Political group selects officers for next year

PARTY officers for the coming year were selected at the Liberal Democrats’ AGM.

A packed room in Hinckely elected the local officers for the next year and heard how the party was going forwards locally.

Councillor Michael Mullaney, Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Hinckley and Bosworth, spoke at the meeting.

He said: “Local Lib Dems are needed more than ever to campaign for local residents.

“Here in Leicestershire we have the worst funded council by the Conservative government, this means residents face rocketing Council Tax bills whilst vital services continue to be cut.

“We also have some of the lowest funded schools in the country and our local NHS is not getting the support it needs.

“We face losing the Mount Road Hinckley Hospital without getting the replacement Walk-in Centre or Minor Injuries Unit we need.

“Despite electing Conservative MPs and Councils our area continues to be at the back of the queue when it comes to funding for local services from the Conservative government.

“The local Lib Dem team and myself will continue to campaign and lobby for our area to get the fair share of funding for public services our growing area needs.

He said: “In elections in 2018 we continued to demonstrate that the Lib Dems are the main opposition to the Conservatives locally.

“In March we gained a Town Council seat in Earl Shilton whilst in October we finished just 16 votes behind the Conservatives in an election in Barwell.

“If people in Hinckley and Bosworth want a change from the Conservatives locally in next May’s local elections, the Lib Dems are clearly the main alternative locally.”

Chairman David spoke at the meeting.

He said:” With the Government clearly totally preoccupied with the European issue I very much hope that is not long before they turn their attention to the pressing problem of the underfunding of our police, schools and health services.

“The problems are clearly getting worse locally.”

The officers elected were: Valerie Bill as honorary president, David Bill as chairman, Mathew Hulbert as vice-chairman, Ann Crabtree as secretary and Keith Lynch as treasurer. Bill also