The Liberal Democrats have announced they will invest £26.3 million more in schools and colleges in Bournemouth over the next parliament.

The funding for Bournemouth would reverse cuts to frontline school and college budgets, protect per pupil funding in real terms and ensure no school loses out from changes to funding arrangements.

The Liberal Democrats have announced they would plug funding gaps for the NHS and social care by putting a penny on income tax, in their first major manifesto commitment of the election campaign.

The tax would raise an additional £65.2 million for Bournemouth and Dorset, with £58 million for Dorset NHS and £7.2 million for social care in Bournemouth each year. 
 

Liberal Democrats accross the country have responded to reports that the Conservatives are to bow to massive Liberal Democrat and backbench pressure and abandon their proposed shake-up of school funding.

 Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson John Pugh said:
 
“Finally, the Conservatives have been forced to re-think their deeply flawed funding formula, which would see savage cuts to schools in most areas of the country. Their proposals were utterly cynical, taking from some areas to give to others, rather than committing to give all schools the additional funding they need.

Responding to a Guardian article by Labour MPs Clive Lewis and Rachael Maskell in support of giving the people a vote on the final Brexit deal, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Brake said:

"It's good to see Clive Lewis and Rachael Maskell backing our position, but this doesn't change the fact that Labour has given Theresa May a blank cheque for a hard Brexit and are refusing to give the British people the final say.

Commenting today on the slowdown in GDP growth for the first three months of 2017, to 0.3% down from 0.7% in the previous quarter, Jon Nicholas, Lib Dem candidate for Bournemouth East, said: 

"The impact of Brexit on the economy is beginning to show, as the latest GDP figures prove.

"Bournemouth is feeling the consequences - JP Morgan is already considering shipping jobs to Dublin.

"If we are to protect our major and emerging local economies - tourism, our universities, financial services, the booming tech sector - and the jobs that go with them then we have to put the brakes on the Tories' disastrous hard Brexit."

Bournemouth Liberal Democrats announce General Election candidates

Bournemouth Liberal Democrats have today announced their two local candidates for the snap General Election on 8th June.

Jon Nicholas will be the Liberal Democrat candidate for Bournemouth East, and Phil Dunn will be the Liberal Democrat candidate for the constituency of Bournemouth West.  

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With all the major parties launching their General Election campaigns today, we in Bournemouth have been overwhelmed by the goodwill messages and offers of help we've received already. One question we have been asked by several local voters is who our candidates will be.

Parliament has today approved Theresa May's call for a snap General Election to be held on the 8th June.

Bournemouth Borough Council's Tory cabinet have just approved the closure of the Broadwaters care home and their intent to sell off the site for private rental development.