Tonbridge_LibDems

Why not try another flavour? 🔶 Tonbridge & Hildenboro Libdems - on Facebook too

[Mike Martin MP 🔸 @ThreshedThought]

🚨Tunbridge Wells Businesses 🚨

If you lost revenue in the December Water Outage then please fill in this form.

We will collate the responses and take them to South East Water, who have indicated that they may (may) look at extending their compensation scheme.

https://t.co/mNETvxo7Pm

[Feargal Sharkey @Feargal_Sharkey]

"South East Water... has paid almost as much in interest and dividends in the past 15 years as it has invested in its infrastructure".

35 years of privatisation and failure in a single sentence. Remove the words South East Water and insert the name of your local water company, it all tells the same story.

Read the full article below. 👇

https://t.co/aWZzO9DVV8

[John Rentoul @JohnRentoul]

From the FT

[LBC @LBC]

‘This is an outrage’.

@IainDale is left ‘flabbergasted’ by Nigel Farage’s comments to US Congress, in which he compared the UK to 'North Korea'.

[Tonbridge_LibDems @Tonbridge_LD]

Only takes a few moments to complete.

[Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council @TMBC_Kent]

On Monday we’re launching a public consultation about proposals for a new town council for Tonbridge. It could mean that in future services run by the borough could pass to a locally elected body. More info and weblinks will be available here on Monday when the review begins.

[Helena Horton @horton_official]

Revealed: 5,000 English nature sites at risk under Labour’s planning proposals

https://t.co/ieB5t6K1sl

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

YouGov / Sky News / Times voting intention

🚨Tories drop behind Lib Dems

RefUK 29%(+1)
LAB 22%(-1)
LDEM 17%(+1),
CON 16%(-2)
GRN 10%(+1)

18/19 May

[Tonbridge Farmers Market - 2nd Sunday every month @TonbridgeFmMrkt]

We're always looking for exciting producers to join our award wining team
@AylesfordFmMrkt 3rd Sun of Month
The River Market ME16 26 July 24 December
@TonFoodDrinkFes 24 25 May & 6/7 Sept
@TWellsFoodFest 27/28 Sept
HTSFM 5th April
#Ad

[Trumpton @Trump_ton]

These are the top 5 budget items for English councils, by expenditure;

* Education
* Adult Social Care
* Police Services
* Children's Social Care
* Cultural, Environmental, and Planning.

Can anyone point me to what Farage's plans are for these?

[Tonbridge Farmers Market - 2nd Sunday every month @TonbridgeFmMrkt]

Save the date Tonbridge Food and Drink Festival 24th 25th May
& 6th 7th September
11am - 6pm Free Entry #Tonbridge #StreetFood #Cider #Beer #Wine Cooking demos Hands on area & much more tasty goodness Check out our latest video https://t.co/S7buh4xbXK #ad

[James Surowiecki @JamesSurowiecki]

This is truly amazing. The Deputy White House Press Secretary is claiming that I'm wrong, and that the "tariff rates" on Trump's chart were calculated by "literally" measuring every country's tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers.

To prove it, he screenshots the formula the USTR says was used to calculate the reciprocal tariffs we imposed on other countries. And when you back out the Greek symbols, what is that formula? Trade deficit/imports - exactly what I said it was.

I don't know if the Deputy Press Secretary was misinformed, or is just being misleading. Either way, the Trump administration did not "literally calculate tariff and non tariff barriers" to determine the tariff rates it's imposing on other countries. As I said, it divided our trade deficit with a country by our imports with that country, and then multiplied by 0.5 (because Trump was being "lenient").

Oh, and if our trade deficit/imports with a country is less than 10%, or we have a trade surplus with a country, Trump slapped a flat 10% tariff on that country.

[Faisal Islam @faisalislam]

THREAD:

The so-called “reciprocal” tariff doesn’t reflect the tariffs charged elsewhere directly but essentially the size of a country’s trade surplus, which has been used as a proxy. The equation essentially is aimed at levying a fee that would get this surplus to zero.

[David Henig 🇺🇦 @DavidHenigUK]

So much for US deals. And with the current exemptions this also means that the big targets end up being consumer goods, hence why Asia will be so badly hit - electrical products and branded clothes etc. Which will hit many marquee US companies hardest.

[Tim Bale @ProfTimBale]

"Russia was not on Trump's tariff list, despite running a $2.5bn goods trade surplus last year, according to the US Trade Representative's office."

[Munira Wilson 🇺🇦 @munirawilson]

Absolutely delighted that the Government has confirmed this vital fund will continue, but I should NOT have had to drag ministers kicking and screaming to the House of Commons to do so, the day AFTER it expired. Families must not be put in this position again next year.

[Daisy Cooper MP 🔶 @libdemdaisy]

Can’t see that any lobbying by any country has made any difference. UK subjected to same calculation as everyone else.

Trump now saying: lower your standards & we’ll lower tariffs.

UK must hold firm on regulation of big tech, ban on chlorinated chicken & not selling out NHS

[Kent Wildlife Trust @KentWildlife]

🕷️Warning, this is not an April fools!

With @WildlifeTrusts, @Buzz_dont_tweet, @CPREKent , @WCL_News , and @sspcampaign, we’ve written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, challenging misleading claims about housing development in Ebbsfleet.

In his recent editorial, @Keir_Starmer suggested that 15,000 homes were blocked because of the distinguished jumping spider. This is not true.

🏡 The reality? 13,700 of the homes are still being built. The only area protected is a nationally important Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the Swanscombe Peninsula, home to invertebrate species, rare plants, and threatened birds like the nightingale & marsh harrier.

🔎 The spider? Not even found in the planned housing area.

❌ Nature vs. Development is a false choice. We need sustainable solutions that integrate environmental protections, not undermine them.

🌿 We’re inviting the PM to visit Swanscombe, to see firsthand how conservation and responsible development can work together.

📢 Protecting nature is not blocking progress. It's about building the right homes in the right places.

Read our letter in full and find out how to take action Spidergate 👉https://t.co/NjOS9ep9hC

#SwanscombeSSSI #NatureMatters #SustainableDevelopment

[Kent Wildlife Trust @KentWildlife]

We are refuting claims made by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer regarding the impact of conservation efforts on housing development in Ebbsfleet.

In an editorial for @Telegraph, Sir Keir suggested that plans for 15,000 new homes had been blocked due to the discovery of a colony of critically endangered distinguished jumping spiders. He cited the case as an example of unnecessary restrictions on development, stating:

“Take the project in Ebbsfleet to build more than 15,000 new homes... The plan was blocked by Natural England. Why? The discovery of a colony of ‘distinguished jumping spiders.’ The dream of home ownership for thousands of families, held back by arachnids. It’s nonsense. And we’ll stop it.”

However, this is an oversimplification of the situation, and it is disappointing to see this complex issue misrepresented. The vast majority of the 15,000 homes are going ahead. However, 1,300 homes were proposed for development on the Swanscombe Peninsula, a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The distinguished jumping spider is not found in the area where those homes were proposed but in other protected parts of the SSSI. These other areas are home to rare and endangered species, including distinguished jumping spider, man orchid, water vole, marsh harrier, nightingale, over a thousand of invertebrate species, and even seals.

All of the SSSI, including where the 1,300 were planned, are vital habitats that we simply cannot afford to lose.

We must move beyond the narrative of ‘nature versus growth.’ Sustainable development, which respects and integrates the natural environment, benefits both people and wildlife. Our priority must be to ensure that future communities are built in a way that protects our most precious ecosystems, creating places that are not only liveable but also resilient and rich in biodiversity.

We are committed to working with policymakers, developers, and conservationists to find solutions that balance housing needs with the protection of the UK’s natural heritage.

@Natures_Voice, @Buzz_dont_tweet, @sspcampaign, @CPREKent, @WildlifeTrusts

[Kent Wildlife Trust @KentWildlife]

The Public Consultation for the Kent and Medway Local Nature Recovery Strategy is NOW LIVE!
Now, you can read the draft LNRS document in full, explore the maps online, and take part in our questionnaire to tell us what you think!

Head to https://t.co/6nEsVYGW2W to take part.

The questionnaire is easy to use, allowing you to complete it in full, or jump to the sections that you have a particular interest in.

The consultation is running until the 12th March, so spread the word.

#ms4n #LNRS #kentLNRS #naturerecovery

[Dominic Grieve @dominicgrieve_]

Five years since we left the EU and not one tangible benefit to have come from it.
Most telling of all is how it has diminished our ability to generate wealth and thus provide for our defence and public services in challenging times. Far from getting rid of red tape there were 41 million customs declarations to be made for trade between the U.K. and EU in 2023. Not surprisingly over 16,000 SMEs have given up exporting to Europe and our goods exports are rising at the paltry rate of 0.3% per annum compared to the OECD average of of 4.3%. Margaret Thatcher helped create the Single Market in goods and services because she could see clearly the boost it could give to our economy and it bore fruit. Until reality dawns for our politicians we are back to the 1960s-constant failing initiatives to boost growth, stagflation and impoverishment. We deserve better and it is within our power to get better. But that means abandoning the politics of fantasy.