Campaigns
Read more about my campaigns ......
email
me if you want to get more involved.
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Buried Treasure for Pensioners
 I
am delighted that the Government has recognised that many
pensioners are missing out on a little-publicised
scheme to fill
'gaps' in their record of National Insurance contributions.
This could improve the basic
state pension of many people who are not
getting full pensions. The Pension Service is
taking steps to contact people after I convinced them that
many pensioners could be entitled
to a big boost to their state pensions.
More >>
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Save Our Local Post Offices
 I
am campaigning against Post Office proposals to close three
local post offices in Northavon. The post offices in
Tytherington, Old Sodbury and Station Road, Yate are all
under threat, as part of a Government plan to close 2,500
post offices across Britain. I am urging everyone
possible to write or e-mail in response to the public
consultation, so that the Post Office know the strength of
local feeling about these closures.
More >>
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Climate Change - 60% is not enough
 Along
with Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg MP, I have launched a
campaign via the social networking site Facebook,
to persuade the Government to set a binding target of an 80%
cut in Britain's CO2 emissions by 2050, rather than the 60%
that is currently contained in the Climate Change Bill.
More >>
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Pensions Justice for Mothers
 I
am celebrating the success of a campaign for pensions
justice
for thousands of women who gave up work to bring up their
children. The Government is launching an initiative to identify
women who could be missing out on the right amount of
pension. I will be
working with Government officials to
work out the best way to make sure that retired
women get this missing money as soon as possible.
More >>
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Save Frenchay Hospital
 *Sign
the petition on the Downing Street website* Local health chiefs
voted to make Southmead the major site for
a new acute hospital to serve
North Bristol / South Glos. The
campaign to keep Frenchay open continues. In September
2007,
the Health Scrutiny Committee at South
Gloucestershire Council decided to make a
fresh referral to the new
Health Secretary about the future of Frenchay.
More >>
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Concerns about the extension of
Wickwar Quarry
 I
chaired a meeting on 7th June 2007 for local residents to
raise their concerns about the proposed extension of Wickwar
Quarry. The applications are expected to be determined by the members of the
Development Control (West) Committee at their next meeting on
July 5th. I agreed to write to the
Government about guidance that councils should not enforce
planning conditions whilst a new planning application
was pending. More >>
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Defend Freedom of Information
 I
am supporting a campaign to defeat a Bill in the House of
Commons that would bring in a special exemption for MPs from
the Freedom of Information Act. A petition
has been launched by the Liberal Democrats to defend freedom of information against this attempt
to create one law for MPs and Lords and another law for everyone else. More >>
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Slash the NHS Debt!
 I
was shocked by the recent news that the North Bristol NHS
Trust has debts of £100 million. It is feared
that this could lead to frontline health cuts.
Filton and Bradley Stoke candidate Emma Bone and I
have already written to Ministers calling on them to reduce
the debts of the North Bristol Trust.
We are now collecting petition signatures to
present to the Government. Please add your name by clicking
on the link here: More >>
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Fight "Mast Madness"
 Local
Lib Dem councillors and I have
launched a petition campaign to fight back
against the proliferation of mobile phone
masts in the local area. I have
set up an online petition on
my website calling
for a change in the law so that mobile phone mast applications
have to go through a full planning appraisal
before they can be approved.
More >>
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Green Tax Switch
 Support
the Liberal Democrat campaign for a "green tax switch".
We are proposing to
use the tax system to discourage
pollution and spend the
revenue on cutting income tax for
millions of families. Political parties need to be bold in their
commitments to tackle the threat of global warming
and climate change. So far only the
Liberal Democrats have come up with detailed
policies in this key area.
More >>
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Standing up for South
Gloucestershire
 I
am campaigning with local councillors for a fairer deal for
residents of South Gloucestershire from central
Government. You can see what I have been
doing over the past year by looking at my
latest annual report here. For
more information on the "Standing up for
South Gloucestershire" campaign, and to support
its work, click on the link
here: More >>
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Save the Macmillan Palliative Care
Unit at Frenchay
 The South Glos. Liberal Democrat group
and I have
joined forces with local campaigners in
support of demands to save the Macmillan
Palliative Care Unit at Frenchay Hospital. I
have spoken to Kingswood resident Martin Stevens
about his petition campaign
in support of the unit and has personally pledged
my support. I
have also launched an opportunity for local residents to
sign the petition online on my website.
More >>
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Save Thornbury Hospital
 The
future of Thornbury Hospital has been called into question
following plans by the Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health
Partnership Trust (AWP) to shut 10 beds on Grace Ward, which
currently provides care for older people with mental health
problems, as well as respite care. Local
organisations have joined together in a campaign to keep the
hospital open. More >>
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Cinema 4 Yate
 Our campaign
for a cinema for Yate has received a
massive response from local residents, who have returned
thousands of surveys by post and through the
www.cinema4yate.com website. The owners of Yate
Shopping Centre have now produced a blueprint for the
centre, containing an artist's
impression of what a new cinema might look like. More >>
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Save Our Post Offices
 News
that the Royal Mail is considering closing half of its
"Crown" post offices puts a new question mark over the
future of Yate's main post office. I am
challenging the Government over these plans
and fighting the possible closure.
Post offices play a vital part in the local community and
are particularly important for older residents.
More >>
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Axe the Council Tax!
 The Liberal Democrats are campaigning
to replace Council Tax with a fairer system of
local taxation based on ability to pay.
I have launched a major consultation
to find out the views of local
residents,
sending out over 2,500 e-mails to constituents
as well as seeking opinions by
text message and by more traditional means.
More >>
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Results of my Survey on Planned
Changes to Local Hospital Services
 Massive
scepticism among local people about plans for changes in
local hospital services has been revealed with the
publication of the results of my
large-scale NHS survey. More than
80% of residents surveyed said that the views of South
Gloucestershire residents were not being properly taken into
account by local health chiefs.
More >>
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Victory for Locals in Opposition to
Severnvale Stadium
A survey of the views of local residents
revealed high levels of opposition to proposals for a 30,000
seater stadium and 1,600 houses to be built on marsh land
between Easter Compton, Pilning and Severn Beach.
Following a visit by myself and other opponents to the South
Gloucestershire Council offices, I
am delighted that the developer
has dropped its
plans.
More >>
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Campaign
for Broadband Internet Access across Northavon
I
am supporting several grassroots campaigns for BT to upgrade local
telephone exchanges to allow residents to access “broadband”
internet connections. At
present, many people with home computers use their ordinary telephone
line to dial up to the internet or send e-mails. For anyone who uses the
internet regularly from home, it can be very frustrating to
watch a computer painstakingly downloading
information. More
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Tuition fees
 The
Government's recent White Paper on education proposes
to allow universities to raise extra money by charging
"top-up" tuition fees of up to £3,000 per year,
in order to raise extra money. I
have been opposing these
plans, as have the majority of those constituents whose
views I have asked on the issue.
More >>
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Save
Our Pension Book Campaign
 I
have launched a campaign to protect the rights of 7,000 local pensioners
to have their pensions paid through a pension book at their local post
office. The campaign has been launched first in South
Gloucestershire
and will be rolled out nationally by Lib Dem
campaigners across Britain.
More
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Justice
in Women’s Pensions
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