Facilities on Woodhouse Moor

Having seen the horrendous amount of litter that was abandoned on Woodhouse Moor, your local Liberal Democrats want to thank all the volunteers who gave up their time to help clean up the rubbish.

We must take care of our green spaces! They provide a beautiful space to enjoy nature within the city and to take a break.

We also need to make sure sufficient facilities such as bins and public toilets are available for everyone to use. There is currently a petition, launched by the local community group RWTG, calling for more accessible toilets for visitors to Woodhouse Moor. Brandon has signed the petition and encourages everyone to support this campaign.

Out on the doorsteps: Right to Stay petition

This weekend the Headingley and Hyde Park Liberal Democrats went door-to-door with the party’s Right to Stay petition. This calls on the government to guarantee the right of EU citizens currently living in the UK to stay here – just as they expected when they came.

We got a great response on the door-steps, with many residents in Headingley and Hyde Park agreeing that it isn’t fair to change the goal-posts on people who have moved here in good faith, or to treat them as bargaining chips in the EU negotiations.

Last week, the House of Lords added an amendment to the current Brexit bill, ensuring that EU citizens do have the right to stay in the UK. But we expect the Tory government to try to take the amendment out again when the bill goes back to the Commons. The signatures which we collected this weekend will help show the strength of public feeling on the issue when our MPs debate it.

You can add your own name to the petition online here.

Petition: Right to Stay for EU citizens

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to guarantee the right of EU citizens currently living in the UK to stay here.

These people are our colleagues, friends, family and neighbours, and came here in good faith to live and work.

If you believe they have a right to stay, and that their security should not be used as a bargaining chip in the Brexit negotiations, please sign and share this petition!

Focus stories: Headingley Post Office update

Thanks to everyone who backed our Save Headingley Post Office campaign.

Since the Post Office announced they would be closing the branch and moving it into a shop, Penny Goodman and Greg Mulholland started the Save Headingley Post Office petition and wrote to the Post Office to demand that it stays open to properly serve the needs of residents. The Post Office have failed to find a shop that will take a counter, so we are calling on them maintain a proper branch with a full range of services.

Penny said:

They are saying that they intend to move the post office into another store, such as a shop or business. We all know what this actually means – the lack of a dedicated post office and a substantial reduction in services.

Greg added:

It is very disappointing that the future of such a vital community asset remains in limbo and we will continue to do everything we can to save it. We will continue to campaign and push the Post Office to retain the branch and the services that hundreds of people use every day.

Placards and petitions

Help us save the Erasmus scheme!

Every year, thousands of UK students go to study or work in Europe thanks to the EU-funded Erasmus programme. But now that the UK has voted to leave the European Union, our future access to this scheme is at risk.

Many young people living in Headingley have already benefited from the Erasmus scheme, or will want to use it in the future. And the skills and experience which they gain while doing so benefit us all.

That’s why the Liberal Democrats are calling for the Erasmus programme to be protected in any Brexit negotiations. Please sign our petition here.

Penny’s fight for better broadband

Broadband providers offer super-fast speeds when you sign your contract, but residents in Headingley and Hyde Park have told local campaigner Penny Goodman that they are not getting what they were promised.

People feel let down by their providers. Many residents and students are having problems completing even simple tasks like downloading music or completing assignments.

Broadband problems
Penny Goodman doesn’t think people should be paying for a service they aren’t receiving, so she ran a petition in the Headingley and Hyde Park areas to show the scale of the problem. In some streets, almost every household signed up to call for a better service.

Penny has now written to the major broadband providers, calling on them to investigate the problem, and to put in better infrastructure so that everyone gets the service they were promised. The good news is that Virgin Media have now responded, and have agreed that there are congestion problems in the LS6 1** postcode area in particular.

Virgin Media will now be working to improve the infrastructure in this area, and are also urging all customers affected to call their technical support line on 150 (free from a Virgin Media land line) or 0345 454 1111. This will provide a clearer picture of the problems across the area as a whole, as well as allowing them to help customers on an individual basis.

You can still add your name to the petition here.

Post Office petition update

Local response to the Save Headingley Post Office petition has been phenomenal! This picture shows just some of the paper signatures which have flooded into the Leeds North West Lib Dems office or which we have collected on the door-steps. Along with over 1800 people who have signed the petition online, that now amounts to well over 2000 voices calling on Post Office Ltd. to halt their plans for closure – indeed nearer to 2500. It is very clear that the people of Headingley want to keep their much-loved local Post Office.

Post Office petition returns

Post Office Ltd. have now responded to our letter asking them to call a halt to their plans. They say that they have had an expression of interest from a potential franchisee, and that they will consult the local community before any next moves.

Local campaigner Penny Goodman said:

This is my local Post Office, and like anyone who uses it regularly I can see how busy and well used it is. It seems disgraceful that Post Office Ltd. are planning on closing down this site. It is especially disappointing considering their promise to keep it open when they closed a number of other local post offices in 2008.

I don’t think a franchise is an appropriate replacement for a Crown Post Office and have replied to them stressing my opposition to this proposal. I will be continuing to campaign to keep a Crown Post Office in Headingley, as well as making sure that the massive local support for this post office is not ignored by the Post Office.

Add your voice to the petition here, and help us to show how strongly local people feel about this branch!

Fighting to save Headingley Post Office

Yesterday, Headingley Liberal Democrats gathered in front of the local Post Office to protest against the plans to close it, and to invite members of the public to sign a petition calling on Post Office Ltd to halt the closure.

Placards and petitions

We collected over 100 signatures in just over an hour, which shows the strength of local feeling about this issue. Some people were queuing up to sign, while others told us how much they or their friends and relatives use and depend on this post office.

If you missed us at the Arndale Centre, but would like to show your support, you can sign the petition online here.

Headingley Post Office campaign update

Since the news broke that Headingley Post Office is to close, local residents have lost no time voicing their opposition to the plan. Over 1300 people have now signed the petition calling on Post Office Limited to halt their plans, and the campaign also features in the February edition of North Leeds Life.

Did you know? Every time a new signature is added to the petition, it generates an automatic email to the Post Office Limited board of directors, telling them that yet another person opposes their plans. You can add your voice here.