Happy holidays from your new team at Sandwell Liberal Democrats. We hope you all enjoy this special time of year and look forward to working to making your voice heard by Sandwell Council in the New Year.
Sadie, Rob, Bob, Nigel, Bertram, and Mark.

Members of our team out campaigning with Andy Graham, our candidate for West Bromwich East.

The independent Committee on Climate Change has recommended 2050 as the date the UK should be net-zero in all greenhouse gases. This is not ambitious enough, it should be much earlier. We should strive to achieve Net Zero much earlier, such as 2025 as Extinction Rebellion would like, or 2030 as others have suggested, and by 2045 at the very latest. 2045 would be radical, but also realistic date for the UK to achieve net-zero. As this is a Climate Emergency , Sandwell must do better than it has done to reduce emissions.

Sandwell Liberal Democrats increased their share of the vote in our area, and we remain committed to serving the people of Warley and West Bromwich. If you would like to help us scrutinise our inept Labour-run Council, please think about joining our team. Thank you to everyone who voted for us.

And now, a brief word from each of our candidates, along with the results for each constituency.

I’ve been a LibDem for what seems a very long time – just over ten years ago I plucked up the courage and went to a meeting to see what it was really all about and how I could try and help. I was worried about ever increasing racism in our area.

The Liberal Democrats would use an ambitious £50 billion regional growth fund to invest in West Bromwich East, according to local candidate Andy Graham.

The Liberal Democrats, who are fighting their campaign on a platform to Stop Brexit to build a brighter future, have earmarked £50 billion to reverse regional under-investment from the Conservatives.

On hearing the news that work on the Midland Metropolitan Hospital is unlikely to recommence by the end of the year, Bryan Manley-Green, LibDem Candidate for Warley, where the construction site is situated, commented:

"I'm appalled to see there's yet another delay in building the hospital.

Children need to explore the creative arts, not just more academic subjects. Many of our local churches and youth centres hold craft days, and face painting is always a popular activity at festivals and fairs. We should encourage children to explore their creative side, and our schools should help them do so. Liberal Democrats will put creative subjects back at the heart of the school curriculum as part of their plans to build a brighter future.

Liberal Democrat candidate for West Bromwich East, Andy Graham, has been endorsed by former Sandwell Mayor and Great Bar Councillor, Sadie Smith. Sadie says "I think Andy would make an excellent MP for our area."

Social cohesion is key to allowing people to integrate into our communities, and a humane immigration and asylum policy is vital if we are to fight the rise of hate-crimes towards fleeing persecution or seeking a better life. Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Christine Jardine, recently outlined the party's compassionate approach to immigration and asylum. Sandwell has had more than its fair share of an immigration system that is broken, and it is hurting everyone. Sandwell Council has tried to talk to the Home Office about some of these cases, but the hostile environment meant that often nothing was done to help our community.

What is needed are not arbitrary targets, but effective regulation and enforcement that prevents unscrupulous companies and traffickers exploiting vulnerable migrants to undermine the labour market and worker protections. This will make it easier for people to integrate into our society and contribute to our communities.

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson launches our manifesto for a brighter future, with many policies that will help people in West Bromwich and Warley.
They include plans to:

• Invest the £50 billion Remain Bonus in public services and tackling inequality.
• Generate 80% of our electricity from renewables by 2030 and insulate all low-income homes by 2025.
• Recruit 20,000 more teachers as part of an extra £10 billion a year for schools.
• Treat mental health with the same urgency as physical health.
• And many more...