Shrewsbury Liberal Democrats welcome High Profile visitor

Professor Steve Webb the shadow secretary of state for Work and Pensions visited Shrewsbury yesterday. Together with Dr Charles West, local Liberal Democrat campaigner, he visited the Jobcentre and the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) to see how the recession is affecting working people in Shrewsbury. They also talked to members of the Shropshire Senior Citizens Forums about the impact of proposals to raise the retirement age to 66.

Dr Charles West said "It was a useful opportunity to bring together an national expert and some local people suffering real hardship under the recession. Local unemployment has more than doubled in six months, and the staff at the CAB are seeing more and more people who are struggling with debt. The CAB is doing some tremendous work in helping people to avoid losing their homes through debt. When the economy was booming and house prices soaring the banks and building societies were desperate to lend home-buyers more money. Now that work is short and incomes are falling they are telling a very different story."

Steve Webb addressed local members of Shrewsbury Liberal Democrats at a dinner in the evening.

Photo from left to right:

CAB staff Sue Lovett, Don Rogers, and Jackie Jeffrey Operations Manager, with Dr Charles West, Joan Matthews, Money Advice Team Leader; Professor Steve Webb the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and CAB member Mary Pascoe.

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Dr Charles West