Hucknall Archives - Mansfield & Ashfield Liberal Democrats

Papplewick Green – planning application for the field

27th August 2021/in Hucknall /by Martin Howes

The ongoing saga of the Papplewick Green Playing Fields on Kenbrook Road, Hucknall seems to have many instalments.

The original planning application submitted earlier in 2021 included a 3g synthetic pitch, classrooms and goal storage enclosure.

Large numbers of local people made comments to the councillors and council departments. It’s a partial victory for local people that the original plans are not going ahead.

Ashfield District Council has granted planning permission for a new goal storage enclosure.

An application for a licence for sale of alcohol and for music was submitted and then withdrawn.

Hucknall Sports FC played on the field and the previous Wigwam pitches for many years. The petition “Retract Eviction Notice for Hucknall Sports FC” gained 6,400 signatures.

The Council have handed Sports Gateway a one-year usage arrangement for the field and pavilion. Hucknall Sports are no longer regularly using the field, at least not for this season.

Many local people have expressed frustration with the Ashfield Independents over the future of the field. The best councillors know what
matters in their area, not in an arrogant way but because they pro-actively consult local people.

For a greener, more caring Nottinghamshire

Our county council candidates for Hucknall

6th April 2021/in Ashfield, Hucknall /by Martin Howes

Hucknall’s Liberal Democrat candidates in the county council elections are Martin Howes in Hucknall North and James Harvey in Hucknall South.

Martin Howes lives in Hucknall North. Martin was previously a councillor and council portfolio holder for finance. His experience makes Martin ideally suited to scrutinising how Nottinghamshire County Council spends our money.

James Harvey grew up in Nottinghamshire. He settled in Hucknall in 2012 and now lives in Hucknall South. James works in IT for one of Nottingham’s major employers.

If elected, Martin and James will work hard for Hucknall.

“Let’s build a caring community and a greener town” says James.

Key policies for Nottinghamshire County Council

30th March 2021/in Hucknall, Mansfield, News, Sherwood /by Martin Howes

In the run-up to the Nottinghamshire County Council elections in May 2021, we are setting out the Liberal Democrats’ vision for Nottinghamshire.

Liberal Democrats want Nottinghamshire to be a green county. We must take urgent action on climate change.

Nottinghamshire must be a caring county. The Conservatives have short-changed our care services. Liberal Democrats demand better for the people of Nottinghamshire.

Your local Liberal Democrats are determined to make Nottinghamshire fit for the future. Let’s make our county work for everyone.

For details of the Liberal Democrats’ policies for Nottinghamshire, please see:
A Green County
Better Transport for a Greener County
A Caring County
A County That Is Fit for the Future

Announcing Tim Ball as Parliamentary Candidate for Sherwood

19th November 2019/in GE19, Hucknall, Sherwood /by webofficer

The Mansfield and Ashfield Liberal Democrats are pleased to announce that Tim Ball has been chosen to represent the Liberal Democrats in Sherwood in the upcoming General Election on 12th December 2019.

On his selection Tim said:

“I am delighted to be representing the Liberal Democrats here in Sherwood. The Liberal Democrats are the strongest party of Remain. Every vote for the Liberal Democrats at this election is a vote to stop the Brexit chaos.

Please help us to build a brighter future for our area of Sherwood and for our United Kingdom by supporting the Liberal Democrats on December 12th”

You can read more details about Tim on his Candidate Profile page.

This election gives us a real chance to build on the national success from the spring and improve on previous results. In order to do so we are going to need your help. Please let us know if you are able to volunteer your time during the election by contacting us through the website’s Contact Us page. In order to meet our potential we are also going to need to raise a minimum of £500, If you are in a position to make a donation, this would be enormously helpful. You can do so by emailing our Treasurer, Vicki Charlton on treasurer@mansfieldandashfieldlibdems.org.uk or through the website’s Donations page.

Finally if you would like to make a bigger contribution to the Liberal Democrats efforts locally, and if you are not already a member we would love you to join us. You can do this by visiting https://www.libdems.org.uk/join-local.

Very many thanks for your continued support!

Liberal Democrats

Swinson: Corbyn could be the block to stopping a No Deal

7th October 2019/in Hucknall, Sherwood /by Leon Duveen

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson has today warned that Jeremy Corbyn could be “the biggest block to stopping a No Deal Brexit” following the Labour leadership refusing to back any interim Prime Minister but Jeremy Corbyn.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson said:

“Liberal Democrats are absolutely prepared to go forward with a government of national unity. The country needs that as an insurance option to ensure we have a Prime Minister who will actually obey the rule of law and request an extension of Article 50.

“That Prime Minister could be anybody that commands the confidence of the House of Commons. Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t have the numbers to command a majority and until he accepts that fact he could end up being the biggest block to stopping a No Deal Brexit.

“The Liberal Democrats remain determined to stop Brexit, because the best deal possible is the one we have right now as members of the European Union.”

Lib Dems: ‘School Cuts’ data shows funding still an emergency

30th September 2019/in Hucknall, National, Sherwood /by Leon Duveen

Responding to the relaunch of the National Education Union’s ‘School Cuts’ website, which reveals that more than 15,000 schools will have less money per pupil in real terms in 2020 than they did in 2015, Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary Layla Moran said:

“The Conservatives continue to fail our children. This data removes the wool that Boris Johnson tried to throw over our eyes – that he is making parents and teachers wait for the money their schools desperately need.

“Whilst he peddles catchy soundbites, teachers are still faced with impossible decisions on which support staff to cut or which basic supplies not to buy.

“The money in the Spending Round won’t reach all schools until next September. Even then, it will probably take until around 2022 for the cuts since 2015 to be reversed. That’s seven years wasted – the length of time a child is at primary school.

“Liberal Democrats demand better for our children’s futures. We need an emergency cash injection this year to reverse school cuts, so that teachers have the resources they need to help their pupils succeed in life.”

What a day!

24th September 2019/in Hucknall, Sherwood /by Leon Duveen

I have followed politics in the country for over 50 years, my first political memory is of Harold Macmillan resigning and the Earl of Home having to renounce his peerage and become Sir Alec Douglas-Home so he could be the next Prime Minister.

In all those years I can not remember a day like today, when the current Prime Minister has been found to have give the Queen not just misleading but illegal advice and ridden roughshod over the accepted conventions & laws that make up our Constitution.

While the Judges of the Supreme Court went to great lengths to say the circumstances have been unique, their ruling will have a lasting effect to boost the standing of Parliament and their ability to hold an overbearing Executive, especially one that cannot command a majority to account.

As for Boris Johnson, he seems doomed to be the shortest serving Prime Minister of the UK, beating the 118 days George Canning served in 1827. He is bereft of ideas, bereft of thought out policies, bereft of political friends. His all consuming ambition to be Prime Minister has lead him to be the willing tool of those who want to protect their wealth in off-shore accounts and get even richer by picking over the bones of the British Economy after a “No Deal” Brexit.

Hopefully we will have a General Election soon and we can rid this country of the spivs who are currently in power.

Swinson: Corbyn is a Brexiteer at heart

23rd September 2019/in Hucknall, Jo Swinson, National, Sherwood /by Leon Duveen

Responding to the news from Labour Party conference that it would not back Remain in a People’s Vote, under the guidance of Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson said:

“Jeremy Corbyn has again shown a total lack of leadership on Brexit and settled on yet another fudge on the biggest issue facing our country. Jeremy Corbyn has repeatedly had the opportunity to put the full force of the Labour behind a Remain position, but he has once again shown today that he is a Brexiteer at heart.

“He is determined to negotiate a Brexit deal if Labour win an election, despite all the evidence that there is no Brexit deal that is good for our economy, our NHS and our security. By refusing to say how the Labour Party would campaign in a second referendum, Jeremy Corbyn is letting down the millions of people who want to see the UK remain in the EU.

“The Liberal Democrats are the only main party going into the next election promising to end the Brexit chaos. If the Liberal Democrats win the next general election, then we will use that democratic mandate to revoke Article 50 on day one and stop Brexit.”

Scrapping Ofsted must be the beginning of the end of teaching to the test

22nd September 2019/in Hucknall, Sherwood /by Leon Duveen

Responding to today’s announcement by the Labour Party that they will campaign to abolish Ofsted, Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary Layla Moran MP said:

“It is always good to see the Labour Party copying another key Lib Dem education promise, just as they followed us in calling for SATs to be scrapped, here they are trailing in behind again.

“The Conservatives’ high stakes testing regime is hurting our children. SATs and Ofsted inspections are causing stress and anxiety for pupils and teachers, even though they mean nothing for a child’s life chances.

“Ofsted lost the trust of the teaching profession long ago. We need an inspection system that parents and teachers can trust, supporting schools to succeed rather than punishing them for failure.

“But Angela Rayner must go further. We must end teaching to the test – which is why Liberal Democrats want to scrap league tables in their current form. Parents should be able to see the full picture of how their school is doing, not just how well Year 6 pupils do in a week of English and Maths tests.

“Liberal Democrats demand better for our children. They should come home from school happy, healthy and with the skills they need to succeed in life – not just as children who know how to pass exams.”

Thoughts on the Lib Dem Conference

21st September 2019/in Conference, Hucknall, National, Sherwood /by Leon Duveen

I couldn’t make Conference this year because of work commitments but I did manage to catch some of it on BBC Parliament. Watching the debate on Europe on Sunday morning was definitely a highlight, including the fantastic speech 13 year old Niamh O’Connell from Reading. You can watch the debate here from 3:06:00 (Niamh’s speech is from 3:22:00)

However Conference, like the Lib Dems, is about much more than Brexit. The debates covered a wide range of issues. from Railways to the removing the Home Secretary power to remove British Citizenship; from tackling Climate Change to supporting tourism in the UK. You can read all the motions passed in Bournemouth on the main Lib Dem Website.

Obviously, Jo Swinson’s first speech to Conference (from 4:24:00) as leader was eagerly anticipated and she didn’t let us down. Electrifying and clear, she laid out just why she has the ambition to lead us back into Government, even be the Government in the near future.

You can tell how scared both the Tories & Labour (as well as the other extremist parties) are of Jo by the level of vitriol and lies being aimed at her and the Lib Dems. We must be brave and hold firm to our principle so when the General Election comes (and come it will either later this year or early next year) we will reap the benefits of being the one Party with a clear, understandable and defendable position of how to take the UK forward and out of the Brexit mess.