In his keynote speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference, Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has outlined his goals for the Government and the country over the coming years. He reiterated his commitment to liberal values on the environment and human rights and his determination to ensure a fair chance for every child, saying "every child can do good things, great things, if only we give them the opportunities they deserve."

The Town Council By-election in Morpeth South was narrowly won by the Conservatives. The result was as follows: -

Consevative - 258

Liberal Democrat - 246

Green - 130

Labour - 120

Many thanks to our candidate, Ed Hillier who would have been an excellent town councillor for Morpeth South and who faught a very clean and fair campagn. Thanks also to all who voted for Ed and to those who supported the campaign.

Trading Standards and the police are urging residents to be careful when considering purchasing goods or services from any door-to-door salesmen. Although this practice is not illegal - a recent example was gangs offering tarmac services - residents are urged to take time before making a decision on any work or service they are being offered. Bogus doorstep traders often use a range of persuasive and emotional tactics to secure a fast sale which may mean costly work being done unnecessarily. Residents are advised to shop around to get the best deal, seek recommendations from friends and family for tradesmen they trust and get detailed written quotations. Also, know your rights - for goods or services over £35 many sellers must give their customer the right to change their mind over a 7 day cooling off period. For advice on doorstep selling, please contact Consumer Direct on 08454 040 506 or visit consumerdirect.gov.uk/doorstepselling. The Northumberland Registered Traders Scheme gives access to a list of registered local traders who have been checked and are committed to providing a high degree of customer service. Visit the website at www.traderegister.org.uk/nnt and click on 'Find a Trader' or call 0845 600 6400. Also call with any concerns about particular doorstep sellers.

Following the granting of outline planning permission in June 2010 for a new superstore at Low Stanners, a detailed planning application will now be submitted to Northumberland County Council. The developers behind the plans, Dransfield Properties, have 'fine tuned' their detailed proposals in the light of a public consultation session held in the Sanderson Arcade in mid-January. The plans include a new 50,000 sq ft town centre supermarket/superstore on two levels, links to the town centre for pedestrians, 283 short stay car parking spaces plus 296 long stay parking spaces underground (a net addition of 380 spaces), widening and improvement of Staithes Lane and a landscaping scheme for the site. If the plans are approved, construction, estimated to cost £24m, is expected to start in June this year with the store opening in 2013. The new store will create up to 290 jobs. A number of major retailers are understood to be competing to run the new store and the winner is likely to announced by Dransfield around Easter.

As part of their response to the huge deficit in the national finances, caused by the global recession and collapse of the banking system, the Government has decided to cut grants to local councils over the next 4 years by 28%. Labour now claim they would make less cuts, but in reality the seriousness of the national financial situation would have caused them to something very similar. The effect in Northumberland is that the council is forced to reduce its running costs by £111 million by 2014, including a massive £46 million in the coming year. These huge cuts can only be achieved by a large reduction in staff numbers, combined with major improvements in the way council departments work with each other and with other partner organisations. The Liberal Democrat minority administration has finalised its proposals for how to make these savings in the coming year. These include a halving of senior management posts and reduced middle management posts in every department of the council. The impact on vital services to county residents will be minimised by this concentration on working better and more efficiently, but inevitably some areas of service will be reduced and some charges will be increased. Overall, the Lib Dem proposals avoid the draconian cuts in major services being proposed by other councils around the country, while freezing Council Tax at last year's level. Whilst the Liberal Democrats are the largest group on Northumberland Council, they do not have an overall majority and can only get things done with the support of councillors from other parties. The administration has worked hard to listen to ideas from all councillors and, as a result, the budget was formally agreed at the Council meeting on 23^{rd of February.}

Improvements to Morpeth Station are going ahead. Screens are to be installed this year by Northern Rail providing passengers with information about when trains are due to arrive. The scheme to improve access to platforms is also to go ahead with money to be provided from the Government's 'Access for All' scheme. Lifts will be installed to take people to and from the platforms. The new facilities will help disabled and elderly passengers together with parents with young children. The South East Northumberland Rail User Group (SENRUG) is pleased that these projects are going ahead, particularly given the current economic climate, but it is disappointed that its requests for extended ticket office opening hours and more of a staff presence at the station have not been agreed to.

I have always voted Liberal Democrat, but have only recently become more active as a Lib Dem supporter. As a Morpeth resident I have been very impressed by the improvements being made across the town and the work done by Lib Dem Councillors and I would like to play a more active role in helping with this work. So I have decided to stand for the Town Council and hope to be able to play my part in improving Morpeth for residents, workers and visitors.

Morpeth Town Council will need to take on an increased community role when Castle Morpeth Borough Council disappears on 1st April 2009. The traditional role of Mayor is being taken over when the Chair of Morpeth Town Council becomes the Mayor of Morpeth. Some other services, such as management of the markets and allotments in the town, may also eventually be transferred. As no budget is to be transferred, the Town Council will need to raise the required funding through an increase in its share of the Council Tax. This adds approximately £2.10 a year to the Council Tax bill for a Band D payer. This is in addition to an increase of approximately £4.90 a year to cover increased costs in other Town Council services and a further £3.20 to make good the loss of income due to flooded households not paying council tax this year. Ken Brown, Chair of the Town Council said: "Although Northumberland County Council will now provide the services that were provided by the Borough Council, increasingly, Town Councillors will act as the first point of contact for residents. The close working relationship and dialogue between us and the 4 councillors who represent Morpeth at the County level will be critical in ensuring that we are able to deal with issues and help residents. Plans to meet regularly with neighbouring parish councils are also in hand. It's going to be a challenging year in local government but we will be doing our very best to ensure that the Town Council plays its part in making the transition a success."

Les Cassie

Les Cassie grew up in Walker, Newcastle, and was the first member of his family ever to go to university, obtaining a masters degree in Chemical Engineering. Married to a teacher with two grown up children, he has been a Morpeth resident since 1976 and lives in the Morpeth Central & North ward. Les was elected as County Councillor for North Ward in November 2005. In May 2007 Les was also elected as Borough Councillor and Town Councillor for Morpeth North Central Ward. His experience working as a senior manager in a large international company, responsible for research, innovation and development of new products, means that he knows how to get things done. As a councillor he has been able to turn his skills and experience to help residents with problems and get improvements implemented. "With clear ideas, working with others, persistence and hard work, difficulties can be overcome and good things can be achieved," says Les. "I am optimistic that if the effort is put in, things can be made better."