At an official ceremony during last night's Annual Council meeting (Wednesday 15 May), Councillor Trevor Miller and his wife Maureen began their term of office as Mayor and Mayoress of Chelmsford for 2013 - 2014.

Trevor Miller has been a Councillor for Great Baddow East Ward since 1995 and a Parish Councillor and School Governor since 1993/4. He was born in Suffolk and is married with two sons and three grandsons. He graduated from Reading University in Politics and Economics and rowed for the university. After university, he worked in management accounting and financial planning with British Railways for 33 years.

The National Audit Office today reported on the benefits of High Speed 2 and Lib Dem Transport spokesman Alan Reid said: "HS2 is a huge leap forward for our rail network and will improve connectivity for generations to come.

"Liberal Democrats support HS2 because it will build a stronger economy and a fairer society, creating 40,000 direct and thousands more indirect jobs, as well as bridge the gap between the north and south. And that's before you consider the economic benefits to the wider areas serviced by HS2.

"In assessing the value of HS2 we must look at all the overall benefits, including for passengers by increasing capacity on existing lines and significantly cutting the travel time, and to the environment by reducing our reliance on domestic flights and transferring millions of journeys from road to rail."

Commenting on today's unemployment figures, Lib Dem spokesman on Work and Pensions, Greg Mulholland MP said: "It is disappointing that overall unemployment is up, but it is good news that youth unemployment has fallen as that will be encouraging for young people who are looking for work.

"To build a stronger economy in a fairer society, Liberal Democrats have been focusing on giving young people the skills and experience necessary for a successful career.

"That is why Nick Clegg has introduced the £1bn Youth Contract that will ensure young people have the opportunity to earn or learn and Business Secretary Vince Cable has overseen the creation of more than 1m apprenticeships.

"We will continue to work hard to get more people in employment and build a stronger economy."

A proposal to save council taxpayers £21,400 (from allowances for senior Essex Conservatives) has been rejected by the Conservatives at County Hall.

At today's meeting of Essex County Council the Liberal Democrat Opposition Group proposed deleting the Special Allowance for the Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group. Cllr. Stephen Robinson (Chelmsford North), proposing the amendment, said:

Big decisions have to be taken in the next twelve months if the European Union is to be saved. This is the message from UEF president Andrew Duff MEP to mark Schuman Day, 9 May.

"The post-war project of European unification is under attack. Nationalist forces are rising again across Europe as the response of the current leadership to the deep economic crisis proves to be inadequate. So here is a seven-point programme with big things that, taken together, will reverse the trend to disunity:-

In the Essex County Council election of 2 May 2013, Chelmsford Lib Dems Mike Mackrory, Jude Deakin and Stephen Robinson have been re-elected, meaning there are now three Lib Dem County Councillors and two Conservatives in Chelmsford constituency.

Mike Mackrory commented, "This is a big improvement on the results of two years ago, when the votes cast would have only elected two Lib Dem county councillors."

The Liberal Democrats at County Hall have put forward fully costed and approved proposals to fix Essex's crumbling roads and pavements and help young people.

The Lib Dem proposals are:

• additional money to fix footways, potholes and white lines on roads
• help young people travelling to job interviews, provide advice on benefits and discounted swimming
• help for Citizens Advice Bureaux to advise residents and raise new money.

Millions of Britons who get paid today should check their pay slip. 24 million people have received a cut in income tax this month, thanks to the Liberal Democrats in Governmen.

The Income Tax personal allowance has gone up from £8,105 to £9,440. Under Labour it was just £6,475.

Raising the tax-free allowance is the Liberal Democrats' flagship policy and has so far seen Income Tax bills slashed by £600 a year for millions of low and middle income workers compared to what they were paying under Labour. As a result, more than 2m people on low pay have been lifted out of paying Income Tax altogether. And the super rich are paying MORE tax.

The tax-free allowance will rise again next year to £10,000, fulfilling a commitment from the front page of the Liberal Democrats' 2010 General Election manifesto and resulting in a total tax cut of £700.

Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander commented: