Like many of you, I am disappointed that Lancaster City Council has proposed to consult on the closure of Visitor Information Centres in Lancaster and Morecambe, including The Platform in Morecambe, a local epicentre for entertainment and community spirit. Yes, this venue is not in my constituency, but we all use it whether we live in Morecambe or Lancaster, and I am worried that we should be pulling out all the stops to secure its future especially given all the hard work done by so many working together to secure Eden.
Lancaster City Council continue to have their budget cut by Government and in view of this, I have written to the Chancellor calling on him to see that the Government provide the additional funding to keep The Platform and Visitor Centres open in line with their ‘Levelling Up’ promises. You can see the full letter on my website catsmith.co.uk/news.
It’s less than three months until there will be local government elections for Lancaster City Council, where you will elect your local councillors. However, things are a bit different this year. For the first time you will need photo ID to vote. This is due to a change in the law (unnecessary and burdensome in my opinion) where you must show one of the following: passport, driving licence, blue badge, certain concessionary travel cards, an identity card with a PASS mark, biometric immigration document, or a defence ID card. The full list of accepted ID is available on the Electoral Commission’s website, electoralcommission.org.uk/voterID or call their helpline on 0800 328 0280.
However, if you don’t have any of these it might be easier to vote by post from now on. You do not need photo ID if you are voting by post. To apply to vote by post, you can complete a postal vote application form and return this to Lancaster City Council by Tuesday 18 April. You will then receive your ballot paper in the post. You can contact the elections team at Lancaster City Council on [email protected] or by phone 01524 582905 to get a form to register as a postal voter.
As ever, if there is anything you want to get in touch with me about please feel free to email [email protected] or call me on 01524 566551. I like to hear about the things that matter to you.