WWW.PAULBELL.ORG | Published and Promoted by J. Maloney on behalf of Lewisham Deptford Labour Party

My Beliefs: Tackling Climate Change

2010-03-29T11:01:00.000+01:00

Climate change is the key challenge for humanity in the 21st Century. This is an issue for every living creature on this planet, but it is the human race that has caused it and as custodians of this planet we must tackle it. Within the UK and elsewhere, the most deprived are hit the hardest by its consequences and face the highest adaption costs.

That is why I believe that power generation has to switch away from fossil fuels and be based on renewable technologies – investment in which would create thousands of new jobs. There is no need to expand aviation, road and other polluting forms of transport. Instead we must encourage the use of modern technologies to communicate globally and encourage local provision to avoid the unnecessary shipping of goods.

If elected on May 6th, I will hold firm to tackling climate change in my decision making at Lewisham Town Hall.

CORRECTION!

2010-03-10T11:08:00.003Z

My last post stated that the Labour council was the only one to put forward a 0% council tax increase, it would appear the Greens and Lib Dems also proposed 0% increase.

0% Council Tax Increase in Lewisham

2010-03-04T13:25:00.000Z

The budget for 2010/11 was set on Monday night and by all accounts it was an emotionally charged event. Both the Lib Dems and the Greens put forward alternative budgets. Only Labour's involved a 0% increase in council tax, which I welcome. For many years I have been raising the plight of the cost of council tax not just for the elderly, many who have limited means, but for hard-working people, the poorer and those struggling to make ends meet. An increased bill at this time would be unwelcome and disastrous, so I am pleased that the Labour council has frozen the council tax at last year's rates.

However, it is worth noting a few points. Firstly, the Socialists who did not put forward an alternative budget of their own voted with the Lib Dems for their budget proposals, then when that was lost they voted with the Greens against the Lib Dems. For Ian and Chris, any budget would be preferable to a Labour budget that freezes our council tax bill. Odd that isn't it? Well not really, as yet again ideology gets in the way of helping ordinary people with the consequences of the recession.

Secondly, the Lewisham Mayor Steve Bullock adopted a couple of proposals from other parties too. Again, I am pleased as sometimes other parties have some good ideas. In this case, the Green group on the council proposed a 3% fuel saving should be pursued and that the money saved should fund the setup costs of the Free Private Sector Home Insulation Scheme, also proposed by the Green group. I applaud parties working together for the benefit of all our people.

So how can the council afford to not increase council tax? According to Steve Bullock, The simple answer is prudent financial management. The council's bank balance is in good shape. This could be held as revolutionary by some, but the facts are the facts. We can all point the finger at initiatives that have not been funded or ask for more apprenticeships for our young people. Indeed I am the first to demand improvements to our housing stock, but Labour is working.

There is much more to be done, not least of which improving repairs carried out by Lewisham Homes, the treatment of leaseholders, improving our roads, protecting our streets and supporting council workers who have read negative headlines in the press recently. The budget debate on Monday highlighted that much has been achieved. We must continue to improve the lives of the poorer in our communities; work towards the eradication of poverty; demand better train services and protect our neighbourhoods from those that have no respect for our society.

In some small way, freezing council tax this year has enabled this to continue and I welcome it.

I'm a Plot Owner - a Beneficial Plot Owner of Airplot

2010-02-16T23:51:00.001Z

I have just become a Beneficial Plot Owner of Airplot, a peace of land slap bang in the middle of the proposed site for a third runway at Heathrow. To join me and 66,514 others (currently), click HERE.

Rubbish dumped on Barville Close & Rocastle Road

2010-02-08T12:51:00.001Z

I have today reported to the council rubbish dumped on Barville Close and Rocastle Road. Hopefully this should be gone within a week. If the rubbish has not been collected by 15th February, then let me know by emailing me at: me@paulbell.org.

Tonight's Telegraph Hill Ward Assembly

2010-02-02T22:32:00.000Z

I attended the Telegraph Hill Ward Assembly tonight at the Barnes Wallis Centre and it was a very interesting evening. Most of the evening was devoted to health in the ward with presentations from Dr Brian Fisher of the PCT, Lewisham Link and workers in mental health wellbeing.

The main focus of the evening was on what people thought was good about healthcare provision in Lewisham and what needed to be improved. Generally Lewisham Hospital scored quite highly, but convenient and available appointment times at GP surgeries and the hospital Outpatient department needed improving.

Other topics covered were:

- Outdoor Gym
- The loss of the pedestrian crossing by Barclays Bank in New Cross
- Traffic on Gellatly Road
- Queen's Road llitter
- Good crime figures for the Somerville Estate
- Consultations at Kender Road Primary School - new road layouts which are running on Thusday between 4pm and 8pm; and Saturday between 10am and 3pm.
- Hate crime projects
- Consulation on 343 / N343 bus routes.

Contact me if you need further information on anything stated here. I will be posting a separate article on the Telegraph Hill Labour Website about the TFL consultation on the 343 shortly.

Meet the Muppets at St Pancras Station TODAY

2010-01-28T10:42:00.001Z

Today from 4 to 7pm you can meet the managers and directors of First Capital Connect at St Pancras Station. Come along and tell them what you think about this rubbish train operator.

Holocaust Memorial Day

2010-01-27T21:49:00.001Z

Soviet soldiers liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau on 27th January 1945. They found several thousand emaciated survivors and the smouldering remains of the gas chambers and crematoria – the Nazi attempt to destroy evidence of their crimes against humanity. Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest Nazi killing camp, murdering approximately 1.1 million men, women and children.

Auschwitz-Birkenau has become a symbol of the horror of industrialised murder, and what can happen when hatred is left unchecked.

It is on the anniversary of the liberation of the camp that we commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day, and take time to reflect on where we are now. We remember the victims of Nazi persecution and murder, and those killed in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

Let us never forget to protect ourselves from the evil that is fascism in all its forms.

Sign the petition to end First Capital Connect's Thameslink franchise

2010-01-25T18:16:00.001Z

First Capital Connect is completely useless. Please sign the petition to bring the service in-house so that all those people that use the service can get to work.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/FirstCC/

Lewisham Holocaust Memorial Day Events

2010-01-21T00:01:00.001Z

The theme for Holocaust Memorial Events in 2010 is Legacy of Hope. Lewisham residents, faith groups, primary school and secondary school pupils will take part in a range of events to mark the borough’s remembrance of all atrocities and genocides.

Evenings of drama, poetry and readings

From Monday 18 to Friday 22 January at 7.30pm in the Broadway Studio, young people from Lewisham primary and secondary schools will host an evening of drama, poetry readings and monologues based on this year’s theme.

Multi-faith service

Catford Synagogue, Crantock Road, SE6 2QT
On Saturday 23 January at 12noon, a multi-faith service will take place at Catford Synagogue on Crantock Road. Tickets for this service are free and can be obtained by calling 020 8314 8636.

Young people’s theatre production

Broadway Theatre, Catford Broadway, SE6 4RU
Sunday 24 January, is the culmination of the Lewisham commemoration. There will be a rededication of the Tree of Hope in the grounds of the Town Hall at 2.30pm. Then at 3pm at the Broadway Theatre there will be performances by Lewisham primary and secondary school pupils.
Tickets to all performances are free and are available from the theatre box office on 020 8690 0002.

Joan Ruddock to meet with Southeastern

2010-01-14T22:36:00.000Z

I spoke to Joan Ruddock tonight about the unacceptable train service provided by Southeastern, First Capital Connect and Southern. She is meeting with Southeastern at the end of the month, so get in touch with her and complain. Don't forget to also claim your compensation if your journey is delayed by thirty minutes or more.

Letter to Boris Johnson & Joan Ruddock MP re: Trains

2009-12-24T10:46:00.003Z

24th December 2009

Boris Johnson
Mayor of London
Greater London Authority
City Hall
The Queen's Walk
More London
London SE1 2AA

Dear Mr Johnson,

Why is it so difficult to get to work in London?

You would think that when our economy is still unwell that we would be encouraged and supported in getting to work. However, my experiences over the last week with two railway companies has been quite the opposite. First Capital Connect and Southeastern seem to have failed monumentally in providing train services, instead choosing to hide behind any excuse that they can use including blaming each other.

Let me take you through the journeys I have attempted to make this week to give you an understanding of how both these companies should not be running transport in this country.

Christmas Eve – 08:30 Trains from Crofton Park to St Pancras

Despite there being no snow and the tracks perfectly clear, for reasons no one has explained in any intelligent way, services from around 08:30 have all been cancelled. After coming back from the train station this morning, I logged onto the National Rail website and found that all my trains have been cancelled.

Therefore today, I am forced to work from home to maximise my working time; I am lucky I can do that, but many other people cannot and have either had to take the day off or lose pay.

December 23 – 17:48 Train from St Pancras to Crofton Park

I discovered with glee and excitement that there were some trains running last night, so I skipped and I hopped to St Pancras and waited for the 17:48 Sevenoaks train that would take me to Crofton Park. Little did I expect that a thirty-minute journey would take an hour. At about 18:05 we stopped between Farringdon and City Thameslink and waited in a tunnel. About six or seven minutes later the train driver announced that we were waiting behind a number of trains, as First Capital Connect were waiting for a relief driver for a train that was effectively parked at Blackfriars without a driver. About sixteen minutes after we stopped, the train began to move. Then between Denmark Hill and Peckham Rye, we stopped again just outside Peckham Rye station. We waited there, with many people standing in the carriages and were eventually told that we were waiting for a signal. We waited and waited and waited again. Finally we started to move and to our delight we arrived at Peckham Rye to cheers and a crowd filled welcome. Well not quite. Off we went again and the train finally arrived at Crofton Park one hour after I boarded it. I think on Virgin trains I could have travelled from London Euston to Birmingham in that time.

December 23 – 08:30 Trains from Crofton Park to St Pancras

Again no trains were running after 08:30 this morning. I questioned the one staff member at a Southeastern station and she blamed First Capital Connect and it was nothing to do with Southeastern. Now that was news to me as they are sharing services, though we do board 19th Century First Capital Connect carriages…they remind me of the good old days when British Rail was in existence. Oh wait, they are British Rail carriages! Anyhow, so this news filled me with such a warm glow, I had to get the bus and ended up being one hour late for work and had to spend £2 on a journey I had already paid for in my season ticket.

December 22 – 17:30 from St Pancras to Crofton Park

Oh what a journey did I hence enjoy. The sturdy British travelling public did rejoice at a train and hence piled on to magnificent and extremely uncomfortable proportions, as First Capital Connect and Southeastern had conspired to run very few services. This train journey, late and without regard for health and safety did eventually get me home, but reminded me of train journeys in India. You know the ones with people hanging off the train and stepping over others to get off.

December 22 – 08:30 from Crofton Park to St Pancras

No direct services on this morning. Oh no! To travel from Crofton Park into St Pancras involved going south to Bromley via a stopover in Catford before boarding the train to London Victoria then catching a tube to St Pancras. Delightful. The bus again at more cost to me, eventhough I had purchased a ticket from Southeastern.

December 21 – All day

Well you be forgiven in thinking that we had entered a new ice age, or at least Kent. I stayed at home and did not use my ticket – no trains at all.

So why am I writing this to you. Well the answer is simple, I want my money back and despite my attempts at contacting Southeastern, all have failed. I am sure in due course when the pigeon reaches their headquarters deep in the massive profit jungle that I will get a response, but I would like you to do the following, if you are so inclined:

1. Write to the Department of Transport and pose the question why is it so difficult to get to work in this country? Furthermore, why are franchises given to these two companies when they are quite clearly incompetent? Finally, we pay very high fares, subsidise the fat cat bonuses of these train executives and shareholders and they cannot even try to run a train service.

2. Write to the Chief Executive of both companies and explain that people need to get to work and their excuses will not be tolerated.

3. Help me get my ticket refunded and if there is any decency in these people, maybe compensation, as financial penalty is the only language they understand.

Now before any one claims we have had severe weather conditions, in the time I have used this service from May 2009, they offer many excuses as to why they cannot run a service and the weather is the latest one. My favourites at all times of the year and not just now are:

1. The train has been cancelled due to driver displacement;
2. The train is delayed / cancelled due to an earlier operating incident;
3. The train is cancelled due to no member of train crew available for this service;
4. The train has been cancelled due to a technical incident.

They are ripping off taxpayers and the travelling public. Urgent action is needed. Surely it is the job of the London government to make sure that people can get to work, or the economy will not recover anytime soon.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Bell

Why is it so hard to travel to work in this country?

2009-12-18T11:42:00.002Z

Why is it that we are treated with complete contempt by the executives and shareholders of Southeastern and First Crappy Connect? Yet again, last night and this morning, two companies who are supposed to run train services are getting away like the Great Train Robber with our hard earned money, both as passengers and taxpayers. Cancelled trains, delayed trains and suspended animation trains, holding freezing cold passengers sitting on ancient and uncomfortable trains while the fat cats of the railway industry, are having a laugh at our expense, probably in the same club as the bankers. What will it take for us to say enough is enough? I complain, I protest but without everyone doing the same we will be treated like cash cows funding the bonuses of greedy on behalf of the rich. Now some of you may say, it has been snowing last night and today? True, but unless a new ice age has begun affecting Kent, then that is a poor excuse. We are living in the 21st Century and have trains that guess what, remove the snow from the train tracks and electrical connectors. So why are they not used? Could it be that the train companies have to pay for them? Could it be that means less profit? Oh I know we won’t run a train service and take the money from hard working people instead. But they offer compensation you say! Yes they do, usually over 3o minutes delay means you get £1! Yes £1, that will really affect their profits, especially as only a few people make a claim. The only way to make public transport reliable, safe and efficient is to run it in the interests of the user, the public and not in the interests of profit.

Well done Joe...you deserved it!

2009-12-13T21:18:00.001Z

Joe has won the X-Factor. A great guy...well done mate!

Courtesy of Moneysavingexpert.com: Dos and Don'ts When Shopping

2009-12-11T12:26:00.005Z

With Christmas shopping in full swing, the Money Saving Expert is offering guidance, using his SAD FART method.

Know your stuff and you'll save £1,000s over a lifetime not having to buy duplicate goods if something goes wrong.

The Dos

DO: Take items back as quickly as possible
If something's faulty - in other words it breaks the SAD FART rules - returning it speedily is crucial.

Within four weeks: You can usually still get a full refund as you're unlikely to be seen as having 'accepted' the goods. After that only expect an exchange, repair or part refund.

Within six months: The shop must prove the item wasn't faulty when the transaction took place. After that period you must prove it was.

DO: Write 'it's a gift' on receipts
Legally only the person who purchased the item has a right to return faulty goods. Yet, if the assistant writes on your receipt and their copy (ie the debit/credit card slip) the item's a gift and who it's for, the rights are transferred.

Of course, some shops allow recipients regardless, but it's worth doing just in case.

DO: Check it's suitable before buying
The 'as described' part of the SAD FART rules is crucial. Imagine you buy speakers for your TV, take them home and they don't connect to your specific telly. If you've proof the store said "it'll work with your TV" (take notes if possible), then the speakers aren't as described, so you can return them.

Yet if you didn't ask, and it's not specified in the manual or any other paperwork, it's your problem; not the shop's.

DO: Return it to the store, not the manufacturer
If the item breaks the SAD FART rules, your agreement's with the shop you bought it from, NOT the manufacturer. So the retailer MUST deal with it - don't let it palm you off.

DO: Ensure Christmas delivery's specified
If Christmas goods are late, you can only complain if you or the retailer specified (and you can prove) it was for pre-Christmas delivery. Then it's breach of contract and you've a right to a refund. Though even if Christmas delivery isn't specified, things should be delivered within a reasonable time.

DO: Consider paying by credit card if it's over £100
Pay for £100+ goods on a credit card and the card company's jointly liable with the retailer if something goes wrong. This applies to gift cards and vouchers too, provided each denomination is at least £100. Though only do this if you can clear the card in full next month to avoid interest.

This gives you extra legal rights, but for full details see the Section 75 Refunds guide.

The Don'ts

DON'T: Assume you can change it if it's the wrong size
Unless items break the SAD FART rules, you've no legal right for return. So don't buy clothes for someone thinking you can change the size if it doesn't fit, or colour or anything else.

Many shops will allow it, but they don't have to. Unless that is, they have a published returns policy allowing it, as then it's a contractual condition of sale, so they must obey it.

DON'T: Think buying online means less rights
You've more rights online (or telephone/catalogue) due to the Distance Selling Rules. This gives a legal right to send most goods back within a week, for a full refund, even if there's no fault. Though you'll usually need to pay for the return delivery.

DON'T: Think 'no receipt' means 'no return'With faulty goods, you simply need proof of purchase. This could be the receipt, but any other legitimate record (eg a bank statement) should be fine.

However, if you have no legal right and are just utilising a store's returns policy; if it requires a receipt, you need it.

DON'T: Think buying from eBay doesn't give you online rights
Buy from a trader who makes some or all of their living selling on eBay and you've the full SAD FART rights. However, buy from an occasional private seller and as long as the goods are as described, the only rule is 'let the buyer beware'.

DON'T: Think you've no rights with freebies
If a freebie comes as part of a purchase, for example a bike with a gym membership contract, you've exactly the same SAD FART rights regarding the freebie as if you'd bought it.

It's all about expectations, as well as rights
Even if you don't have a legal right, companies' reputations depend on giving decent service. So you can always ask - and tell them you're disappointed if they don't help.

This text is entirely from: Moneysavingexpert.com

Missing dog in Telegraph Hill

2009-11-29T16:44:00.004Z

Found this poster while out canvassing today...if you see the dog, please let the owners know.

Canvassing St Norbert's Road and surrounding areas...

2009-11-29T14:45:00.006Z

I was out canvassing this morning with Joan, Robin and Joe, getting wet and filling in canvassing sheets, that were rapidly turning into paper mache. Now many people would think, we have got a screw loose or are not quite there; but for us it is about the fact that canvassing is an excellent opportunity to help people who have either been missed by the processes and procedures in place at the council and other agencies, or who just simply do not know where to go for help.

Lewisham Homes featured again quite heavily in the needs of people today, but then there is no surprise there when we were in an area with a large percentage of Lewisham Homes properties. The weather, behaving with mischief, raised some issues around the weather proofing and the fabric of buildings originally constructed in 1930s.

Coming from a poor background and a council flat, it always seemed to me that no matter what my parents did to improve our circumstances, the slightest problem would send us straight back to square one. By that I mean, when my father had saved a little of our benefit money, to avoid having to borrow from Shopacheck (one of these legal, but massively expensive lenders of money) to pay for Christmas, the fridge would break down, or the cooker would stop working. So a small relief from the worry of a coming event, would be snatched away by having to fix or replace a necessary machine. Those memories, from twenty-five years ago, came flooding back today when I called on residents.

So what is my point? Sometimes there does not need to be one. However, I am pleased I went out this morning so I can present more casework to Lewisham Homes; but I am also frustrated that in a country with so much wealth that we lose people in the system. In Telegraph Hill, the Labour Action Team will continue to do what we can to give people a hand to support them in aspiring to be the best they can. Why? Because Telegraph Hill, in particular the Honor Oak Estate, reminds me of the place I came from and in a lot ways will never leave.

Leeds refuse workers fight successfuly against Lib Dem attacks

2009-11-24T13:02:00.005Z

If there is a campaign that sums-up for me the difference between the main political parties, it is the Leeds refuge workers campaign. A struggle that seems to be the choice between the Tory and Liberal Democrat view that the low paid, the poor, and working people, should pay for the economic crisis that the bankers and light-touch regulation has caused. This campaign was fought to prevent the council from cutting the already modest pay of refuse collectors from £18,000 to £13,000 a year.

In previous blogs, I have talked about UNISON's new initiative to show that the worker's have the power to change and improve their working lives and this dispute is evidence that it is needed.

The dispute in Leeds where the council is controlled by a Liberal Democrat/Tory coalition is a wake-up call to those that are thinking about not voting for Labour in Lewisham. The Liberal Democrat leader, Richard Brett, of Leeds City Council told the striking workers that they were 'lucky' to have a job at all owing to the current economic conditions. Who does he think he is? Well I can tell you, for his elected position he pockets £45,883 a year; Neil Evans, the Director of Environment and Neighbourhoods, the directorate responsible for the refuge workers, had his salary increased from £117,679 to £132,593 last year. Staggering isn't it. These people are the same people who fought to stop a "Leeds Living Wage" that a Labour and Green Party coalition tried to secure in December 2008. So when you hear the Lib Dems in Lewisham proclaiming that they support a "London Living Wage", then ask them "How come the Lib Dems in Leeds do not support a "Leeds Living Wage"?

The refuge workers dispute has lasted for 12 weeks and has finally been settled thanks to the rejection of the Lib Dem/Tory proposals by the workforce and public opinion. However, it is not without a price. Many of the workers were already struggling before the dispute started, now they have been without pay for twelve weeks. For them, it was a campaign they had to win and they have. Public opinion does not favour punishing hardworking people who have done nothing to cause the recession.

All of us are in this situation together and it is unacceptable that the low-paid pay to get us out of it. According to the Guardian, "We are now seeing groups of workers ready to stand up to oppose deteriorating wages and conditions. They feel the economic crisis should not be solved at their expense and are showing a real combative attitude when attacked. The Leeds bin workers' stance and their ultimate victory under extremely difficult circumstances prove that working people are not willing to be turned over; their example will be followed by others."

With responsible and accurate journalism, toegther with the support from ordinary members of the public we can all fight and win against those politicians who claim to be on the side of the workers, while stripping them of every last penny. Leeds refuge workers did, we can too in Lewisham.

Honor Oak Drop-In Surgery with SPAG

2009-11-23T13:45:00.006Z

On Saturday I, along with the Joan, Sandra and Dan, Cllr Robin Cross and Joan Ruddock MP, were at the Honor Oak Community Centre for a ‘Saturday Drop-In Surgery’. The purpose of this event was to provide an opportunity for residents in Telegraph Hill to raise issues, views and opinions about any matter of concern to them. It was busy and there were many people with issues ranging from immigration to housing. One particular issue caught my attention and that was a local action group named SPAG (Skate Park Action Group), who want to bring a skateboarding park to the streets or open space in the ward. They had already secured £1000 funding to do a feasibility study and were discussing with Joan Ruddock and the Labour Action Team, the best way forward and seeking our support. Now I can hear some people say: it will cause anti-social behaviour, or it would generate too much noise, or it will encourage teenagers to cause trouble. A bigger voice may be: not in the park!

I would just like to address some of those issues. Firstly, it is because young people often have nothing to do that they hang around the streets. Secondly, the skateboarding park in Peckham shows that this trouble does not happen. Thirdly, the police support it. Fourthly, it would be a small and well designed park, accommodating between 10 to 30 people.

However, there is no getting away from the fact that it could cause some noise, that the people skating there have to be considerate to the needs of the residents and that the place is secured and maintained. Therefore, location would be an essential part of getting full support. Joan Ruddock emphasised that the group need to overcome the objections of those people effected by it and I am inclined to agree.

Furthermore, it has also been muted that one of the best locations for the skateboarders would be in the upper park (Telegraph Hill Park). This would not be my favoured location, though I am willing to be convinced otherwise, and I am sure, some objections would be voiced over this site. Therefore, the group will soon publish a list of favoured places and would seek support from residents.

I really do think this is an excellent idea and a great facility for the ward. It must however, be placed in the right location, be well designed, maintained and secured with appropriate opening times. The ward assembly identified more youth provision as one of its key priorities. This idea would fit into this priority and as such has my complete support.

Brockley Station...Stop the Cuts!

2009-11-17T20:23:00.003Z

I was out with three lovely people this morning from 7am, well I was late, (I think I got there at 7:15am), handing out leaflets entitled 'Stop the Cuts!'. For the full story, please click on the link below:

http://brockleycentral.blogspot.com/2009/11/thrills-chills-bellyaches.html

I was supposed to go out canvassing...

2009-11-15T14:31:00.004Z

...but I am snotty and sweaty after the Swine Flu injection. They told me I would get some symptoms and that this is normal, given that I am placed in a high risk group being diabetic. However, I thought it unwise to knock on people's doors this afternoon and sneeze all over them.

I know quite a few people that have had the virus, but no-one with diabetes. This is my fault really as I do not go to the support groups. I am sure there is one in London. I am also sure I am not alone in that. So now I will be eating my vegetarian stew and thinking about how many voters I have missed. It is absolutely vital that people wishing to stand for public office meet everyone they can, especially in a climate of distrust and dislike for politicians. Though I have never said I am a politician, as this goes against my personal view of myself, namely that politics is a mechanism to maintain the good things we have and fight to rid our society of the negative - my perception.

So I will be back to normal in a few days and knocking on a door in Telegraph Hill. This afternoon I shall be meeting my personal friend, the duvet, for some quiet time. I really do lead an exciting life.

I think Stacey Soloman is fantastic...I hope she wins!

2009-11-14T22:14:00.003Z

A bit of a departure from normal postings, but I do like X-Factor, a little, only because ordinary people are trying to better themselves and the finalists are clearly talented (apart from John & Edward). However, though I have never voted as it is a money raising exercise for corporate executives, I have tonight relented and voted for Stacey as she is not only the best singer in the competition but has the most fantastic personality. She is amazing as far as I can tell from the TV; amusing, ordinary and lovable. Therefore, I have placed Stacey's banner on my website. I know, I am cringing myself! BTW, Danni and Sheryl rock!

See Liberal Democrats I am human!

Workers deserve better!

2009-11-08T16:26:00.005Z

I spent the whole of last week working in Sheffield, my home city. UNISON and the American trade union SEIU are working together to target three multi-nationals who operate in both countries, namely: Compass (British), Sodexho (French) and Aramark (American). Around 50 of us were trained on Monday and Tuesday and put the training into practice Wednesday to Friday, talking with 453 school kitchen assistants, cooks and dinner ladies. It was an exhausting week, but thoroughly rewarding. The methods being taught are truly socialist and appeal to the core of my political beliefs.

I think many of you would not be shocked to discover the stories of these people, all women in a sector renowned for their professionalism and care in our schools. However, you may be surprised by the way Compass considers our mothers, grandmothers, friends and relatives as a number on a balance sheet. I don't know about you, but I remember how kind my dinner ladies were in all of the schools I grew-up in. It is with this in mind and after talking to these wonderful women, that I am angry and fired-up to get a better deal for them. Why? One lady met a colleague of mine, Ryan, and told him that she has three jobs and no social life, in-fact working in the school kitchen is her only way to socialise in her entire life - good eh Compass? A second lady took fifteen minutes out of work to comfort a small seven year old boy who had behavioural difficulties that no-one could understand. After speaking with him, he opened up to her and broke down crying...crying not because he was being bullied, or was left last to be picked for the football team, but because he had seen his father hanging dead from the garage roof. Compass, after hearing the story decided to give the worker a verbal warning for mis-use of company time.

These stories are just two of many. It is not just Compass either, but Sodexho and Aramark who are equally as concerned about profit and not in the human stories.

So what now? Well Sheffield City Council in their Lib Dem no-wisdom, are not interested in enforcing their own code of practice on two-tier workforces and exploitation of workers in outsourced contracts like the Compass catering contract. So, we are asking a team of these women to come together to demand better conditions for themselves and to target councillors, Compass managers and the schools for a better deal - more on this in later posts.

I support the postal workers...

2009-10-29T16:26:00.001Z

I support the postal workers in their fight against entrenched and profit motivated management. Ask yourself this question: to strike without pay for so long must mean management are not telling the whole truth. I have spoken to a number of postmen in their deliveries around Telegraph Hill ward and they are fighting for the life and soul of the Royal Mail. I am proud to support them.

Many members in the London region are facing serious financial hardship and the London division of the CWU have setup a hardship fund. Donations can be sent to:

John Denton
CWU London Regional Secretary
Second Floor
33-41 Dallington Street
London
EC1V 0BB

Cheques made payable to: CWU London Divisional Committee

There is also a national hardship fund:

c/o Tony Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary
CWU
150 The Broadway
Wimbledon
SW19 1RX

Cheques made payable to: Postal Workers Support Fund or transfer to:

UNITY Trust Bank, account no: 20194129, sort-code: 08-60-01

A record worth fighting for...

2009-10-01T23:34:00.007+01:00

Gordon Brown has said it all...Labour achievements in government:

- Winter fuel allowance
- Crime down by a third
- Surestart
- Cancer guranteee
- Record results in schools
- Disability Discrimination Act
- Civil partnerships
- Peace in Northern Ireland
- Social Chapter
- Maternity pay
- Paternity leave
- Banning of cluster bombs
- Child benefit
- Cancelling of debt
- Minimum wage
- Trebling of aid
- 500,000 children out of poverty
- First Climate Change Act
- Shortest NHS waiting times in living memory

Achievements worth fighting for.

'Savage' Lib Dem Platitudes

2009-09-25T10:53:00.004+01:00

It appears the Liberal Democrats are misbehaving again by using me to score party-political point scoring. Now I am not used to sitting back and this is no exception, especially when my antagonisers are as hypocritical as a vegetarian turkey farmer.

In a week when the Liberal Democrats are calling for public sector pay freezes for some of the poorest workers, how dare they manipulate my words and sentiments to lie, scheme and genuinely be dishonest. For them the lessons of the last year have suddenly changed and the guilty are no longer the bankers, the financial sector nor the super rich, but a hospital porter, a paramedic, a lollipop lady and a care worker. This is total rubbish and hypocrisy. I, and people I know in the Labour Party, believe in social justice and that means protecting public services, but honest enough to know that sometimes you have to make tough choices. After-all, who has pumped billions of pounds into the NHS and education since 1997?

The cynical forces of the Liberal Democrat machine would have you believe that I, as a Labour Party candidate, cannot think nor have a view for myself. Am I therefore to understand that Liberal Democrat candidates are drones of a central brain?

Of course not and neither is anyone engaged in politics. The Liberal Democrats are deliberately misrepresenting my comments and it begs the question, who would you rather trust?

Politicians need to be more responsible and campaign by talking about the issues and how we are to tackle them. These silly Lib Dem platitudes do all people involved in politics a dis-service and alienate people from the political process.

A recent comparison of both the Lewisham Lib Dem and the Lewisham Green Party websites have shown quite clearly to me that the Greens are willing to engage in real politics, not the childish squawking provided by the Lib Dems.

Finally, all of us are working hard to make our area a better and safer place to live. There are ways we can do this together, without tribal distinctions; alas I fear the upcoming campaign will not show the best of all the parties.

Reducing the Risk of Burglary - Free Smartwater

2009-09-21T09:07:00.004+01:00

This is a really great initiative. Lewisham Council Community Safety Officers in partnership with Lewisham Police will be working to promote a new burglary initiative, piloted in the Telegraph Hill and Brockley Wards over the next few days. They will be promoting and supplying 'Smart Water' property marking kits to local residents and explaining it's uses, while at the same time offering support and advice about crime prevention.

Initially 1,200 residents across the borough will be offered the packs for free and if the initiative is successful more may be issued in the future. The use of Smart Water in other areas has shown a reduction in burglary rates, and a higher rate of convictions.

What is SmartWater?

Each SmartWater system contains a unique forensic code which is simply dabbed into the nooks and crannies of your valuables. Each SmartWater code is stored on a secure database together with the owner’s details making them uniquely identifiable.

Once dry, SmartWater is virtually impossible to remove and any traces will glow under ultra-violet light. SmartWater irrefutably links criminals to the crime scene and property back to its owner.

SmartWater is an Official Police Accredited Organisation.

When used by UK police forces as part of their crime prevention initiatives, SmartWater has achieved reductions in burglary of up to 84%.

Using SmartWater

TVs, Stereo Systems, Mobile Phones, MP3 Players, i-Pods, Jewellery, Play stations and X-boxes etc can be marked with SmartWater.

It may not be possible to mark all property, therefore consider what property would be most difficult to replace financially and/or has the greatest sentimental value.

Mark items in sheds and garages, as they often contain items of high value.

Removable items in vehicles can be marked, particularly SAT NAV systems.

Marking is easy – just brush a small amount of the liquid onto the property to be marked.

Where possible, mark the property on the underneath, side, inside or at the back.

Each SmartWater kit has a unique reference number that will be registered to your address alone.

If the property is sold, lost or disposed of, record it on a list or in a diary, including the date and if known, any new owner details.

What next?

Officers will be calling on your doors and will show you appropriate credetials. Residents then complete the paperwork, in order that SmartWater have their details and can be contacted if property is recovered by the police after a burglary.

The police have a UV detection arch in Lewisham Police Station and the burglary squad have been issued with UV detector lamps which can pick up SmartWater.

Residents should also put a SmartWater sticker in their window to let people know property is marked. Signs will be put up in the local area to say that SmartWater has been distributed to residents.

I would recommend it. If you miss the officers when they call round, let me or one of the Labour Action Team know and we can see if we can get a revisit booked.

For more information on Smartwater, click the link HERE.

Happy Birthday from the Lib Dems

2009-09-05T13:30:00.004+01:00

It seems that despite the public’s disliking for party political games, I am in the middle of one, kindly created by the Lewisham Lib Dems, who have recently misquoted from my article “Defending public service…”

During one of the worst recessions facing the planet, where one child dies every three seconds in the developing world, when people are facing difficult financial choices, with some losing their jobs and having their houses repossessed, the Lib Dems think it is more important to engage in party political point scoring. I find this dull, to be honest, and I will not engage in such silly games.

This morning, I met a lady called Maureen at the 170 Centre, in New Cross, who needs help with anti-social behaviour and adaptions to her home. She is not interested in attacking the Labour Party, nor creating melodramatic metaphors, but in finding help and support. She is the reason I am involved in politics.

2009 is a different place to that of even 2007. If the Lib Dems, or anyone else wish to live in the past, then that is up to them. I am more concerned with helping people.

However, I am involved in the Labour Party, because I grew-up in poverty, and I saw that the Labour Party is the best vehicle to attain social justice. Day-in-day-out, Labour Party members, volunteers and representatives work tirelessly for people in Lewisham and around the country. We are constantly faced by a negative media response. We are also a Party that is alive and discussing issues that everyone faces and coming up with solutions. When I first came to Lewisham, I was impressed by the passion and commitment from people like Steve Bullock, Jarman, Jackie and Sylvia – councillors for Crofton Park, and Joan Ruddock. Tough decisions are made in the best interests of the people of Lewisham, not against them. This is the real story.

I will continue along with other Labour Party members to work for people like Maureen, because this is the real politics not the cynicism that we often find in the media.

So, as it is my birthday today, I’d like to thank Cllr Chris Maines for my birthday gift.

Defending public service...

2009-08-28T12:02:00.002+01:00

Today’s Guardian is running an article about “EasyCouncil” , Barnet, as it is adopting a budget-airline approach to public services, where residents can pay extra for jumping the queue for planning consent or decide to spend a care allowance on a cleaner, respite care or a holiday to Eastbourne.

Of course the London Borough of Barnet is considered to be a shining example of “New Conservatism” and it is showing clear signs that it is developing a new form of Thatcherism, something the Conservative Party cannot seem emancipate itself from. Furthermore, Barnet is intending to make huge efficiency savings by outsourcing services to save £15 million a year, or as I like to call it – throwing away hard working staff to the private sector. I fail to understand why councillors and some council officers believe destroying careers, demoralising staff and breaking-up the ethos of public service is good for a community. May I remind the councillors that make these decisions that some efficiency savings of their own could be made in council functions, twinning trips, drinks, food and IT equipment, not to mention the allowances, perks, outside bodies and their basic salary.

Capital is making bolder steps to further dismantle public services and the morality, and it is morality, of the wealthiest paying the most to support the less well off. We have recently seen attacks on the NHS and this is just the beginning. Labour has monumentally failed to be bold enough to weaken the Conservative Party when it was at its most vulnerable and now we could be faced with a further dismantling of the state. We are NOT the US and I don’t want to live in the USA.

What is also apparent is that the Labour Party no longer represents the voice of the weak, the powerless and the poor in the minds of voters. It is a hard job for me to convince them that we do, eventhough the NHS is alive and kicking despite the greed of drug companies, the private sector and the wolves at the door in Conservative clothing; eventhough crime is down and as a society we are happier; eventhough a lot of the Thatcherite policies of dismantling the welfare state, have in-part, been stopped for now. I am not blaming anyone but the Labour Party for this, but it needs to pick-up the standard of the poor, of the powerless, of the weak and the ordinary citizen, now. Just as climate change has to be stopped, so does the breakdown of the belief in democracy. Tony Benn has said time and time again, that it is democracy that has made social progress, as power shifted from the rich to the poor. Only when power was attainable by convincing the working class, and I use this term to represent ordinary people, to vote for you, did we get pensions, housing, sanitation, education, health care and emancipation. If voters become more and more disillusioned and more apathetic, then these hard-fought for victories will be lost.

I have said before that the government should be afraid of its people and not the other way round. Voting is crucial to prevent the power of “Capital” dominating our lives and restricting health care, education and life to the richest in society. The last thing the councillors in Barnet want is a well educated, intelligent electorate, nor the neo-liberals, hiding in all the mainstream parties.

Many voters now see that non-mainstream parties are now the defence against this Barnet New Conservatism. I disagree, not because I wear my Labour Party membership like a battle dress, but simply because without proportional representation, the defence will be too weak. For now, the Labour Party is the only defence in the general election and in Lewisham.

I love the NHS

2009-08-14T10:47:00.003+01:00

The recent debate on health care in the USA has sparked a whole lot of 'nasty' and criticism of our NHS from misguided Americans and some Tory politicians. Let me say this, I, almost died at birth, suffered from childhood bronchitis, had two bacterial infections, two broken ribs, one bad back, one twisted knee, type 2 diabetes and leukaemia; still alive because of the NHS. I would be left to die in the USA, without medical insurance, without hope and without a future. I am proud to be British because of the NHS and I would fight with my last breath to save it.

Universal, free health care is a right not just for the rich but also for the poor. We must fight to protect it, or one day we may wake-up in a taxi, dressed in a hospital gown, being delivered to the pavement outside a charity because a person paid to maximise an insurer's profits has said NO to treatment.

Out and about on Sandbourne Road

2009-08-11T12:41:00.006+01:00

I was out knocking on doors last night on Sandbourne Road along with the lovely Janet. Most people seemed happy, but the following issues were raised:

1. Disabled access for wheelchairs users along Jerningham Road. Mr Ridgeway said he and others were having difficulty on the pavements, where uneven surfaces and raised areas around trees were proving difficult to drive along. By the time he had reached Sainbury's at New Cross Gate, the bumps and jolts were causing him pain and discomfort - I have raised this with Cllr Cross this morning.

2. Lewisham homes - again some repairs are not being done. I will pursue this with Cllr Cross.

3. CCTV and fly-tipping. A resident raised with us the issue of dumping rubbish on the corner of Reservoir Road and why not use the CCTV from local businesses to find the culprits. An interesting idea which I will raise with Cllr Cross.

If you have any issues or concerns, then you can email me at paul@paulbell.org or add a comment to this posting.

I don't believe in primaries...we need PR

2009-08-08T14:11:00.003+01:00

There has been a lot of talk recently about parties holding primary elections to decide who should be the party candidate. However, I don't think primaries are the answer, because just like the American system, people with money can stand and those without stand no chance. We need proportional representation to rebalance the power of the traditional parties and that of the wider electorate.

In the Labour Party at the moment, to get votes in a selection contest you have to literally knock on every single door of the local membership, at great expense. I cannot afford it and I am union sponsored.

We need proportional representation to restore trust in politics and a Labour Party that is true to its left-of-centre heart and soul. Without it, representation in parliament will become more based on wealth than ability.

Endwell & Vesta Roads and a Monday evening...

2009-08-05T13:59:00.004+01:00

I spent my evening on Monday on Endwell and Vesta Roads; a lot of issues were raised from Japanese Knotweed, delayed and non-existent repairs by Lewisham Homes to car 'keying' on Vesta Road. Also, there is still the complete distrust of politicians; though I do not consider myself to be one, I am tarred with the same brush. Can you really blame people, when the very people who were flipping homes or claiming for everything they could, are still MPs and earning tax-payers money?

Today, the BBC is reporting that the new Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow MP, has ordered a £20,000 refurbishment of his grace-and-favour flat, i.e. free palace-on-one-level, even after the former speaker spent £724,600 on it from 2000 to 2008. These people still do not live in the real world. The real world in Telegraph Hill is about getting damp and leaks sorted out before the end of the decade, not about £6764.30 on a new 'sofa set'.

With all this greed and self-indulgence at our expense, I find myself supporting a new voting system, something I have never been sure about before. Alas, PR would give much needed stimulus to the recovery of people's trust in those that are elected to run our institutions on our behalf. I can see no other way, as democracy is so damaged that someone like me is finding it harder than ever to convince people I am genuine.

170 Community Centre and Cllr Cross' Surgery

2009-08-02T20:23:00.003+01:00

On Saturday, I and Dan did Robin's surgery, but no-one came. However, it was a good opportunity to see the work of the 170 Community Centre, which provides a whole range of support and advice, from benefits to well being.

If anyone would like to know more, then email me at paul@paulbell.org.

Brockley Station footbridge reopens tomorrow from 11am...

2009-07-30T10:16:00.002+01:00

Finally the footbrisge at Brockley Station will reopen tomorrow from 11am. The station revamp will continue for the time being, as there is still work that needs to be done.

Brockley Station...never has a footbridge been so missed

2009-07-27T15:10:00.005+01:00

You know how it is, you are rushing around in the morning to get yourself together, maybe the kids to school, your lunch made and a train to catch. I do this every morning and it is always a battle between the clock and me. And nearly every day, I nearly miss the train. But the situation with the footbridge at Brockley Station would make a mockery of my battle with the morning clock…I would miss the train everyday because the footbridge is still closed and causing unbelievable inconvenience to residents.

The situation is made worse by asbestos and poor design, along with the most active engagement of the community in what stone and fencing to use in the revamped station forecourt. However, there needs to be some common sense; the closure of the footbridge is annoying for those people who live on the Telegraph Hill side of Brockley.

It is with this in mind that I spoke to the Deputy Mayor, Heidi Alexander, who assures me the council is doing everything it can to get the footbridge reopened. I am awaiting an update on re-opening dates and will post it here once I know.

Update on Thames Water...

2009-07-12T18:21:00.004+01:00

At the last GC meeting of my Constituency Labour Party, I asked Joan Ruddock to make sure that the government was not going to change the law and would continue to stop water companies from disconnecting water supplies for non-payers. She seemed sure this was not going to happen.

Telegraph Hill

2009-07-12T18:16:00.005+01:00

On Friday night I was selected in Telegraph Hill along with Joan Millbank and Dan Whittle. It will be a hard campaign, but one worth the effort as it is a winnable ward. The branch is brilliant and has an excellent, active membership with a great campaigns officer - Laura Seabright. Interestingly, there seems to be a bit of a Sheffield mafia going on...I'll explain in later posts.

So here is to the hard work and to successfully winning Telegraph Hill!

Thames Water are a complete disgrace...

2009-06-25T13:49:00.004+01:00

Reoord profits, increased bills reaching 17% over inflation, over 5 years and now the greedy barbarians want to lobby the government to change the law allowing them to cut the water supply to people who cannot pay their bills.

What is wrong with this society? What is the regulator OFWAT doing? Are they being wined and dined by Thames Water, owned by the Austrlian bank Macquarie?

Thames Water's profts were up almost 4% on last year's £590m, while many ordinary people are struggling. Indeed they have the cheek to say after decades of under-investment, we have to pay for a £5.5bn investment programme to construct two "super-sewers" to rid the Thames of 32m tonnes of raw waste a year. It is the decades of under-investment by the privatised utilities owned by people so remote from the communities they serve and so obsessed by profit and greed, that as a society we should no longer tolerate it.

I do not understand how people like David Owens, the Chief Executive of Thames Water, can sleep at night...

Letter to Joan Ruddock MP - Fuel Poverty Bill

2009-06-04T14:25:00.001+01:00

Joan,

Please allow the Fuel Poverty Bill to pass its Second Reading on Friday 12th June

We have talked many times about fuel poverty and I know you are bound by collective responsibility with your ministerial colleagues to support the government. I also know that you believe passionately in helping the poor and as you said on Saturday, you would not do anything to put more people in fuel poverty. However, there are times when the government machine may be too remote from the everyday reality of people’s lives and I believe this is one of them.

The recent public meeting on the Fuel Poverty Bill in Brockley was attended by many voters and without your input there were politicians of other parties trying to make political gain out of a very serious issue. I have to say I was very impressed by Ron Bailey, the chair of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition and what he had to say, although I had heard so many conflicting views about the Fuel Poverty Bill. The meeting also had some other very good speakers: Mervyn Kohler - Age Concern & Help the Aged Special Advisor; Dave Timms - Friends of the Earth Senior Parliamentary Campaigner and Ruth Bond - National Federation of Women's Institutes Chair of Public Affairs.

As far as I understand the Fuel Poverty Bill, it would:

- Require a national energy efficiency programme ensuring that homes of people in fuel poverty are properly insulated;

- Protect households from failing back into fuel poverty as a result of possible future fuel price rises;

- Create tens of thousands of “green” jobs and provide a major boost to the economy;

- Reduce household fuel bills by up to 70%;

- Cut emissions of carbon dioxide from homes to reduce climate change;

- Cut costs to the health service due to the reduction in cold and damp related illnesses.

When someone dies because they cannot heat their home in the Winter, it becomes a national disgrace. In 2009, this should not be happening and this Bill goes partly along the way to achieve the ultimate goal of abolishing fuel poverty for good. We cannot wait and allow more people to suffer the unacceptable position of choosing to eat or heat their homes.

I, as you know, would want the government to go further, not least of would be to re-instate price regulation and controls similar to France. However, this Bill is a start. We cannot allow politicians who want to hi-jack this serious issue to make party-political points against you or the Labour Party; I remember what it was like under a Conservative government.

Please allow this Bill to pass through to its second reading and work together with the people involved to reduce the numbers falling into fuel poverty. By-all means reject the party political games but do not reject the principles behind the Bill.

Regards,

Paul Bell

Petition - Free Political Prisoners in Burma

2009-06-01T16:19:00.005+01:00

Please sign the petition to demand that the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon use all the power of the UN to free political prisoners in Burma. It may seem like a signature cannot combat a gun, but the power of dictatorships can often be smashed by the actions of moral protest.

Sign the petition here: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/fbppn.htm

To: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

"Until all of our political prisoners are free, none of us can say that Burma is now truly on the road towards democratic change." Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, 1991 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, held under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years.

The military government - the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) – must immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Khun Tun Oo and Min Ko Naing.

The release of all political prisoners is the first and most important step towards freedom and democracy in Burma. We, the undersigned, call upon UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to make it his personal priority to secure the release of all of Burma's political prisoners by the SPDC.

Crofton Park Public Meeting - Anti-Fuel Poverty Campaign

2009-05-30T15:35:00.004+01:00

Absence and party political games were clearly hiding in a serious issue and one that I have been battling against since I became aware of pre-payment meters and their consequences. You see my parents had a stark choice, to feed themselves or to feed the premium priced pre-payment meter.

On Thursday 28th, I attended and spoke pleading that regulation and price controls along with a windfall tax, are all needed along with insulation of our entire housing stock, starting with the poorest households; in order to tell the greedy energy companies that they are no longer allowed to rip us off for our energy and to push more and more people into fuel poverty.

I have to say I was very impressed by Ron Bailey, the chair of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition and what he had to say, although I had heard so many conflicting views about the Fuel Poverty Bill. The meeting also had some other very good speakers: Mervyn Kohler - Age Concern & Help the Aged Special Advisor; Dave Timms - Friends of the Earth Senior Parliamentary Campaigner and Ruth Bond - National Federation of Women's Institutes Chair of Public Affairs.

Also present were the politicians. Firstly, (and in no particular order), Gemma Townsend, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Lewisham Deptford; Cllr Chris Maines, Lib Dem Group Leader Lewisham Council and Cllr Darren Johnson AM, Green parliamentary candidate for Lewisham Deptford. Joan Ruddock did not attend and I am disinclined to say anymore on her absence.

So what was achieved? Well there were disparate views and the inevitable Labour Party bashing. But what would the Fuel Poverty Bill do, if made law:

- Require a national energy efficiency programme ensuring that homes of people in fuel poverty are properly insulated;

- Protect households from failing back into fuel poverty as a result of possible future fuel price rises;

- Create tens of thousands of “green” jobs and provide a major boost to the economy;

- Reduce household fuel bills by up to 70%;

- Cut emissions of carbon dioxide from homes to reduce climate change;

- Cut costs to the health service due to the reduction in cold and damp related illnesses.

It is essential and I support it, but we also need to punish the greed and regulate prices to stop the daylight robbery by the privatised electricity companies – nearly all of which are foreign owned. So my Fuel Poverty Bill would contain:

- Windfall Tax on the energy companies to fund the insulation objectives of the bill;

- Price regulation telling the companies what they could charge – there would be no more double digit rises;

- Abolition of pre-payment meters, so everyone pays the same no matter what way they pay their bills;

- Insulation and renewal energy.

Finally, I was appalled by the blatant party political games that Darren Johnson and Chris Maines engaged in. They did not do themselves any favours as this issue is more important than party politics. It was quite refreshing that Gemma Townsend presented a different case.

When someone dies because they cannot heat their home in the Winter, it becomes a national disgrace. In 2009, this should not be happening and this bill goes partly along the way to achieve the ultimate goal of abolishing fuel poverty for good. We cannot wait and allow more people to suffer the unacceptable position of choosing to eat or heat their homes. Lets all work together regardless of party political membership.

Expenses, excuses and greed...

2009-05-14T21:10:00.004+01:00

Expenses, excuses and greed. Having watched and listened to the media reports of the MPs expenses scandal for a few days now, I'm now resigned to condemning those MPs who have claimed anything and everything that as a taxpayer I find unacceptable. A few months ago, the Observer ran a story about an 85 year old lady called Winifred Nunn, who had used her life savings to start to pay for her husband's funeral. To help pay the rest, she had put in a request for funds from the DSS Social Fund funeral grant scheme and had been waiting and waiting. Days turned into weeks and weeks are now becoming months, but she has not received a penny. Meanwhile MPs and government ministers where claiming for anything and everything using the excuse of "it is in the rules".

A few weeks ago, Evelyn McCarroll, 58 of Gravesend was fighting for her life and with her local PCT, West Kent Primary Care Trust to overturn a ruling that they would not pay for £1700 per month cancer drug which her doctor stated would prolong her life. As a result her family had to fund the crippling cost of £1700 a month drug Tarceva.

Tonight I sat and watched as Chris Huhne MP justified claiming for a trouser press. To be fair to him, he needs it for his job to look smart, after-all we all claim from our company expenses or the DSS for a trouser press to look smart at work and in the interview room, don't we?

It is truly a scandal on an unprecedented scale. Sixty-four years after Victory in Europe was declared, politicians should be fighting not for every penny they can squeeze out of the taxpayer, but against the fascists who will inevitably gain votes from the main parties who have failed us all so badly.

Am I angry, absolutely. Every week people get diagnosed with cancer and have to face life changing pressures along with bleak financial futures. Everyday people wake-up not on a John Lewis mattress covered in £500 bedding, but on the cold and often wet pavement, as they have no home, let alone a second or third home. And everyday someone, somewhere has to choose between eating or paying their utility bills, unable to claim a £400 per month food allowance or second home utility bills.

This scandal has gone too far to be simply fixed with gestures, far too late in the day. The public want blood; I want remorse and a system where MPs found fiddling or flipping, claiming excessively or engaged in fraud are subject to the same penalties the poor and rich alike in society face.

If there is a shred of decency and integrity left in Parliament, then resignations should follow. Otherwise, deselections must be used to set an example that MPs and members of the House of Lords are not above the law or worth more than the people who vote for them.

Finally, as Luton has demonstrated, there are MPs who are not feeding from the trough or catching the gravy train. The media should also alert the public to the names of these parliamentarians, so as voters we can make informed judgements when we cast our vote in the ballot box.

Haunted by debt and poverty even in grief...

2009-03-30T23:00:00.003+01:00

While surfing through the internet tonight, I came across an article by James Elliott from the Observer. The article talks about the rising cost of funerals and how many funeral directors are raising prices by 11% and demanding payment upfront.

Eighty-five-year-old Winifred Nunn, who lives in Mile End, east London, had to delay her husband's cremation for a month after his death in January because she could not afford to pay for his funeral. "The undertaker wanted a payment in advance, but I didn't have enough," she says. "The hospital was telling me to hurry up because I couldn't leave my husband in their mortuary. I couldn't believe this was happening and felt like I was going mad."

Eventually, after a resident warden from the estate where she lives intervened, the funeral director agreed to accept her life savings of £600 as a downpayment on the £2,400 funeral. Most funeral directors now ask for a deposit of up to £1,000 to cover crematorium charges, doctors' certificates and other third-party fees before a funeral can take place.

Nunn is waiting for the outcome of an application to the government's Social Fund funeral grant scheme for help in paying back the outstanding £1,800, but the most she can expect will be around £1,160. "I don't how I'm going to pay the rest. I try not to think about it," she says.

What kind of society do we now live in? I am sickened and very sad.

Paul Kenny - General Secretary of the GMB

2009-03-09T21:54:00.005Z

I attended my local Holborn GMB branch meeting this evening and the guest speaker was the General Secretary of the union, Paul Kenny. This was the first time I have met him, and to be honest he was an inspiration. I see a few powerful and influential people in my line of work and my political activities, and apart from Ken Livingston, Paul has impressed me a great deal. In a age when we are living with empty Labour MPs who are prepared to part-privatise the Royal Mail, Paul spoke with passion, commitment, inspiration and really seemed a genuine and charismatic figure. He neither pretended to be something he is not nor engaged in rhetoric; he gave an excellent speech followed by answering our questions.

In all my years in GMB, I am happy to be led by Paul as the General Secretary and he will receive my vote when it comes to 2011.

Simply tearful...

2008-11-15T00:44:00.003Z

It is 12:45am, nearly time for bed. Foolishly I am surfing the net before sleeping and I am sat here in tears, as I have found a story on the BBC News website that is so very sad. It is about three Cambridgeshire teenagers left orphaned when their mother died, who are selling their possessions, including three pets, to pay a funeral bill.

Jayne McCourt, 51, from Whittlesey, died in her sleep while suffering from a chest infection on 1 November.

Her children, Troy, 17, Rory, 15 and Alice, 14, are being looked after by their aunts in Riddings, Derbyshire.

Their father Brian died two years ago, and the children were unable to pay the £2,500 funeral costs.

The McCourt children have so far raised about £300 from the sale of their family pets, three spaniels.

They were told they had to pay the funeral costs upfront by the disgusting "Co-op Funeral Service" and are now forced to sell their memories and possessions to lay to rest their mother. Fortunately someone has stepped in and offered to pay the bill, but how terrible a plight these teenagers are facing. I cannot understand how fate has been so cruel to them. The youngest Alice said, "The stuff wasn't really important, mum was more important."

There are some kind people in the world, like the anonymous person who paid for the funeral. People like this person give the rest of us hope. I hope Troy, Rory and Alice find the peace in their hearts to recover and the strength to know that their parents are with them for all the days of their life. I can't write anymore...

Grumpiness, post offices and the decline of common sense...

2008-11-13T13:30:00.004Z

I am feeling a little concerned that I am turning into a grumpy old man at the age of 37, as I have developed this habit of snarling at newspaper articles and the state of British politics. In a week, when we have had the notion of British identity questioned again, the greed of Barclays exposed and now the future of 3,000 post offices supposedly saved by the very clever government, I cannot help but snarl at the complete shambles it all appears to be.

Heather Wakefield, Head of Local Government for UNISON wrote this week about the fragmentation of the left, suggesting that we will have to wait and see if New Labour has learnt from the failure of market capital. She even dared to suggest that what is emerging is 'socialism for the bosses' and not for society as a whole. I am inclined to agree with her, for the Post Office contract is bordering on the absolute ridiculous. It is beguiling to me:-

1. why is there a contract at all? The Post Office is a public body and the contract is about distributing government benefits to 4.3 million claimants;

2. why would you hand over this public contract to the private sector, as the current contract makes the Post Office £200m profit per year? Furthermore the government closed 2,500 post offices in order to reduce the £4m-a-week subsidy to the Post Office;

3. why would you hand over this contract when it could lead to 3,000 more post office closures?*

4. why would you waste our tax payers money on such a silly contract and then leave all parties non-the-wiser since May 2007?

I am reminded of the quote from the film 'V for Vendetta', "People should not be afraid of their government, the government should be afraid of their people". The French goverment knows this very clearly, yet the British government seems less inclined to give way to the British people. Though I somewhat doubt that a British government will ever be afraid of its people, maybe the government may start to listen more. Though I am snarling at the way this contract exists at all in the open market place, I am a little happier that a petition signed by two million people and with 265 MPs from all parties having signed a parliamentary motion calling for the contract to stay with the Post Office; that ministers and special advisors wined and dined by the PayPoint lobby group (main private sector bidder), have seen sense this time.

Out of all of this snarling I hope the Labour Party itself starts to select and push forward candidates not on the basis of their skin colour; whether they have a face for TV or radio; gender or time spent in a think tank; but on what they believe, the life experiences they have had and dare I say it: the content of their character.

Am I grumpy? I think I can claim that title for now. However, as noted by Heather Wakefield: "The obsession with markets and failure to understand the importance of public services for collective wellbeing and a sense of 'belonging', has led to costly, alienating and ineffective mass privatisation."

*Source: unions.

An old friend...

2008-11-08T14:38:00.002Z

I was out in central London last night and I happened to come across an old friend. This old friend was a major part of my life for quite some time, particularly from 1990 to 1992. He has not changed, nor would I have expected him to, for he is intellectually a genius and one of those unique human beings that the rest of us try to emulate for our entire lives and fail. So why am I writing this on my blog, a blog usually full of political commentary? Well there is a connection for Andrew is a political strategist, probably one of the best in the world, but unfortunately a libertarian by belief. However, he has always been to the point, a quality that I admire, and last night was no different even after drinking an armies worth of drink. For he explained why I have failed to get selected in a winnable seat and he is completely right, in that I am not “cuddly”. Don’t get me wrong, I am chubby and that to me is the epitome of cuddly; no for him ‘cuddly’ means having electoral appeal...the kind of appeal that when the candidates face lands on the doormat that the response is “Wouldn’t he make a lovely MP, so cuddly,” instead of mine which would lead to the response “He looks like he’d eat your children.” I scare the middle classes, I do not provide them comfort because I challenge and provoke people to think of what is wrong with society and not what is “cuddly”.

I have always known it would be hard for me to get a parliamentary or even council seat, as I am not photogenic nor am I inclined to lie or deceive. What Andrew explained to me in a Marble Arch bar was that I had to change to realise my potential and that the potential alone is not enough. Being “in-vogue” or trendy is as much a part of the chances and opportunities that exist, as is passion and commitment. The election of Obama has put people from the Afro-Caribbean community “in-vogue” in politics, allowing the middle classes to feel all warm inside and forget that for generations people of colour have been made to feel “second class” citizens, just like the more rotund person is made to feel inferior now.

Politics is in a constant flux, change occurs and leaves people behind, but sometimes it catches other people up too. Maybe my time is yet to come, and I shall keep on trying. Parliament should be full of people who care about society, who want to empower ordinary citizens to take control of their lives knowing that the state is on their side and not against them.

It was good to see you yesterday Andrew. As always you represent a meaningful part of my life, that can never be erased.

New Labour Ticket Machines

2008-11-03T12:01:00.001Z

Whenever I speak to a typical New Labour MP or government minister, it is like talking to a ticket machine at a train station. For you can get the basic information by selecting the right buttons, but you cannot get the cheapest price – no matter what question you ask it. They are programmed to defy logic and simply regurgitate what they are told by the puppet masters. This infuriates the public and even though you cannot make everyone agree with you, at least having an opinion and a plan to enact it can bring respect and ultimately ‘buy-in’ to the agenda you’re trying to implement. For the Labour Party has always been and remains committed to equality and the creation of opportunity, a fairer more equal UK and world. Labour needs to be honest and say that the market should not be in certain areas of society: health. government, housing and utilities along with transport being the key ones in my view. If the ‘New Labour’ brigade continually pushes the market as the provider of services and the public sector the commissioner of them, then we will miss an opportunity that most people in this country would accept, namely a rebalancing between the interests of profit at the expense of humanity.

Barclays Corporate Greed

2008-10-31T10:08:00.006Z

The headlines this morning talk about how Barclays Bank has got Middle Eastern money to re-capitalise itself. Well, I am sure there is a smug glee on the faces of the 'elite' in Barclays that they have avoided government cash and stopped one of the most horrible things happening to the corporate bosses of the bank: namely no bonuses. For a dose of government (our money) to bail them out of the mistakes they have made, would probably lead to the government taking part ownership of the bank and an end to the corporate greed and the disgusting bonus schemes that to an outsider seem to reward failure.

So congratulations ye old Scrooges, for Christmas is approaching and you have secured your own trough of money while the rest of us struggle out in the cold. Barclays was once an institution founded by Quakers and run on moral principles; for now it is run for the greed of the top management who are selling a British bank into foreign ownership simply to make sure their bonuses flow into bottomless pockets.

Regulate the Energy Industry to Stop High Prices & Windfall Tax to Help Struggling Households

2008-10-23T14:44:00.007+01:00

“I now have to decide whether to heat our flat or put food on the table,” Annie, mother of one

CORPORATE GREED OR PEOPLE’S NEEDS
IT IS TIME FOR THE LABOUR PARTY & GOVERNMENT TO CHOOSE

The facts…

· Many energy bills ‘unjustified’. Gas and electricity customers are paying 33% more than they should. Why? Regulation is poor and wholesale markets are the cause. Did I say this? No—Allan Asher did, former head of Energywatch for five years.

· The main UK energy providers have seen their profits jump from £557 million in 2003 to over £3 billion currently, an increase of 538%। (Source—Unite).

· Dividend payments to shareholders have increased by £257 million in a year। (Source—Unite)।

· In 2008, the privatised energy companies set a new record for price rises with the average bill jumping up by 38%. (Source—BBC).

· Government plans to make UK homes fuel efficient are laudable but not sufficient. (Source—Unite).

· By government estimates, 2.5 million families already live in fuel poverty. The National Housing Federation claims the figure is closer to 5.7 million. Every 10% increase in energy prices means a further 400,000 people are forced into fuel poverty. (Source—National Housing Federation).

· It is nonsense to claim that a windfall tax will divert money away from energy investment—energy companies will invest in new building because it makes business sense to do so. (Source—Common Sense).

EUROPE IS BETTER PROTECTED

In August this year, the French government ordered a 2% cap on electricity price increases. I did not see EDF energy stamping its feet and stopping investment. The French law restricts
energy price rises to the rate of inflation.

What did EDF do in the UK—another price hike: 17% electricity and 22% gas! Who is paying for the French regulatory market—UK EDF customers.

In Italy, even Berlusconi’s centre right government took steps to counteract the greed of the energy sector by increasing corporation tax for energy companies from 27.5% to 33%.

ARE YOU LABOUR ENOUGH TO DEMAND A ‘WINDFALL TAX NOW’ AND CHALLENGE OUR MP?

What can I do?

Call for a constituency wide debate by asking your branch to submit a motion to the GC calling on your MP to support a windfall tax.

But what are we asking our MP to do?

To call upon the government to implement a windfall tax on the energy companies to provide immediate financial assistance to those of us facing fuel poverty this winter.

To immediately legislate for regulation of the energy sector to make sure that these massive price rises cannot happen again, meaning that price rises are limited to inflation similar to France.

To immediately abolish the rate difference between those that pay by direct debit and pre-payment meters.

To make sure that people in 21st Century Britain do not have to choose between heating their homes or feeding their children.

Is that really so much to ask for?

Which headlines do you want to read?

More repossessions as people struggle with bills...More deaths this winter...Energy greed leads to 300,000 jobs losses...

Labour takes on energy fat cats...Government reduces number in fuel poverty...Government calls time on unregulated energy market, bills down by 35%...

CORPORATE PAY WALL OF SHAME

eON > Paul Golby £1.4 m
——————————————-
BG / Centrica > Sam Laidlaw £1.9m
——————————————-
Scottish & Southern > Ian Marchant £1.2m
——————————————
RWE Power > Andrew Duff £673,704 > Bonus is a secret
——————————————
EDF > Vincent de Rivaz > £600,000 > Bonus is a secret

The modern day Marie Antoinette, Jake Ulrich, Managing Director of Centrica recently replied to a question asking how the elderly and vulnerable should keep warm this winter। He said, “They should wear a second jumper।”

Why are we working so hard and paying so much? If, like me, you feel this is wrong, contact your MP and tell them; raise it with every Labour politician and representative you meet and call on the CLP to demand an immediate windfall tax and regulation of the energy industry so that greed and mismanagement are not rewarded with the sweat of our labours.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

2008-10-22T15:13:00.003+01:00

I was at the Houses of Parliament yesterday to stand outside in the cold and protest. The report stages of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill takes place today and we were there last night to support those pro-choice MPs whom have tabled amendements to improve the law to end obscturction and delay and extend abortion rights to Northern Ireland.

While we were waving the banners, a single pro-life demonstrator was holding aloft a cheap plastic crucifix with flashing coloured lights in her left hand, while holding onto the OAP wheeled shopping cart with her right hand. At first, I thought she was selling them for Christmas, but I was wrong for she had dressed in her Jesus wear to challenge the right of women and demonstrators to take control of their own bodies in al parts of the UK.

Not the church, not the state; women have a right to decide their fate.

Policy must change...

2008-07-25T14:34:00.004+01:00

I occasionally publish articles written by people working in journalism or think-thanks. Here is one wriiten by Gavin Hayes, from Compass - I agree with every word:

COMPASS BYELECTION STATEMENT: They say they're listening but nothing seems to change. The Glasgow East byelection result is another nail in the coffin of New Labour. Across the country, the electorate are crying out for change, they want a government that can help improve their lives. But a politics that is rooted in the 1990s has simply run out of answers. In response, the government once again claim they are listening, but things still seem unlikely to change; despite political wipe-out now staring Labour in the face. Neal Lawson, Chair of Compass, said: "They say they are listening but nothing changes. If Labour politicians refuse to protect people from the economic forces that are harming their lives it's no wonder people are turning to other political parties."

This awful defeat vindicates what Compass has been saying for three years, that the coalition that brought Labour to power in 1997 has been shattered. Between 1997 and 2005, the party lost 4 million voters and this time we saw a further pulling-away of the working-class vote that New Labour has always ill-advisedly taken for granted. Meanwhile, people across all classes and social groups are turning away from the party. Particularly in England the Tories are on the march; partly thanks to the sense that they are engaging with concerns that lie at the centre of people's lives. Needless to say, Gordon Brown's stiff, remote style of leadership doesn't help. But there is a more fundamental political problem that is destroying the Labour Party. Even at a time when the credit crunch and rising prices mean that the post-Thatcher settlement is being questioned as never before, a supposedly progressive government refuses to address the way that the unrestrained free-market is damaging people's lives in no end of areas: from housing and rising fuel bills, to crippling consumer debt and insecurity at work, and on to the dysfunctional inequality that defines so many of the UK's current problems. Others may be distracted by New Labour kremlinology, and the question of whether one of Brown's cabinet colleagues might somehow be persuaded to replace him. For us, there is no point in talking about such changes if the conversation isn't fundamentally about a change of direction that will revive people's confidence that the government is in touch with modern concerns, and in control of the forces that shape them. There is little money left to spend and less than two years before the likely date of the next election, but that still leaves room for measures that would signal a change of direction and show that Labour understands the challenges of the 21st century. We would argue in favour of:-

A windfall tax on energy and oil companies to help those struggling with escalating fuel bills.

- A fairer tax system with a new top rate and a cut in taxes for the low paid with all new revenues ear marked to boost benefit levels for the poor. Some have suggested that those earning under £10,000 per year should pay no tax. This is clean, simple and very appealing.

- A new drive to build council houses. By 2010, 5 million people will need social housing, but this year, a start will be made on only 100,000 new homes. With private construction apparently in freefall, the state has to step in.

- A high-profile drive to improve people's working lives via government setting new standards. As a minimum, we need a new fair employment clause in all public contracts, to make sure that the public sector points the way out of the low pay culture that ensures contrary to recent headlines about welfare reform that work is still no guarantee of an exit from poverty. The government should take the lead of London and roll out a living wage nationwide in all public procurement contracts which even Boris Johnson has raised in London in his first months in office.

- A moratorium on Post Office closures, and new protection for the universal service obligation of the Post Office.

- Abolishing the youth exemptions in the minimum wage.- Help close the gender pay gap with statutory pay audits for equality.

- Access to all local authority sports facilities free for children under 16 to confront the issues of obesity and anti-social behaviour head on.

- Across all these policy areas, if money is needed to deal with rising insecurity and anxiety then we should rethink the renewal of Trident and scrap the ID cards scheme. Government insiders claim that the latter is effectively being left to wither away, but where is the political advantage in that? On this, as with so many policies, a clear change has to be demonstrated. Over the summer and beyond, Labour has to begin a conversation about all of this and take clear action, or face long years in the political wilderness. Compass intends to act as a catalyst for that process and play an active role in it. Compass is leading the debate on Labour and the left's future, join in the discussion on our website. What are your views on the byelection result? What should Labour do next? What policies should the government bring forward? Make comment and debate with others at http://www.compassonline.org.uk/

Not yet a member of Compass? Join online today from just £12.50 per year at http://t.ymlp32.com/ehjagaumuaiauwbapauuqss/click.php Gavin HayesGeneral SecretaryCompass - direction for the democratic left Southbank HouseBlack Prince Road LondonSE1 7SJT: +44 (0) 207 463 0633M: +44 (0) 7900 195591gavin@compassonline.org.uk http://t.ymlp32.com/ehmagaumuavauwbazauuqss/click.php

Shall we start collecting wood for the fire?

2008-07-25T12:01:00.002+01:00

EDF Energy has announced it is putting up gas prices by 22% and electricity prices by 17% for domestic customers. Enough is enough. The government MUST start to tackle the energy companies who are raising energy prices ridiculously high. I see no change in their profits, which seem to be increasing but the poor and working people are being hit and hit again by greedy companies who are not being regulated properly by our Labour government.

The government should apply a windfall tax on those energy companies that increase prices without taking a substantial hit on their profits. We are being used as a cash cow; this has to end now.

SATS Results - Shambles

2008-07-22T12:54:00.005+01:00

Just a short reminder to those people in the Labour Party who think bringing in the private sector to the public sector is an amazing success, to cast their eye over the shambles of delayed SATS results.

Or maybe we just need Virgin to take over?

Support the council workers...

2008-07-16T12:12:00.002+01:00

I support the council workers and all those forgotten people that deliver day in and day out for all of us. It is not their fault inflation is at 3.8%. A pay rise is just that a rise; if the offer is below the rate of inflation, then it amounts to a pay cut. Let us not forget that all they are asking for is 50p extra an hour. Those people, who sing the praises of the private sector, should look at the pay packets and bonuses of the energy companies who are ripping us off with their 40% price rises before attacking the meagre pay of a dinner lady or refuge collector.

Women should be bishops

2008-07-08T20:33:00.004+01:00

I cannot quite believe the statements from the Catholic Church over the Church of England debating the appointment of women as bishops. Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, said: "For the future, this decision will have consequences for dialogue, which until now had borne much fruit. Such a decision is a break with apostolic tradition maintained in all of the Churches in the first millennium, and is therefore a further obstacle for reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Church of England."

I personally do not want this so called reconciliation, as I hold true to the Protestant tradition in Christianity. I do not believe that a church should be led and managed by men, nor do I believe that the RC Church has any authority to discuss what is right and wrong, when it is rife with prejudice and intolerance. I am sorry but the idea that contraception is wrong; that women are not fit to be bishops or that gay people are born of Satan is ridiculous. So Mr Cardinal Walter Kasper you can take your bigotry and stick it in a dark place.

Grace

2008-03-27T08:42:00.004Z

My ex-boyfriend’s sister died the weekend before Easter and with my recent health problems both have culminated to have an effect on how I feel, think and put into perspective my actions over the last five years. Every time I think about Grace, even though I did not know her well, I am saddened by her untimely departure. In fact during the 2005 General Election Campaign, she had helped me with some photographs despite her bewilderment as to whom I was and what I believed in. She was kind, loving and passionate about the things in life that made her happy, despite a childhood full of entanglements and challenges. She leaves behind a daughter – Megan. She is only a small child and to me life is so unfair that it takes her mother away from her at such a young age. I know of God and I feel the connection with Christ, but my understanding of these actions give rise to anger and sadness. Am I upset for Richard, Grace, Megan or myself as I learn another lesson that getting older brings with it greater sadness? Well all of the above, but I feel empathy and sadness for Richard as he has lost his sister, Megan her mother, her mother a daughter and her community a light of joy and goodness.

Some have said that death focuses the mind on living your life in pursuit of achievement or gives you a reason for being, though I do not subscribe to this view. Life is cruel and no matter what it is that brings tears flowing from our eyes, it is often painful and unpleasant. For justifiable reasons we are told that sadness makes us stronger and that we have no right to expect that we are special, nor even of value. But I disagree for Grace was special to all those that loved her and it is utterly unfair that she now has no physical life to show Megan that her heart belonged to her. Grace – I am sorry that you are no longer smiling and touching other people’s lives, but I know that your heart will reach out from wherever your soul now resides; for love and sweetness that strong can never die.

The Archbishop of Canterbury's Sharia Law comments are NONSENSE

2008-02-07T20:49:00.001Z

I would rather pull out both my eyes with a toothpic than submit to any part of Sharia Law. When is this country going to wake-up and stop pampering to religious nonsense?

Beat the train fare rises...from MoneySavingExpert

2007-12-12T14:37:00.001Z

There are a host of legal train fare ticket tricks that can enable you to railroad (sorry) down the price. For example, after ten minutes checking hidden options, I cut a London to Penzance ticket from the £234 the train company lists as cheapest, to less than £40.

Simple train tips
Beat the System: Hardcore tricks
Saver singles beat returns
The Big One: Split the tickets!
Only pay peak for the peak portion
Travelling short is cheaper, but banned
Other articles/discuss

Simple train ticket cost cutting tips

Before we get to all the hardcore tips to really slash the price, there are a few simple things to consider to cut costs:

Buy early, specifically 12 weeks early
Everyone knows book early and you can get cheaper fares, yet often these disappear quicker than empty seats on a commuter trip. Therefore to ensure a bargain, the key moment is buying 12 weeks in advance. This is because, contractually Network Rail must have the timetable set 12 weeks in advance; therefore this is commonly – though not definitely – when tickets are released.

You can book early quite late

Early booking is still cheaper even when it's not so early. Advance tickets can be available as late as 6pm the night before, so it's worth checking.

Get free first class in the dining car

Some longer journeys still have first class dining cars as well as the standard buffet. These are often open to all diners, whatever class their ticket is. So go in and order a meal; while it's a bit more expensive, you can effectively travel in first class luxury for a second class price and some grub.

It's worth knowing, they do have the right to kick you back to where you belong (ie second class!) once you've finished eating, but it rarely happens.

If you spend over £60 a year, get a railcard

Railcards typically cost £20 and cut a third off the bill. Therefore if you spend over £60 a year (even if it's just one trip) on applicable journeys, get one. Though, the cost of cards is due to rise to £24 on 2 Jan 2008, so it's worth buying now if you're going to need it. They're available at stations or the Railcard website. There are three main cards:

The Young Person's card is for under 25s or full-time students of any age. One trick with this is ensure you renew just before your 26th birthday to get another year (the same applies for those older and leaving Uni). The Family Railcard can be used by an adult with at least one under 15 in tow, and the Senior Railcard for the over 60s, though that isn't valid on some peak services.
For those that qualify there's also the Disability Railcard costing £18.

Don't assume every journey is eligible for use with a railcard though, always check it out first. Bizarrely if your railcard isn't valid, don't try and use it as there are some reports they actually add to the price.

Check out local rail cards, season tickets and Rover & Ranger tickets
Local rail cards, season tickets and Rover and Ranger tickets, such as the Network Railcard in the South East, are also available offering holders unlimited travel within specific areas for specific periods of time. There's a full list of these on the National Rail website.

Travel the same route frequently? A season ticket may save you money

The National Rail website has a nifty little tool to help you work out the cost of a season ticket. Just go to its season ticket calculator, enter your route and the length of season ticket you want and it'll tell you how much it'll cost. If there's more than one route available it'll show all i.e., look for a season ticket from Bristol to London and it gives two choices, one without restrictions costing £8,276 the other limiting you to trains travelling through Warminster and Salisbury costing £5,708.

Check for hidden promotional specials

The National Rail website has a special promotions index page listing all the special discounted offers. Also do note that on certain Virgin and South West Trains routes, including Manchester to Edinburgh and London to Southampton, it's possible to get Megatrain fares for £1 if you book early enough.

Sheffield Central

2007-12-09T15:17:00.001Z

A rainy Saturday in December and the Sheffield Central "meet the members" morning took place at the Sheffield Trade & Labour Club. I spoke to a number of people and got a feeling for the other candidates standing for nomination. I felt at home, my identity restored to the city of so many memories and experiences. The local members were very amenable to being "harrassed" by one candidate after another. However, just like in 2004, a lady approached me to ask three questions. This time the questions were:

1. What do I think of ID cards?
2. What is my position on detention for 42 days?
3. What is my view on the replacement of Trident?

Anyhow, after the event, I went to Meadowhall and almost fell of my seat when I discovered it was £2 for a single journey from the city centre to Meadowhall on Supertram. I should have guessed though - it is run by Stagecoach. Sheffield used to have such a brilliant public transport system, cheap reliable and frequent. I remember the 2p bus journeys on the coloured square tickets.

Just enough time to then visit my Mum's grave in City Road Cemetery and it was back on the train. Though the cemetery is never a happy place to visit, the journey home brought a smile to my face: the train provided by East Midlands Trains - a replacement for Midland Mainline, was straight out the 1980s. It was so old that it took "years off me!".

Returning to London, I found out that Nikki had been voted out of X-Factor. Life is so unpredictable, eventhough you may think things last forever, inevitably they have a habit of falling down before your eyes.

Michael Moore's New Film - SICKO is an eye opener to the dangers of privatised health care...

2007-11-13T13:50:00.001Z

Have a read of the article by By Peter Bradshaw / The Guardian

Last week in this paper, Seumas Milne reported on the boa-constrictor-sized parasites of US private health insurance seeking to get their fangs into the British NHS. This magnificent new film from Michael Moore is a timely reminder of the grotesque mess that Americans have made for themselves with healthcare, and how insidiously easy it would be for the same thing to happen to us, little by little. Sicko is a full-throttle polemic, teeming with tremendous flourishes of showbiz sentimentality, gloriously outrageous stunts and exquisitely judged provocations. He shows how the American public - especially its hardworking middle classes - have been taken for mugs by the corporate fatcats of health insurance, particularly the inventors of an intensively marketed form of lower-priced insurance called the health maintenance organization, or HMO.

Their sleek executives have gorged on the premium cash income from provident people obediently putting something by every month in case of sickness. They then find excuses not to pay out on claims, chiefly by citing instances of allegedly undeclared medical conditions that invalidate the policy, or, incredibly, instances of the patient allegedly neglecting to detect prior warning signs of these conditions themselves. It's a vast corporate-legal industry dedicated to avoiding claims and maximising profits, and it depends on lobbyists buying off senators and persuading the media and political classes that free universal healthcare is a silly, outdated piece of nonsense.

By and large, Moore isn't talking about what the Victorians robustly called the undeserving poor. He begins with a gut- and heart-wrenching story about a thrifty, professional middle-aged couple who endured calamity in their late 50s: the husband had a number of heart attacks and the wife got cancer. It could happen to anyone. But their insurers refused to pay out and the couple had to sell their home; Moore shows them having to move into a crowded spare room of their daughter's house, and this daughter has money worries of her own. It is an almost unwatchable scene of neo-Dickensian pathos and humiliation.

Moore has many such stories to tell, about a swathe of Americans pauperised by the health racket that devotes its formidable energy and ingenuity to refusing their claims. And who are the politicians who have allowed these crooks to prosper so mightily? Moore has President Richard Nixon on the White House tapes first giving the nod to the creepily named pioneer outfit, Kaiser Permanente. But he saves his fiercest scorn for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was tasked by Bill in his first term to do something about it, but failed and has now rolled over for the health-insurance mobsters with just as much puppyish enthusiasm as the rest.
By way of contrast, Moore visits those countries with free healthcare: Canada, France and Britain. And this last visit is the one to make us sit up. With much elaborate comedy and saucer-eyed cod-acting, Moore visits the NHS hospital of Hammersmith in London, and deploying many a gasp and double-take, refuses to believe that the sick folks aren't charged hundreds and thousands of dollars. He doesn't mention the waiting lists, the filth, the degrading mixed wards and the MRSA that are a staple of all media coverage of the National Health Service. So perhaps he's got a starry-eyed view of our healthcare. But isn't it obtuse to focus so excitably on what goes wrong with our health service, when so much more routinely goes right and when, incidentally, there are those with a vested interest in promoting these scare stories as an excuse for privatising it? Isn't it, for all its faults, exactly the miracle that Michael Moore portrays it?
Moore pulls off his funniest and most splendidly irresponsible coup back in the US. In response to claims that prisoners at Guantánamo are being mistreated, the Bush administration trumpeted the fact that they get the best attention from the best doctors. Like a skilled judo warrior, Moore uses his opponent's weight against him. He points out that Guantánamo is now an island of free universal health care on US soil, and charters a boat from Miami, filled with sick people duped by their insurers. Shouting at bemused soldiers through a megaphone, he pleads for them to be allowed to land and partake of this bounteous health utopia: "We don't want any more than what you are giving the evildoers!"

Perhaps the most gripping moment comes when Moore shows Tony Benn unrepentantly reading aloud from the famous 1948 pamphlet that crisply outlined what the new National Health Service was going to provide. But here is my only quarrel with the film. One of the things that pamphlet promises is free dentistry; Benn doesn't notice the irony and also claims that no politician would dare damage the NHS because the people would rise up. But the politicians are already permitting the salami-slicing of the free healthcare principle and no one is rising up. The plain fact is: poor old Britain is still basically free from the privatised healthcare scam. The price of that freedom is eternal vigilance. Mr Moore's excellent new film is a wakeup call.

Now I'm an Official GMB Union Parliamentary Panel Member

2007-07-20T14:12:00.003+01:00

I was yesterday confirmed as a GMB union sponsored parliamentary panel member, after an interview with Debbie Coulter, the Deputy General Secretary of the GMB and Malcolm Sage, the Vice-President of the Central Executive Council.

It was an interesting interview and both Debbie and Malcolm are very committed to the kind of politics that enriches peoples lives. I look forward to working with them in the future.

Private Equity Firms – Brown Stop the Theft!

2007-07-03T09:27:00.001+01:00

Sitting on the bus in London, I occasionally see posters attacking those benefit cheats who earn a little money on the side, but still claim benefits. The public pour scorn on these people who are often on the fringes of society. Though they are often quite poor, we should stop this supposed massive abuse of the system immediately because it is a national scandal. While I do not disagree that there is an element of this activity, but we should concentrate less at this end of the economic spectrum until we have stopped some more disgusting and abhorrent activities of the richest in society.

The private equity owned businesses like the AA/Saga incurred no liability for corporation tax last year, reports the BBC. In fact, in two-and-a-half years of ownership, they paid zero corporation tax, while making huge profits.

“In the same period, the private equity owners of these businesses - Permira, CVC and Charterhouse - generated gains for themselves of £2.5bn. This is about three-and-a-half times the value of their initial investment.”

John McFall MP of the Treasury Select Committee is investigating whether the private equity companies are using debt as equity. This is a real abuse of the system and these people should be plastered all over the halls of Westminster and on London Transport, and not the benefit cheats.

This is how the private equity owners reduce the amount of tax they pay… they inject huge debts into their companies, and the interest paid on these borrowings wipes out all taxable profit - thereby minimising liability to tax.

The AA's accounts show that it ended both 2005 and 2006 with the taxman actually owing it money - £67.9m and £11.9m. However in 2006, the AA made an operating profit of £252m, which was 29% higher than in the previous year.

Private equity partners tend to argue that all they do is transfer the liability for tax to those institutions that lend money to their companies. But in a globalised financial world, many of these providers of debt are domiciled outside the UK, and do not pay tax here (if they pay tax at all). Again, many of the owners of the AA and Saga - whether the investors in the private equity firms' funds or the partners in those firms - pay tax outside the UK. And among those that pay British tax, some will pay the reduced capital gains tax rate of 10%, which is far lower than the corporation tax rate of 30%.

These are the real cheats and a national scandal that needs to be put right.

(Most of the information is obtained from the BBC News website).

Quote of the month...

2007-06-21T21:56:00.001+01:00

From the Big Issue, No. 749, re: Food For Thought - The world's largest ethical food store opened in Kensington, London on June 6th...

"Business will never be accepted by society as long as it says it has no responsibility except for maximising profits." John Mackey of Wholefoods.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/UK/kensington/index.html

Charlie Chaplin wrote...

2007-06-21T21:41:00.001+01:00

“The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls - has barricaded the world with hate - had goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.”

How right you are now as then Mr Chaplin!

Falklands - 25 Years On

2007-06-15T22:16:00.001+01:00

25 years after the end of the conflict and the Queen on Thursday laid the 255th stone at the Falklands Memorial Chapel. Each stone has been brought to the UK from the Falklands - one for every member of the UK forces who died.

Many in the Labour Party campaigned against this war, and though I am by nature a pacifist, this war represented something that as a child of 10 I thought was important and still do now, an adult of 35. That is simply that the wishes of the people, the desire for freedom and to live under the rule of their will is paramount. If a bully takes away that freedom by invading and threatening the population, then we have the moral duty to defend and reclaim that will of the people. The Falklands today are prospering not just because they are an island that remembers its heritage and national identity, but also because of the sacrifices of the 255 British service personnel who lost their lives.

Britain in 2007 is a very different place to 1982...we have lost so much of our pride in our nation and no-longer feel for the sacrifices of our armed forces. We must reclaim this and regain who we are as a nation; how else can we honour all those amongst us that stood up for ideals of justice and democracy, not just in 1982 but 1914 and 1939 as well.

I for one want to say simply: thank you to all the 255 people who gave their lives for ideals and freedoms we take for granted and to those wounded in the conflict. I am truly sorry that you faced the horrors you did...your sacrifice is not forgotten.

I also pray for the Argentinian forces who lost their lives, the families of both nations who grieve what is no longer with them in 2007. Taking of life is a tortuous pursuit, one that needs to be morally acceptable. While I believe the Falklands War was a morally justified war, Britain, is agonising about a conflict that is not...a war in Iraq that is removing the foundations of our morality and taking away the soul of our nation.

To our politicians, remember our fallen heroes and do not forget the ones who need a helping hand, from the horrors of war to the coldness of the streets. Let not one of our heroes down...for you should be carrying them on your shoulders.

Madness of Camden

2007-06-15T21:30:00.001+01:00

Walking along Mabledon Place yesterday, I caught sight of something that smacks so much of money grabbing, that I was astounded. A traffic officer, or whatever they are called these days, put a ticket on a brewery lorry while the draymen were working. As a curious person I decided to ask the guy why he had done something so ridiculous when he sid, "They are allowed 20 minutes and the lorry was still there after 26 minutes!" Maybe that is because they were still unloading right outside the pub.

I think Camden Council is a little money grabbing...I blame the Lib Dems...

My Choice for the Deputy Leadership

2007-06-11T18:26:00.002+01:00

I have voted for Hilary Benn in the deputy leadership contest...good luck Hilary!

NO DISCRIMINATION OR EXCEPTIONS ON GAY ADOPTION

2007-01-25T13:43:00.001Z

To allow any exemption for the Catholic Church or other religious group to equality legislation stamps your cross in the box for discrimination and second class citizenship; using conscience is purely fancy dress hiding hatred in religious clothing.

Update on Keep Our NHS Public

2006-10-09T13:51:00.001+01:00

There is no meeting this week, but the next meeting will be Monday 16th October at 7:30. Please contact Peter Shield on 01926 853494 or Peter Grogan on 01926 853161 for further information.

Also, the campaign will be launching a new website in the next few weeks. The address will be: www.savewarwickhospital.com. In addition, if there are avid readers out there, then Alison Pollock's book: NHS plc is a useful read. I am not a relative!

Keep Our NHS Public

2006-09-23T12:22:00.001+01:00

A local group in Warwick & Leamington has started called "Keep Our NHS Public" and meets at the Oddfellows Hall every Monday at 19:30. Please come along if you can make it.

No to the Privatisation of NHS Logistics - Please Write to Your MP & CLP

2006-09-05T09:32:00.001+01:00

I have written to my MP this morning with a strongly worded e-mail regarding the disgraceful government policy of throwing away 1700 people and yet more privatisation in the NHS.

The letter:

James,

I hope you are well. I am writing to you to ask that you do not follow the sheep herding line from the government of which you are a member. Strong language maybe, but we are a crossroads and what the government is proposing for NHS Logistics is nothing more that shameful. To throw away 1700 people to the private sector is disgraceful and kicks them in the teeth for all their hard work and dedication to the NHS. But to begin to privatise the NHS by a Labour Government can only be described as shocking.

I did not join the Labour Party to see this happen and if you support this policy then why are you a Labour MP; you might as well be a Conservative? I'm sure your assistants have been given a line to present to the public about how much money it will save and the usual misinformation. However, it could save billions but the loss of 1700 staff, the outsourcing of part of the NHS and the siphoning of profits out of the NHS is a price too high to pay.

There comes a time when we all need to stand up and be counted; this is the time, before you nod your head to the break-up of the NHS and people like me pay the price. I say these words with the high regard and respect for you, but not this piece of government policy. As a Party we need something that defines us and makes us who we are; I believe it is the NHS and the Welfare State. If we take away who we fundamentally are, then we have no right to exist at all; we just become pretence or a lie.

UNISONs Campaign:

NHS Logistics provides the health service in England with an enormous range of critical products – from food to complex magnetic resonance imagers, needles and syringes to electricity and fuel, mattresses to vehicles.
The non-profit organisation helps the NHS reduce costs and free up much-needed resources for patient care. And it has won numerous awards for doing this.
Last year (2005) £3m was returned to NHS trusts as a value rebate - will the shareholders of a private company be generous enough to share their profits with the NHS?

We believe the decision to outsource the work of these loyal and committed staff was taken without proper consultation - UNISON believes that there is no viable business case for this decision and has told ministers so - they are not listening.
We know that this decision has been taken purely for financial reasons, based on potential savings for the NHS, but we believe that cost cutting will reduce the quality of the products purchased for the NHS to use.
NHS Logistics delivers directly to hospital wards and operating theatres. Getting it wrong could be a matter of life and death - should this be left to a parcel delivery company?

http://www.unison.org.uk/healthcare/NHSlogistics/

What is happening to our world?

2006-08-15T18:57:00.001+01:00

I have not posted for a while, but I have to type this message for my own good. I am a huge supporter of Israel, but I cannot stay silent any longer on what it is doing to Lebanon. While I care little for religious groups who constantly moan about one thing then another, persecuting one group and condemning others, the people of Lebanon are suffering by the actions of a disproportionate reaction by the Israeli military.

We can be a friend to Israel but criticise its actions in Lebanon. To say nothing is wrong...we cannot hide our heads in the sands of diplomacy for too long.

Give Your Mouse a Heart - The Internet Search Engine which Raises Money for Charity.

2006-06-22T07:13:00.001+01:00

I have come across this internet search engine called everyclick.com, where you can search the internet and raise money for your specified charity, without it costing them or you a penny. The Psoriais Association website was talking about it. Check it out and sign-up by becoming a supporter - it is completely free!

Stop Elder Abuse

2006-06-14T18:32:00.001+01:00

It is alarming to me how many older people are abused in the UK. The facts:

- 500,000 elders are believed to be abused at any time in the UK.
- 39% of the public have never heard the term elder abuse.
- 46% of people who abuse are related to the person they are abusing, but only 1% of those who abuse are the primary carer.
- 25% of those who abuse are sons and daughters.
- 78% of abuse is perpetrated against people who are over the age of 70, with 16% of that abuse affecting people over the age of 90.

These are just a few facts.

Help the Aged are seeking to raise awareness of elder abuse. The government has already announced that 750,000 care workers looking after vulnerable older people, adults and children will be registered, trained and vetted for the first time. Show your support by signing on the online petition. To sign click HERE

0870 - No thanks! How to save money

2006-06-09T16:34:00.001+01:00

More and more companies are using 0870 & 0845 numbers, but what they fail to tell you is that you are paying them to be kept on hold. 0870 numbers can be up to 25 times a normal call cost. For example, on BTs basic package, calling a landline during the day costs 3p/min, yet calling 0870 numbers is 7.5p/min. Even if you have a free calls package, 0870 & 0845 numbers are not included and you'll have to pay. In addition, 0845 numbers are considered local rate calls, but this is not always the case. For example calling from a BT line in the evening, you'd pay 30p for a half hour 0845 call compared to 5.5p for a normal call.

The revenue a company can make for a free 0870 number is from 2p/minute. A simple example: a big company with 3,000 daily daytime callers, each holding for 10 minutes would generate over £150,000 a year. To get around the expense, call the free sales line number or go to: www.saynoto0870.com and click on the link to 'Search to find an alternative number'. (This information is courtesy of www.moneysavingexpert.com).

NO GAYS, NO LESBIANS | NO RETURN TO 1960s

2006-06-01T08:35:00.001+01:00

My response to the current consultation.

Discrimination Law Review Team
Sexual Orientation Consultation
Women & Equality Unit
DTI
1 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0ET

Dear Sir or Madam,

Re: Access to Goods, Facilities & Services – Sexual Orientation

I am writing to express my support for legislation to outlaw any and all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. It is not appropriate in 2006 that sexual orientation should be a basis to isolate people from goods, facilities and services. Furthermore, there should be no exceptions for religious organisations, or the Government will be guilty of supporting cultural relativism.

This letter is written not from a secular point of view. I am a practising Christian who believes in an open and inclusive Gospel, which affirms the validity and acceptability of loving same-sex relationships. Consequently, I do not believe ANY religion should be offered protection to discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation or faith. Exceptions will only foster deeper isolation for lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGB) from their faith communities and discriminate against LGB people in the provision of goods and services provided by faith organisations.

The Government must recognise the continuing serious problem of homophobia (highlighted especially in our schools by the recent Interim Report of the Equality Review, headed by Trevor Phillips), is fuelled by religious condemnation and the refusal of many “faith” leaders to accept and “…respect the dignity and worth of each person,” for which Ministers call in their foreword to ‘Getting Equal’.

I strongly agree that access to premises should be included and that the commercial provision of B&Bs, guest houses or hotel facilities should also be included, with no religious exceptions. It is clearly unacceptable that owners of commercial premises should be allowed to discriminate on the grounds of the dislike of a client’s beliefs. If such premises are exempted, then the signs of the 1960s saying: ‘No Blacks, No Irish’ can make a return in the guise of ‘No Gays, No Lesbians’.

It is also essential to include all schools – including faith schools – within the regulations. A faith school should not, for instance, be entitled to reject a pupil because of his/her own orientation or that of his/her parents. Moreover, no progress will be made in attacking the huge, damaging and continuing problem of homophobia, and its impact in bullying and undermining young people who are struggling with a possibly variant orientation, unless all schools are included. It is an oxymoron to suggest homophobic bullying can be tackled when the school preaches that gay relationships are unnatural.

The LGB community should feel an equal part of a diverse society, not on the sidelines of certain parts of it. By allowing any and all religions to preach a different response to a gay individual demeans us all. For society does not exist to be the mouthpiece of the indefensible monologue of religious dogma, but must be the purveyor of tolerance and respect for all human life. Anything else supports a kind of apartheid whereby LGB people along with transgender individuals cannot sit on the local community transport provided by a church community or eat at a homeless shelter administered by a local mosque.

Paul Bell

Indiana Coyote Rescue Centre - Adopt a Coyote

2006-05-28T22:37:00.001+01:00

A new initiative from the Coyote Rescue Centre enables you to adopt a rescue coyote. Have a look at the enclosed picture. If you're interested, please e-mail Celia Lambert at: ceannicrc@yahoo.com

Sell Radio 1 & 2? Now that is a stupid idea

2006-05-22T20:32:00.001+01:00

The European Media Forum, an arm of independent research institute the European Policy Forum, published a report today advocating for the privatisation of part of public service broadcasting's greatest successes - Radio 1 & 2. Their reasons are simply that they are too successful and stifling the growth of the private sector. Well isn't that amusing! The free market drones advocate that the market will provide what the consumer wants, but if the consumer doesn't want what the commerical sector provides, then somehow the free market values should not apply and those public sector organisations responsible for the stagnation of commercial radio should be privatised.

"The BBC, with an annual radio budget of £450m, has badly bruised its private sector rivals," says the report.

"The BBC's ability to tap all its various media platforms to cross-promote - and cross-subsidise - its radio output has added to the commercial sector's woes."

The report also suggests that Radio 1 and Radio 2 be sold, saying their public service role was "minimal" and that they would prosper in the commercial sector.

What a load of rubbish. If the commercial sector cannot compete, maybe it shouldn't exist at all. What is proposed is public subsidised private companies whose only goal is to provide the cheapest service to maximise their profits.

For my part, I listen mostly to Radio 1, 2 and 4, occassionally Classic FM and Kerrang. This is my personal choice, as I loathe radio commercials which are often so annoying I have to turn over. In addition, Classic FM's quality of non-digital output is poor and the other local stations play little music, loads of commercials and employ radio presenters who are self obsessed and think we are interested in knowing about their latest holiday to some exotic place or their opinion on the latest fashion.

I vote for preserving Radion 1 & 2 owned and funded by the BBC. If we lose the rubbish that commercial radio provides, then I won't be losing any sleep.

And while I am on the subject of music - LORDI ROCKS! Well done Finland.

Making Religious Identity Paramount Will Lead to Disaster

2006-05-20T09:48:00.001+01:00

An editorial comment from the National Secular Society - I support this article...

It was widely reported last week that Muslims in Britain suffer by far the most social deprivation in terms of housing, education and employment. The information came from a report from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Review of Evidence Base on Faith Communities, which can be read HERE

The reports shows that although Muslims live in the most overcrowded households, and are least likely to have jobs or qualifications in higher education, this is not true of all the “emergent faith communities” (as we now have to call them). Hindus, for instance, are doing relatively well with high educational achievement, more house owners, much more employment in white collar jobs, and more of their women in employment.

So, if Hindus and Sikhs can succeed, what is standing in the way of Muslims? It is a difficult question and one that this report appears to ignore.

What this report also fails to address is the government’s continuing insistence on putting so much emphasis on people’s religion as an identifying factor. As the report points out, people used to be identified by where they originated or by their racial characteristics. Now, we are all members of “faith communities” even those of us who have no religion. The report also points to the danger of defining people so narrowly. Even within the different religions, there are countless different sects and traditions. Muslims and Christians come from all over the globe they cannot be unified into a convenient “community” defined by a religious label. What, for instance, has the old lady who bakes buns for the church fete in Upper Chirping got in common with the Nigerian Christian who likes to scream, shout and violently expel demons from ‘possessed’ children? They both belong to the “Christian community” by the Government’s definition, but their cultural identities couldn’t be further apart. Why should it be any different for the “Hindu community” or the “Muslim community”? Does a Bosnian Muslim really share the same cultural needs as a South Indian Muslim?

It is clear, though, from a Home Office study, that many people from a Muslim background want to make religion their primary identifying characteristic. This is a political act as much as a religious duty. Others, though, prefer to still imagine that they are simply people living in the British Isles together with others who might be of different colours, opinions and religions but who are, in the end, their neighbours.

But the government has fallen into the trap set for them by the Islamist agitators. By forcing us all to identify with a “faith group”, a wedge is driven between people who should, for all our sakes, be encouraged to unite under the banner of a national identity. There is nothing that the politicised clerics like better than to put religion at the head of every queue, to create a banner around which their flock can assemble and then special privileges can be demanded and superiority claimed. By going along with this dangerous agenda, the government is creating the opposite of the “social cohesion” it is aiming for.

If all Muslims are bunched together as, apparently, sharing the same opinions about everything, then the stereotyping that is so useful to racist groups like the BNP is handed to them on a plate. “The Muslims” that monolithic block become a threat. This labelling allows the racists to assure us that because some Muslims are terrorists, they all must be.

This ODPM report is a glaring example of the ongoing process of creating separate identities and separate communities that live in parallel with each other rather than together. The majority population (who are now, apparently, the “Christian community”), look on with bemusement at the money being poured into religious projects and feel uncomfortable with the prominence given to clerics as spokesmen for whole classes of people some of whom may actively oppose their views.

The response from the government should be to take the spotlight off religion as an identifying trait. Let people individually define themselves as Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, humanists, atheists or whatever, but don’t allow those identities to dictate official policy.

Social deprivation is a terrible thing, and is bound to lead to resentment. But why does it have to be that most volatile of all resentments, religious resentment? People should be entitled to a decent life whatever their religion, and if one religious grouping is suffering disproportionately in a country like Britain which is, in the main, indifferent to religious affiliation, then that group must ask questions of itself, as well as blaming the surrounding culture.

Help a baby coyote

2006-05-18T23:50:00.001+01:00

I support the Indiana Coyote Rescue Centre and the latest appeal is for Jack, an abandoned baby coyote who has developed some phycical problems. He is off to the vet tomorrow where the cost could be high. Can you help him?

Please click HERE to visit the Indiana Coyote Rescue Centre website. You can donate via Paypal. Any gift no matter how small will be appreciated.

Orbit Housing Association are a disgrace!

2006-05-16T13:20:00.001+01:00

In response to Miss Kemp’s letter in last week’s Courier, about the sale of Newbold Terrace, I am again appalled by the incompetence of Orbit Housing Association. It may interest them to know that there are currently 2809 people on the housing waiting list. Do they think it is acceptable to reduce the housing supply further by selling off valuable housing units because they use the excuse of expensive maintenance? What have they been doing all this time? Well Orbit this is again unacceptable, coming closely after the proposed sale of properties on Brook Street, Warwick stating the same pitiful excuse. When will you learn that your sole purpose is to provide affordable housing and not to sell off valuable assets when there are 2809 people waiting for a secure roof over their head’s? Surely I do not need to tell you that you need to budget for maintenance of properties to lesson the future cost of expensive repairs. This is neglect and shows either your desire to sell off properties which will become “luxury” or “exclusive” to maximise your returns or just sheer business incompetence. What will you sell next?

Paul Bell

...is Ruth Kelly right to lead the equality agenda?

2006-05-09T13:55:00.001+01:00

On the issue of her record on equality for gay people, I am more alarmed. Her membership of Opus Dei is bad enough but her voting record in the Commons is not exemplorary on the issue. The new equality minister failed to support an equal age of consent after 1997 and missed votes on gay adoption and civil partnerships which came into law this year as well as the vote that overturned section 28, which banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools. Reports the Guardian. Asked twice today if she viewed practising homosexuality as a "sin", a belief firmly held by Opus Dei members, Ms Kelly twice refused to answer but told Radio 5 Live, "I don't think its right for politicians to start making moral judgments about people, it's the last thing I want to do. The questions is what are my political views and as a politician I think everyone should be free of discrimination. Is it possible to be a Catholic and hold a portfolio in government - the answer is emphatically yes. I am responsible for holding to the collective cabinet view on these matters but I firmly believe in equality and that everyone should be free of discrimination and I will fight to the end to make sure that's the case."

Asked why she had failed to support Labour's homosexual equality agenda in Commons votes, Ms Kelly told Radio 5's Nicky Campbell: "Everybody is entitled to express their views in free votes on matters of conscience and I've always made clear that as a member of parliament I've cast my vote according to conscience but I'm also a member of the government its my duty to see through equality and I'm passionate to see there is no discrimination."

A cautious welcome to Ruth Kelly...except on gay rights

2006-05-09T13:31:00.001+01:00

On the issue of housing, Ruth Kelly seems to be making the right overtones. The emphasis may actually be shifting from the refurbishment of council housing to the building of new affordable homes. "I don't think that changing the allocation system is somehow going to solve the issues in Barking and Dagenham and elsewhere in the country. I think the policy that's needed is to build more social and affordable housing," Ruth said.

These are very positive moves, as it is the first time I have heard the penny dropping in government circles about the desperate need for affordable rented housing as well as part rent/part buy. Many housing associations have shown very clearly that they are incapable of managing the situation; councils must and should be the innovators and shapers of a new house building programme immediately.

Carol Vorderman: Secured Loan Ads Don't Add Up - Please sign the petition

2006-05-05T15:55:00.001+01:00

We the undersigned kindly ask Carol Vorderman to please stop doing adverts for secured loans. Advertising works, that’s why companies pay for it, and over time her powerful adverts will have contributed to the growing normalisation of this form of borrowing. We believe this is truly worrying, as secured loans should only ever be seen as loans as last resort.

With secured loans, failing to repay can result in losing your home or leave you locked into long term debts which means the overall interest cost is substantially increased. Rates are often higher than unsecured loans, and much higher than remortgages, which is one of the viable alternatives. Carol, we believe, that after nine years of linking yourself with these products, disengaging from the sales of these loans would be a real benefit to our increasingly debt ridden society.

We would also ask at this point that secured debt companies take a charter of responsible advertising that only targets those limited niche individuals who would actively benefit from secured debt; and that lowering monthly repayments, which in fact increases the cost of the loans because the interest is spread over a longer period, is never portrayed as saving people money.

Click HERE to sign the petition

Good Luck to all Labour Candidates....

2006-05-03T20:25:00.001+01:00

Good luck to my comrades in the Labour Party and the Trade Union movement, standing for council tomorrow.

Paul

Bolivia nationalises and France protects...have we got it wrong?

2006-05-02T23:17:00.001+01:00

I am surreptitiously smiling inside today as Bolivia has told the big multi-nationals that they are going to nationalise their gas industry. The President of Bolivia, Mr Morales said the gas fields were "just the beginning, because tomorrow it will be the mines, the forest resources and the land".

While France protects in the name of economic patriotism, Bolivia takes control of its assets. Do you think we have got our policy wrong when so many British companies are falling prey to foreign companies? I do....

New Charity Lottery | More money for the charities...more chances for you to win!

2006-04-29T10:03:00.001+01:00

There is a new charity lottery called PlayMonday, where more of the money goes to charity and you can choose which charities you support. For example, the draw for May 8th has five charities to choose from, so I've had a go and selected Born Free and Shelter, though it is a tough choice as this week's choices are all worthy.

27 times better chance of winning | Every £1 enters you into two jackpot draws | Nearest numbers win, no need to match all six | Draw takes place on a Monday, hence the name! | Bigger prizes for matching 5, 4, 3 numbers | Five times more money goes to charity!

Simply put, let them explain for themselves...

Why are we here? Well, monday may not be the answer to life, the universe or everything but it is the answer to lottery players’ prayers.

Bluntly put, people were told ‘it could be you’ but it rarely was. Cynics called it a tax on the stupid. But what could we do? Where could we take our numbers?

It was time for a new lottery. A lottery that people wanted. A fairer lottery which rewards players and charities alike. A lottery with better odds, fairer prizes and no roll-overs.

Wouldn’t we all rather have a decent chance of winning a life-changing amount than little chance of winning an insane amount?

Most people we asked agreed.

So the concept was conceived of a lottery which would benefit five different UK charities each week - some 70 in all. Raising over £150 million a year for them. It would have 27 times better odds of winning a jackpot, two draws instead of one, a jackpot winner every week, better smaller prizes and five times more of a player’s pound going to charity than on the National Lottery.

A proper lottery, regulated by the Gambling Commission. Shouldn’t be hard. It took three years. But here it is ... at last.

Thank you for your support, your ideas and your patience.

Welcome to Britain’s new lottery. Welcome to monday.

It’s all yours...

Let’s play!

Freedom of Expression - Meeting, Conway Hall, London, April 22nd

2006-04-25T18:03:00.001+01:00

I went to the first meeting of the Freedom of Expression coalition on Saturday 22nd April. There were two sessions, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. These two groups discussed what exactly is freedom of expression and are there limits? Peter Risden has impressed me with his ability to lead a discussion and move the campaign forward. However, I seemed to be in a minority when we discussed incitement to racial hatred and the limits on free speech. I have mostly believed that anything that is a given, i.e. that you’re black or a woman, gay or disabled should represent some limits to free speech, but only if you’re a public figure such as a politician, leader of a representative body or other authority figure. For example, when Iqbal Sacranie branded gay people harmful to society and full of disease, I found this homophobic and inappropriate for a public figure to say such abhorrent things. There is nothing more cruel than attacking someone for who they are and for something they have no choice about. So I still wrestle with this, but generally the group thought that the only limits on free speech should be incitement to hatred, even then there were doubts. I am happy to go along with this, but have a questioning mind about the consequences of such minimal limits. Voltaire would obviously say freedom of speech should be unrestricted. At the end of each session, we discussed the next way forward. Peter is going to type up the minutes and post them shortly, so everyone will get a chance to comment and join the steering group.

Key decisions:

1. Exhibition of the Danish cartoons to be shown and debated;
2. New campaign website to be setup shortly;
3. Regional meetings to follow.

England Day - Happy St.George's Day

2006-04-23T17:47:00.001+01:00

Wishing everyone a Happy St. George's day! A day for England and one which I believe should be a bank holiday. I can already hear the cries of....

Why is the unelected Lord Adonis the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education?

2006-04-21T17:27:00.001+01:00

I want to know why an unelected religious apostle is the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education. Granted he is only representing the Department in the House of Lords, but he is wielding too much influence on our education policy.

Recently the Apostle Adonis addressed Catholic educationalists, praising the work which Catholic schools and colleges do, and said that where parents want to see it, the government supports the expansion of faith-based education. He was clear that faith education is ‘absolutely compatible’ with social and wider inclusion. I think you're 'absolutely wrong' there Adonis!

He concluded by saying that he felt there is a ‘powerful shared mission’ on education between the government and the Catholic Church. He said that Catholic schools combine the Every Child Matters agenda with a concentration on high academic performance which leads to results which substantially exceed the national average.

How do you think they would deal with homophobic bullying?

End state funding of faith schools...letter to James Plaskitt MP

2006-04-20T21:52:00.001+01:00

I would like to add my voice to that of the members of the NASUWT and National Union of Teachers who are calling for an end to state funding of ‘faith’ schools. At their recent conference, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers voted overwhelmingly against further public funding of ‘faith’ schools. All were reported in the Guardian. Concerns were also recently expressed at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers’ recent conference about public funding of ‘faith’ schools.

It is not a legitimate role of the State to subsidise religious proselytising. There are already 7,000 ‘faith’ schools in the country and the number is set to grow substantially. Both pupils and teachers of the ‘wrong’ faith or none are finding it increasingly difficult to secure places or jobs at their local schools where these happen to be ‘faith schools’. They are therefore disadvantaged relative to those who are – or claim to be – practising Christians, who have access not only to religious schools but to the remaining community schools, too.

Some ‘faith’ schools have admission criteria that permit children whose parents are of other denominations and religions, and those who have no religion at all, to be admitted thus allowing the schools, and the Government to claim that they are ‘inclusive’. But this generally masks the denial of equal non-discriminatory access when the school is oversubscribed, which they often are.

There should be a moratorium on any new ‘faith’ schools, of any religion. While I understand the frustration of those of minority faiths seeing the Governments misplaced enthusiasm for opening even more Christian schools, I also oppose minority faith schools. Where the pupils from such schools would also be predominantly from a minority ethnic group these schools carry with them a serious additional problem for both the minority and majority communities.

With its proposal to significantly expand minority ‘faith’ schools, the Government is sleepwalking into educational apartheid. In the longer term this will be a catastrophe for community relations and may turn out to be the worst error in domestic policy of Mr Blair’s administration.

The state funding of existing ‘faith’ schools should be made contingent on – at the very least – non-discriminatory admissions and employment policies as well as control of the Board of Governors being in the hands of local authorities.

I urge you to vote in favour of any measures that would move in the direction I have set out and would be grateful for you to reply stating your views on the above matters.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Bell

My interpretation of the Warwick Town Council AGM

2006-04-20T18:23:00.001+01:00

I went to the AGM of Warwick Town Council last night, which was a whole different affair to the one at Atherstone Town Council when I was a councillor. It was well attended, with the mayoral chain being the biggest thing I have ever seen. I am quite surprised that the mayor did not fall over or start literally speaking from the floor. Anyhow, some party political dribble from Cllr Michael Kinson marred the event, though the discourse that gave me most angst came from a county councillor, Marion Haywood. For she began to put gloss on the current re-organisation of Warwickshire County Council – something as an employee I do not feel able to go into in any detail. For while she was singing the praises of nine departments merged into six, there is a whole other side that I feel is wrong.

For the most part the good news is that crime is down, we’re lucky to live in Warwick and there are some very hard working councillors. Will this be the same next year, only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, I feel at home in Warwick, something missing for a long time.

Inhaled Insulin should NOT be rejected

2006-04-19T07:27:00.001+01:00

James Plaskitt MP
First Floor
2A Leam Terrace
Leamington Spa
CV31 1BB

Dear James,

I am very concerned about what is going on in the NHS. This institution is the single biggest advancement in the history of this country and an achievement that the Labour Party is duly proud to call its own. However, the recent bad headlines about funding and on a personal level, the decision of NICE to advice against the purchase of inhaled insulin, is depressing news. As a diabetic I am very saddened by the decision, a decision that further reinforces the view that somewhere and somehow there are moves afoot to place the NHS in such a bad light, that the unthinkable could be considered – the break-up of our free health care system.

The foundations have been set. Trust hospitals, PFIs, hospitals cutting services, making front line staff redundant along with the constant bad publicity. We must fight to save it against the ferocious attacks of those who would have us return to the awful days before the NHS existed.

As a diabetic, I am provided with free medication, testing equipment and regular check-ups. These are vital to my health, because without them I would die. One small example, I have to get my feet checked on a yearly basis, because if problems develop I do not heal well and amputations are more likely. Indeed, 70% of diabetics die within five years of having a limb amputated. This is just the tip of the iceberg, but there are people living with conditions far worse than mine, so I cannot moan. I am not yet at the stage of needing five insulin injections a day, but this will come in time. Inhaled Insulin is a revolutionary step forward and surely must not be available solely to the wealthy in our society.

As an MP, I would like to ask you to do the following:

1. Help influence government ministers in the Department of Health to over-turn the ruling to reject inhaled insulin, due to be finalised in October.

2. Continue your hard work in retaining the NHS and reducing the decisions made on cost grounds, unless there is clear clinical evidence that new drugs and treatments provide little benefit to the patient.

3. Campaign hard to reject the absurd claims of the media and those who would privatise the NHS.

I cannot emphasis enough, that without the NHS I would have to pay extortionate insurance premiums – that is if I could get insurance. I would be at the mercy of those who see profit before people. This must never happen again in our country.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Bell

2,300 Jobs Go at Peugeot in Ryton | Boycott Peugeot Citreon

2006-04-18T18:16:00.001+01:00

Yet again we see the effects of weak labour laws and the disinterest from government, standing by while British industry is bought up by foreign companies.

Despite reassurances of the factories future, despite the workforce having made massive productivity gains, despite the improvement in the quality, despite the corporate memos saying don't worry, the French car maker has said au revoir to the hard working employees of the Peugeot Ryton car plant near Coventry. This is absolutely disgusting. They take money from tax payers in the form of subsidies, tell lies and then take refuge in their home country. The DTI recently offered them £14.4m in grants, but this means nothing to heartless corporate executives who would not get away with the same thing in France.

The Peugeot 206 is Britain's most popular personal purchase. I urge everyone reading this, to boycott any Peugeot or Citreon car or product, to hit the fat cats where it really hurts - the balance sheet.

SAVE OUR BRITISH COMPANIES | BOYCOTT PEUGEOT CITREON

How can Orbit Housing Association be so stupid?

2006-04-17T15:42:00.001+01:00

How does a housing association prevent the further decrease of affordable housing supply in an area out of reach to so many? By selling off town centre housing to a developer to make pot loads of money is Orbit's answer!

Orbit Housing Association has decided to sell four homes on Brook Street, Warwick, currently offered to rent at affordable rates. For over 30 years, these flats have offered a rare foothold into the town centre of Warwick for tenants young and old who cannot afford to buy a property. However, because they have been spending money on large salaries and perks for their board members, they seem to have forgotten that they have to improve and maintain their housing stock so that in future years, they are not presented with huge bills to renovate and bring buildings upto the decent homes standard. They have made a mistake and the people who can least afford it will now suffer.

Housing Associations can bid to the Housing Corporation to fund affrodable housing projects, which Orbit in Warwick District has failed to do. Instead, they sit and wait for a few units of houses from one housing development to another. Well this is not good enough and only goes to prove that housing is better provided by councils and not sold off to make some fat cats richer.

Announcement: TUC demonstration for a Trade Union Freedom Bill organised for the May Day Bank Holiday in London

2006-04-17T14:37:00.001+01:00

www.tuc.org.uk/maydaygame

The case for a Trade Union Freedom Bill

In 1906 unions won the legal right to organise industrial action, but successive anti-union restrictions mean that union rights are weaker than those introduced 100 years ago. We need changes in the law to protect workers properly when they take official industrial action; cut red tape for unions; and allow supportive action against companies indirectly involved in a dispute.

Better protection for workers

All workers should have the right to strike or take official industrial action free from the fear of dismissal or victimisation.

Employers shouldn't be allowed to sack or penalise staff for taking action before, during or after a dispute.

Employers should be banned from taking unfair deductions from workers' pay packets for taking part in official industrial action. Workers should have the right to fair pay for the work they do.

Workers should be able to enforce these rights easily and effectively. The courts should be able to order employers to stop penalising staff before a full hearing, and order that sacked workers should get their jobs back.

Employers should be stopped from hiring agency workers to carry out the work normally done by staff taking official industrial action.

Cut red tape for unions

Bureaucratic rules about industrial action notices and ballots should be simplified.
Unions should have to give an employer only seven days' notice of the proposed start of industrial action. Unions should not have to give notice of a ballot.

Unions should be free to ballot for action, even if there has been an unsuccessful prior call for industrial action.

An employer should be required to supply information needed by unions to comply with balloting and notice rules.

Employers should not be allowed to use legal loopholes to get injunctions stopping industrial action. Injunctions should not be granted for minor technical errors, when a clear majority of members have voted in favour of industrial action.

Balloting rules should be brought into line with how MPs are elected. Ballots should stand unless unions make a mistake that could have changed the ballot result.

Prison officers should be allowed to take industrial action.

Supportive action

The law on industrial action is years out of date. It does not recognise changes in the economy such as contracting out, modern business structures and the complex patterns of modern ownership.

Unions should be able to take industrial action:

Over the terms and conditions offered by a future employer where jobs are being transferred to the new employer

Against associated employers of the employer involved in a primary dispute, which will help to ensure employers cannot use technical loopholes to prevent workers in the same workplace, with the same management structure and effectively the same employer from taking action in support of each other.

Where there is official action being taken in one workplace, supportive action against another employer should be allowed after a ballot:

When work or production has been transferred to that employer during a dispute to break a strike; or

Where a union is taking defensive action in the first workplace and the other employer has contributed to the dispute, for example, by aggressively cutting costs.

Launch of the Euston Manifesto

2006-04-16T13:40:00.001+01:00

On 13Apr06, we — bloggers, academics, campaigners, writers, scientists, journalists, citizens — launch the Euston Manifesto. With this document we hope to publicly assert our progressive, democratic, egalitarian, internationalist principles in the face of recent attacks upon them from the Right and, to our dismay, the Left.

Many of us are of the Left, but we come from across the range of political positions. We are not founding a political party. There were differences amongst us over Western military intervention in Iraq. Our declaration is not definitive, final, or perfect; it is, we hope, the beginning of a renewed debate, grounded in a common set of progressive values. You can read and sign the document at our Website where donations towards our costs are also welcome.

Comments are closed on this announcement alone because that is all this post is: an announcement. We simply want to launch this movement in a co-ordinated way and make sure there is time for people to understand exactly what we stand for before criticising it. We welcome discussion of the Euston Manifesto across blogs, in the media, and in the public world and intend that the Euston Manifesto Group, the organisation founded upon the manifesto's principles, will promote such debate by organising meetings, sponsoring seminars, and publishing ideas.

To join:

Where do I align politically?

2006-04-16T13:30:00.001+01:00

Some people have been asking me about my political allegiances and so I thought I would clarify....well I am a member of the Labour Party and I a former parliamentary candidate for the Leominster constituency in the 2005 General Election.

I firmly believe in equality and the abolition of poverty and ignorance. I hate intolerance, sexism, racism and homophobia. I believe in democracy and free speech and the lessoning of the power of religion in our society. Below is a sample of my election campaign 2005.

Common Sense: I see that too often in life common sense is lacking. However, it is also clear that the Labour Party is the party of common sense. We are members of a party which is the only one which can deliver on a free and public NHS; full employment and opportunity for all. There are times when we feel frustrated by certain policies or where the government could have gone further. But there were times when the Conservative government was going too far destroying our manufacturing industry, putting people out of work and making ordinary people poorer while the rich got richer. I pledge to use my common sense in politics for the needs of my constituents and always remember how different our country is now to the days of the last government.

Passionate: I am a passionate believer in social democracy. The Labour Party led the way through the 20th Century in advocating for social change on an unparalleled level. The new century is asking more demanding questions of our party. The future will not just be about terrorism and the consequences of the Iraq war, but also the ever reaching market over community politics. I am a passionate believer in local democracy where local communities take control of their own lives through participation, action and co-operation. I believe in a fairer society, liveable pensions and free society, where opportunity is for all; a country where poverty no longer exists and decent affordable housing is a right for all.

Radical: I am by nature a social reformer. I see the Labour Party as the only party which can deliver on social democracy. Much has been done to protect the NHS and extend opportunity to all rather than the few. We must celebrate our successes, but work towards even greater achievements of developing social democracy, or as it used to known as socialism. The third Labour term of government will be a rewarding challenge. Let work together to further change our society to one of equality and freedom.