Sutton Borough Liberal Democrats

A builder has been made to pay out hundreds of pounds after two sharp-eyed passers-by saw his vehicle being used by two men dumping rubbish in a garage service road.

Seth Peter Russell, 38, was given a two year conditional discharge and ordered to pay Sutton Council £300 costs after being found guilty of causing the dumping of bags of soil and gravel on Lavender Road, Wallington.

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One of the borough's most over-subscribed schools has been given the green light to expand, providing much-needed extra primary school places.

Sutton Council's Development Control Committee has granted planning permission to expand Cheam Common Infant School.

It will see the popular school increase from three to four forms of entry. An extra class of 30 children will start at the school from September 2012, providing more places in Worcester Park, which is the area of the borough experiencing the highest demand.

Library lovers are in for a treat as Sutton joins in a nationwide celebration of all things literary.

National Libraries Day on 4 Feb will see every library in Sutton showcase the fun activities, events and services that they offer, from book lending to craft clubs to ancestry research.

Most libraries are running children's events, including craft clubs and book trails, and Circle, Beddington, Wallington and Life Centre libraries are all holding art and story writing competitions. The Phoenix Library is hosting a Wii marathon and the chance to make a special bookmark, and Sutton library is holding storytime, crafts and games.

My philosophy on tax is simple: The system should reward effort, enterprise and innovation and bear down on those things which are bad for our society.

That sounds like a proposition with which most people would agree. But attitudes to tax are a good proxy for our deepest political instincts. And the three major political traditions in the UK - conservatism, socialism and liberalism - have very distinct approaches.

I have always believed in a welfare system that helps those in need

Those who cannot work must be protected. And those who have jobs must be confident that, should they lose them, there is a safety net in place.

That is precisely why, in the Autumn Statement last year the Coalition committed to the full uprating for pensions and out-of-work benefits from April - 5.2%, in line with inflation. Not everyone agreed that "the unemployed" should receive the full uplift, certainly not in the current climate. And, if you believed everything you read, you would think that these benefits are, essentially, unlimited handouts for the 'idle poor'.

Sutton's secondary schools are top of the class, according to the latest league tables from The Department for Education.

The tables rank schools according to the per cent age of pupils achieving five or more A*-C grade GCSEs, including maths and English. Final figures reveal 74.7 per cent of pupils in Sutton achieved the top grades - more than 1.5 per cent ahead of Kensington and Chelsea, which made the number two spot.