, Wendy said, “It is a
great privilege to have been selected as the Liberal
Democrat parliamentary candidate for Newcastle
East.
“As a local councillor, I know the area very well and
I am really passionate about offering local people a
credible political alternative to Labour’s record of
failure in the North East. The Lib Dem run Newcastle
City Council demonstrates that the Liberal Democrats
are capable of turning around a failing Labour
administration. lWendy Taylor meets Nick Clegg at the party’s Spring
“People in Newcastle East deserve an MP that - Conference in March 2010.
unlike Labour - does not take the area for granted. I am looking forward to campaigning in the constituency and fighting
for a fair deal for local people in the aftermath of the recession.”
Wendy has been an Executive Member of Newcastle City Council since 2004 and currently holds the portfolio for
Environment, Sustainability and Transport working successfully on issues such as waste management, climate change,
cycling, and public transport & highways.

Hexham Constituency Dinner

Friday March 26th
Guest speaker Michael Moore MP, Shadow Spokesperson for
International Development
Tickets £22.50
Contact Philip Latham 01434682494 or email prlfox@btinternet.com
The dinner will be the launch of Andrew Duffield’s push for victory.
 Northern news
Corus closure “devastating
for Teeside” - Swales
News that Teesside Cast Products is definitely shutting down has been greeted with
dismay by local Liberal Democrat campaigners.
Ian Swales, prospective Liberal Democrat MP for Redcar constituency, said,
“I am shocked that, despite all the talk, there has been no solution to this problem.
With the right intentions from the company and the Government, this site could have
been saved and turned back into a world class steel producer. Closing the site is
industrial, economic and social vandalism. The news is devastating for the area.
“It’s now time for urgent government action. The package they have already
announced will do little for the thousands losing their jobs or the thousands more
already out of work. One of their first steps should be to move a major Government
agency from the overcrowded South East to the Tees Valley. They have been
promising this for years.”
Lib Dem Leader on Redcar and Cleveland Council Chris Abbott said, “This is lIan Swales joins the
a real setback for our area but we must continue to keep up the pressure on the protest calling for Corus
Government to provide real jobs in our area.” to be saved

Fiona battles to cut skin cancer

North East MEP Fiona Hall has spoken out in support of legislation that would place a duty on tanning
businesses to prevent the use of sunbeds by under-18s. The new laws will also impose strict requirements
for supervision, provision of information on health risks, and eye protection.
Ahead of a debate of a Private Member’s Bill in the House of Commons that would protect children and teenagers
from the dangers of sunbeds, Fiona, a member of MEPs Against Cancer in the European Parliament, said:
“It is outrageous how easily sunbeds can be accessed by children and teenagers even though research has shown
that they increase the risk of skin cancer.
“Teenagers and especially young girls are often put under pressure to have a tan and it is irresponsible to allow
them easy access to cheap coin-operated sunbed and unstaffed tanning salons that offer neither health warnings nor
proper eye protection.”
“Regulating the use of sunbeds is the only way to reduce the huge rise in skin cancer seen over the last 20 years.”
Skin cancer is now the most common cancer in young adults aged between 15 and 34. Without proper eye
protection, UV from sunbeds can also severely damage the eyes and lead to irritation, conjunctivitis and eye cancer.
This month, a sunbed awareness campaign was launched by Cancer Research UK in Sunderland. A recent survey
by the charity showed that 50% of girls aged 15 to 17 in the city use sunbeds.
“I fully support Cancer Research UK’s sunbed awareness campaign in Sunderland,” said Fiona. “It is time to give a
clear message that misuse of sunbeds can have fatal consequences.”

Fiona calls for end to trade in blue fin tuna

North East Euro MP Fiona Hall has called for a total ban on the trade in blue fin tuna. The huge Mediterranean
fish, beloved of Japanese sushi eaters, is the most expensive food in the world. Individual fish can sell for
more than £10,000.
WWF, the Worldwide Fund for Nature, claims that stocks of blue fin tuna have collapsed and that the fish will
become extinct if controls are not introduced urgently.
Organised crime is also said to be involved in the lucrative business, flouting all EU controls on the fishery. Fiona
said that unless trade was halted there would be no blue fin tuna left.
“It is time to protect this critically endangered fish before it disappears from our seas,” she said. “I urge the UK
Government to support a total ban on the trade of blue fin tuna.”
Ministers of EU member states must now agree a European position to take at the next meeting of CITES (the
Convention on Trade in Endangered Species) that takes place in March.
 Northern news
1bn Euro research funding gap
puts North East jobs at risk - Hall
A •1bn (£900,000,000) hole in EU investment plans for sustainable energy
technology needs to be closed to ensure that the transformation of the North
East economy is not stalled, says North East Lib Dem MEP Fiona Hall.
Speaking in a debate in the European Parliament on investing in the
development of low carbon technologies, Fiona called on the European
Commission to be more explicit about available sources of public and private
financing for low carbon energy research.
Currently, EU energy research is chronically underfunded compared to the US.
The European Commission believes that investment in the EU needs to be
increased from the current •3bn (£2.7bn) per year to around •8bn (£7.2bn) a year lFiona Hall MEP - concern
- but has only identified public and private funding sources for •4bn of the extra over research funding gap
•5bn required, leaving a •1bn a year gap.
Commenting after the debate, Fiona said, “If we fail to invest adequately in the energy technologies of the future,
we will rapidly lose our European leadership in these areas. That would ultimately mean that thousands of jobs
which could be created here in the North East will be lost to the US and China.”
Fiona said that one option for closing the funding gap could be to adapt the Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF)
for use in support of the Strategic Energy Technology plan. The RSFF combines research money from the
European Framework Programme with finance from the European Investment Bank.

Middlesbrough launch
MEMBERS, FRIENDS and
SUPPORTERS

You are invited to attend the

LAUNCH of Chris Foote
Wood’s’s campaign to be MP for
Middlesbrough: Thursday 18th
March 2010, 7pm for 7.30pm
(will finish by 8.30pm) in a
private room at the YELLOW
ROSE PUB, Roman Road,
Linthorpe, Middlesbrough TS5
6EN. The Yellow Rose
(appropriate, isn’t it?) is at the
junction of Chipchase Road,
Roman Road, Burlam Road, and
Ayresome Green Lane. There is
a good car park, and on-street
parking is available all around.

As we are a small team, we

would welcome support from
colleagues from other
constituencies – if you can take a little time off from your own campaigns!
We were SECOND in Middlesbrough last time, the current MP Sir Stuart Bell, who was widely expected to
retire, is standing again – and he has a poor reputation as a constituency MP. We could win here!
Maelor Williams (agent) Chris Foote-Wood (candidate)
LOG ONTO OUR WEBSITE www.chris4mp4boro.info (live as of Monday 15th March) [includes Chris’s BLOG]
See Chris on FACEBOOK
Printed, published & promoted by Cllr Maelor Williams on behalf of Chris Foote-Wood (Liberal Democrats), both at 19 Fawcett Street, Stainton, Middlesbrough TS8 9AR.
 Northern news
Sir Alan Beith MP thanked for pledging
to “do his bit” for British Armed Forces
Sir Alan Beith, MP for
Berwick upon Tweed, has
been thanked for pledging
to do his bit for the British
Armed Forces family.
Sir Alan met with a
delegation from The Royal
British Legion at Westminster
to get behind the charity’s call
for general election
candidates of all parties to
support the whole Armed
Forces family. Sir Alan also
discussed the Legion’s
manifesto and the changes
that it is calling for.
The manifesto sets out
priorities for the next
Government to improve
conditions for the British
Armed Forces past and
present and their families. It lSir Alan Beith MP pictured being presented by Legion staff member,
encourages MPs and Bethan Herbert, with a giant replica of the personalised pledge card which
prospective parliamentary he has been given in recognition of his pledge.
candidates (PPCs) to “do
their bit” for Service Personnel and their families, the bereaved, veterans and dependants.
During the meeting, Sir Alan was photographed with a giant replica of the personalised pledge card, which he
has been given by the Legion in recognition of his pledge.
Kevin Shinkwin, the Legion’s Head of Public Affairs, said, “We’re delighted to give Sir Alan Beith MP his pledge
card in recognition of his pledge to do his bit. Our message to every MP and candidate standing at the general
election is very simple: “It’s time to do your bit. How you do that is entirely up to you but pledging publicly at
www.timetodoyourbit.org.uk is a great way of showing your support for the whole Armed Forces family, both now
and beyond the general election.”
“Both the serving and ex-Service community need the support of politicians,” he added. “Our manifesto outlines
practical ways the next government can help, and we hope all the parties will give it serious consideration”.
Alan said, “I was really pleased to pledge to do my bit and to get my pledge card from the Legion. I know the
work they do for the whole Armed Forces family matters not just to me, but to so many of my constituents as well.
It’s so important we all get behind them, and I’m looking forward to seeing how my party responds to their
manifesto”.

Call for East Coast upgrade

Berwick MP Sir Alan Beith has urged the Government to upgrade the East Coast mainline following the
Government’s decision not to include the region in the proposed high speed rail network.
Plans for the new network will see work start on a link between London and Birmingham in 2017. Afterwards
the line will be extended north with one route going to Scotland via the North West and another route reaching as
far as Leeds.
“I support high speed rail,” said Sir Alan, “but my worry is that the failure to bring it direct to the North East from
the beginning might dis-encourage investment in our region.
“Therefore it is vital that long before the high speed link to Birmingham is built the East Coast mainline should
be improved so that it can take faster trains and more of them.”