Leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson has today slammed this Queen's speech as nothing more that a "charade." Jo Swinson said:

"This Queen's speech is a charade.

"'Boris Johnson is pursuing a Brexit deal that will be hugely damaging for our economy, our NHS and our security.

"There is nothing in this Queen's speech that will bring comfort to the factory worker set to lose their job, or the families struggling to put food on the table because of his Brexit policy.

"The Liberal Democrats want to stop Brexit, and keep the best deal we have as members of the European Union."

Responding to the reports that the Government are set to announce it will be compulsory for voters to show identification at the next election, Liberal Democrat shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, Tom Brake said:

"The move by the Government to make voter ID compulsory is a thinly-veiled attempt to rig the results of future elections. We know from the pilot back in 2018 that voter fraud was inconsequential, whilst what the pilot did do was turn away a disproportionate number of vulnerable voters.

"Boris Johnson is clearly taking a leaf out of Trump's playbook by using false claims about voter fraud to suppress turnout.

"The trial was deemed a waste of time and the public's money, and this roll-out will be no different. The Conservative Government have already showed disdain for our democracy and this move is simply further confirmation of that.

"Rather than electioneering by making it harder to vote, the Conservative Government should be focusing on ways to encourage democratic participation, such as through extending voting rights to 16 year olds."

Question: Having attended the Brexit briefing I remain unclear what the effects of a no-deal Brexit will be for Essex. Can the Leader of the Council please clarify this?

Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Brentwood & Ongar, David Kendall has spoken out in support of the Kurds in Syria who are being attacked by Turkey. He believes the Kurds have been badly let down by President Trump and his administration following the decision made by the US to pull out of Syria.

Welcoming the news that blue badge permits will be extended to those with mental health disabilities as well as pnysical, Cllr Jay Laplain tabled the following motion:

In light of the excellent news that the blue badge scheme will be extended to those with mental health issues as well as physical disabilities so they can access shops, travel and services, Brentwood Council will take a proactive approach to this by instructing officers to review the blue badge parking available to establish whether it can be significantly increased and bringing a report on their findings to the Council's PRED Committee.

Essex County Council today agreed to follow the lead already announced by Lib Dem-led Chelmsford City Council, and plant large numbers of trees to combat climate change.

At a meeting of the full county council on Tuesday 8th October, there was near unanimous support for a motion proposed by the Lib Dems calling on local government to lead on moving Britain to be zero carbon. Unfortunately, though, the Conservative majority removed from the motion a specific commitment to use County Council owned land for trees.

The YouGov analysis for the Evening Standard of 300 surveys shows "concrete" evidence that the country shifted against quitting the European bloc in the year after the June 2016 referendum and has steadfastly stuck to this position ever since.

One of the most striking findings is that 204 out of 226 polls since July 2017 have shown Remain ahead, with just seven for Leave, and 15 ties.

A desperately needed lift at Brentwood station was given the backing of Brentwood Council last night.

The station does not have a lift on platform 4 meaning it is not fully accessible by wheeled passengers and poses difficulty for parents with young children.

Cllr David Kendall moved the following, seconded by Cllr Karen Chilvers, and it received unanimous agreement.

The Declaration of a Climate Change Emergency is the first step in embedding the Council's green policy agenda going forward across all services.

It sets clear targets which we are confident the Council itself can reach by 2024/25, a full quarter of a century ahead of the Government's targets, and for the rest of the Borough by 2030.