For a Greener Chelmsford

12.00.00pm GMT Mon 30th Oct 2006

Stephen Robinson, Cllr Tom Smith-Hughes and Cllr Chris Shaw collect Greener Chelmsford petition signatures

A campaign has been launched for a Greener Chelmsford - because if the polar ice caps melt, Chelmsford and most of Essex disappear under water. Local Liberal Democrats were out in the town centre last week promoting their ideas for a greener Chelmsford - and their national plans to give the average Chelmsford family a £1,000 income tax cut, by taxing pollution more.

Cllrs Robin Stevens & Mike Mackrory campaigning for a Greener Chelmsford

The Liberal Democrats called on local people to help stop climate chaos through local action and a national "green tax switch", to taxing pollution not people. The local Liberal Democrats have launched a special website to show people how they can make a difference to the environment - www.greenerchelmsford.org.uk

Cllr Tom Smith-Hughes talks to local resident at the Greener Chelmsford stall

Campaign Organiser Stephen Robinson (Parliamentary candidate 2005) said, "Through national and local action we can all help stop climate chaos. We can all do our bit at home and Liberal Democrats will campaign against the plans of local Conservative councils which will damage our environment - on housing, transport and energy.

"Nationally, Liberal Democrats want to fundamentally change the way Britain is taxed. We need to cut taxes on good things, like work. We need to switch to taxing bad things instead, like pollution and carbon emissions. Green taxes can change our behaviour and safeguard our planet for our children and their children. This is about using taxes in a new way to change behaviour, not to raise money for the Government.

"For Chelmsford, this means: stop urban sprawl of new houses; more recycling not incineration; cut energy use; transport schemes to reduce car dependency; cut air pollution; no second runway at Stansted; no new nuclear power in Essex."

This ties in with the national Lib Dem campaign for a Greener, Safer and Fairer Britain. Watch a video of Ming Campbell launching that policy paper plus details of the Greener Chelmsford policies on this page: www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/pages/greenerchelmsford.html