Gas supplies from Russian supplier Gazprom to Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Germany have fallen by up to 30% over the last few days. This underlines the need for energy security with green energy, according to Lib Dem MEP Sir Graham Watson.

Sir Graham is Chairman of the Climate Parliament, a global network of MPs and MEPs from all mainstream political parties working to accelerate the move from fossil fuels to renewable energy. He said that the switch to green energy has now become just as much an energy security issue as an environmental imperative.

Labour today called a parliamentary debate on bank bonuses but was accused of hypocrisy by Lib Dem Business & Skills spokesman Lorely Burt MP. She said: "The sheer hypocrisy of Labour to point the finger on bankers' bonuses is staggering. Labour presided over the biggest boom in bonuses this country has seen, from £3.1bn in 2001 to £11.5 billion in 2007. At the same time, they sat back and knighted the financial speculators who led this country to the brink of economic collapse.

"The Coalition Government inherited this economic mess from Labour and has taken decisive action to put the country back on track. We've capped cash bonuses at state owned banks to £2,000 and overall, the bonus pool is smaller than last year and considerably less than under Labour.

"In Government, Liberal Democrats are doing the right thing - implementing the Vickers' proposals to make banking safer in the future, continuing our fight to get the banks to lend more and introducing the banking levy which raises £2.5bn a year. All Labour can do is complain from the side lines.

"While Labour spent thirteen years being intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich, Liberal Democrats have made clear that our priority is lifting the lowest paid people out of paying income tax all together."

The Government has announced £15m to boost cycling, including £8m for transport charity Sustrans to enhance cycle routes and £7m to make it easier for cyclists to use the railways. The announcement (by Lib Dem Transport Minister Norman Baker) was welcomed by Lib Dem Transport spokesman Julian Huppert MP who said: "This comes at a crucial time. Just five days ago The Times launched a cycle campaign in response to the shocking increase in fatalities among cyclists on our roads.

"It is absolutely essential people should be able to walk to work or cycle to school in a safe environment. The extra £8m for Sustrans will go a long way to achieving this.

"And the £7m for improved rail-cycle links will ensure that we continue to build a transport network which puts passengers first."

Chelmsford Council was taken to task this evening for failing to give a high enough priority to new community facilities, public open space and new jobs for residents. The Liberal Democrat group told the Council's Development Policy Committee that these issues should have been addressed in the Site Allocations Document, which was under debate.

A primary school has gone on record to welcome the extra money they have received from the "Pupil Premium". This was a Lib Dem manifesto commitment, now being delivered in Government, to support those children falling behind at school. It is £678,000 extra for Chelmsford schools.

Staff and pupils of Peterbrook Primary School welcomed Lib Dem Leader and Deputy PM Nick Clegg to the school, alongside the local MP for Solihull Lorely Burt. Here's how the school website reports the visit:

University admission figures published today show that the proportion of English school leavers applying to university this year is greater than ever before, barring the exceptional last year. Applications from people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds remain strong. The Advocate for Access to Education and Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, Simon Hughes MP, said: "Today's figures show that on the whole young people have not been put off by the changes in the student finance system.

"This is due in no small part to the serious effort put in by the Coalition Government and many others in making sure that each young person and their parents knew all the facts about funding higher education.

"In particular, many families clearly now understand that all graduates will pay less each month towards the cost of their university education than they did before.

"There has been a larger drop in the number of older students applying to university. The Government will have to take a serious look at why this has happened, particularly as mature students for the first time also do not have to pay for their university education in advance.

"However, because mature students have more flexibility in when they apply, there are still good opportunities for people looking to start university this year to put in an application."

Essex County Council's recycling target of 60% by 2021 is not ambitious enough, says the opposition Liberal Democrat group. ECC is consulting the public on the Waste Disposal Document and the Lib Dems are calling for a minimum recycling target of 70%.

The Lib Dems claim that the Conservatives' lower figure of 60% means that the massive waste management factory at Basildon will have a larger capacity than is necessary. The Lib Dems say that the need to feed the factory will remove the incentive to increase recycling.

The Lib Dems also raise concerns about the environmental damage and highway congestion caused by the huge number of journeys across Essex made by large lorries transporting all the residual waste to Basildon.

Cllr. Mike Mackrory, Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems, said, "We have consistently argued over the years that the recycling rates were not set high enough and each time we have been proved right. The Council must be more ambitious with its target and alternatives for transporting waste - like rail - must be considered. Otherwise real damage will be caused to the environment."

Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg has today urged his Government colleagues to cut taxes for low and middle earners faster than planned. In a speech today he said that "the pressure on family finances is reaching boiling point".

The Liberal Democrats believe you should keep more of the money that you earn. The tax-free threshold should rise to £10,000 from £7,475, saving working people £700 a year since the Lib Dems came to Government, and making sure millions of the lowest paid workers don't have to pay any income tax at all.

The future of post offices across the country has been secured by Government action, funding and a new agreement between Royal Mail and the Post Office. Chelmsford Lib Dem Stephen Robinson, who campaigned alongside Cllr. Tom Smith-Hughes and others to save local Post Offices welcomed the news. He said, "This demonstrates the Lib Dem commitment to ensure a sustainable future for Royal Mail and Post Offices.

"Post Offices are a vital part of our communities and are visited by over 20 million people every week. Under past Conservative and Labour governments the service suffered, with thousands closing. Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government have stopped closures and put Royal Mail and the Post Office on a secure footing."

Vince Cable MP has announced plans to curb excessive pay amongst top company bosses. Lib Dem Dr Cable, the Secretary of State for Business, said that Government shareholders will be given more powers to block excessive pay proposals and payments for failure. Companies will also be encouraged to increase diversity on their boards, and will have to justify high salaries. Details here.