Annual dinner on Friday 17 Feb 2012.  Guest speakers will be Lord Jeff Rooker and Simon Murphy.  All welcome, so please get in touch if you'd like to find out more.

Best festive wishes to everyone!  We'll all be taking a break over Christmas and the New Year, ready for a 2012 full of activity, including supporting our friends fighting vital elections in May across the region.

What an exciting year it's been.  It felt like we had only just recovered from the General Election and we were out delivering the leaflets for the County and Town elections. Congratulations to our new town councillors and Chris Chappell for holding his seat in Hereford.

The year ended with the inspirational Hilary Benn MP coming to visit us for a winter picnic lunch and talk in December.

Here's wishing everyone a peaceful time with family and friends and good health in 2012.

Thanks to Leominster Priory for the wonderful Christmas service that was held on Saturday afternoon before the Christmas lights were turned on in the town.

All the local junior schools were represented, singing songs and dancing dances to tell the Christmas story.  The Priory was packed and was standing room only.    All-in-all it was an impressive event.

Highlight of the occasion for me was the start of the service.  The Mayor, Cllr Eddie Clarke, three wise men (or women! - Cllrs Molly Cook and Emma Pardoe and the Town Clerk) and a donkey.  All being led by Mary and Joseph (Kelly and Callum).

I'm afraid I've blurred Mary and Joseph in the photo as I don't know their surnames so don't have permission to put their images up on here, but they did a great job and were very impressive when they turned on the Christmas lights later.  As you can see from the photo, there might not have been any room at the inn, so they were headed for the Youth Hostel!

7.30pm in Leominster.

Thursday 29^th September.

Open meeting to discuss fair pay and pensions in the public sector.

· What is fair pay?

· Who should bear the brunt of the cuts?

· Are public sector pensions gold-plated?

· What are the unions doing about this – nationally and locally?

· What do you think should be done?

Speaker confirmed from Unison and invited from GMB and Unite.

Hot and cold drinks and light refreshments available.

7.30pm meeting starts.

The railway club, Hereford. Hr4 0az

(opposite sainsbury’s petrol station.)

The press release below is from Herefordshire Council. Comment on this press release can be found in the opinion section.

"Car parking charges to rise for first time in three years"

Herefordshire Council is to raise car parking in Leominster for the first time in three years but free car parking will still be available in the Etnam Street car park and in the Central Area.

There will be free parking after 6pm and on Bank Holidays but charges will be introduced for Sunday parking, in line with neighbouring authorities.

Parking on a Sunday will be free in Etnam Street and the Central Area and will be capped at £2 for all other council-owned car parks.

Councillor Adrian Blackshaw, Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member for highways, transportation and waste, said: “People using car parks in Leominster have paid the same prices for the past three years despite rising inflation and the increase in VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent.

“We need to raise charges so we can continue to maintain the car parks to a high standard as well as ensuring we can cope with budgetary pressures following the Government’s reduction in funding.

“The fact people can still park all day in Leominster for £1 is incredible value for money when compared with neighbouring towns such as Ludlow where it could be £4.80 in Ludlow and £3 in Tenbury Wells.

“We realise car parks are vital to the vitality of the town and have kept the increases to a reasonable level as well as keeping evenings and Bank Holidays free. We have also kept the short-stay parking in the central area free of charge as this means more spaces will be available for people needing to access town centre shops and services,” he added.

The new charges will be advertised prior to coming into effect on November 1, 2011."

Link to Ed Miliband's speech today in response to the riots.

Barbara Frankham is the Labour Party candidate for the election tomorrow, July 28, for the St Martins and Hinton ward.

Barbara says: "I started working at Full House, a registered charity in Holme Lacy, as a volunteer in 1995. Since then I have experienced all aspects of the work and am now the manager. I am also a UK Trustee for the Sumatran Orangutan Society, which I have been doing this since 2001."

"In the course of the day I meet many people from all walks of life, from those that can and those that cannot afford to make ends meet. I feel able to communicate with all these people and want to help in whatever way I can, which is why I am standing as a Labour candidate in these county council elections."

City bonuses totalling £14 billion were paid last year, a fall on the high levels from before the crash but the same as last year. This is an average of £12,500 per employee.