A leading city councillor has called on cyclists to take greater care when travelling across Norwich. Antony Little, Tory group leader at City Hall, has said that residents in Norwich have contacted him after several near misses on the city’s busiest roads at peak times during the day.
Cllr Little said: “One particular accident black spot is the Eaton Road junction on Newmarket Road, particularly when children are going to and from school. Residents there are concerned that those cyclists who break the Highway Code are not only putting themselves at risk but other motorists and pedestrians too.
“I call on all road users to act responsibly at all times to avoid tragedy.”
Conservative spokesman for Eaton Ward, Niall Baxter, added that he had been campaigning on this issue for some time. He said: “A balance needs to be struck whereby the roads are safe enough for cyclists to use, meaning that they have no need to use the pavement.
“It is understandable why some cyclists worry about safety on the Newmarket Road, so our priority should be to make the road safer so that everybody feels they can use it. This will make the situation better for cyclists, motorists and pedestrians.”
The first ever Conservative “Question Time” is to take place this Friday at the UEA, giving students the chance to grill representatives from the local party and the wider conservative movement.
The event, organised by the UEA Conservatives, will see a group of centre right speakers taking questions from students on a wide range of subjects, such as local government, taxation, freedom of speech and higher education.
Councillor Antony Little, Conservative Parliamentary spokesman for Norwich South, will also be on the panel.
Cllr Little said: “Hopefully the event will act as an introduction to the many perspectives of right of centre thinking as well as providing a forum for passionate debate for students at UEA.
“Students will also be shown the different ways they can get involved in politics, such as standing in local elections, blogging or campaigning on a particular issue.”
Speakers include Tim Aker (Taxpayers’ Alliance), Patrick Sullivan (Conservative Future Campaigns Director) and Edward Hallam (Young Conservative Blog). The event is free and everyone is welcome to attend.
The government is not doing enough to tackle violent crime, according to Antony Little, Conservative Parliamentary spokesman for Norwich South, following the publication last week of statistics which show violent crime increasing by almost 25%.
Cllr Little said that the Conservatives would fight crime by cutting unnecessary police red tape which would allow officers to be deployed onto the streets, free from restraint, to tackle the crimes which affect everybody in society. The Tories would also increase prison capacity, ensuring that offenders who should be in prison do go to prison and receive proper rehabilitation in order to reduce re-offending.
He said: “These figures fatally undermine eleven years worth of government spin on violent crime and show how completely out of touch Labour is with what is going on in our streets and neighbourhoods.”
“By improving police visibility on the streets and ensuring that sentencing is both tough and robust, a Conservative government will not be afraid to fight crime head on.”
Conservative Parliamentary spokesman for Norwich South, Antony Little, has spoken out strongly against Labour’s handling of the economic situation, branding it a failure, whilst stating what the Conservatives would have done instead to establish a more responsible economy.
On the same day that figures were published showing that GDP had fallen by 0.5%, Councillor Little said that the Conservatives would do everything possible to help people cope for the difficult times ahead and promised that a Tory government would fix “our broken economy” with a responsible fiscal policy bolstered by independent oversight together with a renewed role for the Bank of England to formulate a responsible financial policy.
Speaking to a group of UEA politics students, Cllr Little said that the fall in output was a defining moment in Gordon Brown’s premiership and stewardship of the economy.
He said: “The country will not forget that it was this Prime Minister who stripped the Bank of England of its powers to supervise the City, that it was he who actively encouraged the risk-taking culture in our banks and that it was he who promised time and again that boom and bust had been abolished. It is now plain for all to see that these central claims made over ten years as Chancellor were completely false.
“The government should now try to help families and businesses but in a way that does not leave future generations to pick up the bill. Sadly it will be millions of families, pensioners and companies that will pay the price for Labour’s failure to prepare for this moment.
“The Conservatives understand that taxpayers’ money should not be thrown on a bigger and bigger state. We will deliver practical help to enable small businesses and families to survive the downturn.”
Cllr Little highlighted Tory proposals announced earlier this week to allow small companies to delay paying VAT and giving them a cut in National Insurance which should ease them through the difficult times.
Taking questions from the floor, Cllr Little acknowledged that that despite there being political consensus over the recapitalisation of the banks, the truth of Labour’s failed economic policy should not be hidden and that the Prime Minister had failed to regulate public and private debt in Britain.
He said: “We need a responsible attitude to economic development that fosters more balanced economic growth. Labour accuse us of talking Britain down, but it is this Labour government which has brought Britain down. Only the Conservatives are offering the change that Britain needs.”
A leading Conservative councillor has slammed proposals to close the Norfolk Family Support Service and is calling for assistance from Norwich City Council.
The organisation, which is run by the NSPCC and is based in Hellesdon Park Road, Norwich, is likely to be shut down to save money following a recent spending review.
Councillor Antony Little, Conservative Parliamentary spokesman for Norwich South, has criticised the proposals saying that they will hit vulnerable families the hardest.
He said: “The Support Team is the only NSPCC project in the whole of Norfolk and hundreds of children, young people and families who have been helped with problems like stress, domestic abuse and drug and alcohol misuse will be left without any proper support. Closing it down will be a major loss for those families who need this kind of support most.
“A decision like this is even more astonishing considering how important family stability is on the political agenda both locally and nationally. It is still not too late to stop the Norfolk Family Support Service from closing down and I would ask those in power to think again.”
Cllr Little confirmed that he would be seeking a solution with Norwich City Council chiefs to keep the Family Support Service operating locally. He also urged anyone affected by the closure to make their views known in the public consultation which is taking place until 3 November.
Please send emails to Laurence Doe, NSPCC Assistant Director for Norfolk at ldoe@nspcc.org.uk. The NSPCC request that emails should be copied to norfolkfamilysupport@nspcc.org.uk as well.
Small businesses in Norwich will be saved under plans unveiled by the Conservatives. Struggling companies will be allowed to delay their VAT payments giving them breathing space and also helping to keep local workers in employment. The Conservatives would also cut National Insurance for the smallest businesses to help them through the difficult times.
Antony Little, Conservative Parliamentary spokesman for Norwich South, said that if these plans were implemented immediately many Norwich firms would be rescued from going to the wall.
Councillor Little said: “Along with our plans to freeze council tax and cut small business tax, these are measures that could be implemented immediately to help cash flow and in some cases prevent companies from going to the wall.
“It is vital that small businesses are helped so that jobs in Norwich are not lost. A Conservative government would be doing everything in its power to save local firms across the country as they are the lifeblood of the British economy. They are the measures a responsible Conservative government would take.”
Antony, in his role as Conservative Leader in Norwich, used an emergency question to council to ask if the Council could cut the number of days to pay an invoice. The Executive Member said they would look into what they could do to help.
Conservative Parliamentary spokesman for Norwich South, Antony Little, has spoken out strongly against Labour’s handling of the economy whilst stating what the Conservatives would have done instead. He said that despite there being political consensus over the recapitalisation of the banks, the truth of Labour’s failed economic policy should not be hidden.
Speaking to a group of UEA politics students, Councillor Little said that Gordon Brown had failed to regulate public and private debt in Britain. He promised that the Conservatives would fix “our broken economy” with a responsible fiscal policy bolstered by independent oversight and a renewed role for the Bank of England.
Councillor Little said: “The country will not forget that it was the Prime Minister who stripped the Bank of England of its powers to supervise the City, that it was he who actively encouraged the risk-taking culture in our banks and that he promised time and again that he had abolished boom and bust.”
He said: “We need a responsible attitude to economic development that fosters more balanced economic growth. Labour accuses us of talking Britain down, but it is this Labour government which has brought Britain down. Only the Conservatives are offering the change that Britain needs.”
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