The selfishness of Tory cuts at Somerset County Council was demonstrated last year when they decided to withdraw all funding for the 490 bus service which runs every Tuesday morning between Cheddar and Bristol. This bus was relied on by many people to get to appointments, do their shopping, or travel to see relatives.

After completing his 'consultation process', the Cabinet Member responsible for public transport, County Councilor Harvey Siggs, confirmed the withdrawal of this service.

The County Council has suggested that those who relied on the 490 bus will now be able to get to Bristol by catching a bus from Cheddar to Wells or Weston-super-Mare and then transfer to Bristol.

This is a completely inadequate alternative because such a journey would involve a round trip of six hours. Travelling to Bristol via Weston or Wells is completely inadequate for elderly residents who relied on the 490 to get to hospital appointments or to villages such as Shipham which lie between Cheddar and Bristol. It is unfair and unreasonable to expect anyone to endure a three hour journey to attend a vital appointment less than 20 miles away - and the same coming back!

Councilor Siggs demonstrated that he is completely unwilling to listen to the views of local people and compromise, even when local residents suggested that they would be happy if the bus was to run on a fortnightly or even monthly basis. However, Councilor Siggs and his colleagues disregarded these suggestions, and showed that they are not willing to listen to the views of people they are supposed to represent.

At the time of the 490 withdrawal MP Tessa Munt said: "I am extremely disappointed that The County Council has again demonstrated that it does not understand local people's needs. The withdrawal of funding from essential bus services is unfair and short-sighted. I am astonished that the County Council was not prepared even to offer a reduced fortnightly service on this route, which is a lifeline for many people. Somerset has a budget of £1.9m to subsidise bus routes across the county but claims it is unable to fund even occasional bus travel between Cheddar and Bristol. This is simply not good enough."

Liberal Democrats in Somerset will continue to question the Tories over these selfish cuts and will support the efforts of local people who want to maintain their much needed local services.

• Download "Total withdrawal of 490 bus service shows how out of touch Somerset Tories are with the views of local people"

Liberal Democrats in Wells were pleased that Somerset County Council reinstated the mobile libraries service, reversing their original plan to cut the service from six to just two vehicles as part of the County Council's massive £80 million cuts' programme.

Wedmore is one of 1,100 locations which have been served by the County's mobile library buses, which reach some of the smallest hamlets in Somerset, providing books and story tapes to residents, often those without transport in isolated rural communities. If the drastic Tory cuts had gone ahead whole swathes of the County would have been without any library service at all.

Following pressure from local residents and Lib Dem activists and councilors, the Conservative administration at County Hall finally saw the light and reinstated all six mobile library vehicles in August. This is yet another example of how people power can persuade the out of touch Conservative leadership to see common sense.

The decision to reverse the cuts to the mobile libraries service came after news of a legal challenge launched against Somerset County Council by Public Interest Lawyers to test the Council's statutory duty to "maintain a comprehensive and efficient library service". The Mobile Library service is fundamental to achieving this in rural areas.

Local MP Tessa Munt, who campaigned hard on this issue, said: "This was a cut too far. Mobile Libraries provide an indispensable service to rural communities. Hundreds of Somerset people with limited transport options rely on them - not only for a regular supply of books, DVDs and music CDs, but also as a meeting place and chance to chat with friends. In villages and towns where the Library is closing, Mobile Libraries could offer a cultural lifeline to the young and old. These are the last thing that should be cut, not the first!''

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Last Saturday Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg came to Highbridge to launch the Liberal Democrats' campaign across Somerset in advance of May's County Council elections.

Nick was joined by ex-leader of the party, Paddy Ashdown, and Somerset's Lib Dem MPs Tessa Munt, David Laws, David Heath and Jeremy Browne at Morland Community Hall in Highbridge.

During a speech to the party's candidates, Nick summed up the disastrous record of the Conservative administration at County Hall when he said: "We have come hear to launch our challenge to the Conservatives who have forced this County to its knees over the last four years. The Lib Dems want to run services with down-to-earth common sense!"

Coalition affiliations were put aside as Nick criticised the Conservatives for spending "£4 million on new office furniture and carpets for its staff"

Nick went on to say: "We must highlight the way; by contrast, the Conservatives have chosen the wrong priorities in Somerset. My head still spins at the idea that the Conservatives think it's OK to under-spend £18 million last year, to have unspent reserves of over £20 million, to have spent £4 million on furniture in the County Council, to have spent £500, 000 on PR consultants, and then slash youth services by 75%."

Under both the previous leader of Somerset County Council and the current leader the Conservatives have continuously claimed that they have been forced to cut front-line services because of financial pressures and a harsher settlement from Central Government.

This has been proven to unfounded, as Somerset County Council has received a financial settlement which is far more generous than many other Councils' across the land. Despite this they have wasted taxpayers' money on consultants, furniture and high court battles, while cutting the front-line services which are so important to people across Somerset - including libraries, youth services, mental health services, bus routes and tip opening hours.

Time and again the Conservative administration has proved that they are incompetent, driven purely by ideology and are completely unwilling to listen to and act on the views of the people they are supposed to represent.

In contrast Liberal Democrats believe in services and not selfishness and a Lib Dem run County Council would work to provide the people of Somerset with the services they need and deserve.

Commenting on the Conservatives record, Tessa said: "Instead of making sensible savings by sharing more 'back office' facilities, the Conservatives went straight in, cutting vital services like our libraries, buses, Police Community Support Officers, youth services, resources for young carers and selling County farms. This is not the only way to save money. Thank goodness local people will have the chance to vote for change in May! The continuous waste resulting from poor decision-making is, quite frankly, distressing. Our beautiful county has been blighted by a 65% increase in fly-tipping, when nationally there's a decrease of 9%. This is just one example of the Conservative Councilors short term thinking and failure to consider the consequences of their actions. Somerset's residents deserve more - a County Council with common sense."

A video of Nick's speech can be viewed at the following link: http://www.burnham-on-sea.com/news/2013/nick-clegg-visit-video-12-01-13.php.

• Download "Nick Clegg launches County Council campaign in Highbridge and calls for "common sense!""

Liberal Democrats on Somerset County Council and MP Tessa Munt have continued to voice concerns to the leader of Somerset County Council and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust about the effects which Council cuts are having on Day Care Services for people in the county who suffer from mental illness.

As a result of financial cuts, Somerset Partnership has axed, for large numbers of patients, direct access to a psychiatrist and care-co-coordinator.

One in four people currently suffer from some form of mental illness at any given time. These people are often some of the most vulnerable in the community and are in need of constant help and support to ensure that they and their families can live as normal and happy a life as possible. Tragically, it is a fact that many people who suffer from mental illness do not enjoy a full and lasting recovery and some become so low, they take their own lives.

Liberal Democrats passionately believe that access to adequate mental health treatment must be improved and so have welcomed the work which has been done on a national level by Liberal Democrat Care Services Minister Norman Lamb. This includes putting mental health on an equal footing with physical health in the NHS mandate.

Conservatives on Somerset County Council have demonstrated a selfish and deeply irresponsible lack of care in cutting the services for those suffering from mental health problems. Direct access to a psychiatrist has been replaced by "10 week self management problems" which the Conservatives claim will train people to manage their own mental health. Such a policy is completely inadequate for people who suffer from more long-term and severe problems and who need intensive treatment.

Tessa said: "I am very concerned that some of the most vulnerable people in the county and in our communities may not be able to access the help and support they need as a result of the cuts which are being made by the County Council. All forms of mental illness cause people to suffer terribly and one in four of us will experience a period of mental ill health during our lives. It is indefensible that people should suffer as a result of financial cutbacks which could easily be made elsewhere."

On a recent visit to Somerset, Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg said that "The Lib Dems want to run services with down-to-earth common sense." It is basic common sense to maintain access to mental health services rather than slashing funding in an ideological bid to save money which can easily be saved elsewhere.

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The evidence for Somerset Conservatives being out of touch with the views of ordinary people was further demonstrated last year by the sell-off of part of the Quantock Hills to the Forestry Commission.

Liberal Democrats proposed a motion to stop the sale at the full Council meeting last year but despite wide spread opposition from local residents the sale went ahead on April 5^th last year. 1, 500 acres of land have so far been sold for £250, 000.

Somerset County Council received hundreds of letters of objection, while 5,000 people signed a petition against the plan.

Conservative Councillor David Huxtable has justified the sale with the same old excuse, saying that the Council "faces immense budget pressures which look like getting more challenging with time."

There is a significant hole in Councillor Huxtable's argument on this point. The land in question is protected by so much red tape that it could never be developed in any way and so has very little monetary value. This demonstrates that the decision to sell of the forests makes no financial sense and is based purely on the Conservatives ideological desire to have a smaller Council.

On top of this the Tories further demonstrated their incompetence by failing to carry out a proper valuation of the land before selling it off.

Ross Henley, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on Somerset County Council said: "This sale was opposed by tens of thousands of people on a petition and the Conservatives are ignoring local Somerset residents who want this land to remain in public hands.

Where are the long term guarantees of public access and good husbandry of the land which has been sold by the County Council?" Unsurprisingly the Conservatives have yet again failed to offer these guarantees to concerned members of the public.

Sam Crabb, Leader of the Liberal Democrat County Group added: "I do not know who would possibly welcome this policy. Not only have the Tories sold off public land, but they have almost given it away, at £162 an acre.

"It is true that the Forestry Commission has a long tradition of running and maintaining this type of land, but I do not think selling off assets looked after by others is sensible or useful. The County Council has serious concerns about finances, but grants to the Council by the Government have been very generous indeed, meaning that there is no sound financial reason for selling this land."

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