Ed Davey MP Launches Bristol Liberal Democrat Campaign

6.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 12th Apr 2007

Ed Davey, MP for Kingston and Surbiton, visited Bristol on 11th April to help launch the Liberal Democrats' local election campaign.

Speaking at a rally with local activists and councillors, Mr Davey said:

"Having seen some of the important and difficult challenges that this Lib Dem council have faced, I am confident that due to their hard work Bristol is finally moving in the right direction. These decisions may often be controversial but I am confident they are the correct decisions that have and will continue to achieve better services for people in Bristol."

"The Council have made massive strides in many areas, especially the environment where recycling has jumped from 12% to 40% in just 18 months. It is advances like this which are gradually gaining the Council awards and acclaim from organizations such as the Audit Commission."

Commenting on the visit, Stephen Williams MP said:

"I'm very pleased that Ed has chosen to come down to help launch our local election campaign. We're confident that the campaign will go well and the people of Bristol will allow us to continue improving Bristol by voting for us on May 3rd."

At the campaign launch Ed Davey also signed Cllr Shirley Marshall's 'Lives not Knives' petition. On the campaign he commented:

"This is a truly important issue, particularly in light of events in recent months. As a country we need to adopt a firmer position on knife crime. Lengthening the sentence for carrying a knife with intent is a necessity. The Labour government have started this, but have not gone far enough."