Ivory Not For Sale

Great news yesterday. CITES, which is the convention that deals with the trade in endangered species, announced that they would not permit Zambia and Tanzania to sell their stockpiles of ivory. When these sales have gone ahead in the past, poaching has increased due to the higher interest in ivory. This is great news for international efforts to protect dwindling elephant populations. Lib Dem MEP Catherine Bearder, who represents us locally, had a campaign on this very issue, and her petition was part of 400,000 signatures that were submitted opposing the sale. She is delighted with the decision, and so am I!

Fine Dining

Last night we had the our annual dinner in Shepperton. We were delighted to have Catherine Bearder MEP, who was elected for the first time in June, as our guest speaker. She has really hit the ground running, and is already making a fantastic contribution on behalf of people in the south east. She has alos been involved in talks trying to prevent CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) from lifting its ban on the sale of ivory stockpiles in Tanzania and Zambia. Last time this was allowed, the argument being it brings much needed funds to the countries involved, the interest in ivory rocketed and poaching increased hugely. Elephant populations are still under threat, so Catherine has a petition running here : http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/elephants/ . We had an excellent night, full of positive talk of the election ahead. It is clear that Lib Dems in Spelthorne are up for the fight, and are confident of a great result on polling day. Our thanks go to the Anchor in Shepperton who looked after us superbly.

Time For Action From Eurostar

Lib Dem MEP Catherine Bearder has been closely following the inquiry following the Eurostar fiasco at Christmas. After the final report was published yesterday she said:
"We need a promise of fair treatment for all Christmas passengers and safe travel for all future passengers."
"That means implementing all of the Review's recommendations, putting in place the safety, technical and staff training measures required and guaranteeing that the costs of compensation and new safety measures will not be passed on to consumers through higher prices."
"The independent review has done a fine job, but their plans must be put into practice."

Hopefully now fundamental changes will be made and local people can go back to using Eurostar with confidence.