A recent report from the Energy Bill Foundation found that 21% of households in the Skipton & Ripon constituency are living in fuel poverty and are struggling to pay their energy bills. This makes it the fourth worst constituency in the Yorkshire & Humber region. It is a very worrying situation. People are having to choose between paying for food or heating their homes.
There has been relatively little coverage of Labour’s proposal for refurbishing existing housing but it is hugely significant. There are a number of benefits which flow from a programme to insulate and improve the energy performance of existing homes. These include reducing fuel poverty, cutting carbon emissions and boosting the economy and jobs through thousands of small construction businesses. Labour has promised to insulate 5 million homes over ten years if it gets into government. This is the size of programme that is required to make a real difference and it shows how concerted government action is needed. Compare this with the abject failure of the Green Deal, dreamt up by the Conservatives and Lib Dems. In the whole of the Skipton & Ripon constituency there have been just 313 assessments, let alone actual works implemented. The Green Deal has simply not been attractive enough to encourage homeowners to take it up and implement energy saving measures. Only Labour has a serious and deliverable programme for tackling the scourge of energy poverty. The Labour Party traditionally doesn't get much of a look in around these parts. I recently received a postcard from the playwright and local resident Alan Bennett in support of my campaign. He quoted the saying in his village that the Tory Party could field a sheep as their candidate and it would still get elected. My in-laws think it’s a lost cause and that I’m insane to take it on. Perhaps they've inadvertently hit the nail on the head. If the cause has been lost, then surely it just needs someone to find it, or at least to remind people what it looked like in the first place.
That's why I'm starting with a box, beautifully crafted by my former woodwork teacher from South Craven school. It fits neatly in a bike trailer and folds out to become a vision from the past, a bunting bestrewed billboard, a message to and from local people. Yes I've painted it red and yes it has a Labour sticker on it. It's not as bad as you might think. The Labour movement began as a quest for a better life for everyday working people. At its roots and at its best, that's still what the party stands for today. You can dislike Gordon Brown, disagree with Ed Balls, or disapprove of Ed Miliband's method of eating bacon sandwiches, but the basic principle of fighting for a fairer world is bigger than all those things. I sincerely believe that the good people of Skipton & Ripon would rather have a dynamic and compassionate candidate than a sheep for an MP. I want to get on my bike and ride around the constituency with a billboard in a box because I believe politics should be about passion and conviction. These are difficult times and injustice and unfairness can be seen on many a corner. People shrug and think it’s somehow inevitable. It’s not. The Labour Party is not perfect but it’s asking the right questions and it does have a plan and a vision for a fairer society. This is what I believe in and it’s why I’m getting on my bike. #ride4fairness Right, here we go: bike: check; campaign-in-a-box: check; flags: check; bunting: check; Cameron & Clegg: check; flask of tea: check. Ok, we're off! #ride4fairness
The Conservative Peer, Lord Fink, admitted this week to “vanilla” tax avoidance, saying “everyone does it”. Also revealed, was the extent to which HSBC has helped rich clients to avoid tax by sheltering money in secret Swiss bank accounts. It is becoming more and more apparent that, when it comes to tax, there is one rule for the rich and another for everyone else. The Conservative Party, supported as it is by hedge fund managers and City financiers, talks about cracking down on tax avoidance but does nothing serious about it. Their friends wouldn’t like it.
An estimated £25 billion was lost to tax avoidance last year. One in five large companies pay no corporation tax at all and half pay less than £10 million, by channelling money to offshore accounts. Meanwhile, the vast majority of people follow the rules and pay their taxes, including thousands of small businesses who often struggle to compete against big corporations. There is no level playing field in Britain today. The wealth of the Super Rich has doubled since 2008. An astonishing £1.2 trillion was used to prop up the banks after their greed and profligacy brought the financial system to the brink of disaster. Meanwhile the average family has seen its annual income squeezed by £1,200 in real terms and a host of public services have been slashed. The Coalition’s policies have caused inequality to deepen in the aftermath of the crash, with the most vulnerable bearing the brunt of the cuts. 4 million children now live in poverty, including 15% of children in this constituency and nearly one million people have used food banks. Most of these people are in work but earn very little, often subject to few employment rights and the uncertainties of zero-hours contracts. I believe that only a Labour Government will seriously address the current situation and take on the powerful vested interests at the heart of the financial system. That is why I am standing in this election. The people of this constituency have a great opportunity in May to elect their first ever Labour MP and be part of the fight for a fairer society. Cuts to elderly care fuelling NHS crisis
It was reported in The Times last week that the number of frail, elderly people receiving government-funded care has plummeted in the past three years. As a result, more strain has been placed on NHS hospitals. Age UK found that the number of elderly people who receive funded care has fallen by 56% since 2012. During this time the over-65 population has risen by one million. This collapse in funded care has contributed to the crisis in the NHS, with more elderly people arriving at A&E and hospitals full of older patients who cannot be discharged because there is nowhere appropriate for them to go. The British Medical Association chairman Dr Mark Porter was quoted as saying ‘Problems at the A&E front door are linked to delays at the back door, as a shortage of social care beds creates exit blocks in hospitals’. According to Age UK, the number of people receiving meals-on-wheels is also down by 63% and spending on daycare centres has been cut by a third. Councils decide who is eligible for funded social care but following the massive central government cuts, most can only help those with the greatest need. The Tory/Lib Dem government make out that these cuts are an inevitable part of austerity measures. The truth is that they have made a choice about their priorities. Whilst cutting funding for social care they have given a tax cut to those on the highest incomes and have refused to properly tax the big banks and large corporations. A Labour government would make different choices and would put money back where it is most needed, making sure that social care for the elderly is properly funded and co-ordinated. Fairness - it's what the Labour Party is really about :
The belief that children should get the same chances. The knowledge that people should be treated the same way. The duty that we have to those who deserve compassion. And the responsibility each and every one of us has to contribute to the society we’re part of. This week it has been reported that the cuts to local bus services in North Yorkshire are the worst in the entire country. A total of 90 bus services have been cut, more than any other region.
These supported services may only represent 20% of bus services, but they are often the ones people and communities need most, where no alternative transport exists. It is important to remember that behind all the statistics there are long term human impacts in taking away people’s bus services. Many people have been effectively stranded following cuts to their bus service, unable to access jobs or public services, left in isolation with little contact with the outside world. The Conservative candidate at the General Election, Julian Smith, wrings his hands but takes no responsibility for the 34% funding cut his government has forced upon North Yorkshire County Council. Meanwhile, he voted against taxing bankers' bonuses and homes valued over £2 million and has supported giving a tax cut to those on the highest incomes. It is clear whose side Mr Smith, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are on - the rich and the powerful. The Labour Party would make different choices and believes in defending local public services. The majority of people depend on decent public services and we need to fight against this ideologically-driven attempt to roll back basic civil society. |
Archives
March 2015
Categories |