Labour have clung on to their seats after the Tories failed to win enough votes.

Results for the local elections will be announced today, Friday.

We need a fresh start both locally and nationally and only the Liberal Democrats offer the chance to build a fairer Bolton, and a fairer Britain.

The Liberal Democrats already have a dedicated team of councillors in Bolton and now they offer a fantastic team of potential MPs: Jackie Pearcey for Bolton West, Paul Ankers for Bolton North East, and Donal O’Hanlon for Bolton South East.

Polls are open until 10pm – please use your vote. Vote Liberal Democrat.

Nick Clegg has topped polls and left Labour and Tories in disarray after he reached out to the people of Britain in a vote-changing performance at the first Leader’s Debate.

The debate, which was hosted by ITV1, saw Nick Clegg eclipse Gordon Brown and David Cameron. Subsequent polls have placed Nick Clegg has the clear winner of the first debate.

But the news was overshadowed by a surprise new YouGov poll for The Sun which pitched the Lib Dems in second place, just 3 points behind the Tories – leaving Labour trailing in third place. The Tories were on 33% (down 4 points), Lib Dems on 30% (up 8 points), and Labour were down 3 points on 28%.

The phenomenal change of fortunes means that the Lib Dems are now on an equal footing – and everything is for play.

People are said to be impressed by Clegg’s friendly, honest and approachable manner. They are fed up of 65 years of the same old, same old with successive Labour and Tory government – and are ready for a change.

All eyes will be on Mr Clegg’s performance at the Sky News Leaders Debate next Thursday. It is thought the Lib Dems may perform well because the debate will focus on foreign affairs, such as the Iraq war, which the Lib Dems have been very strong on in previous years.

Jackie Pearcey, the woman who wants to represent Bolton West in Parliament, has been meeting and greeting Westhoughton residents to find out what matters to them most.

Lib Dem Jackie has been talking to residents across the constituency. She wants to represent the area as an MP who would be firmly rooted in the community, not just someone that disappears into the Westminster village.

Asked what is the topic on everyone’s lips right now, Jackie said: “It’s the economy!”

“I’d like to thank the residents of Bolton West for their very warm reception when I’ve been calling on round,” Jackie added.

“There’s no doubt as to what the biggest issue is, it’s the economy.  From people who are worried about whether their children will be able to get an education, get on the housing ladder or even get a job, to people worried about their own job prospects and who are unable to get a mortgage or any sort of credit on reasonable terms, to pensioners who see no prospect of their savings ever earning more than a pittance on interest and whose pensions are at risk.

“The sad fact is that between the Conservatives having deregulated our economy to the point where it’s hard to tell the difference between a high street bank and a casino and Labour selling off the family silver the economic outlook is bleak and everybody knows it.  in fact everybody seems to know it except the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Shadow Chancellor who really think that they can kid people that everthing is fine until the polls close.

“What is clear from what you are saying on the doors is that the public have a better appreciation of the mess that we’re in than either of the two main parties.  I’ve been impressed at how many people have namechecked Vince Cable as the most sensible chioce to be our next Chancellor.

“In seats like Bolton West, we have the chance to make sure that can happen.”

Vince Cable debates on Channel 4

A television debate between Alistair Darling, George Osborne, and Lib Dem Vince Cable saw the three battle it out for the nation’s hearts and minds.

Vince Cable was crowned “King Vince” by The Guardian, after the Westminster village and Twitter was rife with comment about just how good his performance was.

The Guardian said: “Cable’s performance tonight shows that the Lib Dems are going to be a powerful force in this election campaign.”

He has topped a number of polls rating the three performances and the event, hosted by Channel 4, was seen as a precursor to the Leaders’ Debates which are to take place when Gordon Brown calls the election.

Vince Cable: predicted the recession

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor who has been recognised for his prediction of the recession, has warned that Labour’s pre-election Budget fails the people of Britain.

“Britain needed a Budget that gave us honesty in spending and fairness in tax. Alistair Darling has given us neither,” Vince said.

“Labour is in denial, while the Conservatives are talking tough to cover up the fact that they only offer more of the same.

“Today’s budget wasn’t honest.

“The Chancellor is incapable of coming clean about where spending cuts will have to fall. Rather than being honest with people about what the Government can and cannot afford, the Chancellor would rather let others indiscriminately shave departmental budgets.

“And the Budget did nothing to make Britain a fairer society.

“We’re campaigning for fair taxes, lifting millions of people out of income tax altogether. But today’s Budget, by confirming the freeze in personal allowances, means everyone will see a real increase in their income tax bill.

“Rather than forcing the nationalised banks to lend to good British businesses, Labour have chosen to create a feeble quango to arbitrate between bullying banks and their small business clients.

“Today’s Budget shows even more clearly that Britain needs real change.”

To watch Vince’s response to the Budget, click here.

Paul Ankers

Paul Ankers, our Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bolton North East, has launched his new Facebook and Twitter pages to coincide with an interview with Total Politics magazine.

In the interview Paul says: “Bolton North East needs a champion. A constituency MP that would fight for the area rather than get sucked into the Westminster set.”

“It also needs someone who can appreciate just how diverse this constituency, not just people, but there are very different environments from the town centre to the hills and consequently different challenges. I suspect my opponents are focussed on smaller sections of the community than are necessary.”

Paul is also updating Bolton North East residents on his campaign through a new blog, which can be found here.

His Facebook and Twitter pages are just two of the many ways in which the Liberal Democrats in Bolton keep in touch with residents.

Join Paul’s Facebook group here.

Follow Paul’s tweets on Twitter here.

You can also email Paul directly paul4boltonne@yahoo.co.uk

Nick Clegg

Dear friend,

Ever since I became leader of the Liberal Democrats I have been travelling the country, holding public meetings, listening and talking to the people I meet. The economy is in a mess, people are losing jobs and everywhere I go, people are angry at the way politicians have let them down.

The two old parties don’t really want to change a political system that keeps them in power or challenge the bankers who got the economy into such a terrible mess. The next election will be your chance to tell them they’re wrong – your chance to vote for something different.

Many people believed they would get change for the better in 1997. Instead, under Labour, the gap between rich and poor has got bigger, our politics has got even dirtier, our civil liberties have been eroded, the environment around us is in danger and our international reputation is at a new low. Labour let us all down.

The Conservatives say they want change but all they really want is to keep things the way they are. They say they want fairness but demand tax cuts for millionaires. They say they want to protect the environment, but have linked up in Europe with people who deny climate change is a problem at all. They will promise everything and change nothing.

Britain is in the teeth of three crises: a huge banking crisis and recession, a rotten Westminster system abused by too many MPs for personal gain, and the threat of climate change. We need big changes to fix our economy, our discredited politics and our environment, yet both Labour and the Conservatives are letting the City, the House of Commons and polluters off the hook. No action against bankers’ bonuses. No action to give people the right to sack MPs guilty of breaking the rules. No action to slash emissions. They say just enough to get in the headlines, but when the spotlight moves on it’s back to business as usual.

I believe there’s a better way. This country can be fairer, it can be safer, greener, and stronger in the world. Only the Liberal Democrats have the ideas, the energy, and the ambition to provide the new hope the country needs. If that’s what you want too, after twelve years of Labour disappointment, turn to us. We carry the torch of progress now.

Despite all the gloomy news, there’s still real hope for the future – but only if we make a fresh start. We need strong leadership and a different kind of politics to make it happen. The way things have always been done has got us into this mess, and it will never get us out.

Above all, we must do everything to protect the next generation from the mistakes made today. For me, how we treat young children is the most important measure of what kind of society we want, what kind of values we hold dear.

Even in these difficult times, giving all children from all backgrounds the life chances they deserve will always be my personal priority.

So if you want things to be different, choose a party that is different. Choose the Liberal Democrats.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats

To see the full text, including a downloadable PDF of the document either click here.

Labour has created a tax regime where the poorest pay a bigger slice of their income than the richest. Polluters are allowed to get away with harming our environment without paying for the clean-up. And we lose as much as £40 billion a year to tax dodgers.

This has to change.

The Conservatives tell us that we are all in this together whilst promising tax cuts for millionaires and then say that there might be tax rises for everyone else.

So much for their kind of change.

Today, we have pledged to put a transformation of Britain’s unfair tax system at the heart of the Liberal Democrat campaign for a fairer Britain.

Our plans will see tax cuts for millions of people, paid for by closing tax loopholes, making polluters pay and introducing a ‘mansion tax’ on homes worth over £2m.

For more details of our policy proposals, see here. And for a video from the launch, see here.

What we are proposing is a radical rebalancing of the tax system with fairness at its centre. This is a real and genuine change that would make a huge difference to the lives of people up and down the country.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg MP
Leader of the Liberal Democrats

Vince Cable MP
Shadow Chancellor and Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader

You can check out the new-look site at www.libdems.org.uk.

The redesign has coincided with improvements that have been made to the Bolton Liberal Democrat website. For example, you can now contact our team directly though our new online contact form.