Postal Voting in Sefton's Local Elections, 2011.

A question over whether or not Postal Votes can be taken to Polling Stations on Thursday was raised with me recently on the door-step.


The answer is simple: Yes. 
Postal Votes can be submitted at the Polling Stations across Sefton - however - make sure they are completed before entering just to speed the process up.


If you have problems with your Postal Vote forms in Manor Ward, or additionally would like a lift to the Polling Station on Thursday 5th May, please contact the FOCUS Team on the details to the right of this site.


On Thursday 5th May, vote Lib Dem and vote "YES!" in the Referendum on Fairer Votes.

Go Green on May 5th - Vote Yes!

A group of environmentalists and campaigners passionate about a sustainable future have come together to support Yes to Fairer Votes. They have written this letter outlining why they believe that the alternative vote will help us to deal with some of the pressing issues affecting our planet. They say:

In less than a week's time we will be asked if we want to move to a fairer voting system or stick to the status quo. Our current rules for electing MPs to Parliament were designed for a different age, when 95% of us voted for the two main parties; at the last election this fell to 65%, the lowest in Europe. Man made climate change, nuclear power, degradation of ecosystems, depletion of resources and food waste are environmental problems which cut across ideology and partisan interests and can slip through the cracks when the big parties fixate on the preoccupations of the floating voters in marginal seats who currently decide elections.

The Alternative Vote will allow voters to rank candidates and mean MPs will need the support of 50% of their constituents to get elected, a test currently met only by one in three Members of Parliament. MPs will have to reach further and speak to people who are not their ‘ideologically natural’ supporters, opening the door to others, especially those worried about a degrading environment to put their concerns on the map. But this is bigger than the interests of any one party.

It is about the health of our democracy. The alternative vote will make it easier for independent minded people, inside and outside political parties, to be vocal about the environment and for different political parties to emerge if existing parties don’t pick up peoples’ concerns.

If our voting system cannot cope with the most pressing challenge of our times then it must be reformed and May 5th is our one and only chance to do so.

Signed by:

Jonathan Porritt, Environmentalist & Writer

Caroline Lucas MP, Leader of the Green Party

David Puttnam, Member of House of Lords

Tim Smit, Founder of Eden Project

Tony Juniper, Environmental Campaigner & Writer

John Elkington, Founder of Volans & Founder of SustainAbility

Sara Parkin, Co-Founder of Forum for the Future

Joanna Yarrow, Broadcaster, Author and Founder Director of Beyond Green

Ed Gillespie, Low Carbon Traveller and Writer

Wayne Hemmingway, Designer

Colin Hines, Co-director of Finance for the Future

John Grant, Author & Co-Founder of Ecoinomy

Melissa Sterry, Design Scientist & Futurologist

Dale Vince, Founder of Ecotricty & OBE

Simon Goldsmith, Founder of Principled Sustainability

Polly Higgins, International Environmental Lawyer

Richard Reynolds, Founder of Guerilla Gardening & London Leader

Joss Garman, Campaigner & Writer

Tamsin Omond, Founder of Climate Rush

Amisha Ghadiali Vice-Chair of Yes to Fairer Votes & Ethical Fashion Campaigner

Crosby's Iron Men? This way...

Recently reported by The Formby Times, the on going saga surrounding the increasing number of visitors loosing their way to Another Place - the site of Crosby's Iron Men - has now hopefully been concluded.

Thanks to the continued campaign by Crosby Liberal Democrats, agreed increases in road signs directing tourists to Another Place have now been erected.

James Ludley told FOCUS: “By making the directions to the Gormley statues clearer it will allow new visitors to our area to navigate their way back easier, which in turn should allow a greater balance between the attraction itself and the benefits to local businesses in Crosby and along Bridge Road.”

Brakes Put On NHS Health Reforms

Save Our Cheque Victory??

News has appeared that could see the Chequebook service retained. The pressure that has been put on the Government in recent months, including the significant contribution that has come from Sefton, is making an impact.

The Guardian has the following story which opens:

Abolition of cheques to be reconsidered

MPs will examine decision by Payments Council to dispose of cheques in 2018 following consumer pressure

Cheques could be reprieved as a result of a Treasury Select Committee inquiry into their abolition, following pressure from consumer groups and charities.

The inquiry, chaired by Andrew Tyrie MP, will focus on how doing away with cheques will impact on millions of vulnerable individuals, small businesses, charities, clubs and hospices.

Only time will tell if our efforts have come to fruition - but this is excellent news and a step in the right direction! Watch this space...



We’re saying No to the BNP, and Yes on 5th May.

Nick Griffin and the BNP are campaigning for a No vote in the coming referendum because they know the Alternative Vote will hurt them. Billy Bragg and Simon Woolley, head of Operation Black Vote, joined campaigners to launch a national ad campaign with one simple message – Say No to the BNP – Say Yes on May 5th.

The BNP have won dozens of seats in local elections across the country under First Past the Post, but only because the old system allows candidates to sneak in on a tiny minority of the vote. AV penalises extremist parties by forcing candidates to reach out to the majority of voters.

The news comes as leading experts have comprehensively debunked desperate smears from the No campaign that the BNP might somehow benefit from AV. As election expert Professor Dennis Leech argued this week extremists will be “locked out” of national politics in the event of a Yes vote. Yesterday, the IPPR think tank has published research which backed up these claims.

As Billy Bragg, a long serving Anti Fascism campaigner, said:

“What really stinks is that the Nos just won’t run an honest campaign. We’ve heard a lot of nonsense from them on the BNP, so we’re setting the record straight. AV would hurt the BNP, and that’s why they’re fighting for a No vote.”

Simon Woolley from Operation Black Vote added: "This should kill the myths and half-truths peddled about the Alternative Vote and the BNP. A fairer democracy demands we say Yes to AV”.

Today you can be an MP today with less than 3 in 10 voters on your side. It’s that arithmetic that has opened the doors to the BNP in town halls across Britain.

The BNP have no interest in the mainstream majority, and no interest in a voting system that forces candidates to reach out to the wider community.

We’re saying No to the BNP, and Yes on 5th May.

Yes to Fairer Votes!

Yes to Fairer Votes have just launched the final leg of their campaign, before the country goes to the vote on electoral reform on 5 May.


The country deserves a voting system that makes MPs accountable to their electorate – watch this video to find out more about the campaign from Eddie Izzard and friends.


Find out more about how you can help, and how you can send a “YES” message to your friends and family here.

The Andrew Lansley Rap (posted better late than never...)

How I missed this I am not sure...
Possibly the Lib Dems' favourite YouTube clip?

Opinion: James Ludley For Manor Ward

April sees the delivery of two of the key pledges made by the Liberal Democrats in our General Election manifesto. The personal income tax allowance is being raised by £1,000, which will particularly help those on low and middle incomes. Indeed, almost 1 million low earners will be freed altogether from paying income tax. The link between the state pension and earnings is also being restored, for the first time since Mrs. Thatcher abolished it in the early 1980s. In future, the basic state pension will have a “triple guarantee” – it will go up by the highest of earnings, inflation or 2.5% each year. In time, that will create a real boost to the value of the pension.

 Not only are the Liberal Democrats using our position in Government to deliver our policies – on pensions, tax, extra money for schools through the pupil premium, and a referendum on electoral reform – we are also ensuring that where there are proposals which are unfair or need rethinking, then there is a strong voice in the Government to ensure this happens. For example, in local news recently we have witnessed how Southport MP, Dr. John Pugh, is leading the charge with former Crosby MP and Lib Dem Peer, Baroness Shirley Williams (pictured), against the NHS Bill. A clear example of how the Liberal Democrats are keeping a check on the Conservatives in Government.

It is not just at a national level that Liberal Democrats are keeping a check on Coalition partners. On Sefton’s hung Council it is the Liberal Democrat Councillors who had to take the lead in forming a Council Budget last month, with Labour Cabinet Councillors abdicating their paid responsibility. I have Blogged many a time about this over the past few months, yet, there seems to be little shame or apology coming from the Labour camp.

Coalition at all levels requires us to make compromises – not all of which are welcome. Fairer voting would entrench the need to compromise, and that would be no bad thing for Britain.

Over the next month the Manor Ward Focus Team’s direction is firmly on the elections in our area – for our Council and for the referendum on a Fairer Voting System. Sefton deserves strong leadership; I want to see Liberal Democrats continuing to take the lead in Sefton and contributing to winning the crucial referendum on voting reform. Let us work hard together over these next few weeks to deliver those hugely important objectives.

On Thursday May 5^th vote Liberal Democrat and vote YES! to Fairer Votes.