Respected local councillor Chris Millington has been chosen as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the forthcoming Essex County Council by-election.

Chris Millington chairs Harlow Council's Environment & Community Committee, which liaises with Essex County Council - the highways authority responsible for roads and pavements - on highways matters. Chris says:

"I was appalled when Tory-controlled Essex County Council recently decided, without consultation, to cut Harlow's highways maintenance budget by a staggering 30 per cent. This is bound to have serious consequences for the state of our roads and pavements - and can only be described, quite literally, as highway robbery.

"I put my name forward for selection as the Liberal Democrat candidate for this by-election so that I could take the fight for Harlow's roads and pavements to County Hall. I want to challenge the ruling Conservative administration there to give Harlow its fair share of highways cash."

The by-election, which will take place on Thursday 16 December, is caused by the recent death of longstanding county councillor Rene Morris. Residents of the former Little Parndon, Hare Street & Town Centre and Passmores wards will be entitled to vote.

Local Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Lorna Spenceley has launched an online diary to keep residents in touch with her activities.

The diary can be found at www.harlow.libdems.org/lorna and will be updated every day.

Mrs Spenceley says:

"I hope my online diary will be of use to the residents I represent, and to
anyone with an interest in what's happening in Harlow. In ten or fifteen minutes
a day I'll be able to keep people up to date with what I'm doing as a councillor
and local politician. It's a simple way to hold myself accountable to local
people."

Mrs Spenceley is the first Harlow political figure to keep a daily diary on the internet.

Harlow Liberal Democrats on Friday (12 November) selected local Liberal Democrat council leader Lorna Spenceley as their prospective parliamentary candidate for the Harlow constituency.

Mrs Spenceley told a local party selection meeting:

"With Tony Blair's government suffering a major crisis of public confidence and trust, and the Tories under Michael Howard at a lower rating in the opinion polls than with Iain Duncan Smith before they got rid of him, there's never been a better time to look for an alternative party with fresh ideas.

"The Liberal Democrats are set to make major advances at this election, with a carefully costed and well thought through manifesto - putting patients first, 10,000 more police on our streets, no tuition fees, axeing the Council Tax and putting 25 pounds more on the pension every week at 75."

Notes

1. Lorna Spenceley has been a Harlow district councillor since 1991, and was the party's candidate for the Harlow constituency in the general elections of 1992, 1997 and 2001.
2. Lorna has lived in Harlow for 23 years. Both her children were born in Harlow and attended Harlow primary and secondary schools.

Harlow's Liberal Democrats have issued a challenge to local Tories to withdraw a misleading leaflet circulated in the town's Little Parndon & Town Centre county division. The leaflet, dated November 2004, claims that there is "no recovery plan following the [council's] 'poor' performance appraisal".

Harlow Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Lorna Spenceley has written to the leaflet's promoter, Tory councillor Simon Carter, demanding that the offending leaflet be withdrawn and an apology issued for misleading local residents.

Mrs Spenceley said:

"The Conservative Group voted unanimously for the council's recovery plan on 14 October. To issue a leaflet in November claiming that the plan does not exist is misleading and untruthful.

"Local residents are used to being misled by Harlow Tories - in the Passmores part of the same county division two years ago, Cllr Carter published a leaflet falsely telling residents that their rents would rise by ten per cent a year for ten years, and the Conservatives were forced to apologise. But that's no excuse. It appears nothing has changed; Harlow Tories are still misleading local people."