Delight at McKinnon decision

Theresa May's announcement that Gary McKinnon will not be extradited to the United States has delighted Liberal Democrat campaigners across the country. The Home Secretary said the case had been decided on the human rights issue alone - not something that must have been easy for a Conservative Minister to disclose.

Immediately after the announcement, Nick Clegg emailed Liberal Democrat members: "In opposition, we were unequivocal: Gary McKinnon should not be extradited. I said at the time that he was too vulnerable to be uprooted from his friends and family and sent across the Atlantic, and if there was a case to answer it should be here in the UK. So today I am absolutely delighted by the Home Secretary's decision to withdraw his extradition order.

"I want to congratulate Gary and his mother Janis on their deserved victory. They have campaigned tirelessly and I pay tribute to their strength and determination.

"But there was another significant moment as well: the Coalition Government has announced that we will seek to amend the US-UK extradition process to make it fairer in future.

"We're adding a so-called 'forum bar' which will mean that British courts can decide to block a request for extradition if it is in the interests of justice to try the case here. This will increase the overall transparency of our extradition arrangements and will better balance the safeguards for defendants.

"We will let you know more detail in due course on this announcement because today is about Gary. Today is a day for celebrating."
Cambridge MP Julian Huppert also welcomed the Home Secretary's decision.

"Mr McKinnon's case is not clear cut," he said. "He is clearly unwell and needs to be treated with compassion. He has suffered 10 years of torment and I hope now he can start to get the help he so clearly needs."

Julian has been fighting the extradition warrant against Gary McKinnon, and has been in regular contact with his mother, Janis Sharp and joined her at 10 Downing Street in February to mark 10 years since his arrest in 2002.

He has also been fighting McKinnon's case through the Parliamentary Home Affairs Select Committee and it featured prominently in the recent inquiry into UK-US Extradition Treaty. Julian congratulated Home Secretary Theresa May in the House of Commons for taking the correct decision at long last. He said later: "This is an historic decision which I hope will lead the way for change."

The warning comes as the Coalition Government released new figures showing that human trafficking to the UK is rising and as three of Britain's leading Anti-Human Trafficking charities, writing in The Times, called on the UK to remain part of all European measures to combat human trafficking.

Commenting, Julian Huppert said:

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone said:

"I am absolutely delighted to receive this award for Politician of the Year. The Government have committed to legislate on equal marriage by 2015, and I look forward to seeing it happen.

"I want to thank Attitude so much for the award, and wish them all the best with their great work in the future!"

Baker keeps down rail fares

The rise in rail fares for the next two years will be lower than expected, thanks to the Liberal Democrats commitment to fair pricing for passengers.

The reduction, which will be funded from the Department for Transport's budget, will benefit millions of commuters and passengers who use the rail network. Transport Minister Norman Baker said:

"The Coalition Government is committed to fair rail fare pricing and the announcement today is good news for both commuters and people who use the train less regularly.

"My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I have been making the case for a fair deal for passengers and I'm delighted that the two parties have come together on this.

"We have been very clear that as soon as the public finances allow, we should try to bring rail fares down and that we should keep the price rises to a minimum in the meantime.

"Liberal Democrats have also been clear on the need to put our railways on a sustainable footing. They need investment and they need it for the long-term.

"We will be working with the rail industry to achieve this so that the burden is shared fairly between passengers and the railway companies"

The pension revolution begins

The biggest change in pensions for over 100 years - automatic enrolment - began on Monday. Starting with the largest firms (those with more than 120,000 employees), employers will now be required by law to pay into a workplace pension for staff that do not opt out.
At least 0.8 per cent of their salary is paid into the pension and this is topped up by one per cent from their employer and 0.2 per cent in tax relief. For someone on an average salary of £20,000, it works out at around £309 per person per year.
By the end of the year, around 600,000 more people in the UK will be saving into a workplace pension and by May 2014 about 4.3 million people will be saving for their old age.

Despite a strong campaign by Lib Dem Councillors and local residents, Conservative-run Woking Borough Council have cut the funding to the Maybury Neighbourhood Advice Centre, threatening the organisation with closure.

The Neighbourhood Advice Centre based at the Maybury Centre in Board School Road, has provided advice to local residents on benefits, employment and housing for 20 years.

Local Lib Dems are opposed to plans for a Biomass Incinerator off Redhill Road in Cobham, Surrey. If approved, the proposals would mean 30,000 tonnes of imported waste wood be trucked into power the gasification unit and it's 24.5 meter high chimney stack.

Borough Councillor for Byfleet, Anne Roberts has referred the proposal for a biomass incinerator on Redhill Road to Woking Borough Council's Planning Committee. On Tuesday 24th July, the Planning Committee unanimously upheld the Officer's recommendation to make an objection to the plans on the grounds that the plant would be in the Green Belt and greatly increase the traffic along the A245.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has used his keynote speech to the Lib Dem Party conference in Brighton to announce extra money for 110,000 children struggling with maths and English.

The Deputy Prime Minister said secondary schools in England will receive an extra £55 million to help pupils arriving in year seven who have slipped behind in English and maths at primary school. The money will come in from next January, with schools deciding how to spend it to help pupils with weaker results in maths and English.

Commenting, Co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Committee on Communities and Local Government, Annette Brooke said:

"Decades of failure by Labour and Conservative governments have left us with a housing crisis that forced rents higher and higher and left thousands of people with no hope of getting a foot on the property ladder.

"The Liberal Democrats want to see a massive house building programme which will help kick-start the economy, create jobs and give thousands of people a decent place to live.

"We also want to crack down on rogue landlords by forcing all landlords to be licensed. We want a fairer deal for tenants, giving them more power and security."