FOCUS

Funding agreed for local groups Local Liberal Democrat councillor

Darren Fower has agreed to give

several groups money from the

Community Leadership Fund – a

small amount of money which each

councillor is given to spend on

projects in his or her local area. Darren has agreed to give:

£300 for Christmas lights on the

Green in Werrington.

£560 to Gunthorpe Harriers

Football Team to enhance training

facilities.

£122 for the Village Play Group

to develop outside facilities.

£774 to the Werrington

Neighbourhood Council to

continue its community work.

If you have a funding request for

a group or community event that

needs some help, please contact

Darren (details above).

DAVID HEDGES SEEKS YOUR SUPPORT AT POLLS

David Hedges, Editor of FOCUS and chairman of Werrington

Neighbourhood Council, has been selected as the Liberal Democrat

candidate to fight the Werrington South and North Gunthorpe seat in

the local elections on 5 May this year. If he wins the election he will join Liberal Democrat councillor Darren

Fower on the city council, giving this area two hard-working local politicians

to represent it at the Town hall.

“Over the past few weeks I have been joining Darren at his regular

surgeries” said David, “And I have been amazed at the amount of work he

does. He currently has a caseload of 80 problems brought to him by residents.

“I thought the number of issues that I deal with on behalf of the

Neighbourhood Council was high but the work that Darren does cannot

be praised too highly.

„I have promised Darren, and I promise you, that if I am elected I will

share the work. We will then be able to do so much more for our

community.”

www.peterboroughlibdems.org.uk

Edition: 47

“Working All Year Round”

SOUTH WERRINGTON and NORTH GUNTHORPE RESIDENTS’ NEWSLETTER

Edition: 62

TEAM CONTACT DETAILS:

Councillor: Darren Fower FOCUS Editor: David Hedges Tel: 07860 649578 Text or call Darren’s mobile: 07581 711 434 Email: SWNG_FOCUS @peterboroughlibdems.org.uk

Ward website: www.campaigns. libdems.org.uk/SWNG Darren’s website: www.darrenfower. mycouncillor.org.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/SWNG. FOCUS.Team Post: Cllr Darren Fower, Town Hall, Bridge Street, Peterborough PE1 1HG

Printed by P’boro Lib Dem Printing Soc c/o 37 Swift Close, Deeping St James PE6 8QQ. Published and promoted for and on behalf of the Liberal Democrats by Peter Chivall, 88 Elmfield Rd, P’boro PE1 4HB

Lib Dems opposing local library cuts Despite all the alternatives that compete

for the use of our spare time, reading

remains one of the most educational and

fulfilling pastimes. This is why the FOCUS Team is appalled

at the cutbacks in opening times at

Werrington library.

The written word is a precious thing and

many residents who were able to spend time

browsing will now find that the opening

hours are so inconvenient that they might not

even have the chance of a quick look round!

Local Lib Dem councillor Darren Fower

and candidate David Hedges are totally

against the cuts in their current form. They

are critical of the city council‟s decision to

hand the responsibility for leisure services to

an „independent‟ trust which is, sadly,

leading to a lowering of quality in every area.

Arson concerns in Coverdale Walk Residents living in and around Ainsdale

Drive and Foxcovert Road have

contacted the FOCUS Team to raise their

concerns after a litter bin in Coverdale

Walk was set alight recently. This was the fourth such incident in just a

couple of weeks.

Local Lib Dem councillor Darren Fower

has spoken with residents who enquired

about the possibility of the council installing

a non-flammable bin at this location?

Commenting, Darren said: “The residents

have done their job by reporting the incidents

to the police via the non emergency number.

However, the problem has persisted.

“It is not feasible to have 24-7 monitoring

on this area but simple suggestions like not

having the bin positioned near a wooden

fence or foliage are just a few cost effective

solutions that the council could take up to

prevent something more serous occurring.”

Darren to chair AGM Cllr Darren Fower will be chairing this

year‟s Paston & Gunthorpe Community

Association AGM, after a formal request

from the association. The meeting, takes place on 19 May 2011,

at the Paston and Gunthorpe Community

Centre in Hallfields Lane, starting at 7.00 pm.

For further information or to request

attendance at the event please email

graham@locate.fsworld.co.uk

MAKE YOUR MP WORK HARDER

VOTE YES! ON 5thMAY

Lib Dems urge ‘Yes’ vote in 5 May referendum As well as electing local councillors on 5 May you have an

opportunity shape the voting system of the future. There will be a

referendum to decide if the UK should switch to the „Alternative

Vote‟ – or AV – system for future general elections. Liberal Democrats across the UK are campaigning for a „Yes‟ vote in

the referendum – to make MPs work harder.

Too many MPs have „jobs for life‟ in the safe seats that the current

system has created. AV gives these complacent MPs a wake-up call.

A simple system

An election winner should have the support of a majority of the people.

So, under an AV system, if no candidate has 50% support, the last

placed candidate drops out and their voters‟ second preferences come

into play. This elimination of the least-favoured candidates continues

until one candidate has majority support.

Under the existing „First Past the Post‟ system you get just one choice.

And that has meant that most MPs – 2 out of every 3 of those elected in

2010 – get to parliament with less than half of voters on their side.

With AV, successful candidates will have to do more to secure

majority support. They will have to work harder and try to represent

more of their constituents‟ interests. And they won‟t be able to take the

people for granted any more.

Your ballot

An AV ballot paper will look exactly the same as a „normal‟ one.

Instead of only putting an „X‟ in just one box, you will be able to put a

„1,2,3…' and so on in as many boxes as you please. If you only want to

support one candidate, you can.

It is simple, effective and – above all – fair. That’s why we will be

voting ‘Yes’ and are asking you to do the same.