Decision making within Mid Devon District Council has been thrown into chaos as four Conservative Councillors have left the Cabinet ahead of a Special Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 14th February.

Counter claims of 'sacking', or 'resignation', from Mid Devon Council Cabinet of four Conservatives over further funding for the speculative property development company, 3Rivers Development, leaves this key committee without enough members to make decisions.

So last Wednesday (08.02.2023) I attended the three-monthly meeting of my local #Parish Council in Nymet Rowland. As with all these meetings the issue of pot-holes came up again. Yet again we heard the deflections and vague excuses from our local Conservative Mid Devon District (MDDC) Councillor as to why little could be done; exhortations to report pot-holes; suggestions to contact the Conservative Devon Councillor; explanations that money was tight; concerns that local government officials were abiding by a system that prioritises the 'squeaky wheel'; amazingly even that the problem was "Devon has too many roads". Never at any point a self-realisation that the problem could be fixed. It was almost as if there were rules written in stone that stopped things being done. Never any sense that the Conservatives who control (and long have done) Devon County Council (DCC) could do something about it. Never any recognition that the problem is one of our Councillor's own political party's creation. I guess it is convenient to pretend that nothing can be done.

We, the undersigned, express our support for people to be allowed to 'wild camp' on Dartmoor and in other National Parks across England & Wales.

We believe the High Court ruling in the Alexander Darwall case is just the latest in a string of assaults on public access to the countryside, and sets a dangerous precedent.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a higher minimum wage for care workers in Devon, to tackle chronic staff shortages in social care.

It comes as the latest figures reveal Devon has 2,024 job vacancies in the social care sector, meaning there is a vacancy rate of around 10%.

These chronic staff shortages are leading to patients being left stuck in hospitals waiting for social care, contributing to record-breaking waits in A&E and dangerous ambulance delays.

Mid Devon Liberal Democrats are accusing Conservative Councillors of 'squandering' Mid Devon council tax payers' money with a decision to continue funding the disastrous 3 Rivers Developments Ltd (3RDL) property development company.

Concerned for the residents of Mid Devon, the Liberal Democrats are calling for Mid Devon Council's Cabinet's decision to advance further loans to 3RDL to be called before the Council's Scrutiny Committee immediately to prevent the Council from falling into 'Special Measures'.

Liberal Democrats from across Devon joined over 3,000 people for the right to wild camp on Dartmoor protest last Saturday.

It follows a ruling by the High Court that took away right to wild camp on the moor that had been assumed for generations. The case was brought by a former hedgefund manager turned large estate owner, which includes a significant proportion of Dartmoor common land. Dartmoor National Park fought against the ruling and are expected to come to decision over whether to appeal this Friday.

Happy Christmas to all!

Christmas is a joyous time for many of us, but for some it can be tough. In this time of a cost of living crisis money worries may be on the mind of some. For others they may be missing someone dear, or on their own. And for others they may be worrying about preparing for they days ahead and the expectations of others.

After crashing the economy and sending mortgage bills spiralling, the government is now inflicting eye-watering tax hikes and real-terms cuts to our public services.

This is the cost of chaos budget. Everyone is being forced to pay the price for this Conservative government's incompetence. The country shouldn't be forced to clean up their mess.