News and views from your Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner
Dear Michael,
I wonder if you would clarify whether or not you are among the 80 Labour MPs reported to have signed a petition lobbying the Government to levy a windfall tax on energy companies, to help families on lower incomes who are struggling with huge rises in their energy bills?
If you have not yet signed the petition, do you intend to?
Yours sincerely,
[Do you think there should be a windfall tax on the energy companies?]
Nick Perry, Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Hastings & Rye said today,
“I want to add my voice to those of other local people who have expressed their heartfelt sadness and condolences to the family and friends of Mohammed Al-Majed.
“It is right and proper that after an incident such as this that we review the policy and service safeguards which are in place to prosper good community relations, anti-racism and the local economy, and work out in a joined-up way, the lessons that need to be learned.
“But we must not jump in with both feet, and we must allow sufficient time to get our facts straight, so that we can make informed judgements and the changes that are necessary.
“I support Cllr Pragnell when he says that it only takes a few individuals to tar a town’s reputation. And we must do all that we can to preserve the good name of Hastings.
“The Police must be allowed to get on with their job, and the politicians must, for the moment, take a back seat.”
Liberal Democrats in Hastings & Rye have given their strong backing to ambitious calls by Nick Clegg MP for Britain to become self-sufficient in energy.
The Liberal Democrat Leader has called for a major programme to build up Britain’s own energy supplies through wind, tidal, wave and biomass technologies.
Mr Clegg said, “We have an enormous opportunity to create real energy independence for the UK, freeing ourselves from the shackles of foreign oil, coal and gas. This will require the kind of ambition and political will that succeeded in putting man on the moon.”
Nick Perry, Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner said, “I am delighted that Nick Clegg is calling for a green revolution in the way we produce power.
“The recent Russian invasion of Georgia and the ongoing troubles in Iraq and Iran show just how dangerously reliant Britain is on energy from unstable parts of the world.
“We have to build up our own energy supplies and as an island nation, we have an abundance of natural and clean energy sources that both Labour and Conservative governments have failed to develop. Here in Hastings and Rye we understand the potential of renewables, with the natural power of the sea and coastal weather in regular evidence.
“Whilst Labour and the Conservatives joined together earlier this year to agree Britain should have a new generation of nuclear power stations, Liberal Democrats believe this will leave a legacy of radioactive waste for future generations. It will also leave us dependent on foreign supplies of uranium.
“Liberal Democrats in Hastings & Rye welcome Nick Clegg’s call for Britain to develop clean energy supplies and become self-sufficient in them by 2050. This is an industry in which we as a nation should aim to be world- beaters.”
[What do you think of our proposals?]
Well done to the Hastings Against War group who organised a very interesting evening on Tuesday.
Our MP, Michael Foster, was invited to speak on Labour’s civil liberties record.
Fortunately for Michael, there was no vote at the end of the meeting to test whether or not he had persuaded people of his arguments. But there was certainly some strenuous debate on a number of key issues, including British foreign policy (and its implications for defence policy), ID cards, 42 day detention without charge and intercept evidence.
Labour will not be able to escape a vote altogether. It will be one of the key aspects of the forthcoming General Election.
Interestingly, in his defence of the Government, Michael suggested that a Conservative government would not have acted any differently in respect of civil liberties.
I can’t think of a better reason to vote Liberal Democrat.
Here is a recent comment on the subject from Cath Elliott writing in the Guardian (Cath is a former Labour Party supporter):
‘In cahoots with an equally distasteful American regime, the New Labour government has masterminded and overseen an erosion to individual freedoms and liberties that both Thatcher and Reagan, even in the darkest days of their rule, could only have dreamed of. Not content with removing all ethics from our foreign policy, they are doing their damnedest to make sure that before we know it, civil liberties and human rights at home will soon be nothing more than a distant memory. ID cards, “Sus” laws, 42-days detention, extraordinary rendition, waterboarding, torture, juryless trials, secret prison ships, a hidden network of “black sites” where suspects are interrogated and who-knows-what-else away from prying eyes and ears: these are all the stuff of fiction, of spy novels and sci-fi. They’re the stuff of nightmares, the grimmest of fairy tales brought to life, with our government firmly in the role of bogeyman.’
Here is the article in full.
[What do you think of Labour's record on civil liberties?]
Local Liberal Democrats met on 11 August to finalise their position statement on the County Council’s proposed Academies plan for Hastings.
Local members met with Cllr Kathryn Field (Battle & Crowhurst) who is the Lib Dem shadow member for Children’s Services.
Following the meeting Cllr Field said,
“I am pleased to have met with colleagues to discuss this important issue for the future of Hastings’ young people. We have had a very productive meeting and have come to a unified position on the Academies plan.
“Let me be absolutely clear – Lib Dems are for excellence, choice and comprehensive education. We are also for a whole systems approach to education, but the Academies plan presents us with fundamental problems.
“We are opposed to the removal of democratic accountability and we are opposed to any sort of sham consultation. We want the Ninestiles Project to be given the County’s full backing and for the superhead model to be maintained”, she said.
Nick Perry, Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Hastings & Rye added,
“We know that we need a step change in the quality of secondary education in Hastings, but the Labour Government is determined to impose its Academies model from the Centre, and the Conservative County Council appears to be rolling over and accepting it.
“Liberal Democrats want the best for local children. We want the best staff and the best leadership for our schools, but we do not believe that this will come via an Academies model which has no real track record.”
Cllr David Rogers, Lib Dem Group Leader on East Sussex County Council said,
“I understand that tens of millions will be spent on this latest initiative.
“I am sure that local teachers could provide fantastic outcomes with that kind of investment, and without introducing a model which has, in the small print, permission for 10% pupil selection.
“Local people must ask what will happen to those who don’t get selected. What will be the impact for them and for their families?”
The County Council is legally bound to a consultation as part of its feasibility study. The feasibility study is due to be completed by the end of 2009, with the Academies projected to be up and running by 2011.
[What do you think about the proposed Academies?]
Liberal Democrats in Hastings & Rye have panned a call by Policy Exchange (a Conservative-leaning think tank) for people from Northern towns and cities to pack their bags and move to the South.
Nick Perry, Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Hastings & Rye said,
“I am a Northern lad hailing from St Helens, and our move to Hastings last year was a dream come true, however the calls from this Tory think tank are nothing short of bizarre.
“We are struggling in the constituency to provide jobs and accommodation for local people even now. Where do these out-of-touch policy wonks think the jobs and accommodation for migrating Northerners are going to come from?
“What this policy paper really shows is that the old Tory disdain for, and incomprehension of, communities with experience of poverty is alive and well. And that the Conservative Party has no clue about delivering effective regeneration.”
Whether or not you were for or against the Olympic Games being given to China (and I was against it, due to their human rights record) it is wonderful to see Team GB starting to bring home the gold medals.
(That’s Team Great Britain, I should add, rather than Gordon Brown!)
As regular readers of this column will note, I have had in mind to raise the issue of the Hastings seafront cycle path for a while.
The fact that Great Britain’s first gold medal was won by Nicole Cooke in the women’s cycling road race was just the cosmic prompt I needed to make this week the week!
You may or may not know that in December 2007, Sustrans’ Connect2 project, which comprises some 79 cycling and walking schemes around Britain, won £50 million from the Big Lottery Fund in a televised vote.
The coastal cycle track is part of Sustrans’ plan and there was some £600,000 awarded for the creation of the ‘missing link’ along the beach from Hastings to Bexhill.
Great news, and great celebrations proceeded locally.
But where are we now?
In their recent online article, the lobbying group Hastings Urban Bikes (see link to website) states that the County Council is not going to deliver the cycle path until 2011-12.
The County Council has replied that this is because it is working towards delivery of a number of integrated transport schemes in its three year programme, and therefore ‘new schemes must be developed with these existing schemes in mind’.
As far as I am concerned this is Council-speak for ‘We’ve got a lot on, and frankly, this doesn’t really pedal our bike’.
I accept that there is a financial implication for ESCC. The County Council must provide part of the funding necessary in order to realise the scheme. But surely, with the difficulties of the A259, all the problems with the proposed link road, and the pressing nature of global environmental issues, you would have thought that ESCC would have given the scheme a higher priority than it has?
But then the County Council is run by the Conservatives.
This is the party that has changed its logo recently. From the Olympic-style torch, the Tories have moved to an oak tree.
It’s all soft and wavy and has nice flecks of green. Just like David Cameron: soft and wavy, with (alleged) flecks of green.
Only when it comes to getting an exciting environmentally beneficial scheme off the ground, the County Council starts equivocating.
And who is the lead member responsible? None other than Hastings Tory Cllr Matthew Lock (the elder).
This is the same Cllr Lock who has been trying to force (Lib Dem) Eastbourne Council to impose parking charges against the will of residents. Sound familiar?
This is this kind of political and policy contradiction which shows that the Conservatives don’t really understand green politics, and would rather be seen to be ‘tough’ on parking enforcement, than to have a coherent and sustainable approach to greener, effective transport infrastructure.
The Tories are ambitious for Government at a national level, but talk a better game than they have the skills and policies to deliver.
It is the Liberal Democrats who have been voted by all the key environmental pressure groups to be the greenest of the major parties.
We have policies that are costed, and will deliver on our environmental objectives.
We are not just talking the talk, we are walking (and often cycling) the walk.
Liberal Democrats in Hastings & Rye have welcomed proposals made by the party’s Shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne MP to tackle youth crime.
The plans aim to deter crime and get young people involved in positive activities that benefit local communities. [See this link for full details]
Nick Perry, Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner said, “I was shocked to read about St Michael’s Hospice nurse Sue Marsh’s recent experience of having concrete hurled at her car. This was dangerous and mindless, and is not representative of how lots of our young people behave.
“New proposals from the Lib Dems will go a long way towards reducing youth crime. By having more police and by focusing on crime hotspots, we will be able to deter crime more effectively,” says Nick.
“But we also need to give young people positive alternatives to do. Too often they get into trouble because there is nothing for them to get stuck in to. The local Play Pathfinder is a step in the right direction, and the proposed Youth Volunteer Force will be a great way to get young people involved in activities that benefit themselves and the area where they live.”
Nick, 31, who has recently been asked to join his Party’s national policy working group on young people’s issues says,
“I am also keen to ensure that those who do break the law or cause disturbances or vandalism have to pay back the community they have wronged.”
“That is why restorative justice is important. It will mean that those convicted of offences will have to work to clean up vandalism or on projects that benefit the community as a whole.
“Residents in Hastings and in Rye are contacting me with their worries about youth crime. I believe that the proposals the Liberal Democrats have put forward will help to address these problems and concerns.”
[Do you have experience of youth crime locally? What do you think of our proposals?]
I am no expert on agriculture, but I trust that the weather that we have been having of late has been good for our local farmers.
The quality of local fruit and vegetables has been particularly noticeable to our household, thanks in huge part, to the Community Fruit & Veg Project that operates out of the Britannia Enterprise Centre, Waterworks Road, in Hastings.
This is a fantastic social enterprise project which sources its produce from farms across East Sussex. It is a not-for-profit organisation which numbers among its funders the Primary Care Trust and the European Union.
And it boxes up a great selection of local produce at cracking value for money. [See this link]
As I understand it, the project works in close partnership with the Sure Start programme operating out of the Hastings Town Children’s Centre, giving local children access to the fruit and vegetables that they need to have a healthy, balanced diet. This, in turn, helps them to meet their developmental milestones.
The Hastings Town Children’s Centre, incidentally, is another great asset for Castle Ward, one of the poorest wards in the South East of England.
When our daughter was first born, the staff at the Centre were really helpful in getting us started with re-usable nappies, and when I visited again recently, the nursery staff were passionate about their work and committed to the little ones that they care for.
These are the kind of success stories that we need to hear more about as economic times are getting harder.
Our MP in his column last week spoke of needing a better political ‘narrative’ for the Labour Party.
Unfortunately for Michael, I think that the country has lost interest in how Labour will seek to re-invent itself (once again).
What is crucial for Liberal Democrats however, is that we now shout loudly about the political philosophy that runs as a strong core throughout our policies.
We are a party that always seeks to prioritise social justice and civil liberties.
This is why we are a party that will provide excellence in early years’ service provision whatever a family’s social background.
This is why we are a party highlighting the importance of social enterprise models in, for example, neglected mental health services.
This is why we are a party that is making the case for our wealthy citizens to underwrite a fairer society via a reformed tax system which has at its heart the abolition of the Council Tax.
The mood music from the Conservatives on these different issues is deliberately soothing. But the fact is that they do not have the policy substance to back up their positioning.
As Vince Cable (Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor) has said recently, when you look at the Tories’ tax proposals, the only people destined to benefit are the dead millionaires whose Inheritance Tax thresholds will be raised.
In hard economic times, we need a politics that is connected to the everyday struggles of Hastings and Rye families.
In my role as parliamentary campaigner, I am determined to show that the Lib Dems are the party to trust for this.
Nick Perry, Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Hastings & Rye, has welcomed Vince Cable’s recent policy announcement on fuel poverty.
Amongst other ideas, Lib Dems are demanding that energy companies use their £9bn windfall to mitigate the effects of price rises for our most vulnerable citizens. The windfall has been due to the giveaway of free permits to emit Carbon Dioxide under the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme.
Nick says, “As usual Vince Cable is ahead of the field in terms of his ideas to create a truly social market.
“Time after time it is the Lib Dems who are coming up with the policy directions needed to protect our poorest and most vulnerable citizens. These proposals on fuel poverty are another great example of this.”
See link for further details
[What do you think of the proposals?]
|
News from the Liberal Democrats
