Stephen Robinson - working for Chelmsford and for you

Stephen Robinson is Liberal Democrat candidate for Chelmsford, campaigning to be the local Liberal Democrat MP after the next General Election. He was a close second last time.

In Chelmsford, the LibDems were second to the Conservatives in all recent elections and are the clear challengers. No-one else can win in Chelmsford.

Locally, the Lib Dems are a strong opposition on Chelmsford Borough Council and hold ALL five of the Essex County Council seats in the Chelmsford town area. Lib Dems will use this position to continue to challenge the Conservatives' damaging policies on the environment (such as housing and new road building).

Stephen's aims

• Healthy, safe and fair communities

• A greener and more sustainable environment

• Politicians keeping you informed and sharing decision-making with you

Recent news about Stephen Robinson

Mon 3rd Nov 2008:

Stephen Robinson visits anti-Kingsnorth Greenpeace ship.

Local Lib Dem candidate Stephen Robinson visited the Greenpeace ship 'Rainbow Warrior', when stationed at Southend. It was part of the campaign to persuade Gordon Brown to 'give coal the boot' by rejecting proposals for a new coal-fired station at Kingsnorth in Kent.

Fri 31st Oct 2008:

Local Lib Dem to help make the case for Britain's role in Europe.

How can the European Union (EU) help resolve the economic crisis; and what does the future hold for the EU if the Lisbon Treaty is not approved? These issues will be addressed at a public meeting on Saturday 8th November at 4.00pm at the Millennium Centre, Baddow Road, Great Baddow, Chelmsford. It will be addressed by Bill Rammell MP and Stephen Robinson.

Thu 23rd Oct 2008:

Essex potholes get deeper .

Less than half of local residents are satisfied with the speed at which potholes are fixed or with the quality of the repairs. These are the findings of a review of Essex County council's highways maintenance initiative from the Conservative-led administration.

Wed 22nd Oct 2008:

Clegg criticises government targets on visit to Chelmsford.

Government plans to test children as young as three years old have been criticised by Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg MP. He was visiting Tanglewood nursery school in Chelmsford with local Lib Dem candidate Stephen Robinson.

Tue 21st Oct 2008:

Chelmsford Lib Dems Recruitment Success Recognised.

Chelmsford Liberal Democrats' campaigning success has been recognised by the party at a regional level, as they picked up an award for Membership Development at the Liberal Democrats' East of England Liberal Democrat Conference. The local party in Chelmsford have increased their membership by around 20% since the start of the year, thanks to regular recruiting sessions.

Mon 20th Oct 2008:

Robinson welcomes Lib Dem Economic Recovery Plan.

Chelmsford Lib Dem candidate Stephen Robinson has welcomed the Lib Dem package of measures to help people in the current downturn. These include: significant tax cuts for low and middle earners; help for housing and people in debt; cutting energy bills, and an end to 'short-termism' in the city.

Mon 13th Oct 2008:

Lib Dem success at University Freshers' Fair.

Stephen Robinson and Chelmsford Lib Dems were (for the fifth year running) the only political group present at the Anglia Ruskin Freshers' Fair. The Liberal Democrats picked up a lot of interest in their campaigns and youth & student group.

Liberal Democrats slam "grotesque" invasion of privacy.

Chelmsford Liberal Democrats have slammed Labour's decision to go ahead with ID Cards. Parliamentary candidate Stephen Robinson said that the money could be much better spent on putting more police directly onto our streets.

Tue 7th Oct 2008:

Robinson on the march against child poverty.

The national campaign to end child poverty was joined last Saturday by Chelmsford Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson. He took part in a campaign march to a rally in Trafalgar Square to back the aim of abolishing child poverty by 2020.

Nick Clegg in Chelmsford on Thursday.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg will be answering questions from anyone who turns up this Thursday evening to a public meeting in Chelmsford. The question time will follow from a number of visits around Chelmsford with local parliamentary candidate Stephen Robinson, who is hoping it will boost his campaign to be the town's MP at the next election.

Mon 29th Sep 2008:

No Plastic Bags campaign goes national.

Chelmsford Lib Dem Stephen Robinson joined environment spokesman Steve Webb MP and other Lib Dems from around the country in the campaign against widespread use of plastic bags. This follows on from the petition launched by Stephen and the motion to the borough council from Cllr Chris Rycroft.

Wed 3rd Sep 2008:

Green taxes must rise AND income tax be cut.

Income tax should be cut from 20p to 16p per £ - its lowest level for nearly 100 years. "This is one of a range of tax measures from the Liberal Democrats that will reduce the burden imposed by the Labour government on hard pressed families," said Stephen Robinson, Chelmsford Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate. [continues…]

Mon 1st Sep 2008:

Government must help thousands on verge of repossession.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable MP has called on the government to do more to protect those at risk of repossession in the current economic climate. Dr Cable's proposals include introducing regulated Mortgage Rescue Schemes. These would allow families struggling with repayments to sell all or part of the equity in their house, and then rent it back from a housing association or private firm to help keep them in their home

Sun 17th Aug 2008:

Urgent action needed to protect most vulnerable from utility bill rises.

With energy companies recently announcing price rises of up to 35%, Stephen Robinson, Parliamentary Candidate for Chelmsford, has said that energy companies should be compelled to use the money from a £9 billion European windfall to help protect some of the most vulnerable people from the effects of fuel poverty.

Thu 14th Aug 2008:

Public back campaign to save Post Office Card Account.

Chelmsford residents have been contacting local Liberal Democrats to register their concerns over the future of the Post Office Card Account (POCA). The current contract runs out in 2010 and the Government will soon choose a successor, prompting fears that the Post Office will not be awarded the new contract.

Calls to introduce 999 'texting' service.

Chelmsford Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Campaigner Stephen Robinson is backing MP Adrian Sanders' Parliamentary campaign to introduce a 999 text service.

Wed 6th Aug 2008:

Liberal Democrats set out vision for Britain.

Lib Dem Party Leader Nick Clegg has set out his party's vision for Britain in a new document called 'Make It Happen'. Chelmsford Lib Dem Stephen Robinson commented, "The document discusses income tax cuts across the board; real action to cut crime and improve health & education; and reforming the political process to give everyone a voice."

Mon 4th Aug 2008:

Lib Dem campaigners secure commitment to review parking charges at Broomfield Hospital.

Local Liberal Democrat campaigners have secured a commitment that the unfair parking charges at Broomfield hospital will be reviewed after Mid Essex Hospital Trust has paid off its outstanding debts in April 2009. This was one of the complaints raised most frequently by the 1,400 respondents to Stephen Robinson's recent inquiry into the state of the NHS in Chelmsford.

Fri 25th Jul 2008:

Chelmsford Residents hit hard by rising prices - Stephen Robinson.

Local residents in Chelmsford are being hit hard by rocketing costs and the Lib Dems are running a "Fair Deal for Britain" campaign in response. Said the Lib Dems Westminster candidate Stephen Robinson: "It doesn't matter how much you earn, all of us are paying more when we buy basic groceries, pay the gas bill or fill up the car.

Mon 21st Jul 2008:

Lib Dem Post Office campaign ongoing, as Conservatives try to catch up.

Liberal Democrats continue to campaign to save the Post Office card account, which was put out to tender by the Labour government last year. They feel that to award the contract to another provider would clearly make things worse for Post Office Ltd. Said Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson: "Post Offices form the heart of many of our communities, and need to be allowed to provide more services to make them sustainable. However, the Labour government seems prepared to sentence them to a slow death from neglect."

Wed 18th Jun 2008:

Back our Post Offices - save the card account.

Chelmsford Liberal Democrats are backing calls to save the Post Office card account, which currently helps keep open local post offices around the country. The Government has added uncertainty to the future of the Post Office network by putting the Post Office Card Account (POCA) out to tender. If another organisation such as PayPoint or an international bank wins the tender, the Post Office Network will lose a vital part of their business, with further closures likely.

Mon 9th Jun 2008:

Survey reveals support for Lib Dem health plans.

In a major survey of our local health services, Chelmsford residents have said they are mostly happy with standards of medical care and NHS staff, but have attacked waste of money, bad management and interference from central Government. The findings come in a survey conducted by the local Liberal Democrats and Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson.

Sun 8th Jun 2008:

Lib Dems dig in for Springwatch.

On Saturday, local Liberal Democrats joined a range of BTCV volunteers and residents of the Brownings Avenue / Eastern Crescent area to build garden areas on the field in between. It was all part of the BBC Springwatch project. Local ward councillors Graham Pooley and Jude Deakin, Cllr Alan Arnot (Patching Hall) and Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson took part in the digging and planting process.

Mon 26th May 2008:

Lib Dems top green ratings.

A new report into the green policies of the major parties makes grim reading for David Cameron. His Conservative party was judged to be the worst of the parties on the environment. Mr Brown's Labour Party were shown to have missed their own targets on carbon emissions and green energy. But Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats were the clear green winners in the report.

Tue 20th May 2008:

Government tax policy fiasco still leaves 1.1 million worse off.

Many people in Chelmsford could still be over £100 a year worse off following the Government's latest tax tinkering, according to Chelmsford Liberal Democrat Stephen Robinson. In March 2007, Labour announced the abolition of the 10p tax rate in a bid to win the general election that never was. Last week's panic adjustment to tax allowances is designed to help them cling on to the Crewe & Nantwich seat in this week's by-election.

Thu 15th May 2008:

Chelmsford retains Fairtrade status.

Chelmsford has retained its status as a Fairtrade town. Local Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Stephen Robinson, a Fairtrade campaign supporter, said: "I welcome this news. The Fairtrade campaign is one way we can all help re-balance the massive wealth gap between rich and poor nations - just by thinking a bit more carefully when we go shopping."

Tue 29th Apr 2008:

High Bridge Road should stay, say Lib Dems.

Chelmsford Council committed itself last week to knocking down High Bridge Road, from near the Odeon roundabout to Springfield Road. The local Liberal Democrats have condemned this as bad for the environment, a waste of money and sure to make traffic at the Army & Navy much worse.

Mon 14th Apr 2008:

A Fair Deal for Chelmsford.

Chelmsford Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson was out on the streets this weekend to highlight his campaign for a fair deal for Chelmsford residents - including keeping the 10p tax rate. The 'fair deal' offered by Stephen and the Liberal Democrats include: abolish Council tax (which has DOUBLED in Essex under the Conservatives in the last ten years), and cut income tax by 4p per £ now - for everyone.

Residents turn out at Courtman House; demolition would "choke Chelmsford".

A group of angry Maltese Road residents turned out for a local press photo last week to oppose demolition of Courtman House. The developer is pressing ahead with his appeal, asking the Government's inspector to allow demolition, even though the council said No.

Mon 31st Mar 2008:

Pothole campaign gains national attention.

The Lib Dem campaign to persuade Essex County Council to repair more potholes has reached the attention of the national press. The Sunday Times sent a photographer down to Chelmsford to meet with local Lib Dem campaigner Stephen Robinson and photograph some of the many potholes in the Kings Road area. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3646291.ece

Thu 13th Mar 2008:

Pothole Competition Winner Announced!

Chelmsford Liberal Democrats have announced the results of their competition to find the worst pothole in Chelmsford. The number of entries received demonstrated just how bad the problem is across Chelmsford. The winner was Heather Searle from the Kings Road area, where the problem is particularly acute, as can be seen from the photos on: http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/pages/Potholes.html

Mon 10th Mar 2008:

Cllr. Nichols highlights the waste of Easter Egg packaging.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Gloria Nichols has been highlighting the wasteful packaging that comes with the Easter Eggs we buy from the high street. Councillor Nichols decided to speak out about this after she found she was unable to buy any Easter Eggs that did not come with excess packaging.

Mon 25th Feb 2008:

Environment watchdog closes as council "consults" on local pollution.

Chelmsford Environment Partnership (CEP) is to close after 10 years but held its last public meeting about the Borough council's "action plan" to reduce pollution around the Army & Navy roundabout. Comments on the action plan have to be in by 29th February. See www.chelmsford.gov.uk/airquality

Let's have a REAL vote on Europe.

Chelmsford Lib Dem Stephen Robinson has called today for a full public debate about the European Union. He said, "Unlike the Conservatives, I have always wanted a proper debate. A generation ago we had a referendum on whether to stay in the EEC or leave; I (and my Liberal Democrat colleagues) say we should have another one now.

Fri 22nd Feb 2008:

Campaign for plastic-bag free Chelmsford launched.

Chelmsford Liberal Democrats have launched a campaign for Chelmsford to become plastic bag free. Cllr. Christine Rycroft called on Chelmsford Borough Council to support the campaign at the Council Meeting on Wednesday 20th February.

Mon 31st Dec 2007:

A fantastic 2007; all the best for a great 2008!

2007 was the year of elections - that the Lib Dems in this area kept winning! In 2008 Chelmsford Lib Dems will build a stronger local party - in order to hold all five County Council seats in 2009 and elect a Lib Dem MP. Said Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson, "We will campaign for REAL action to protect the health service and to cut crime. But we also need to shake up the political system that has failed people for far too long. Labour and the Conservatives will argue over which of them should control everything. Only the Lib Dems will argue that people should have more control over their own lives."

Tue 18th Dec 2007:

Congratulations to Nick Clegg.

Liberal Democrats in Chelmsford have welcomed the election of Nick Clegg this afternoon as the new Leader of the Party. Local Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson said, "Nick Clegg will be a great Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Unlike the Labour Party, who could not manage to have a proper election, we have had a vibrant contest. Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne travelled the country, setting out their ideas and listening to party members. We showed again that the Liberal Democrats are the most open and democratic party in British politics.

Sun 11th Nov 2007:

Honour the Covenant.

The Liberal Democrats have supported today's call by the Royal British Legion to improve the treatment of our former and current armed services personnel. Chelmsford Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson said, "The country asks a great deal of our service personnel and I firmly believe that not enough is being done to ensure their well-being and health in return. That is why we backed the Legion's call to 'Honour the Covenant' at our September conference.

Thu 1st Nov 2007:

Local Lib Dems oppose "town cramming" - on old Jeep garage site on Parkway and elsewhere .

Chelmsford council policy for new houses is threatening "town cramming" i.e. over-development and the loss of public open space, according to the local Lib Dems. They have warned that the intensive building of flats on brown-field sites in the town could be going too far. One such site is the previous Jeep showroom on the corner of Rainsford Road and Parkway.

Tue 30th Oct 2007:

Lib Dems oppose Council's "No Choice" consultation on urban sprawl and town cramming.

Chelmsford Council is risking urban sprawl, town cramming and unsustainable development over the next 14 years and beyond. By proposing now to squeeze even more houses into the current town area, they will worsen the already stretched local services. That is the view of the local Liberal Democrats in their response to the latest round of forward planning consultation. Consultation finished on Tuesday (30th) on the North Chelmsford Area Action Plan, and the Site Allocations Document for the rest of the Borough.

Wed 17th Oct 2007:

Robinson on ITV and radio tribute to Ming Campbell .

Chelmsford Lib Dem candidate Stephen Robinson has been busy in the media in the last week. On Thursday he appeared on ITV's "Anglia Late Edition", covering a range of political topics, and on Tuesday on BBC Essex's lunchtime programme (and in the local press) he paid tribute to Sir Menzies Campbell.

Local Lib Dems at regional conference.

10 Liberal Democrats from Chelmsford were among around 200 representatives at the party's regional conference on Saturday. The conference debated a range of issues including the effect of climate change on the region; the need for political power to come down from central government and the need for a rail link east-west across the region.

Tue 16th Oct 2007:

Robinson in winnable seats briefing at House of Lords.

Chelmsford Lib Dem Stephen Robinson attended a briefing for Parliamentary Candidates from winnable seats at the House of Lords this week. The briefing included a tour of the House of Lords, seeing Question Time in the chamber and discussions about the role of peers in holding the Government to account, where the Lib Dems can hold the balance of power.

Fri 28th Sep 2007:

Robinson on TV and campaigning around Chelmsford.

Local Lib Dem candidate Stephen Robinson returned from party conference having been interviewed on ITV as coming from 'one of the most winnable constituencies in the region'. You can watch the interview just over two thirds of the way through the programme on the ITV website (see link at end of story).

Thu 13th Sep 2007:

Inquiry set to back council plans for 6000 houses on green fields.

The public inquiry that began on Tuesday into Chelmsford council's plans for new houses is set to rubber-stamp the plans, despite the enormous voice of opposition from the voters of Broomfield who massively rejected the plans in Tuesday's by-election. That is the view of parliamentary candidate Stephen Robinson who attended the first two days of the inquiry. He has written up the discussions on his blog: http://snipurl.com/eip_day1 and http://snipurl.com/eip_day2

Fri 7th Sep 2007:

SOS for the NHS - survey launched.

Local Liberal Democrats are campaigning against cuts to the local health services. They have launched a petition and are distributing a Health Survey right across Chelmsford. "We want to give local people a chance to have their say on local health services and health policy in general," said Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson.

Thu 31st May 2007:

Need for new houses in Essex is not down to immigration.

In a 'Chelmsford Weekly News' letter, Lib Dem Stephen Robinson has said that the need for new houses in Essex is not because of immigration. He was responding to an earlier letter suggesting it was.

Lib Dems oppose local MP's vote for more secrecy.

Local MP Simon Burns, and Labour and Conservative front benchers, joined forces on 18 May to vote to exempt MPs from the Freedom of Information Act. Lib Dems have led the opposition in the House of Commons and have launched a national petition so voters can show the House of Lords (who debate the bill next) how they feel.

Thu 17th May 2007:

Blair's 10 wasted years - Robinson.

Commenting to the Essex Chronicle, Lib Dem Stephen Robinson has described the Tony Blair era as '10 years of wasted chances.' Things *could* only get better, after the disastrous Conservative years. Money did go to schools and hospitals; but things are not much better - because Labour (and the Conservatives) want central control; they trust Whitehall not Town Hall or local people.

Sun 13th May 2007:

Robinson helps launch 'No 2 ID - Chelmsford'.

"Chelmsford No 2 ID" group launched at site of new interrogation centre, as Government announces another massive jump in database scheme costs. Chelmsford Liberal Democrat Stephen Robinson joined campaigners from other parties and none to launch the Chelmsford branch of the national campaign group on Wednesday 9 May. The first step in creating a massive national database of all your personal details is compulsory interviews for new passports, followed by all those renewing their passport.

Earlier Stories

Complete archive on the official site.

Chelmsford Liberal Democrats News Stories, provided by Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/.

(c) 2008 Chelmsford Liberal Democrats

2005-06 News about Stephen Robinson

Hospital problems down to central controls - Robinson http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/000122.html

Carbon emissions in Chelmsford unsustainable - Robinson http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/000120.html

Robinson speaks out against more Tory road chaos http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/000119.html

Robinson helps launch Greener Chelmsford http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/114.html

Robinson back in the classroom http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/113.html

Robinson at Fairtrade AGM http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/111.html

Robinson attends Freshers Fair at Anglia Ruskin with Lib Dem colleagues http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/110.html

Robinson cycles into town on Car Free Day http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/109.html

Robinsons renew passports to avoid national database http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/108.html

Robinson backs "Taking Power" campaign http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/107.html

Robinson joins Fair Trade campaigners in Chelmsford High Street http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/103.html

Robinson joins colleagues on Bromley campaign trail http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/100.html

Conservatives cannot 'go green' says Robinson in letter to press http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/99.html

MP's crocodile tears over Post Office closures http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/98.html

Sustainability should be central to new housing - Robinson http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/97.html

Base the European Parliament in Brussels - Robinson http://www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/93.html

Lib Dems not part of Con/Lab deal over schools - Robinson http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/92.html

Lib Dems best for environment http://chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/91.html

"Government, not EU, responsible for regionalisation and bureaucracy" - Robinson www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/90.html

"Tory MP backs down on ID cards" - Robinson www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/86.html

"Worsening state of local NHS dentistry" says Robinson www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/85.html

Robinson and fellow Chelmsford Lib Dems campaign against town centre one way system www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/84.html

Budget a missed opportunity says Robinson www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/83.html

Smith-Hughes & Robinson campaign on Post Offices www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/82.html

Robinson meets new Leader at conference www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/80.html

Robinson & colleagues celebrate Dunfermline election win www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/78.html

Robinson joins colleagues at national summit www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/76.html

Robinson campaigns against ID cards and Big Brother database www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/71.html

Robinson raises Post Office campaign nationally www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/70.html

Robinson, Smith-Hughes + Charman in Post Office protest www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/69.html

Robinson helps in Cheadle by-election win www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/60.html

Robinson slams Govt. for scandal of abandoned cars www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/59.html

MORE TRAINS NOT LESS - Robinson www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/58.html

News Stories from May 2005: www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/index200505.html

News Stories from April 2005: www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/index200504.html

Robinson asks "How can we possibly believe Tory tax promises?" www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/31.html

Robinson attends meeting of the Lib Dem parliamentary party: www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/30.html

Robinson welcomes Lib Dem MPs Simon Hughes & Lembit Opik to Chelmsford, to greet 100th new party member: www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/16.html

Robinson attends briefing at Charles Kennedy's office www.chelmsford-libdems.org.uk/news/13.html