THE Liberal Democrats yesterday launched their election campaign on Teesside vowing to fight for the area.

Ian Swales, prospective candidate for Redcar and Chris Foote-Wood, prospective candidate for Middlesbrough, were joined by Fiona Hall MEP and a number of supporters in Redcar.

The party believes the Redcar seat, currently held by Labour’s Vera Baird, is an achievable goal.

Mr Swales said: “We have high hopes for the Redcar seat. We have been speaking to a lot of people and we believe people want a change from Labour.

“We have a plan which we have set out for Corus. It would require commitment from the Government and the owners of the land, which I know is not happening at the moment.”

He added: “People around here have been let down in the last few years and we have a lot of support here. We would not just be working for the election, we would work all year round.”

Tories attack jobless total

THE number of unemployed people in the Tees Valley has risen under Labour, according to Conservative claims.

Since the last election, unemployment has nearly doubled, from 5,140 to 9,590, in the constituencies serving the five authorities of Tees Valley, says Edward Legard, Tory prospective parliamentary candidate for Darlington.

However, the same statistics show that in the five years after taking power from the Conservatives in 1997, Labour reduced unemployment from 8,675 to 6,010.

Throughout the North- East, the NHS currently has 691 jobs vacant, of which 37 per cent (259) are temporary.

Mr Legard said: “Jobs that have been gained in the public sector are illusory as many of them are part-time or temporary, forcing people to live with uncertainty because the Government has not set future public sector budgets.”

More opt to vote by post

VOTERS in the North-East are increasingly turning their back on the traditional polling station and opting for postal voting.

With several days to go before the registration deadline, 93,600 voters in County Durham have signed up for a postal vote – 23 per cent of the electorate.

In Sunderland, more than 80,000 of the city’s 213,500 registered voters, or roughly 37 per cent of the electorate, have registered to vote by post Dave Smith, Sunderland’s returning officer, said: “Postal voting plays a key part in trying to encourage more people to exercise their democratic right to vote. The public clearly enjoys postal voting, the amount of choice and flexibility it brings with it, and this is evident from the high turnout levels in recent elections.”

Fuel protests ‘inevitable’

FUEL protests may be in the pipeline before the General Election as prices soar at the pumps.

Prices have hit a record average of 120p a litre and industry experts warn the price could rocket to 150p this summer due to the weak pound and increased cost of wholesale fuel.

It comes days after the Government put fuel duty up by 1p a litre.

Farmer Andrew Spence, who led Fuel Lobby protestors at the Shell UK plant in Jarrow in both 2000 and 2005, has warned that angry hauliers are prepared to act to ensure petrol prices become a political issue once again.

Mr Spence, who runs a haulage business, said: “Feedback I have been getting suggests people are willing to take action before the election.

The situation is desperate, and it is an inevitable fact that something will happen.”

Regional agencies: ‘Tories in confusion’

LABOUR says Tory plans for the future of regional development agencies are in “total confusion”.

Shadow Business Secretary Ken Clarke confirmed during a visit to Tyneside on Thursday the Conservatives would replace agencies including One North East with panels made up of local authority leaders and business people.

During his visit to the Cobalt Business Centre, on North Tyneside, Mr Clarke said: “You can’t defend quangos as a key part of regenerating the British economy. You need local leadership.”

However, leader David Cameron had previously said it would be up to local people to decide whether the agencies would stay or go.

Roberta Blackman-Woods, deputy minister for the North- East and Labour candidate in Durham, said: “The Tories seem to be totally confused about their regional policy or don’t have a regional policy for the North-East at all.

She added: “One North East does a vital role helping local business, supporting employment and preparing us for the economy of the future. Scrapping it will have an impact on people’s jobs and businesses.”

Carol Woods, Lib Dem candidate in Durham City, criticised successive Labour and Conservative governments for what she called their failure on jobs for the North-East.

She said: “The Conservatives left a legacy of unemployment in the North-East which the Labour Party have not done enough to turn around. In fact, unemployment in Durham has doubled in the last 18 months.”