If you feel confused by the claims and counter-claims made by the two sides in the EU referendum debate, it’s worth checking out the BBC Reality Check and Channel 4 News FactCheck.

I reported last week that there would be no public consultation on the West of England devolution deal until after the four councils have decided whether to accept the deal. The Liberal Democrat Leader on South Glos, Cllr Ruth Davis, put an urgent question to the Conservative Leader of the Council ahead of Wednesday night’s council […]

On Saturday the Focus Team was out campaigning in both Yate and Thornbury for a REMAIN vote in the EU referendum on 23rd June. You can find out why we are campaigning for the UK to stay ‪#‎INtogether‬ here– and if you’d like to help us campaign you can sign up here. Of course you can only […]

You can now read more about the devolution deal at www.southglos.gov.uk/devolution – but the Tory-run council is only giving you a say after the decision has been taken! The web page, published today (10th May), explains that while the decision will be taken by councillors in June, the first “consultation” will be in July or August. […]

Paul Crossley, an experienced local community leader from Bath, has been announced as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Avon & Somerset Police & Crime Commissioner. Local people across the Avon and Somerset force area will have the chance to vote for a new Commissioner in elections to be held on Thursday 5th May 2016. The […]

If you want to be able to vote for the next Police and Crime Commissioner on 5th May but are not yet registered at your current address, you can do it online at www.avonpccelection2016.org.uk/register-to-vote before midnight on Monday 18 April. If you can’t go to the polling station on Thursday 5 May, then if you […]

If you’re a young person who’s registered to vote, why not encourage your friends to join you?   The Electoral Commission is working with the National Union of Students to encourage more young people to register, by sharing photos of their “voter cross” and using the hashtag #RegAFriend before 18th March. To register to vote […]

Next week is National Voter Registration Drive week. If you want to have your say in future elections – including the Police and Crime Commissioner elections to be held on 5 May – and haven’t yet registered, now’s the time to do it. It only takes a few minutes to register at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

I’ve been in Bournemouth this week for the Lib Dem conference, along with many other local members. Not only is it where members decide party policy, it’s also a great opportunity to get training, attend fringe events on a whole range of topics and exchange ideas with people from across the country. The conference finished with a fantastic speech […]

At Wednesday’s South Gloucestershire Council meeting the Conservatives used their majority to remove the rights of opposition councillors to force a rethink on bad decisions. Previously the lead member for any of the political groups on a committee could “refer up” a decision to full council for further debate, if they felt a mistake had been made […]