Issues - Let's Make a Change
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Christian Aid and
Climate Change
On climate change,
I agree this is one of the main challenges we face
nationally and globally, particularly in its impact
on the world's poorest people. That is why Labour is
committed to ambitious global and UK action which
will keep global temperature increases within 2
degrees Celsius – and why we will continue to work
actively for a fair and legally binding
international climate change deal to be agreed under
the UN.
Domestically, Labour
remains committed to achieving UK emissions cuts of
at least 80% by 2050. We have led the world in
passing a Climate Change Act to ensure this happens
– and this also commits us by law to a 34% cut in
emissions on 1990 levels by 2020. In concert with
high ambition from other developed countries we want
the EU to move from a 20% to a 30% reduction by
2020, under which Labour is committed to a UK cut of
around 42%.
I am proud that we are also committed to help the
world's poorest countries both cope with the impacts
of climate change they are already experiencing –
and to helping them find sustainable and low-carbon
development paths. We will do this through a range
of ways, including significant funding for
mitigation and adaptation measures, and tackling
deforestation. We have committed to provide our fair
share towards the global goal agreed in the
Copenhagen Accord - to mobilise public and private
financial flows of at least $100bn per year by 2020
for these purposes, including finance which is
additional to our existing 0.7% aid (ODA) commitment
from 2013, and that no more than 10% of our ODA
commitment should be counted as climate finance. The
Tories have yet to make any such commitment.
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On tax, thanks
to the campaigning of organisations like Christian
Aid, and the efforts made by Labour Ministers, we
have probably achieved more on this issue in the
last nine months than the last nine years. I am
proud that Labour has led efforts internationally to
clamp down on tax havens and secure progress on the
issue of taxation, following our championing of this
issue at the London G20 summit in 2009.
We have called on the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) to look at the feasibility of
introducing multinational guidelines on
Country-by-Country Reporting and we welcome the work
of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
in exploring country by country reporting within the
extractive industries. I am also pleased that Labour
has already launched a process to be one of the
first countries to sign a multilateral tax
information exchange agreement (MTIEA) - enabling
developing countries and developed countries a more
low cost means of securing tax information exchange.
We aim to have this in place by end of 2010 – and
will encourage other countries to do the same. We
acknowledge that the future of tax information
exchange will need to be automatic exchange. We
have also supported initiatives like the African Tax
Forum and have also significantly contributed
towards supporting developing countries to improve
their own taxation arrangements and ability to raise
revenue.
Please keep up the
campaigning.
Yours sincerely,
Eileen Driver
PS You might also
want to visit
www.globalpovertypromise.com
and sign up to our campaign on the 0.7% aid law, and
for action to clamp down on vulture funds.
On the Buses
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If we had missed the 10.06am out
of Kildale on Wednesday, we would have had to
wait until Friday for the next bus. On a raw(why
didn’t I bring my gloves? ) April morning Labour
Candidate, Eileen Driver, and Labour activists
campaigned before ascending the first bus for 5
days out of the village to Northallerton. We
were travelling from the eastern edge of the
constituency to Hawes in the West- a journey
entailing 4 buses, whose purpose was to listen
to users’ views on public transport in the
constituency.
Two friendly Kildale ladies got
on the half-ful bus that had travelled from
Whitby and we scooped more passengers in Ayton &
Stokesley making the bus almost full. One couple
explained how “Our lives are transformed by the
free bus passes for pensioners. ” Labour’s free
bus pass policy must be retained as this point
was echoed by many others along the route to
Hawes . We met people who were unable to drive
or couldn’t afford a car for whom the free bus
travel was essential. A large proportion of our
fellow travellers were local pensioners and, as
we moved towards Hawes, a few groups of visitors
joined us with bus passes. We speculated on how
the bus system has benefited from extra bus pass
income. Would it be able to provide as much as
it does without the extra pensioner support? Of
the passengers to whom we spoke, most seemed
happy with the service. Some of the younger
passengers who depended on the bus system in the
Northallerton to Hawes area didn’t own cars and
were totally dependent on buses in order to
reach doctors, work and nurseries. Delays,
especially in winter were miserable, especially
at the stops that had no cover or no side-cover
for these people. Some connections need to be
adjusted. We were awed by the skills of our
drivers who dealt with some tricky, narrow
corners & single –track roads with Yorkshire
modesty .
Our journey reinforced the Labour
view that buses are a lifeline, having doubled
investment since 1997. We did meet a few
passengers who had had problems with buses
arriving late which our manifesto is dealing
with by promising punctuality data on all bus
routes. We want greater use of powers to
regulate bus routes where local services are not
serving communities well & we will work with the
Competition Commision to ensure that bus
companies do not make excess profits at the
expense of passengers. Good local buses are a
challenge: how to reconcile personal mobility
for all, one of the foundations of social
justice, with tackling climate change in our
generation. Bus transport is already green in
reducing the number of cars on the roads and has
been helped by Labour’s recent £30million fund
for Green buses.
We recommend that constituents
sample the delights of bus journeys and consider
offering feed-back to the County Consultation
which is accessible on the North Yorks County
Council website. I will be campaigning for more
bus shelters and using the services as much as I
can. Anyone wanting to join me can contact me
on eileendriver.co.uk
Eileen Driver |
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Rural Issues Letter
22nd March, 2010-03-23
Dear Editor,
How many Richmond Constituency
readers must have been puzzled by the Lib Dem
candidate’s lack of research in his letter of last
week. Let us hope that he is not misleading voters
about the many ways in which constituents have been
helped by the present government. Good examples of
our housing policy can be seen in the new affordable
homes in Chop Gate, Battersby and Great Ayton.
Through the recession, Labour took the decision to
invest an EXTRA £1.5 billion in building more
affordable homes and protecting jobs and skills in
the construction industry. We’re making government
money available to councils & now have the biggest
council house building programme for two decades.
Last year the Tories launched a planning paper that
the Chief Exec of the National Housebuilding
Federation said could mean losing “up to 64,000
affordable homes(nationally) over three years.”
Labour has set the target of building 8,500 homes in
small rural communities between 2008-11. As further
help for those of us living here, Labour introduced
regulations from last September for shared ownership
homes in 13,000 small protected rural areas which
will be retained as affordable housing in
perpetuity.
Another help for our rural constituency is Labour’s
consultation on banking at Post Offices and new
financial services that they can offer. We have also
recently set up a 12 point action plan to give
practical support for community pubs, to retain pubs
in rural & urban communities. Meredith’s fears about
broadband provision are untrue. Labour is
guaranteeing that superfast broadband will be
accessible everywhere in the UK by 2012 and creating
hundreds of thousands of jobs in this process.
The hard-working farmers in our region, through
Defra, have been helped with the successful blue
tongue vaccination, our stand on pesticides and
administering support policies agreed in Brussels
which have given £3bn to British agriculture.
I wonder if Meredith has been on local buses as I
was last week, travelling from Stokesley to
Northallerton, chatting to local people who found
the service good and adequate to their needs. Better
provision of Sunday services have been one of my
campaigning issues to the local council.
Voters mustn’t risk voting Lib Dem for “cuts, cuts
that are savage and bold” which Nick Clegg promised
in his annual conference. Better to give an
approving vote to a party that has protected our
beautiful and characterful constituency.
Eileen Driver Labour candidate For Richmond(Yorks)
Education Funding Put in Perspective!
Not True! The Tory Council are unfairly exploiting
a political time & covering their own
miscalculations in saying that they cannot organise
Formula for funding schools in rural areas. Eileen
Driver, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for
Richmond Constituency fears that North Yorks
County Council is not acknowledging the expertise of
the Review on School Funding that the Government
established to create socially- just education
finance for our County .
Eileen said,”As soon as Labour recognised problems
in funding schools in rural areas, they established
this immense Funding Review, which they guaranteed
was informed by a wide spectrum of local government
officers& members; governors, teachers, parents;
education experts etc. These experts have made the
recommendations in the most fair and scrupulous way
and, the Government is obliged to implement their
findings. The Review has included Transitional
arrangements for authorities such as ours which will
substantially increase funding.
“There are other rural authorities who solve some of
the curriculum problems for small secondary schools
by sharing subject provision.
“ I was disturbed by the simplistic comments from
Thirsk & Malton’s Lib Dem candidate about the
funding. There will never be enough money for
schools. Mr Keal needs to acknowledge Labour’s
judicious investment of 42,000 more teachers &
123,000 teaching assistants(across 12 years) & its
huge benefit to students’ learning in this country.
“I do pay tribute to the commitment and concern of
Cynthia Welbourn and the Education Department but
disagree with them about this issue. As a teacher in
a North Yorkshire secondary school for almost 20
years, I saw the pressures on finance but I also
experienced many innovative, cost-saving solutions.
The government has ensured that School funding will
be distributed fairly because of the Review. We need
to rely on North Yorks County Council to present
this complex issue to voters in the true context and
not a distortion.
Eileen Driver(PPC Richmond Yorks)
Letter to William Hague about Lord Ashcroft
March, 2010
Dear
William Hague,
Voters in our constituency are shocked by your close
connections with your Deputy Chairman, Lord
Ashcroft, the man bankrolling your party. You
confirmed that you have known about his tax status
for “a few months.” When exactly did you discover he
was a non-dom? Why did you not immediately publicly
clarify Ashcroft’s status which both you and he had
pledged would be that of a permanent UK resident?
Why did you not immediately tell Cameron about
Ashcroft’s true status? By his own admission, Lord
Ashcroft has given millions to the Conservatives and
may be the largest single donor of all time. His
company, Bearwood Corporate Services, is at the
centre of a major investigation by the Electoral
Commission.
Instead of paying tens of millions of pounds in
tax-money that could have helped pay for schools and
hospitals - Lord Ashcroft chose to spend the money
on David Cameron's campaign instead.
Instead of paying fair taxes, like everyone else has
to in our constituency, he has been channelling
millions into the Conservative Party to help them
buy this election.
So people in our constituency have a right to feel
these expensive Tory campaigns have come at the cost
of a new school or a new hospital wing.
I have some more very simple questions for you in
relation to Lord Ashcroft:
-
Why did you take more than nine years to establish
Ashcroft’s status when you had offered written
assurances to both Blair & the honours committee
that Ashcroft would become a permanent UK
resident?
-
Will you repay any money that has come from Lord
Ashcroft or one of his companies directly or
indirectly via Tory central office?
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Will you rule out taking any donations from Lord
Ashcroft or his companies in future?
-
Why have you allowed Lord Ashcroft to accompany
you on so many official foreign policy visits? Why
is a man who hasn’t paid tax on his foreign
holdings being granted a seat at the Tory top
table for foreign affairs?
Voters need their Mps to be scrupulously honest & to
be good judges of character.
Yours sincerely,
Eileen Driver(Labour
Candidate for Richmond)
May 25th No reply as yet.
To describe new
public housing as 'slums' is nothing but a smear
Housing Minister JOHN HEALEY’s ‘response’ article in
today’s Guardian to a recent opinion piece on
the government’s housebuilding record
We are investing in mixed communities with high
design and environmental standards, says John
Healey
Lynsey Hanley accuses the government of wanting to
push through "acres of new housing that will look
good for the books in the short term but fail
miserably in terms of sustainability and the
wellbeing of residents" (The slums of tomorrow, 3
February). She's wrong to dismiss so lightly the
importance of building more homes now, and wrong to
say that we are indifferent to housing quality.
Britain has had a shortage of homes for decades. Too
few homes mean that house prices spiral higher, so
first-time buyers find it harder to get their own
home, and too many people are living in homes that
don't meet their needs - in England around one
million children are still in overcrowded homes.
We're not delivering "unfit-for-purpose housing",
but building homes that meet the needs and
aspirations of British families.
Before the recession we had the highest level of
house-building for 30 years. When the recession hit,
private building collapsed by a half, while the need
for housing increased further. That is why the
government stepped in with an extra £1.5bn to build
more new affordable homes and help private
house-building. I make no apology for giving
priority to sites where we could keep people in
their jobs, where new homes could be built quickly,
and where a majority of the sites meet higher
environmental standards than the open market
generally builds, despite what Hanley argues.
But this support to private developments is not a
government "housing delivery programme" as Hanley
states. It is one element of Labour's housing
investment. The public sector will also build
112,000 new affordable homes over this year and
next, and - central to this - I've launched the
largest council-house building programme for two
decades.
Far from "pushing through inadequate housing
schemes", for public housing - provided by housing
associations and councils - we demand mixed
communities with higher design and environmental
standards than planning and building regulations
require.
On the government's legacy, Hanley asks: "Where's
the commitment to usefulness, to durability, to
delight?" One place is in our commitment to new
ecotowns, designed and built to the highest-ever
standards for green, high-quality and sustainable
living. Hanley exhorts us to talk about housing in
"epic terms" and ally ourselves with Nye Bevan's
"use of political power for democratising ... ends".
We do, and to Bevan's maxim that "we shall be judged
for a year or two by the number of houses we build,
we shall be judged in 10 years' time by the type of
houses we build", I add: "And we will be judged in a
generation by the environmental standards of the
homes we build."
Hanley and I agree on one thing - housing should be
treated with "fundamental seriousness" by any
government. The credit crunch shows we can't just
leave things to the market. But describing new
public housing as "slums" is a smear that simply
plays to the worst stereotypes. It's also a gift to
the Conservatives, who believe that the state should
play little or no role in housing. That's something
that Hanley, author of Estates - a book that acted
as a wake-up call to politicians and public
policymakers alike - should understand.
John Healey MP
is the housing minister.
healeyj@parliament.uk
Lynsey Hanley’s initial article can be found at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/02/the-slums-of-tomorrow
Jobcentres Celebrate 100 Years

Eileen Driver, Labour Candidate
for
Richmond, Northallerton & Stokesley areas was
talking to unemployed people in Northallerton.
Eileen said, “I was struck by the gentleness of the
people I spoke to today. Young men like Terry
Connolly from Brompton, has not had a job for 2
years; spends his days on the Internet and is
registered with many talent pools. He is now hoping
to get an apprenticeship. He is very keen to be
employed as was Michael Goddard, an older man, who
has been jobless for 4 months after being made
redundant. Michael told me how “brilliant “ the
Jobcentres are. Coincidentally, it is exactly 100
years since the first Labour Exchange – the
precursor to today’s Jobcentres.
The first Labour Exchanges were opened by Winston
Churchill in 1910. In those days, Labour Exchanges
had separate entrances for men, women, children and
employers, and advertised for ‘girl confectioner
packers’ and ‘piano regulators’.
Since then, the service has transformed. When Labour
came into office, jobseeking and benefits support
were brought together in one place: Jobcentre Plus.
There are now 750 offices across the country,
helping customers into the right job from 10,000 new
vacancies received every day. No more Full
Monty-type screens and queues - but an integrated,
personalised service that provides one-to-one
advice, training and financial support to help
people back into work. Despite the recession,
Jobcentre Plus continues to help more than half of
new claimants off Job Seekers Allowance within 3
months and around 70% within 6. And unemployment has
fallen by 7,000 in the last month.
“Congratulations to Jobcentre Plus for 100 years of
getting people into jobs. And congratulations for
their determination and hard work during this
recession and during the recent difficult weather.
“Extra investment by the Labour government has
helped keep unemployment round here lower than in
the 90’s recessions.
“Back then the Tory Government walked away, saying
unemployment was a price worth paying.
“And they would do so again – by refusing to back
our £5 billion investment in getting people back
into work and by making cuts that would risk the
recovery and double unemployment.
“But the lesson is we’ve got to do more through the
recovery. That’s why I am backing more youth jobs
round here and why I am challenging local Tories to
back the Future Jobs Fund, creating 170,000 new jobs
nationwide, which David Cameron wants to slash.
People like Michael & Terry need supporting into
work through Government initiatives.”
Labour Candidate
backs plans for 3Rs catch-up support in schools
EileenDriver,
Labour Candidate for the Richmond, Northllerton and
Stokesley areas, has backed plans for guaranteed
catch-up support and one-to-one tuition for children
falling behind in the 3Rs and stronger discipline
through tough home-school agreements.
The
measures are part of the Labour government’s
Children, Schools and Families Bill, which Labour
Mps voted but was opposed by Conservative and
Liberal Democrat MPs.
A series
of new ‘guarantees’ to pupils and parents include:
o
catch-up support in the 3Rs for pupils falling
behind in English and maths, including one-to-one
tuition;
o online
information for parents on their child’s behaviour,
progress and attainment;
o the
right to learn triple sciences at GCSE;
o and
the opportunity for every primary pupil to learn a
musical instrument .
The guarantee of
one-to-one tuition for children falling behind in
literacy and numeracy has already been backed by
£2,667,922 of extra funding this year for schools
across North Yorkshire.
Eileen
Driver, who taught in North Yorkshire for 19 years
said: “Schools in North Yorkshire have been
transformed over the last twelve years. Exam results
are up, there are more teachers and teaching
assistants and school buildings have been revamped.
“But we
now need to go even further with a new ‘3Rs
guarantee’ of catch-up support, including one-to-one
tuition, for children in primary school and in the
first year of secondary school who are falling
behind in English and maths. Every one of the
reluctant learners that I taught always responded
positively to one to one tuition. This investment
will have a huge impact on education. Improvements
in behaviour, confidence and a greater keenness to
learn will be seen in reluctant learners as a result
of one to one tuition.
“Parents
also tell me they want their children to learn in an
orderly school where discipline is tough and the bad
behaviour of a few, which disrupts the learning of
the rest of the class, is not tolerated. So I
support plans for tougher home-school agreements,
with all pupils and parents accepting the school’s
rules when they apply for a school place – and clear
consequences if they are broken.
“That’s
why this week I’ve supported the government’s
Schools Bill, which passed through Parliament
despite David Cameron’s Conservatives and the
Liberal Democrats voting against it.
“We can
only keep school standards rising and support the
aspirations of all young people in our area by
continuing to invest in our schools. And while
Labour has guaranteed real terms rises in funding
for schools for the next three years, the Tories
would make immediate cuts to local schools if they
win the election this year.
“That’s
because they have decided to prioritise an
inheritance tax cut, which would give £200,000 to
the 3,000 richest estates, instead of frontline
services like schools and families which thousands
of families in our area rely on. This will mean
fewer teachers, fewer teaching assistants and bigger
class sizes, which is the last thing I want to
happen to our local schools.”
Support for
Pensioners in Pre-budget
Eileen welcomes the
Pre-Budget Report and the Government’s continuing
support for pensioners.
The
Pre-Budget report announced a 2.5% increase in the
basic state pension. Eileen said:
“I warmly
welcome the action taken to help pensioners in the
Pre-Budget Report – including the 2.5% rise in the
basic state pension from April 2010.
“We are
also making sure that pensioners need never worry
about heating costs.
“We have
extended the increase in Cold Weather Payments to
£25 a week to this winter. And this winter,
pensioners will also receive an extra £50 alongside
their winter fuel payment – and an extra £100 if
they are over 80.”
The
Pre-Budget Report:
-
Increases the full
basic state pension by £2.40 to £97.65 a week in
April 2010.
-
Increases the full
couples pension by £3.85 to £156.15 in April 2010.
-
Boosts
the pension guarantee – from April 2010, a single
pensioner will be guaranteed an income of £132.60,
a rise of £2.60, while a couple will be guaranteed
£202.40, a rise of £3.95 a week.
-
Extends the increase in
Cold Weather Payments to £25 a week to this
winter.
Support for Small Businesses In Pre-Budget Report
Eileen Driver welcomes
the Pre-Budget Report and the Government’s
continuing support for small businesses.
The 2009
Pre-Budget Report extended the freeze in the rate of
corporation tax paid by small businesses, while
maintaining a raft of measures to support small
businesses through the recovery.
Eileen
said:
“I welcome
the extension of the tax rate freeze for small
businesses, the ongoing action to encourage lending
by banks and other measures, like the help with
deferring tax bills. These measures will make a real
difference to small businesses and those who depend
on them in our constituency”
The
Pre-Budget Report:
-
announced that the lower rate of Small Companies
Corporation Tax would remain frozen for another
year until April 2011. This will save £500 million
for 850,000 small and medium-sized companies
across the country, supporting them during the
recovery.
-
the
Prompt Payment Initiative would continue. The
scheme has ensured almost £73 billion of payments
are made within a 10-day target since June 2009,
helping businesses to plan their cashflow.
-
confirmed that the Business Payments Support
Scheme would continue as long as it is needed. The
scheme has helped more than 160,000 companies
employing over 1.2 million people to defer paying
more than £4 billion in tax. In [REGION HERE] it’s
helped x companies to defer £x m worth of tax,
helping to support around xxx jobs.
-
confirmed that the Enterprise Finance Guarantee,
which helps small businesses to access finance,
would continue for another year. Offers totalling
£1 billion have been made to 9000 SMEs nationally.
For full
details of this Business Support package, please
visit the Treasury website –
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk or the HMRC website –
www.hmrc.gov.uk
50
Labour Achievements
-
A rising
National Minimum Wage - the annual up-rating
benefits 1 million people a year.
-
The
shortest waiting times since NHS records began.
-
Three
million more operations carried out each year than
in 1997, with more than double the number of heart
operations.
-
Over
44,000 more doctors
-
Over
89,000 more nurses
-
Over
three quarters of GP practices now offer extended
opening hours for at least one evening or weekend
session a week.
-
All
prescriptions are now free for people being
treated for cancer or the effects of cancer, and
teenage girls are offered a vaccination against
cervical cancer.
-
The
NHS can now guarantee that you will see a cancer
specialist within two weeks if your GP suspects
you may have cancer. Whatever your condition, you
will not have to wait more than 18 weeks from GP
referral to the start of hospital treatment – and
most waits are much shorter than this.
-
22 million people are
benefiting from real tax cuts to boost their
income this year.
-
12 million pensioners
benefiting from increased Winter Fuel Payments
-
900,000 pensioners lifted out
of poverty
-
500,000 children lifted out of
relative poverty and
measures already in train will lift around a
further 500,000 children out of poverty.
-
Free TV licences for over-75s
-
The New Deal has helped over 2
million people into work
-
Over 3 million Child Trust
Funds have been started
-
Nearly 3,000 Sure Start
Children’s Centres opened, reaching 2 million
children and their families
-
Over 42,400 more teachers and
123,000 more teaching assistants than in 1997
-
There have been approximately
3,700 rebuilt and significantly refurbished
schools; including new and improved classrooms,
laboratories and kitchens.
-
A free nursery place for every
3 and 4 year old.
-
Doubled the number of
registered childcare places to more than 1.5
million, one for every four children under eight
years old
-
More young people attending
university than ever before
-
More than doubled the number of
apprenticeships starts, with figures for 2008/9
showing 234,000 started an apprenticeship this
year compared to 75,000 in 1997.
-
In 1997 more than half of all
schools saw less that 30% of their pupils fail to
get 5 good GCSEs including English and Maths. Now
only 270 schools fail this benchmark and we are
guaranteeing that no school should fail this mark
after 2011.
-
We
have increased school funding to support the
delivery of higher standards. Between 1997-98 and
2009-10, total funding per pupil has more than
doubled from £3,030 in 1997-98 to £6,350 in
2009-10 in real terms, an increase of 110%
-
The Northern
Ireland peace process
-
The UK is now
smokefree, with no smoking in most enclosed public
places.
-
The UK’s
greenhouse gas emissions are now 21% below 1990
levels, beating our Kyoto target.
-
Over £20
billion invested in bringing social housing to
decent standards
-
Rough sleeping
has dropped by two thirds and homelessness is at
its lowest level since the early 1980s
-
Free off-peak
travel on buses anywhere in England for over-60s
and disabled people
-
Since 1997
overall crime is down 36 per cent; domestic
burglary is down 54 per cent; vehicle related
crime is down 57 per cent; and violent crime is
down 41 per cent.
-
A new flexible
points-based system to ensure only those economic
migrants who have the skills our economy needs can
come to work in the UK.
-
Police numbers
up by 16,000 since 1997, alongside more than
16,000 Police Community Support Officers
-
Every
community now has its own dedicated neighbourhood
police team, easily contactable by the people who
live in that community and working with them to
agree local priorities and deal with people’s
concerns.
-
Equalised the
age of consent and repealed Section 28.
-
Through the
introduction of civil partnerships, Labour has for
the first time given legal recognition to same-sex
partners. Gay couples now have the same
inheritance, pension and next-of-kin rights as
married couples.
-
More than
doubled Britain’s overseas aid budget. UK aid
helps lift an estimated 3 million people out of
poverty every year
-
Cancelled up
to 100 per cent of debt for the world’s poorest
countries
-
Britain now
has more offshore wind capacity than any country
in the world. Wind last year provided enough
electricity to power 2 million homes
-
Launched the
£1.5 billion Housing Pledge to speed up the
delivery of new affordable housing and embarked on
the biggest program of council house building for
twenty years
-
Launched the
Swimming Challenge Fund to support free swimming
for over 60s and under 16s
-
Banned fox
hunting.
-
Led the
campaign to win the 2012 Olympics for London.
Today the programme remains on time and on budget
with over 40% of the construction programme
completed and all major venues under construction.
-
Free admission to our
national museums and galleries.
-
Devolution in Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland, an elected Mayor and
Assembly for London and directly-elected mayors
for those cities that want them.
-
Created a new right of
pedestrian access to the English coast, so that
every family has the opportunity to enjoy the
length and breadth of our coastline
-
In the last 4 years Labour’s
work overseas has helped over 7 million people in
sub-Saharan Africa access clean water and
sanitation
-
In Europe we signed the
Social Chapter
and introduced measures including: four weeks’
paid holiday; a right to parental leave; extended
maternity leave; a new right to request flexible
working; and the same protection for part-time
workers as full-time workers.
-
We led efforts
to agree a new international convention banning
all cluster munitions.
-
We introduced
the first ever British Armed Forces and Veterans
Day to honour the achievements of our armed forces
– both past and present.
Labour leads in
Climate Change!
Eileen driver, Labour’s
candidate for Richmond Constituency, is concerned
about The Tory-controlled North Yorkshire County
Council’s irresponsible rejection of the Labour
Government’s 10;10 campaign. This gives individuals,
schools, businesses and local authorities the chance
to do their bit to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions
by working out how they can cut the amount of CO2
they produce by 10 per cent in 2010. Out of all the
41 councils that have either passed a motion to
join10:10 or are waiting to do so, only six of them
are Tory-led. Shamefully, North Yorkshire
immediately declined to join. Doesn’t this alarm
voters who want their local council to be pro-active
about climate change?
Alexis Rowell, the 10:10
coordinator for Councils, claims, “When10:10 was
launched Cameron & the Tory shadow cabinet were
quick to get on board. But there’s a disconnect
between the shadow cabinet and Tory-run councils. On
the ground, we’re getting the sense that the Tories
don’t give two hoots about climate change.”
Eileen said, “I appreciate that
10:10 is ambitious but we must aim high. If such a
proportion of Labour councils commit to 10:10 and
such a low percentage of Tory councils, isn’t such a
lesser commitment scandalous? This is not
representing the concerned electorate who want
effective emission cuts.
The Labour Government has
insulated 5 million houses between 2002 and 2008. By
regulating the energy companies we are insulating 6
million more homes between 08 and 012. In the teeth
of a recession we found £1.4bn for new investment in
developing a low carbon economy. More than 20 per
cent of public investment since last November has
been on sustainable and green projects. Unlike the
Tories who Talk Green but Act Blue, our system of
carbon budgets ensures active green policies by
government departments and the public sector to
deliver long term sustained CO2 reductions.
If you would like to add your
voice to the campaign to achieve a fair, ambitious
and effective deal at Copenhagen, please sign up to
edspledge.com The more people who sign, the more
Ed Miliband can proudly say that he has the people
of North Yorkshire behind him.”
Eileen Driver(Labour’s
Parliamentary Candidate for Richmond(Yorks)
Eileen
keeps the Red Flag flying
Labour/Co-op
MP for Portsmouth North, at the Co-operative Party
conference in Edinburgh
A
FORMIDABLE task awaits Eileen Driver at the next
general election. She is standing against William
Hague in the rock-solid Tory constituency of
Richmond. Chosen in May
2008,
the
ex-schoolteacher has no illusions about the odds of
displacing the former Conservative leader. But she
says she is absolutely determined to keep the Labour
flag flying in this remote rural constituency, which
has the largest geographical area in the country.
Eileen said: "It's terribly important to keep
a
voice for Labour going and I hope over time that we
can build up our support."
Next
year's hustings will be the first which Eileen has
faced as a Parliamentary candidate. For 25 years she
was a full-time teacher with three children to
raise, which meant her time for political work was
pretty limited. She lives in Stokesley, originally
an old market town which in recent years has
expanded significantly with more modern housing
developments. An active member of the Co-op Party
for some years, Eileen is a member of the North
Yorkshire Area Committee. Originally from
Middlesbrough, Eileen lived variously in Birmingham,
Hertfordshire and Cambridge before moving back north
– spending 19 years as a teacher at a local
comprehensive. "I retired two years ago, which means
I now have a lot more time to devote to politics and
campaigning.
Issues
"It is
sometimes a bit of a struggle on the doorstep and
William Hague is of course a popular MP with a lot
of support but I'm enjoying getting out and meeting
people because there are lots of issues to talk
about. The Richmond constituency is a beautiful part
of the country and it may look like an affluent
place to live but there is a lot of rural poverty.
Low-cost housing is very difficult to come by and
for a lot of the local farmers it's a difficult
life."
Recently,
Eileen arranged a meeting with local farmers to talk
over issues of concern. These include problems for
tenant farmers, bureaucratic processes for approving
pesticides, supermarket pricing of milk and
problems related to crop-spraying. She has also been
aided in her campaign by a visit from DEFRA Minister
Hilary Benn, who met local farmers and was guest
speaker at a recent Labour Party supper. Ed Miliband
has offered moral support and Eileen was also
thrilled a while ago to meet veteran left-winger
Dennis Skinner, who sent her a personal message of
solidarity.
Eileen
has been a Labour Party member for over 25 years so
is used to varying political fortunes - but in her
part of the world, Labour has taken a particular
hammering. There is currently just one Labour
representative on North Yorkshire County Council.
Undaunted, Eileen is quietly getting on with her
campaign and also enjoys her work with the Co-op
Party and Area Committee. "One of the things I most
enjoy about that is the work we are able to do to
help in the local community by considering and
deciding on applications for grant funding. That
means we can allocate money to all kinds of local
groups and good causes like hospices and I'm glad we
are able to help. The values of the Co-operative
Movement are very important to me. We have a lot of
small businesses where I live and if they could all
be run on co-operative lines that would be my idea
of utopia."
As a PPC,
Eileen has enjoyed the chance to meet others
standing for the first time at various training
events and at the Brighton Labour Party Conference
she will be lobbying on the things she cares about
most. "There are several issues of particular
concern to me and one is how we treat carers for the
elderly. Another is mental illness, an area which is
often neglected although the Government has made
some excellent efforts in the right direction. There
is still a huge amount of stigma around mental
health. Many employers still regard it not as an
illness but a weakness. They need to have a lot more
understanding and at the conference I hope I will
have the opportunity to talk to Ministers about it."
Eileen
concedes that her chances of a place at Westminster
may be small - but regards her opportunity to
campaign in the past couple of years as a real
positive. "For many years, I was unable to stand as
a candidate because of my family and teaching
commitments, but I decided to give it a go and
whatever happens we have acquired lots of new
campaigning strategies and I hope my experience will
be helpful to other candidates in the future.
"Things
are not easy for us at the moment but in my view
politics are a constantly evolving situation and
though there are areas that need reflection, Labour
has done a good job. Throughout my life, I have
always had a fierce sense that I don't regret
anything. I feel enriched by everything that I have
done and it's been a great experience getting out,
meeting people, and being able to raise issues in my
local community."
Social Care Green Paper

Eileen Driver, Labour
Parliamentary Candidate for Richmond Constituency,
strongly welcomes the Government's launch of the
Social Care Green Paper. In Stokesley, Eileen was
talking to people such as Irene Bailey(88)about the
new radical vision for a National Care Service.
Eileen said,"Most of us are living longer and
advances in medical science mean that people with a
disability are living longer. This is worth
celebrating but does mean that we need to deal with
the challenge of changing the way care is provided
and paid for.
The government is crafting a system that is fair,
simple and affordable for everyone.
Everyone will come into contact with the Care system
at some point so it must be shaped by the people who
will use it so we want everyone to tell us what they
think. I have already begun discussions with local
providers and people like Irene Bailey but everyone
can join the Big Care Debate today."
Eileen is working with a wide variety of Care groups
to ensure that the debate is thoroughly informed by
local services and people who are using the services
in the Richmond, Stokesley and Northallerton areas.
You can contribute on
www.eileendriver.co.uk
Labour delivers a better, stronger deal for
Britain’s consumers
The Labour Government has
recently launched its Consumer White Paper: A Better
Deal for Consumers, which sets out the real help the
Government are providing now to people facing
difficulties with debt and their finances. It also
includes longer term measures to boost consumer
confidence - including the creation of a Consumer
Advocate to champion consumer interests with new
powers to protect consumers.
Minister for Consumer
Affairs Kevin Brennan MP said:
"Today we are setting out
our strategy to give people the protection they need
to shop with confidence in the marketplace, through
the economic downturn and beyond.
“We’re announcing a package of measures including a
new self-help toolkit for those in difficulty with
their debts alongside measures to protect people
from unscrupulous debt-collection agencies, the
creation of a new Consumer Advocate with new powers
to demand redress for consumers and a review into
credit cards, credit repayments and high cost
credit, a ban on unsolicited credit card cheques and
a new focus on tackling e-crime, as people
increasingly turn to the internet to do their
shopping.”
Eileen Driver,Labour
Candidate for Richmond(Yorks) said:
“This is great news for the
people of Richmond, the Dales, Northallerton &
Stokesley areas and shows that the Government is
backing the British public when it comes to consumer
rights.
“We’ve all experienced being
ripped off at some time in our lives – experiences
where so often the perpetrator goes unpunished and
the consumer uncompensated – it’s excellent news
that now the Labour Government’s creation of a
Consumer Advocate means there’s a new, powerful
independent voice with legal powers on the side of
the public in those situations.
It’s also important that
those people trapped in debt have support to find a
way back to a healthy financial situation. The
Labour Government will transform some lives with
this unveiling of a support package to give people a
helping hand alongside a review into expensive
credit, which the local Richmond Labour Party and I
will be campaigning on this summer raising awareness
of the dangers of high cost credit and what families
and individuals can do to avoid it.”
Building Richmond
Constituency’s future
The Prime Minister has
published a plan for Building Britain’s Future. It
is a radical vision for a fairer, stronger and more
prosperous society. Public service entitlements will
for the first time be guaranteed to parents,
patients and communities. Things like seeing a
cancer specialist within 2 weeks. We need to think
of ways to involve communities in the fight against
crime, further improve patient and parent power,
fight unemployment and
further stabilise the economy for the new
industries that are round the corner.
With new measures to drive economic growth and
create jobs. What I particularly support is
guaranteeing what parents, patients and communities
should get from their public services. This is about
giving people more power and choice. This plan sets
out the way forward. I'll be contacting people in
our constituency.
As a first step, the Labour
Government has made a number of commitments to the
British people. In the coming months we will build
on this plan by setting out more details in key
areas, including: transport, infrastructure,
financial services, social care climate change and
energy. I'll make sure I keep you up to date with
what's happening.
Getting Britain back to
work: We will not lose another generation to
unemployment like in past recessions. Every young
person who has been out of work for a year will have
to take a job, training or work experience place.
Patient power:
Patients will get enforceable entitlements to the
highest standards of health care - like seeing a
cancer specialist within 2 weeks, and free
health-checks on the NHS for people aged 40-74.
Having a say on fighting
crime: People will have more power to keep their
neighbourhoods safe. Including the right to hold the
police to account at monthly beat meetings, having a
say on CCTV cameras and voting on how offenders pay
back to the community - like cleaning graffiti.
More affordable homes:
An extra £1.5 bn will be invested in 20,000
affordable homes over the next two years. This
housing investment package will also create an
estimated 45,000 additional jobs in the construction
and related industries.
1-1 tuition: Parents
will be guaranteed an education
individually tailored to their child, This will
include a personal tutor for every pupil and 1-1
tuition for all those who need it.
Preparing Richmond,
Northallerton & Stokesley areas for the new economy:
It's vital that Britain can lead in the new
industries of the global economy. We need a world
class modern infrastructure so that industries of
the future in areas like low carbon, biotechnology,
life sciences, digital, advanced manufacturing and
financial services can prosper here. Doing this will
mean the jobs and investment comes to our
constituency. To do this we are investing in areas
that are important to industry, like broadband
access for all by 2012 and working towards a
nationwide high-speed broadband network by 2016.
How Labour made a
Change in Yorkshire and the Humber
Labour have made a real
difference for the region since you elected a Labour
government in 1997.
In Yorkshire and the Humber:Number
of pupils getting 5 GCSEs A*-C has increased
19.7%pts from 37.9% in 1997 to 57.6% in 2007.
-
There are over 1,200 consultants, 600 GPs and over
7,000 more nurses in the NHS in the region.
-
Funding for the NHS in Yorkshire and the humber
has increased from £4.6bn in 2003/04 to £7.5bn in
2008/09.
- There are 2,700 more
teachers and over 10,000 more teaching assistants
in Yorkshire and Humbers schools.
-
Over 1 million pensioners are receiving the winter
fuel payment, and this year Labour has provided an
additional one-off payment the allowance with an
extra £100 for the over 80s and an extra £50 for
the over-60s to help with rising fuel bills.
- The
New Deal has helped to cut long-term youth
unemployment by over three-quarters since 1997.
-
Neighbourhood policing rolled out accross the
region.
-
Recorded crime down 10% since 2004/05.