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.

The government's plan for the Northern Ireland border after Brexit has more holes in it than a colander.

It comes after the government admitted EU nationals will still be able to enter the UK from Ireland after Brexit under its plans.

The government's position paper on Ireland and Northern Ireland states that "it is important to note that immigration controls are not, and never have been, solely about the ability to prevent and control entry at the UK's physical border."

Real wages fell by 0.5% in the three months to June 2017 compared with a year earlier, figures from the Office for National Statistics today have revealed.

Average weekly earnings increased by 2.1%, but with inflation standing at 2.6% real earnings still fell by 0.5%.

This is a direct consequence of the higher inflation we have seen since the EU referendum.

The events of the last few days have shocked and appalled the entire world.

Images of Nazis, marching in American streets, terrorist attacks on peaceful protestors. Every world leader should be able to condemn that.

Donald Trump's response to these tragic events has been shocking.

He has shown that he is unable to detach himself from the extreme-right and racial supremacists.

Using an anonymous government source to announce an official position paper on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland is shambolic.

The Leave campaign pledged that Brexit would not leave the border any less open after Brexit, but the government proposals leave the door open to customs checks on larger traders.

Today, I've challenged David Davis to answer six questions over plans set out on future customs arrangements after Brexit.

The government is offering two ways forward but won't tell us which it prefers. That's no doubt because cabinet ministers can't even agree amongst themselves.

These plans are more concerned with papering over the cracks within the Conservative party than protecting our economy.

All those industries that depend on membership of the customs union, from the car industry to aerospace, still have no clear idea what is coming down the track.

All they know is that instead of jumping off a cliff in 18 months, the government now wants to do so in a few years' time.

The government must come clean over the real costs of these plans for British businesses and consumers.

Brexit Secretary Davis has claimed that lack of clarity over the Government's Brexit plans was a deliberate attempt at "constructive ambiguity" as part of the negotiations.

You will find it difficult sometimes to read what we intend. That's deliberate. I'm afraid in negotiations you do have constructive ambiguity from time to time.

Brexit Secretary, David Davis

Today's news that the Grenfell inquiry will not look into broader questions of social housing policy is a wasted opportunity.

Disappointingly, the inquiry will only look into the actions of Kensington and Chelsea Council in the run up to the tragedy.

This inquiry must fully consult the survivors of this terrible tragedy and get to the bottom of why their concerns were not acted upon.

This steep hike to rail fares will be a bitter blow for passengers struggling with overcrowded and unreliable trains.

This is the biggest annual price hike in 5 years.

The fact that fare rises are soaring above wage increases is another sign that people are losing out from higher inflation since the referendum.