“A well-planned campaign is the first step to winning an election,” said Wera Hobhouse, Lib Dem MP for Bath on Saturday evening at Green Park, as Bath & North East Somerset Liberal Democrats promised a radical change in the launch of its manifesto. Saturday’s vision was not a full manifesto, which will follow later, as this time, the Lib Dems are asking local people to bring their ideas forward to shape said manifesto ahead of May 2019.

Chair of the Bath & North East Somerset Liberal Democrats, Ben Stevens, set out the vision which calls on residents to ‘Demand Better’ for their local area. The vision, based on the views of over 1,500 people across B&NES, sets out to solve some of the long standing issues in the district.

Ideas so far include demanding better on transport and pollution to make it easier to get around, with bold measures necessary to end deadly air pollution. It speaks of traffic-free residential streets, delightful town centres and improving public transport and cycling.

The vision also demands better on housing – decent homes that people can afford. It talks about speeding up construction of housing, having the Council itself build low cost homes, and it calls for fresh ideas to create new, social and affordable housing.

The final part of the Lib Dem vision is to demand better from the Council, so that it listens to residents and puts them first. They plan to open up to the public the way the Council makes decisions, protect important services and ensure that everyone plays by the same rules. Sue Craig, Kingsmead’s newest Lib Dem councillor, spoke at the event. She said: “Residents are the beating heart of Bath. They don’t feel like they are being listened to.”

Wera Hobhouse added: “This is an exciting time for our communities. The Lib Dems have won every by-election for the past two years, and I’m delighted to help launch this vision for Bath & North East Somerset, which really sets out what the Liberal Democrats would work towards if we take control of the Council in 2019.

“This is not a full manifesto yet, because we now want to ask people across Bath & North East Somerset to feed in their ideas and contribute to our vision. It’s a first, but we think listening and allowing people to participate in our manifesto is really important."

After the event, Cllr Dine Romero, Leader of the Lib Dems on B&NES Council, explained further: “Our candidates have a wealth of experience and a lot of ideas of how we can make our areas better, that’s why they’re standing for council. But the Lib Dems don’t have a monopoly on common sense. We know there are residents who have ideas for what would make their street, their neighbourhood, or their town and city, even better. So if you have great ideas that fit within our vision, then we’ll back it one hundred percent.”

The consultation will run from 10th September until 15th October. Many residents will receive it through their door, but there is also an online version at: www.bathlibdems.org.uk/2018-survey