Liberal Democrats at Essex County Council have been left baffled following Conservative leader David Cameron's plans to support council tax, as the Conservative group at the council recently supported a Lib Dem motion criticising the tax.

Mr Cameron's proposals for a different capping regime for the tax, announced this week, make it clear that he remains wedded to the council tax. Meanwhile, Essex County Council Conservative leader, Lord Hanningfield, has recently called for council tax to be scrapped - a position that the Liberal Democrats have advocated for some time - and he led his group in agreeing with Liberal Democrats that the tax is unfair. Cllr Tom Smith-Hughes, Lib Dem group leader said:

"I am very confused and disappointed. Just over two weeks ago the Conservatives at County Hall agreed with us that it is inherently unfair to tax people not taking into account ability to pay. Lord Hanningfield, who is also a Conservative Front Bench spokesman in the House of Lords, has on several occasions publicly stated he thinks the tax should be scrapped, and has indicated his party would be reviewing their policy on keeping council tax. That clearly is not true, as proved by the Conservative party leader's endorsement of council tax. This is another example of the Tory party going wobbly and flattering to deceive.

Council tax has been unfair and biased against the poor and the elderly since it was foisted on us by a Conservative government - retreating in a panic from the debacle of the poll tax - and retained by the following Labour government. It becomes more unfair every year as central government grants to local authorities fail to keep pace with the rising costs of services, including for the elderly, and means continuing council tax rises well above inflation."

Sitting MEP Andrew Duff has been re-selected by the Liberal Democrats at the top of the East of England list for the next European Elections in 2009.

Following a ballot of the membership of the East of England Liberal Democrats, Linda Jack from Bedford was selected to be number 2 while Dr Ian Mack from Norfolk was selected to be the number 3. Commenting on the result Andrew Duff MEP said:

"I am pleased to have been so strongly supported by the party in the East of England for a third time. I welcome the selection of a strong team of candidates to promote the values and policies of the Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament. We look forward to making further advances across the region against our opponents."

The Liberal Democrat list for the 2009 European elections in full is:

• 1. Andrew Duff


• 2. Linda Jack


• 3. Ian Mack


• 4. Peter Welch


• 5. Earnshaw Palmer


• 6. Andrew Houseley


• 7. Qurban Hussain

Members of Harlow Liberal Democrats have voted to elect the local party's former agent Peter Mabey as their President - their first since the death in 2003 of previous President Elsa Scammell.

Chartered engineer and Bush Fair resident Mr Mabey moved to STL Harlow in 1970, having worked in the aircraft industry as a structural engineer and at STC as a software engineer. He was involved in running the Harlow branch of the British Computer Society, and then with the West Essex Wine Appreciation Society. He served as agent for Harlow Liberal Democrats in the 2001 and 2005 General Elections, as well as local council elections up to and including this year.

Local party chairman David Wright commemorated Mr Mabey's election as President by presenting him with a bottle of wine, the appropriately-named Chateau Haut Bages Liberal, of the 1988 vintage - the year the Liberal Democrats was founded as a political party.

Meanwhile, Robert Woodthorpe Browne was elected as Harlow Liberal Democrats' Vice President, the first person to hold such a position. Mr Browne was the Liberal parliamentary candidate for Harlow in 1979. He has since contested several parliamentary elections, including the Kensington & Chelsea by-election against Michael Portillo in 1999, and most recently Sedgefield against Tony Blair in 2005; and was also a candidate for the East of England alongside Harlow councillor Lorna Spenceley in the 1999 European elections. A fluent speaker of several European languages, Mr Browne is a reinsurance broker and consultant specialising in Central and Eastern Europe and Third World countries. He is director of Robert Browne & Partners Ltd, and was from 1979 to 1995 a Member of Lloyd's.

At the same meeting, David Wright was re-elected local party Chairman for 2008, and Nick Macy was re-elected Treasurer. Mr Manny Doku is the new local party secretary for the forthcoming year.

Liberal Democrat councillors in Harlow are today celebrating the results of Harlow Council's independent Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA). From being judged 'Poor' at its last CPA, the new assessment classifies Harlow as 'Good' - a leap that only two other councils have achieved before.

Commenting on the result of Harlow Council's independent CPA inspection, which sees the council reclassified from 'Poor' to 'Good', Harlow's Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Chris Millington said:

"It is fantastic to achieve so much. I believe only two other councils have ever managed such a leap. We know that there is still work to do and we need to increase satisfaction levels with our services even further. In the meantime, we would like to thank fellow councillors and staff for their hard work and our many partners and residents within the community that have helped us to achieve this great result."

Liberal Democrat deputy group leader Cllr Robert Thurston said:

"Harlow Council's Liberal Democrat group is delighted to have been a key part of this success story. In 2002, we took on a council which had already been condemned as a 'ship of fools', and had been slated in numerous inspections. Five years later, the Audit Commission has reported that the council shows 'strong decision making and effective leadership', has 'clear vision and priorities', 'effective partnership working' and 'improving services that are starting to have a positive impact on the local community'.

Liberal Democrat councillors have played a consistent part in leading Harlow Council during this time, and it is in no small measure down to their determination and hard work - and that of dedicated council staff - that Harlow Council has been able to demonstrate the improvements revealed today."

WHAT THE AUDIT COMMISSION SAID

• "Harlow District Council is a good Council and improving well"


• "The Council now provides effective community leadership"


• "Harlow Council has completed a realistic, planned and measured approach to improvement"


• "The new Civic Offices have promoted the Council's ambition to be a modern and well-run Council with an efficient and effective working environment for staff and customers"


• "Staff say the culture of the organisation is supportive, open and transparent"


• "The Corporate Plan clearly sets outs the Council's aims and objectives for the community"


• "The consultation methods used help to ensure that the Council's ambitions match the aspirations of the local community"


• "Consultation with residents, stakeholders and partners has informed the Council's ambitions"


• "The Council produces a high quality and informative newsletter 'Harlow Times' which is delivered free to households in the District"


• "The Council has taken effective steps to understand the scale of the social, economic and environmental challenges facing the town"


• "The Council and its partners have a very good and shared understanding of the needs of the town"


• "The Council has demonstrated that it is able to make and sustain difficult decisions to deliver its priorities"


• "By defining clearly what are its priorities and what are not priorities, the Council is no longer confused about its role and this prioritisation underpins its 'do less better' agenda"


• "Councillors, staff and stakeholders have a good understanding of the Council's priorities"