Liberal Democrats in Warrington have welcomed plans by the Party to plant 60 million trees a year.

The Party aims to increase UK forest cover by 1 million hectares by 2045. Planting trees is one of the most viable ways of removing carbon from the atmosphere and is vital for achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The Liberal Democrats have announced plans to scrap business rates and replace them with a landowner levy, to "breathe new life" into high streets in Warrington.

The party would replace business rates with a commercial landowner levy, based on the value of the land only. This would take the cost off businesses and help support high streets.

The proposals would cut taxes for businesses by 18% in Warrington.

By taxing landowners rather than businesses, half a million small businesses across the country would be spared the burden of property taxation.

Liberal Democrat candidate Councillor Ryan Bate said:

"Many retailers and small businesses in Warrington are under pressure from economic uncertainty, the rise of online retail and the burden of business rates.

"Yet this Conservative government is failing to get to grips with the crisis facing our high streets. Time and again they have promised reviews of business rates but have failed to take action.

The national Unite to Remain project, designed to return as many pro-Remain MPs as possible at the coming General Election, has backed Ryan Bate and the Liberal Democrats in Warrington South.

Warrington South is one of the sixty seats in England and Wales that will benefit from the 'Unite to Remain' agreement.

The government moratorium on fracking is welcome, but what the country needs is a full and immediate ban.

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Warrington South, Cllr Ryan Bate has offered a cautious welcome to the Government's temporary halt on fracking. The decision was made following the recent publication of new scientific evidence on earthquakes linked to fracking.

Voters in Warrington South have a real choice in the General Election: they can go for the same old parties of the past or they can vote Liberal Democrat to Stop Brexit and Build a Brighter Future.

Speaking about the pending poll on 12th December, the Liberal Democrats' candidate for Warrington South Cllr Ryan Bate commented: 'I cannot remember a more important election in my lifetime. The very future of our country will be decided by the government formed after the election. For too many people things aren't working as they should be and the people I speak to in Warrington South are fed up with the Conservatives and Labour, failing time and time again to deliver a better future. In Warrington South, people have an alternative: they can vote Ryan Bate and the Liberal Democrats.'

Liberal Democrats are calling for a major boost to investment in further education and lifelong learning.

Annual funding for a student in 16 to 19 education has fallen in real terms by 18% since 2010 and two in five education colleges are in deficit.

Cllr Ryan Bate, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Warrington South, drew on his own teaching experience when speaking about lifelong this subject at his party's national conference. Ryan says, "As a teacher, I know how important this issue is. Young people who leave my school shouldn't be faced with an under-funded college course.