Chelmsford Lib Dems buck trend and increase vote share.

After a winning more votes than any other party in the County Council elections in May, Chelmsford Liberal Democrats went into the General Election relatively optimistic. However, as both the Conservatives and Labour shifted the focus of the campaign to a "Presidential" battle between their leaders, the Lib Dems were squeezed.

Chelmsford's Lib Dem candidate Stephen Robinson has thanked everyone for their warm reception over the recent weeks. It has been a long campaign, with the General Election starting straight after the Lib Dems won the local elections across the Chelmsford constituency on 4th May.

This election is a vote

The NHS service in Mid Essex, including Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, could lose 173 staff as a result of Theresa May's extreme version of Brexit, the Liberal Democrats have warned.

42% of nurses and over half of all doctors from the EU are considering leaving because of Brexit, according to recent research. This means in Mid Essex, an estimated 173 NHS staff are at risk of leaving including 32 doctors and 97 nurses.

The Conservative party's so-called "Dementia Tax" would cost £173,282 to the family of someone who had received ten years of care living in an average-priced home in Chelmsford, according to research by the Liberal Democrats.

The Conservative policy would take the money from the sale of family homes, to pay back the costs of caring for elderly and vulnerable relatives. The Lib Dems have estimated that, across Chelmsford, 62% of the value of the average home would be taken to pay for the Dementia Tax.

Chelmsford schools face two worrying developments - across the board cuts in funding and a possible shortage of school places. Chelmsford schools face losing £8 million in total over the next two years. That amounts to anything between £400 and £800 per pupil, which means cuts in teacher numbers. See http://schoolcuts.org.uk

Stephen Robinson has a track record as a hard-working, Chelmsford campaigner and Councillor, and now wants to stand up for local residents at Westminster as our MP.

On 4th May 2017 the Lib Dems won more votes than the Conservatives in the local elections across the Chelmsford constituency. So on 8th June it will either be: Stephen Robinson, or the Conservative outsider (parachuted in from Cambridge) who is elected as the MP.

Essex County Council Results for Chelmsford

Chelmsford Liberal Democrats are celebrating holding their three county council seats. In the Chelmsford parliamentary constituency, there are 3 Lib Dems and 2.5 Conservatives (half a seat outside the constituency).

This confims the Lib Dems as the challengers at all levels to the Conservatives, in particular at the upcoming General Election.

Since 2010 the Conservatives have been waging a war on young people. But now Theresa May has given you the chance to fight back!

A recent report by the Intergenerational Fairness Index found there had been a drop of 10% in prospects for young people in a range of areas [1]. As we will demonstrate below, that is due to the policies of the Conservative party. This can be contrasted to the fortunes of their grandparents. The triple lock pension has resulted in a significant hike in income, pensioner property wealth now totals £861 billion and the ONS says that retirees saw their incomes increase by 5.1 per cent between 2007/08 and 2011/12. This trend has continued.

This follows the Liberal Democrats leading calls to increase pay for firefighters, nurses and police in the wake of the Grenfell Tragedy and recent terrorist attacks.

The party has also urged Labour MPs to back amendments calling on the government to keep Britain in the single market and customs union, warning that an extreme Brexit would mean the country cannot afford to invest more in public services.

It has now been nearly two weeks since the General Election and seven (!) weeks since the local elections. While things may still be very much up in the air on a national level, the dust is starting to settle on our campaigns in Chelmsford and it is time to take stock of where we are now, how we got here, where we really want to be and how we get there.

"These figures must be a wakeup call for the Conservatives, in Britain, 4.6 Million people endured persistent hardship and poverty. For all the Conservatives talk, these figures show they just don't care and sadly, I think poverty is going to get worse.

"The divisive Brexit the government is pushing is putting jobs at risk and this means more and more people will be driven to the edge.

Ed Davey said:

"The government announcement on EU citizens leaves so much in doubt. From the description it seems as if this is ID cards by the backdoor.

"David Davis resigned his seat and caused a by-election because he was disgusted by the assault on civil liberties by the then Labour government. What will he do this time round?

"Far from being 'fair and serious', this proposal offers very little and shows the government is continuing in its callousness. Theresa May should be utterly ashamed this is the best they can come up with, a year on.

It offers little in the way of reassurance to EU citizens who have made Britain their home and continues to use them as bargaining chips.

The Liberal Democrats have criticised Theresa May as "cold and heartless," following the shock revelation she blocked attempts to guarantee the right to stay for EU nationals immediately after the referendum.

In a scathing editorial in the Evening Standard today, George Osborne revealed that "in the days immediately after the referendum, David Cameron wanted to reassure EU citizens they would be allowed to stay. All his Cabinet agreed with that unilateral offer, except his Home Secretary, Mrs May, who insisted on blocking it."

It comes as the Liberal Democrats have set out a list of four demands that must be addressed in the government's paper on the rights of EU nationals on Monday, including ending the "bureaucratic nightmare" faced by EU citizens applying for permanent residency.

A recent report revealed that at the Home Office's current workrate, it will take around 11 years to process the millions of expected residency requests from EU nationals.

Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake said:

The Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment to the Queen's Speech calling for Britain to stay the single market and customs union.

The party is now calling on both Labour and Conservative MPs to support the amendment and inflict a historic defeat on the government, forcing Theresa May to soften her extreme approach to Brexit.

The Trade Bill announced in the Queen's speech is simply a job creation scheme for Liam Fox, the Liberal Democrats have said.

Tom Brake, Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson, said: "In reality this is an Anti-Trade Bill, as it means leaving the single market and customs union, despite clear opposition from the Chancellor and the Bank of England.