ELECTION FOCUS and Bois (including , Weedon Hill and Amersham-on-the-Hill) April 2017 www.chilternlibdems.org.uk Three reasons to vote for Walid Marzouk on May 4th, and... 1. Walid has experience as a councillor, he has already worked with others to get things done. 2. Walid is a successful international managing director in the healthcare industry, he is used to working with large budgets such as those of the County Council 3. Walid lives locally, he drives the same roads that you do, and shares your concerns about local issues ...three reasons to vote Liberal Democrat. 1. The Conservatives have a whopping majority on the County Council – what Amersham and Chesham Bois need is an opposition voice to hold the Tories to account and fight for your local concerns. 2. We don’t like to mix national and local issues, but our area in the Chilterns gains massively from trade with Europe – a vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote against a “hard Brexit” 3. Actually, that coalition government was quite good, wasn’t it? Our national borrowing started to come down, the lowest paid were better off, mental health was put on the national agenda and local government cuts were less severe and much less painful than now. Walid and wife Paula We had a country that was tolerant and politically stable. campaigning in Chesham Bois Cut waste, not services, in a business-friendly environment Walid Marzouk says “Others claim that the County Council is offering value for money. From what I have seen, the tendering system is broken and must be changed. Outsourcing, seen as the answer to every problem, has proved to be anything but value for money. I have years of high-level business experience in setting up and managing effective professional competitive tenders. I will work hard to bring real value-for-money changes. “I also want to support small businesses. I welcome the recent changes in scrapping business rates for many of our village pubs. For the High Street, more encouragement and support is needed especially for specialist food and niche shops. Many of these will see their rates increase – that’s not good.” “I believe I have the experience, the energy and the make-it-happen attitude needed to achieve results. Please vote for me, for protecting services and fewer cuts, for less political dogma and the moderating influence of the Liberal Democrats” Amersham-on-the Hill

Walid: “Fight the budget cuts in Education” In a letter last month (24.03.17) an Amersham school headteacher wrote to parents as follows:“ We don’t want to be alarmist but there is a wealth of recent evidence produced not just by schools but also by the National Audit Office ( NAO), the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the Education Policy Institute, f40 ( the local organisation representing the lowest –funded local authorities), the National Governors Association, and all the main teachers’ professional associations. The consistent message is that schools face an average reduction in their budgets of 8-10% by 2020, described as the biggest real terms cut in education spending in a generation “ “I support the headteacher who felt that her responsibility and her duty was to alert parents,” says Walid Marzouk. “The cuts will damage our children and grand-children’s education for a generation. Local Conservatives will have to comply and implement Conservative government policy which seems to be cuts, cuts and more cuts. That is why there is a real need for more Liberal Democrats like me on the county council to speak out against these cuts”.

Printed by Aylesbury Liberal Democrats, 6 Castle Street, Aylesbury HP20 2RE. Published and promoted by Alan Bacon on behalf of Walid MarzoukA (Liberal Democrats) all at Windrush, , Chesham HP5 2X Potholes – a continuing problem. They spent how much? Recent Conservative election leaflets have boasted about how they have spent £110 million on road resurfacing in the past six years. The bad news? That’s exactly what they have done! A pity that so much money has been spent, yet the roads are still a mess. As local residents know, the same potholes seem to be filled again and again. Liberal Democrats at County Hall have suggested it would be cheaper to borrow the money to do the job properly, and pay it back through the savings made by not having to do the same job again. Previous editions of Focus have also pointed out that utility companies should be made to pay for their own road repairs – and pay again if it’s not done properly the first time. The tax-payer shouldn’t have to pay twice. Reading the Tory leaflets for these elections, one would be forgiven for thinking that someone else was in charge at County Hall. The fact is that has been run by the Conservatives since the 19th century – so there’s no-one else to blame for the state of the roads. Walid Marzouk says: “It must be said that Copperkins Lane, which is another heavily used main road in this ward, is in a similar or even worse state even than most, suffering from a lack of maintenance and in a state of disrepair. Action is needed urgently. “Like you, I struggle to accept this poor level of support. With the experience I have on how councils work on such matters , I promise you that I will take effective and quick action to bring about remedies wherever possible.”

Road safety for children and the elderly – Walid takes Action! Many residents of Amersham and Chesham Bois know that Weedon Hill / Lane has become a dangerous rat-run. Cars are speeding, at times doing 60mph or more outside the School and Rayners Care Home. Walid Marzouk raised this issue at the Local Area Forum and helped to drive action to remedy this problem. Working closely and with excellent support from the local , the Parish Council and tireless follow up of Bucks County Council, a road safety and parking plan is being implemented. Walid says “Our thanks goes to those that have made it possible, but also the villagers who have been marvellous in support of the campaign. “It must be said that speeding and parking is a big issue in many parts of the Chiltern region. I was honoured to be asked for help and advice for a similar program recently started in Copperkins Lane, which has also become a rat run for speed merchants. The local plan is led by the West Chesham Bois Area Coordinator for Neighbourhood Watch, and I am more than happy to help.” Walid and speed indicating device

More on Brexit from Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron MP, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats has said that “Theresa May has triggered Article 50; the clock is ticking towards a Hard Brexit – but it can still be stopped. “For nine months, our party has been the only opposition to this Conservative Brexit Government’s plans – we’ve fought to keep us in the single market, to guarantee EU citizens' right to stay and for a referendum on the final deal. That fight will continue. “Over the next two years we will see the Government entering the most complex negotiations in British political history. They insist that they can negotiate both the terms of Britain’s exit from the EU and our new trading relationship in the next two years. They can't. It will be impossible for a new deal, especially one that is in Britain’s interests, to be negotiated in two years. In the meantime, Whitehall will grind to a halt as it grapples with the Brexit negotiations, neglecting everything else – including the crisis in the

NHS and social care. “That is why our fight must continue. We cannot allow the Conservatives to negotiate a disastrous hard Brexit that nobody voted for. We cannot allow the Brexit negotiations to make the crisis in health and social care any worse than it is today.”

If you agree with us – join us! As tens of thousands have done since last June. Details at www.libdems.org.uk

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