Cheltenham Liberal Democrats

This week Martin Horwood MP signed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons, in doing so pledging his commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and honouring those who died during the Holocaust.

Friday January 27th will mark the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentration and extermination camp which is the site of the largest mass murder in history - and in the weeks running up to the day, the Holocaust Educational Trust placed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons, giving MPs the chance to honour those who were persecuted and killed during their Holocaust and encouraging constituents to actively speak out against prejudice and bigotry today.

CHELTENHAM MP Martin Horwood has today condemned the government's announcement of a badger cull trial. In a statement to the House of Commons, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman stated that there would be two pilot projects for the controlled culling of badgers, as part of a package of measures to combat bovine TB. The locations of the trials are still to be decided. After the trials, it would then be decided by government whether to go ahead with a country-wide cull.

CHELTENHAM MP Martin Horwood has stepped up his campaign to protect valued local green spaces around Cheltenham - in the face of worrying developments at both national and local level. Nationally, the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has been branded a 'developer's charter' by green groups. Locally, the first details are emerging of the co-ordinated local plan by Gloucester, Tewkesbury and Cheltenham councils, called the Joint Core Strategy (JCS). Some of the scenarios in the JCS maps promise urban extensions on sensitive green spaces as large as any suggested in Labour's top-down Regional Spatial Strategy, which was abolished by the new coalition government. Both the NPPF and JCS are open to further revision after public consultation.

Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood has today welcomed the government's announcement of extra money targeted at poor students. Liberal Democrat Children and Families Minister, Sarah Teather has announced the extra money each school will receive through the Pupil Premium this year - more than originally expected. The Pupil Premium was one of the flagship Liberal Democrat policies at last year's General Election and is designed to help schools and pupils in less well-off areas.

CHELTENHAM MP Martin Horwood has criticised the local NHS for inadequate and 'barely democratic' staff consultation after details emerged of the election of the staff representative on the board of the new body which will soon be responsible for Gloucestershire's community hospitals, community nurses, therapists and health visitors. These 'provider' services are due to be hived off from the primary care trust, NHS Gloucestershire, which will then be restricted to buying or 'commissioning' health services and hospital care across Gloucestershire from the NHS budget. A new 'social enterprise' called Gloucestershire Care Services is due to be created on 1 October, complete with its own board and one penny shares issued to all staff. But Martin has criticised the extent of genuine staff involvement in the set-up of the new body, which is also being subjected to a legal challenge by health campaigners elsewhere in the county.

CHELTENHAM MP Martin Horwood has welcomed this week's final report from the Business Innovation and Skills select committee on pub companies ('pubcos'), following hearings in July this year.

The report recommends the introduction of a statutory code, with a genuine free of tie option, based on an open market rent review to help balance out the tenant/pubco relationship. The recommendations are in line with Martin's 'Tied Public Houses (Code of Practice) Private Member's Bill, which is due for its second reading on 25 November.

In his keynote speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference, Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has outlined his goals for the Government and the country over the coming years. He reiterated his commitment to liberal values on the environment and human rights and his determination to ensure a fair chance for every child, saying "every child can do good things, great things, if only we give them the opportunities they deserve."

SPEAKING today (Wednesday) in a key debate at Liberal Democrat party conference in Birmingham, Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood will call for governments across the middle east to respond peacefully to protest and to move towards safeguarding human rights within a democratic system.

As co-chair of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party committee on international affairs, Martin will present the 'Arab Awakening' motion to conference for delegates' approval. It recognises the increasing popular movements for change in the middle east and calls upon the international community to learn from mistakes made in Iraq and ensure that a comprehensive post-conflict stabilisation strategy is in place in Libya.