Howard Henshaw Mayor of Fylde 2011-2012

Last Sunday saw the last engagements we undertook as Mayor and Mayoress of Fylde after a momentous year of over 350 very enjoyable functions, which raised around £17000 for our chosen charities.

Earlier in the day I attended the Lacashire County Athletics Championships at Stanley Park, Blackpool where I presented several of the medals to the winning athletes, along with my old friends,Gerry and Geoffrey North, who were both international athletes, back in the sixties. Gerry now lives in Portsmouth and Geoff in Kent – so they had travelled some distance to attend the championships and were delightful house guests over the weekend, also attending my birthday party at the Town Hall on the Saturday morning.

Older sports fans will remember Gerry North as Blackpool Gazette’s Sportsman of the year in 1959, when he was 23 years old and again jointly with Brian London in 1962, when Gerry was the National Cross Country Running Champion and Brian,the British Heavyweight Boxing Champion – happy days!

On late Sunday afternoon, Karen and I attended the Diamond Jubilee celebration Service at Blackburn Cathedral which was conducted by the Bishop of Blackburn, the Right Rev.Nicholas Reade in his last civic service before his impending retirement. All the other Lancashire Mayors were present, resplendent in their robes, together with many other civic dignatories, including local sportsmen Jimmy Armfield and Bill Beaumont in their capacity as Deputy Lieutenants of the county.

Karen and I can now get our lives back to normal, commencing with a cruise in a few weeks time.

(Click picture to play video)

It is shameful that, despite all the promise on a four or five year old’s first day at school, or the passion of their teachers, you can all too often plot that child’s path just by asking how much their parents earn.

The £2.5billion Pupil Premium was one of the four pledges on the front page of our manifesto.  And now, with Liberal Democrats in government, schools are using the money for things like breakfast clubs; homework clubs; or to provide one-to-one-tuition. These are the sort of experiences many middle class children take for granted but a poorer child might rarely enjoy.

Yesterday I visited a fantastic primary school to see how they are spending their Pupil Premium, highlight our new Summer Schools to ease the transition from primary to secondary, and to set out our plans to reward teachers and hold schools to account.

The Pupil Premium shows that, in tough times, we are implementing Liberal Democrat values and prioritising help for those pupils who need it most.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg MP

Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister

PS Click here to find out how much money your local school will receive from the Liberal Democrats’ Pupil Premium.

This week, Paul Burstow (Liberal Democrat minister at the Department of Health) has launched a national £4 million lung cancer awareness campaign. The campaign, the first of its kind, will use TV, radio and press adverts, and advertising on pharmacist bags and inside GP surgeries, to raise awareness of the disease.

One of its aims is to persuade anyone who has had a cough for more than three weeks to see their doctor.

You can find more information about coughing and lung cancer at the Department of Health website, here: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/05/coughing-could-be-a-sign-of-lung-cancer-2/

With 33,000 new cases diagnosed each year, lung cancer is a blight on the lives of far too many of our families and an early diagnosis can make all the difference. Please take the opportunity of the Be Clear on Cancer campaign to find out more about prevention and diagnosis, and to visit your local doctor if you’ve had a persistent cough – it is always better to be safe than sorry!

http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/tag/be-clear-on-cancer/

Last Tuesday, it was my turn to host the UK reunion of  Members of the Singapore Hash House Harriers, which is held twice a year at a variety of venues. All previous reunions have been held in London at such prestigious club’s as the Farmers Club and National Liberal Club in Whitehall and the Royal Thames Yacht Club at Knightsbridge.

After much persuasion, I managed to get them to travel north of Watford and as the county councillor for St.Annes North, I elected to hire the Executive Mess at County Hall in Preston where we were royally accommodated for the luncheon. Singapore’s famous “Tiger Beer” was well received and soon demolished before I took them on a walking tour of Preston City Centre finishing at the Black Horse in Friargate,Preston’s oldest City Centre Hostelry.

The attached photo shows from left : Ian Callender,Mike Stilwell,Bruce Giddings,Albert Withnell,Chris Eastgate,Howard Henshaw,Cameron Knight,Gerry Gurney,Tim Waller and David Crompton

On Saturday, as first citizen of the borough, I attended the moving funeral service of Sgt.Nigel Coupe at St.Annes Parish Church along with the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire,Lord Shuttleworth.

His Commandiung Officer,Lt.Col.Nick Wood,gave the most impressive eulogy I have ever witnessed which was much appreciated by his widow,Natalie and her family and friends.

I felt privilaged to have been asked to represent the local community at the service.

After the service,the clergy,commanding officers and troops from Catterick Barracks in Yorkshire met up with Nigels family and friends at his “local” the Links pub in St.Annes, to celebrate his life in true Northern fashion.

The attached photo was taken,following breakfast,outside the Ashton Pavilion in St.Annes, at the commencement of my Civic Tour,last week.

The tour took in the RNLI lifeboat station, followed by a journey through the villages of Westby,Great Plumpton,Weeton and Singleton,stopping at John Ditchburn’s Glasform workshop where John gave us an excellent demonstration of glassblowing.

The coach then proceeded to the Cartford Inn,on the River Wyre, for lunch before returning through the villages of Elswick,Roseacre,Wharles,Treales,Salwick(on the Lancaster Canal),Clifton,Newton,Kirkham,Wrea Green,Freckleton,Warton and Lytham where we were given a conducted tour of the Windmill before finishing the day with afternoon tea at Lytham Hall.

Special thanks to Tony Hyde of the Ashton Pavilion for kindly donating the cost of the breakfast to the Mayoral Charities.

The front row of the photo shows, from left:Karen,the Mayoress of Blackpool,myself,the Mayor of Blackburn,the Mayoress of Burnley and the Mayoress of South Ribble.

Back: Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Blackpool,Mayor of Preston,Mayor and Mayoress of Wyre,Chairman of Lancs.County Council,Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Fylde,Tony Hyde,Mayor of Burnley,First Lady of LCC,Mayor of Chorley,Mayoress of Lancaster,Mayoress of West Lancs,Mayor of South Ribble,Mayor of Lancaster and Mayor of Hyndburn

Official reports have confirmed that no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has increased council tax for their residents. This is unlike both other major parties, many of which are increasing council tax by up to 3.5% this year.

Commenting on Labour and Conservative councils’ record on Council Tax, Liberal Democrat Party President, Tim Farron said:

“While Labour and the Tories fight over how many of their councils raised Council Tax, it’s clear that with the Liberal Democrats your money is safest: no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has raised Council Tax.

“Ordinary working families are struggling already with paying bills, without their councils increasing the burden.

“The choice in next month’s elections is clear: vote Liberal Democrat for financially responsible councils that create jobs. Vote Labour and the Tories for waste, mismanagement and tax rises.”

As well as freezing council tax across the country, Liberal Democrat councils are protecting front-line services, fighting to keep libraries and Sure Start centres open. This is in addition to the achievements of the Liberal Democrats in government, which after the Budget include a £130 income tax cut for all working families, the largest-ever rise in the basic state pension, an increase in child tax credits for the poorest families, and an increase in the Lib Dem Pupil Premium to £600 for every pupil receiving Free School Meals.

At every level of government, the Liberal Democrats are cutting taxes for low- and middle-earners and better targeting help to those that need it the most. It is a record of financial responsibility of which we can be proud.

A first look at part of this week’s Liberal Democrat Local Election Broadcast. This clip looks at our key pledge to cut taxes for working families, and celebrates the fact that Liberal Democrats in government have achieved:

• The biggest-ever single uplift in the tax-free personal allowance
• A £3.5 billion tax cut for working men and women
• 840,000 of the lowest earners in the country lifted completely out of paying Income Tax

Next year, the allowance increases again (to £9,205) – within touching distance of our manifesto promise to increase the Income Tax threshold to £10,000.

These are all significant achievements that are already making a difference for millions of hard-working men and women across Britain. Real change for real families in tough times – promised and delivered by the Liberal Democrats.

Last night I attended the Annual Inter Club Road Running Presentation Night at Blackpool Cricket Club where I presented the various trophies and medals to the 2011 series winners in my capacity as club president and Mayor of Fylde.

Blackpool Wyre and Fylde Athletic Club champions,Stuart Robinson and Fleetwood’s Veteran International,Caroline Betmead successfully defended their individual winners titles and the club’s senior womens team also retained their winners trophy. The club’s oldest competitor, the evergreen Irishman, John Winters, comfortably won the Veteran 75 trophy but was not there to receive it as he is in strict training for the London Marathon,later this month.

Congratulations to all the winners and runners-up.

Photo.Caroline Betmead, with her youngest daughter,Maddison,receiving her trophy.

We can be proud that the biggest tax cuts in today’s Budget go to millions of working families.

As a result of this Budget, someone working a full week on minimum wage will see their income tax bill cut by over 50% compared to under Labour.

Increasing the personal allowance to £9,205 takes us within touching distance of our number one manifesto pledge – ensuring no one pays any tax on the first £10,000 they earn.

Thanks to our changes, a basic rate taxpayer will be paying £45 a month less in tax than they would have been under Labour.

We can be proud that we’ve ensured the richest in our society will be paying more, much more.

The Tycoon Tax, an increase in stamp duty for high value properties and other new taxes on wealth will raise five times as much as the 50p tax rate. Those with annual incomes of more than £150,000 a year will be paying on average an additional £1,300 a year in tax, as a result of this Budget.

Of course, this is a Coalition Budget and we did not get our own way on everything. Conservative priorities are not ours. But as on so many other issues, we have made sure that there is a real Liberal Democrat stamp on this Budget.

Lower taxes for more than 20 million working people; effective new taxes on the rich.

This is a Budget we can be proud of – a Budget for the many, not the few.

Best wishes,