Liberal Democrats at Essex County Council have backed proposals to deal with excess packaging of goods, which include giving consumers the right to send their packaging back to the manufacturers. The proposals were part of a bill presented to the House of Commons by Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson.

Speaking about the proposals, Liberal Democrat spokesman on waste at Essex County Council, Cllr Ian Gale, said:

"The plans set out in this bill are sensible and very welcome and will do much to reduce the amount of packaging that fills our supermarket and shop shelves. To continue to allow manufacturers to excessively package up goods without any compulsory limit makes no economic or environment sense."

The bill includes plans to establish a national body to promote and enforce packaging reduction, binding targets for packaging reduction in place of existing voluntary targets as well as power given to consumers to leave packaging in supermarkets for disposal. Cllr Gale continued:

"I'm sure that people will be horrified to learn that the average family now spends £470 a year on packaging; and even more horrified to learn that they also pay the cost of disposing of that packaging. Only last week, the Local Government Association announced that council tax payers face fines of billions of pounds in landfill taxes if we fail to reduce the amount of waste thrown in landfill. Consumers pay three times over for excess packaging - the cost of the packaging at the checkout, increased council tax and landfill taxes, and the environment cost of more waste going to landfill for years to come."

Liberal Democrats at Essex County Council have called for a fundamental review of how local councils obtain their finance. The group is seeking to charge local taxpayers on their ability to pay rather than the unfair council tax as now and a better deal from central government. Cllr Tom Smith-Hughes, Liberal Democrats leader on Essex County Council, said:

"We have long argued the case for local taxpayers to be charged for council services on their ability to pay, and overall we are looking for a local government financial system that is fair and transparent. It cannot be right that, as at present, people who are on low fixed incomes and on pensions, have to pay the same amount of tax to their councils as some of the highest earners.

We are anxious about the poor grant settlement for councils announced by the government recently, which will have a detrimental impact on the county council's services, including for the elderly and vulnerable, over the next three years. Essex County Council is being asked to make savings on a scale that must eventually result in reduced frontline services for residents in the county, as well as imposing further above inflation council tax rises."

The Liberal Democrat motion, submitted to a meeting of the full council, received the backing of the Conservative administration at County Hall.

Commenting on the two 25 October by-elections in Little Parndon & Hare Street and Toddbrook wards, local Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Chris Millington said:

"These haven't been the Liberal Democrats' strongest wards - but Nick and Julian fought a good campaign on the issues that matter to local residents. Labour were fortunate to hang on in their one remaining stronghold of Little Parndon & Hare Street, though they must have expected the loss of Toddbrook, even with the procession of government ministers who visited during the campaign.

As for the Conservative party, considering the amount of money that Conservative Central Office has poured into buying this constituency for the Tories at the next election, they will surely be disappointed to have only scraped home in Toddbrook, while slipping back significantly in Little Parndon & Hare Street."

Following Gordon Brown's retreat from holding an early General Election, Harlow Liberal Democrats are calling for Parliament to serve a fixed term of 4 years, as proposed in a bill laid before Parliament today (Monday 8 October) by Cambridge Lib Dem MP David Howarth, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Solicitor General.

David Wright, Harlow Liberal Democrats Chair, said

"Gordon Brown's indecisiveness over whether to call a General Election shows lack of political judgement. But these events also show why the Prime Minister should not be able to pick and choose when to hold the General Election.

Over the past few weeks the Prime Minister has spent more time trying to name the day for the next election than running the country. But why should the Prime Minister be able to pick the day to best suit his party? A fixed 4-year term would be fair to all parties, and mean that the government could concentrate on running the country for the benefit of all its citizens.

Councillors are elected for fixed terms. Harlow residents would be incensed if the ruling parties on Harlow Council could change their re-election dates to suit themselves. What is right for councils is right for Westminster too."

Further information:

Liberal Democrat Shadow Solicitor General, David Howarth, MP for Cambridge, today (Monday) tabled a Bill to the House of Commons to introduce fixed parliamentary terms of four years. See also this BBC story.