news story

25th September 2006

Lib Dem Rising Star to Visit South Glos and Speak in Thornbury

Nick Clegg MP, Lib Dem Shadow Home Secretary

Lib Dem Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Clegg, tipped by many as a future leader of the party, is to spend a day in South Gloucestershire on Tuesday 3rd October, learning more about local efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour and visiting two of the area's prisons.

The MP, who will be joined throughout his visit by Northavon MP Steve Webb, will start his day with a meeting at the headquarters of "Safer South Gloucestershire", the local partnership between Police, council and voluntary bodies which aims to increase community safety in the area. The discussion will focus in particular on the activities which have been undertaken across South Gloucestershire to cut down on crime and anti-social behaviour.

The two MPs will then visit both HMP Eastwood Park and HMP Leyhill to find out more about the pressures on the prison system and about the issues faced by these two very different prisons. To round off the visit, Nick Clegg MP will then speak at a public meeting at St. Mary's Hall, Thornbury on the theme of a "Liberal Democrat approach to anti-social behaviour". Doors open at 7pm and the meeting starts at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £7 per head and proceeds help fund a bursary to enable a young person from the local area to learn more about politics by attending the Lib Dem annual conference. The bursary scheme is in memory of Heather Larkins, previously an Avon County Councillor and Lib Dem candidate for Northavon.

Steve Webb said:

"Nick is one of the most highly regarded of the new intake of Lib Dem MPs and is definitely one of our rising stars. We hope that the visit will provide Nick with new insights into tackling anti-social behaviour and into issues around the prison system. The evening meeting will be a welcome chance to hear how Nick sees these issues and for a lively debate".