• May 6th sees a record number of elections being contested nationally, following the postponement of elections in 2020 due to the pandemic.
• Here in South Ribble and West Lancashire, Liberal Democrat candidates are standing in elections for borough council seats, and for Lancashire County Council seats.
• There are also two council by-elections in South Ribble and a separate election for the Lancashire Polce and Crime Commissioner.

• A full list of Lib Dem candidates for all these elections can be found here.

The West Lancashire Liberal Democrats will field a strong slate of local candidates on 6^th May in the Borough and County elections. For the first time this century, we will be standing in all eight County seats in West Lancashire, as well as ten of the eighteen Borough Wards in which seats are being contested.

Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, MP for Westmoreland and Lonsdale, was on his old stompimg ground in Leyland recently helping local Lib Dem candidate Paul Valentine in his campaign to be the new councillor for St Ambrose ward.

Tim, himself a former Leyland councillor, spent an afternoon knocking on doors and listening to residents with the St Ambrose Lib Dem campaign team. It was particulalrly special for Tim because, for him, this was where his political career started, under the experienced eye of then St Ambrose councillor Neva Orrell.

The West Lancashire Liberal Democrats are taking a stand against a proposed housing developent at Little Moor Hall Gardens.

David Thomas, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson and candidate for Aughton and Downholland Ward, where the proposed development would be located, said:

"Of course Britain needs many more houses, especially low cost starter homes and social housing. But the priority must be to build on so-called brown-field sites and on preserving our green belt".

Speaking in the wake of this year's West Lancs Council budget settlement, local Lib Dem spokesperson David Thomas has criticised the Conservative government for failing to provide more support for council services, which have been hit hard by the pandemic.

"Now is the time when the Conservative government should be reversing previous cuts and providing more financial assistance to local councils who are having to spend more on vital community services because of the pandemic", he said. "Instead, we hear they are planning to cut council budgets further".

Labour and Tories refuse to back Lib Dem budget proposals at County Hall

In the recent budget debate at Lancashire County Council, Labour and the Tories refused to back Liberal Democrat budget proposals that would have brought big investment in road repairs and environmental schemes, cut councillors' allowances and expenses, and capped the council tax rise at 1.99%.

Auditors issue damning report into 2020 management of South Ribble Borough Council...

Published report highlights litany of failures including:

• £275,000 written-off after plans for a Health and Wellbeing campus were cancelled
• A potential £2m pension liability
• Rules and procedures at the authority had been "consistently breached"
• The council did not have "proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources"
• Potential for so-called "management override of control" - the ability to circumvent rules put in place to preserve financial integrity
• "Under performance" and delays within individual service areas, including food safety inspections, planning and tree maintenance

What's the political news in 2021? Joe Biden has become the 46^th President of the United States of America, whilst from 1^st January, there is now an official branch of the Liberal Democrats, focused on working exclusively for the people of West Lancashire.

The Branch has approaching 100 members and registered supporters, and will be campaigning across the area at the forthcoming Borough and County Council elections on 6^th May.