New bid to save Haslar backed by Shadow Home Secretary

Chris Huhne, the Shadow Home Secretary and Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh, has launched a new Liberal Democrat website, www.gosportfocus.co.uk, and an online campaign to save Haslar Hospital.

Chris Huhne called on Gosport residents to visit the website and to sign the online petition which calls on the MOD to hand over the site to a Council-led partnership which plans to take it over and keep beds and services open. He also warned that the Tories were not to be trusted on health issues.

Huhne said that the Liberal Democrats were now the only party committed to saving Haslar following The News’ report which revealed that the Tory leader David Cameron thought Haslar has no future, adding that Gosport Conservatives cannot even convince their own party leadership to support Haslar. Chris Huhne gave support to the local Liberal Democrats’ efforts to find a viable future for the Haslar site which ensures beds and health services are kept on after the Ministry of Defence leaves.

The Gosport Liberal Democrat plan includes redeveloping part of the site to pay for the cost of keeping 250 beds open plus clinical services and medical research. Gosport Council’s Lib Dem administration has been in talks with developers who are prepared to back the bold plan to keep the historic hospital open, but they say that the public’s support is vital to its success.

Tories No Better Than Labour On Managing the Economy

Last week, the respected independent research organisation, the Institute for Fiscal Studies released their forecast for UK's public finances. Interestingly, they showed that Labour and the Conservatives are just as bad as each other at managing the UK economy.

Charting the UK's progress, they demonstrated the structural budget balance had risen from minus 5% of national income under the Tories to 1% after three years in government from 1979, but then fell back to minus 3% after eleven years. It then fell to minus 5% after 14 years, closing at minus 3% again after 18 years. Everyone remembers the Conservatives' humiliating failure with Sterling and the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM).

And guess what. Under Labour the structural budget balance started at minus 3% in 1997, rose to 1% again after three years, but then fell back to minus 3% after eleven years. The Institute for Fiscal Studies now forecast that the balance will fall again to minus 7% after thirteen years before closing at minus 3% again. And so no better than where they started.

So neither party left the public finances in a healthy position after many years in government.

After seeing so much crisis and failure, its now time to give Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and the very well respected Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable and colleagues a chance.

Conservative membership collapse under Cameron

The Tories are suffering a massive slump in Party membership. Secret party documents show 40,000 supporters have left since David Cameron took over as leader three years ago. Overall, Tory Party membership has fallen from 290,000 to 250,000 in the three years since Cameron took over. The fall in membership and the revenue it brings in, along with the credit crunch, means the Tories have been forced to take drastic steps to balance their books.

Last month ten per cent of Conservative Central Office staff were made redundant. Some 24 staff at the party's Millbank headquarters lost their jobs. In a separate move the party also closed its Constituency Campaigning Services-based in Coleshill Manor in the West Midlands. It provided campaigning material and acted as a call centre for constituency parties.