A council that listens, decent homes for everyone, and a green community are the headline pledges made by Winchester Liberal Democrats in their Vision for Winchester. 

On Tuesday (8th December) Tim Farron introduced a Bill to Parliament to offer safe haven to 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Eritrea displaced by conflict and present within the European Union.

Chandler’s Ford & Hiltingbury Branch Secretary, Beverley Rose, is standing as the Lib Dem candidate in Hiltingbury East.  

Anyone who thought the Liberal Democrats would give up the fight in Winchester after the party's May 7 defeat couldn't be more wrong. New figures show 53 new members have signed up to join the Liberal Democrats in the Winchester constituency since Polling Day.

Across the UK, membership of the Liberal Democrats has now risen to 59,166 with 14,370 people joining since election day.

Winchester Liberal Democrats welcomed new and old members and volunteers to a post-election thank you party

The Conservatives have announced plans to force councils to sell off the most expensive 210,000 council houses and use the money to pay for a national programme of ‘right to buy’ for housing associations right across the country.

For Winchester this will be a catastrophe!

The final Budget of this Parliament has Liberal Democrat policies at its core.

The Budget confirms that Liberal Democrats in government are building a stronger economy and a fairer society, creating opportunity for everyone. 

In government we have ensured that Britain has kept on the path to recovery in a way that is fair.

We won’t jeopardise our economy credibility by overseeing a Budget that is a pre-election giveaway. That’s why everything in the Budget is paid for, and in a fair way. 

It is because of our sound economic management that we can afford to deliver these policies. 

And to help pay for these policies we are taking further steps to clamp down on tax avoidance by multinational companies and ensuring banks make a fair contribution by increasing the bank levy. 

A wind turbine application submitted by Sparsholt College, should be approved, says Prospective Winchester MP Jackie Porter.

"This turbine’s main function is to generate knowledge," says Jackie Porter, Liberal Democrat Prospective MP for Winchester and Chandler's Ford. "We need to teach young people about renewable energy and encourage them in its development. The Liberal Democrats are committed to investing in green energy for the future. Refusal of this scheme would be perverse."

The innovative scheme is designed to educate young people while gathering evidence around the options for sustainable rural mixed energy systems including energy storage. The carefully sited 74m turbine is not intrusive. An anaerobic digester is also part of the development of Sparsholt’s rural low carbon hub.

The application goes before the Planning Committee on Thursday 5th March with a recommendation from officers that it should be refused.

A court has ruled that Conservative-run Winchester City Council acted unlawfully over the Silver Hill development in the centre of Winchester. The ruling has forced Tory Council bosses to resign. In the vote to choose a new Leader of the Council Labour let the Tories run the council instead of backing change with the Lib Dems.

Judge rules against Tory-run council

Conservative-run Winchester City Council acted “unlawfully”, a court has ruled. The Tories let developer Hendersons remove all affordable homes, and the bus station from the site. At this point they should have allowed other companies to put forward plans for the area, by not doing so they were in ‘serious breach’ of the law.

Tory council bosses forced to resign

As a result of the court’s damning judgement, the Conservative Council Leader and his deputy both resigned. The Labour head of the committee meant to scrutinise their decisions also had to go.

Labour let Tories run council instead of backing change with Lib Dems

Winchester City Council then had the chance of a fresh start. The Liberal Democrats put forward Kelsie Learney as a new leader offering real change in the way the council is run. But Kelsie lost out in a close vote to a councillor from the discredited Conservatives.

Labour Councillors held the deciding votes, but instead of backing real change they sat on their hands allowing the Conservatives to carry on their failing administration.

Your local Liberal Democrat team is calling for a speed limit reduction on Chilbolton Avenue from 40mph to 30mph.

Local City and County Councillor Martin Tod commented: “Now that work on the drop off points for buses to and from Westgate School has been completed, residents are concerned that the 40 mph speed limit currently in use is now too fast for the reduced carriageway width.

“I have asked the County Council to look at this and have asked them to reduce the speed limit to 30 mph which will be safer for both children and residents alike. 

“I am pleased that Council officers have agreed to run a speed assessment in the next few weeks after traffic patterns have settled down.”

Join the campaign for safer speeds on Chilbolton Avenue at www.winld.org.uk/chilbolton30

February 5th is Time to Talk Day, asking the people across the country to take 5 minutes to have a conversation about mental health.

Prospective MP Jackie Porter commented: "Having a mental health problem is hard enough, but sometimes the isolation and stigma can make it even worse. We can all help to break the silence."

"Talking about mental health doesn’t need to be difficult and it can make a big difference. That’s why we’re asking you to take just 5 minutes on the 5th to have a conversation about mental health. We will all know someone who has suffered from a mental health problem."

There is more information on the Time for Change campaign here.