Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats have said that the extra £1 million in the proposed first budget of the unitary authority must signal the beginning of an essential 'fight back' against the massive backlog of repairs that has grown under the Tory-run County Council over several years.
A survey by Brickhill Liberal Democrat councillors of all bus stops and bus shelters in Brickhill identified has identified some major problems.
The first budget of the unitary Bedford Borough Council is set to include a raft of proposals to meet residents' priorities including an additional £1 million for road and footpath repairs and a freeze on short-stay car park charges, thanks to the Liberal Democrats. The Borough's council tax increase will be remain at the proposed low level of 0.9%, with the Lib Dems' package of vital initiatives and funding boosts for essential services to be paid for by cutting back spending on council PR and ceremonial events and releasing unused council reserves.
Bedford Borough Council has been criticised for adopting a 'King Canute' approach to the issue of verge parking, simply asking people not to do it while parking problems in residential areas across the Borough escalate.
Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats have slammed the Mayor and his Cabinet for delaying the reintroduction of free Council Tax Payments at the Post Office for twelve months. This comes in spite of the fact that they have performed a u-turn and accepted the case for the removal of the unfair, discredited charge on payments.
![Vince Cable [Photo: LDD Pics]](/fileadmin/_processed_/5/5/csm_vince-cable-photo-ldd-pics_a8e3e3f3df.png)
Commenting on reports that the Government is planning to guarantee up to £20bn of loans to small businesses, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "The Government's proposal, essentially the same as that of the Conservatives, potentially involves very large taxpayer liabilities and is in effect a subsidy to bank lending."