As you sit down to read this issue of first, the Liberal Democrats will be gathering for their autumn conference in Bournemouth, with a packed agenda looking at a range of issues with local government at the centre.
For example, urgent action is needed to tackle the housing crisis, and we will be showcasing our councils’ work in this area at our LGA fringe meeting on reviving council housing.
“We want to see a focus on massively increasing the number of social rented homes being built”
We will also be showcasing Liberal Democrat-run councils’ work on turning around children’s services and schools, and discussing the party’s plans to invest in our children’s future.
Building on the magnificent work that our councils have been doing to address the climate emergency and tackle climate change, we will be looking at what more can be done to get to grips with the crisis in nature that is affecting the biodiversity of our communities.
We will be celebrating the key role that our councils’ armed forces champions play during our debate on ‘A fair deal for the Armed Forces community’, highlighting the great work councils such as Portsmouth and Colchester have done over many years.
And, following the leading role we played at the LGA in campaigning against the Government’s voter ID scheme, we will be supporting the party’s plans to scrap voter ID requirements.