Make sure you know where your polling place is. Polling places open at 7am on Thursday 3rd May and close at 10pm. Westhill and District polling places are:
Cluny Church Hall, Sauchen
Midmar Village Hall
Echt Village Hall
Milne Hall, Kirkton of Skene
Ashdale Hall, Westhill
Westdyke Leisure Centre, Elrick
Your polling card will remind you of which polling place you should go to.
Sir Robert Smith, Member of Parliament for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine called last week for a Parliamentary Debate on the roll out of Superfast Broadband.
Sir Robert said: “The North East has a higher than average take-up of Broadband and it is important to build on that demand. The Government should also recognise that those areas that didn’t benefit the last time round should not be left behind again.”
Sir Robert has consistently highlighted the need for increased investment in Broadband in the North East and has recently added his support to the campaign to improve connectivity in the Midmar area.
Before you cast your vote on Thursday 3rd May, a reminder of the services your local authority is responsible for. It is important for all residents to have their say about who will look after the services they use over the next five year term.
Scotland’s 32 local authorities provide a wide range of valuable services to their local area. The main services they provide, in addition to their regulatory and licensing functions are:
Education
Social Work
Roads and Transport
Economic Development
Housing and the Built Environment
The Environment
Libraries
Waste Management
Police
Fire & Rescue
Arts, Culture & Sports
For further information on any of these local services, please see www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk
Due to surface dressing preparation work to be carried out by Aberdeenshire Council it will be necessary to apply the following restriction to traffic.
Closure of the B979 Peterculter to Westhill road from Carnie roundabout to Mason Lodge comencing 30th April 2012 for 1 week.
Following my previous post (March 5th) regarding the damage done to the notice board and the fencing around the recycyling centre in Sauchen, I can now confirm that:
1. The notice board is community-owned, not council-owned as I had originally thought and the perspex has twice been replaced after being vandalised. It is disheartening to hear that local youths are repeatedly destroying the hard work of the community. Plans are in place to re-locate local notices and I look forward to seeing this completed.
2. The fenced-off area around the recycling area again is not council-owned as originally thought but belongs to Stewart Milne homes. The community council has written to Stewart Milne Homes regarding the state of the fencing and a reply is awaited.
Please note that due to surface dressing prep works to be carried out by Aberdeenshire Council it will be necessary in the interests of public safety to apply the following restriction to traffic.
Closure of:
C109c Cluny Crossroads to U110c via Sauchen – A944 Ordhead
C142c B9119 to Midmar via Newton of Corsindae
U95c Kinmundy Drive to City Boundary via A944 Arnhall Roundabout and A944 Kingsford
This is a rolling programme of work at a number of sites. It is not possible to provide exact dates for each site. Work should take no longer than one week at each site. Work will be carried out from 23rd April 2012 for 5 weeks. If you require a map of exact location of closure, please email me.
I have spoken to many young residents in the area who are struggling to find work after graduating. Citizens Advice Scotland have launched a survey to seek the views of people who have graduated in the last six years and to find out what their hopes for the future are. Citizens Advice Scotland are very well placed to lobby the government on any policy which their work highlights to be in need of change. Please send them your views and experiences by completing the survey below: 
Emmeline Pankhurst fighting for votes for women
Although we all have the right to vote, many people do not take advantage of this most basic democratic right. Your vote is the most direct way that you have of influencing the way your country and your local councils are run. People have fought long and hard for the right of everyone to be able to vote and for the equality of each person’s vote. One person, one vote. It makes sense to use your vote.
Voting in local elections decides who serves on the council and who controls the council. Elected Councillors are responsible for the council budget and for making decisions on the services the council provides. So your vote is your direct link with the service you receive. If you choose not to vote, and you do have the right not to for voting is not compulsory, your opinion has no effect on how the council or your country are run. You are expressing your democratic feelings by voting, you are making your point clear. No vote, no choice.
Listed below are some of the key points in the history and development of our right to vote:
•Early days: Originally 2 knights from each Shire (county) were sent to the Commons. These knights were elected by members of the local county courts. They were joined later in the Commons by 2 representatives from each Borough (town), although borough representation was not obligatory.
•By 1430: Only owners of freehold land worth over 40 shillings a year were eligible to vote in county elections. In boroughs qualification varied from each male head of household to those paying local taxes or to those who possessed property. This continued for over 400 years. By the end of the eighteenth century only 2% of the population could vote.
•1832: The Reform Act saw the redistribution of parliamentary seats to new cities and a change in the property qualification on voting. A uniform franchise was introduced in the boroughs giving the vote to those who paid more than £10 in rent or rates. Property qualifications also applied to those entitled to vote in rural areas. Only one man in seven now had the right to vote.
•1867: The Second Reform Act extended the franchise enabling virtually all men living in urban areas to vote. This added approximately 1.1 million men to the existing electorate of 1.4 million.
•1872: The secret ballot was introduced, initially as a temporary measure which was subject to annual review. It was established as a permanent measure in 1918.
•1884: The Third Reform Act gave men in rural areas the same franchise as those in the boroughs. The electorate now totalled over 5.5 million.
•1918: The Representation of the People Act gave women the right to vote, but only those over 30 years old. The electorate increased from 8 million to 21 million.
•1928: The Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act lowered the voting age for women to 21 years old.
•1969: The age limit for voting was reduced to 18 years old for men and women.
Read all about the Aberdeenshire Liberal Democrat team here. Local, listening, delivering…….
