Local MP to Turn Society Upside Down
November 4, 2005 1:20 PM
A public meeting is to be held in Bristol where local MP, Stephen Williams, will speak on the need for local sustainability and a bottom-up society. Other speakers will propose a solution to our unsustainable communities - the Sustainable Communities Bill, which is backed by a national coalition campaign. The meeting is timely with areas of Bristol suffering from problems such as green space and infill development, increasing road congestion, and pressure on local services.
Stephen Williams MP said:
"I am concerned about the various signs of community decline, for example the closures of Post Offices, bank branches and independent local shops and businesses, that I see in my own constituency and the communities in and around Bristol. This decline leads to social deprivation and exclusion. I therefore welcome the efforts of the Local Works campaign and give my full support to the Sustainable Communities Bill and will do all I can in Parliament to help its progress.
"Society needs to be more bottom-up not top-down and central government needs to take action to address the problem of community decline. Therefore I am pleased to be supporting this Bill which provides a positive way forward."
Steve Shaw, Campaign Co-ordinator for Local Works, the national coalition campaign behind the Bill said:
"Community decline is hitting hard everywhere - in the last decade Britain lost a fifth of its post offices, a quarter of its independent grocery stores and a quarter of its bank branches 1."
The Bill aims to solve the problem of "Ghost Town Britain" and create Sustainable Communities defined by thriving local economies, environmental protection, community involvement and democratic participation. Local supporters of the Bill say that it will turn politics on its head with greater powers being given to local authorities and local citizens.
Local Works is the campaign behind the bill and has cross party support from over 230 MPs in the last Parliament as well as 7000 national supporters and 62 supporting national organisations such as the Women's Institute, Postwatch, the National Federation of Retail Newsagents, the Co-operative Group, CAMRA, UNISON and Friends of the Earth.
Steve Shaw said:
"This Bill will mean citizens and local governments in and around Bristol deciding their own indicators of sustainability and setting their own targets. It will turn the world upside down, with central government being driven by councils and their communities. The people of Bristol, not civil servants in Whitehall, know best how to solve their own problems."
The meeting:
Fri 11th Nov 7.30pm - 9:30pm
Elm Grove Centre, corner of Elm Grove Rd and Redland Rd, Redland, Bristol BS6 6AH
Speakers: Stephen Williams (MP for Bristol West), Steve Shaw (Local Works Campaign Co-ordinator), Andy Moore (Director of the Community Recycling Network)
Chair: Cllr Barbara Janke (Leader of Bristol City Council)
Interviews and photo opportunity:
Stephen Williams MP and Steve Shaw are available for interview and for a photo shoot before the meeting starts. To arrange please contact Steve Shaw, Local Works Campaign Co-ordinator (w) 020 7833 9898 (m) 07788 646933 steve@localworks.org
1. full statistics of community decline can be found on the Local Works Summer 2005 campaign broadsheet, contact the campaign office for a copy or download on the campaign website - www.localworks.org
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats