Somerset Liberal Democrats have welcomed support from the County’s Conservatives for
funding – agreed in principle in today’s full Council meeting - for their proposal for £500,000
of preventative work to help the County’s most vulnerable people and reduce future Council
spending.

The Lib Dems are now calling for the creation of a cross-party working group to agree
precisely how best to spend the funds.

Following the decision to reverse this year’s cuts in gritting on Somerset’s roads, the county’s Liberal Democrats have called out the Leader of Council, David Fothergill for "spinning alternative facts" on social media.

Scientists have been warning us for decades that Climate Change is the greatest threat to humanity for thousands of years. The IPCC Report said that holding the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees will require "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society". Yet nothing seems to be happening, it's business as usual locally and nationally.

On Thursday, Lib Dems Tom Ronan and Caroline McKinnell won two by-elections in Wells St Thomas’ ward, both gaining seats from the Conservatives. Tom won a seat on Mendip District Council and Caroline a seat on Wells City Council.

How did Somerset reach this point, what does this mean for the people of Somerset and where do we go from here? 

A briefing document from the Liberal Democrats

Somerset County Council has been in the news – nationally and locally - as it continues to struggle with an extremely serious financial situation. This could, if not addressed properly, lead to the Council effectively declaring itself bankrupt, at which point Government would send Commissioners in to run the Council’s finances and oversee its operations. 

Wells Liberal Democrats have selected local residents Caroline McKinnell and Tom Ronan as their candidates in the upcoming by-election in St Thomas' ward in Wells. Caroline is standing for the City, Tom for Mendip.

Former Somerset MP and current Lib Dem councillor, Tessa Munt, has slammed the five Conservative MPs representing the County for failing to gain Westminster’s backing to help sort out the Council’s financial crisis.

Somerset’s Lib Dem county councillors have called on the chair of Somerset County Council to hold an extraordinary meeting to explain the Conservatives’ emergency budget in more detail and ensure that it is sufficiently robust to prevent Government officials stepping in and shutting down the County Council.

“Somerset Council Leader David Fothergill is shirking responsibility for the vicious cuts to public services,” says Jane Lock, Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition on Somerset County Council, after Mr Fothergill placed the blame for the crisis at the door of the Conservative Government.