Jeremy Corbyn's New Year Message

I think it’s fair to say, that 2016 is a year that will live long in all our memories.

It saw twelve months of enormous change not just in Britain but the world.

But the New Year gives all the opportunity to start afresh.

One of the best things about my job as Leader of the Labour Party is meeting some fantastic people all over the country. But every day I see the political system letting down the people of this country; how decisions made in Westminster are making people’s lives harder. Whether that’s elderly people not receiving the care at home they deserve, putting huge strain on them and their family, or whether it’s the people waiting longer in A&E or on trolleys because our National Health Service and social care system is at breaking point, despite the best efforts of the wonderful and dedicated staff.  Whether it’s the homeless families who are being priced out of a housing market that only works for the few. This Christmas, 120,000 children didn’t have a home to call their own. That’s scandalous. And it’s damaging those young people’s formative years. Our children also need a first class education for everyone, not just for a privileged few.

 As well as insecure housing there is massive insecurity at work too. Millions of people can’t plan their lives because whether on temporary or zero hours contracts they don’t know what job or what hours they’ll have from day to day, week to week or month to month. And for many, pay is so low that it doesn’t make ends meet.

2016 will be defined in history by the referendum on our EU membership. People didn’t trust politicians and they didn’t trust the European Union. I understand that. I’ve spent over 40 years in politics campaigning for a better way of doing things, standing up for people, taking on the establishment, and opposing decisions that would make us worse off.

We now have the chance to do things differently. To build an economy that invests and works for everyone across all our nations and regions.

Labour accepts and respects the result of the referendum. We won’t be blocking our leaving the European Union, but we won’t stand by. Those in charge today have put the jobs market, housing, the NHS and social care in crisis. We can’t let them mess this up. It’s about everyone’s future. A Brexit that protects the bankers in the City and continues to give corporate handouts to the biggest companies is not good enough.

Labour was founded to stand up for people, and we founded the institutions that do that day in, and day out, like our NHS. We are the party that listens to you and makes Britain better. Let’s do that, together, in 2017.

Misterton By-Election - TODAY!

Does it really make a difference if your candidate lives in the ward? In this case YES IT DOES. The villages of Misterton Ward are facing the biggest upheaval since they built the M1. What remains of Misterton itself will be engulfed by Lutterworth East. Even that won't be big enough to take the extra population that will come on the back of Magna Park's expansion.


Lutterworth and Broughton Astley welcome the new township because it will at least pause their never-ending expansion. Some residents consider an Eastern Bypass as the answer to all traffic problems in South Leicestershire. That's nonsense. Traffic has already largely disappeared from the north end of Lutterworth. The Eastern Bypass will just focus even more traffic on the M1/Whittle roundabouts - a massive problem for Walcote, Cotesbach, Shawell and even Swinford.


If you live in one of those villages you desperately need someone to speak up for your quality of life. You need a District Councillor who lives in the Ward and who shares your fears and problems.

VOTE LIZ MARSH TODAY!

Jeremy Corbyn's speech to our South East Regional Conference (2) The Solution

Housing:


"Labour will allow councils to borrow to build council housing again and we will suspend right to buy so that when that housing is built it stays. We will invest in building genuinely affordable homes to buy, rent or for shared ownership. We have put forward a plan to invest in building housing and to create skilled jobs in the construction sector, and to meet higher standards of energy efficiency benefiting the occupants and the environment.


"We will toughen regulation on the private rented sector to ensure homes are fit for human habitation and rents are controlled."


Environment:

"We’re not going to use public money to subsidise dirty, groundwater-polluting, landscape-scarring industries like fracking.


"We will invest in the transition to a low carbon economy, not clinging on to polluting technologies that we can consign to history by harnessing technological advances with public investment.
And that investment delivers a return; a stronger economy, better jobs with higher incomes that produce more tax revenue to better fund public services.
We have huge natural resources in the UK, a world-beating history of scientific research and technological development including in many of our institutions of academic and scientific excellence [but] as a country we lag behind the rest of the world’s major economies in generating energy from renewable sources. We lag behind on the speed of our broadband and we lag behind on our transport infrastructure too.


"Nowhere is that more true that on our railways."


Rail:
"The next Labour Government will take back control from the privateers and put control in the hands of passengers, commuters and elected politicians. We will invest in rail, invest in on-board broadband and cut fares."


NHS:


"The NHS is Labour’s proudest creation and as someone who once represented NHS workers, I know the dedication of NHS staff. But, under the Tories, the NHS is in crisis like never before.


"We know that flu epidemic or the norovirus can lead to a winter crisis but the Tories have put the NHS in crisis in spring, summer, autumn and winter. NHS waiting lists have never been longer. NHS deficits have never been larger and they are growing. More people are waiting longer in pain for an operation. More people are waiting longer, often in severe pain, in A&E.


"Over £4 billion of cuts to adult social care inflicted under the Tories has left hundreds of thousands of people without a care package. Thousands more with minimal 15 minute visits and more elderly people turning up at A&E due to neglect and not safe to be discharged home because the support is no longer there.

"Faced with this unprecedented crisis in A&Es, this unprecedented pressure on the NHS, what is the Tory solution? They wasted £3 billion on a top-down reorganisation of the NHS, they have privatised services, like ambulances in Sussex, and that privatisation has failed. Our great friend Ken Loach has quite rightly lead the protests against a £700 million privatisation of NHS services in Bath. Our excellent Shadow Health Secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, has already condemned this. They are threatening a new round of A&E closures and downgrades.


"This is why we are determined to bring all NHS Services back into the family of NHS provision.
That’s why we are focusing our National Campaign Day on Saturday 26 November on defending our NHS. So I want every CLP in the country out in their community campaigning to defend our NHS and to highlight the damage that the Tories have done. Our National Health Service - free at the point of use - with parity of esteem for mental health services and integrated with social care. That is at the very core of our vision for the kind of society we should be."


Strength in Numbers:


"Because our party doesn’t have the benevolence of the press barons, it doesn’t have the donations of oligarchs. What we have is each other. Over half a million of us. More members than every other political party in Britain, along with the millions in our affiliated trade unions.


"Our Labour Party now has over 550,000 individual members. That membership is our most valuable resource. If we organise it, then our ability to speak to voters, stand candidates, and lead campaigns in our communities, that ability is second to none. And working together, we can expose their failures on the economy, their failures on housing, their shambolic Brexit, their failed privatisation of our railways.


"By working together we can get more Labour councillors next year and a Labour Government to rebuild and transform our country so that no one and no community is left behind."

Jeremy Corbyn's speech to our South East Regional Conference (1) The Problem

"We meet after the global wake-up call of Tuesdays US presidential election...

      Whether in the US or the UK people feel left behind. Marginalised by an economic system that makes them work harder for less, while hoovering up ever greater rewards for a small elite.
People are right to be angry with our failed economic system, falling living standards and rising inequality.
     Young people today find it ever harder to get a home of their own. Harder to find good secure jobs. Landed in lifelong debt simply for trying to get an education.  Older people see their children and grandchildren struggling. Their libraries and community services cut. Their friends’ social care worsen. They’ve seen politicians privatise what once belonged to everybody and paid the higher bills and higher fares as a result.
     And if we don’t step forward and offer real solutions that meet the needs of our time then into the vacuum step the merchants of hate and blame. They see the problem, but instead of offering solutions to make people’s lives better, they offer someone to blame. Nigel Farage blames immigrants yet offers not a single practical proposal to put a penny more into the NHS. He actually wants to privatise our NHS, a service that now relies on hard-working migrants to keep going. The Tories bandied around terms like ‘scrounger’ and ‘skiver’, whipping up division against the unemployed and people with disabilities. And in the US we’ve had the shocking spectacle of Donald Trump’s election campaign, which found an unending list of people to blame: women, black people,
Mexicans, Muslims, military veterans. Everyone except the billionaire class of tax dodgers to which he himself belongs.
     However, we should remember that Donald Trump tapped into real problems: stagnating or falling wages, underfunded public services, insecure work and housing, years of being left behind and neglected, frustration that your children’s prospects look bleaker and anger at a political elite that doesn’t listen. But instead of offering real solutions, or the resources to make them work, he offered only someone to blame. Everyone, that is, apart from those actually responsible for a broken economy and a failed political system.
     The Tories do the same. They have opened the door to UKIP and fanned the flames of fear.
     Theresa May, as Home Secretary, fed the idea that immigration was the real problem; made promises she knew they couldn’t deliver about slashing numbers and whipped up hate with ‘Go Home’ vans. No wonder she didn’t even temper her welcome to Donald Trump. She has used the same strategy herself; if delivered with more refinement.
     We have no idea how Donald Trump proposes, as he has said, to “make America great again”, and Theresa May’s Tories offer slogans, but not solutions, for most people in Britain. We won’t tackle the damage done by elite globalisation just by leaving the EU. We won’t ‘take back control’ unless we take on the corporate vested interests that control our energy, our transport and have infiltrated our public services.
     One thing is for sure, neither billionaire Donald Trump nor the billionaire-backed Tories have any interest in giving people back control or reining in the predatory excess of a globalized free-for-all.

But Labour is in the business of real solutions to the problems and failures that Trump and the Tories are unable to address."

"Optimism always defeats despair" - Jon Ashworth MP.

It's about our kids' future

Labour Party members here in the South Leicestershire constituency have left supporters in no doubt about their overwhelming backing for remaining within the European Union.

Despite allegations that the Party nationally has left voters confused, we have worked throughout the constituency, says Liz Marsh, one of our European champions locally. In the last month many local members have taken part in street rallies to drum up support for the Remain camp.  More than 40 activists have descended on Lutterworth, Blaby and Broughton Astley to provide factual information, raise awareness and gauge local opinion, using their enthusiastic support for the EU to try and persuade wavering voters.

"Despite coverage on the news night after night," one campaigner commented, "many members of the public are still confused as both sides use conflicting information to support their position."

Another activist added, "Europe has been good for Britain. It has championed workers' rights, protected the environment and supported businesses throughout Leicestershire and the East Midlands."

It's the big day on Thursday - voting at your usual polling stations from 7am to 10pm.  Be sure and make your voice heard!

In For Britain - Labour4Lutterworth campaigning in Broughton Astley June 11

Diane, Alan and Dave G - part of the team campaigning to keep Britain in the EU - pictured in Broughton Astley last Saturday.

Unaccompanied child refugees - a matter of right and wrong

Following a presentation by Elaine Carter earlier this year, Labour4Lutterworth raised £460 (plus £150 Gift Aid) for Save the Children and the brilliant work they do with refugee children from Syria. Our local MP on the other hand voted against admitting unaccompanied children from the refugee camps into the UK. We understand that Alberto is new and wants to demonstrate his loyalty to the Tory Whips, but some things are not a matter of Blue and Red, Right and Left, they're simply Right or Wrong. Alberto, in this instance you're plain wrong.

Liz Marsh sent me the details:

Parliament voted on 25th April as part of the Immigration Bill. They were debating whether unaccompanied minors should be admitted to the UK and given support to enable them to access education, health etc.

292 voted to prevent these children entering the UK. 274 (including 5 Tories) voted to allow these children access to the country. Alberto Costa voted to exclude unaccompanied minors.

Following a public outcry, on 4th May the Government changed its stance in response to increasing backbench unrest and support for a Labour amendment tabled in the Lords. It is not clear (but unlikely) whether Alberto was a potential rebel. An article in the Guardian on 7th May http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/07/should-david-camerons-u-turn-on-unaccompanied-child-refugees-be-celebrated examined the problems and likely benefits of the move. They concluded that about 1-3000 may be admitted, but that an appropriate number might be closer to 10000. they also highlighted the restriction that only children registered as unaccompanied on or before 20th March and residing in Greece, France or Italy would qualify. It is not clear who will pay to support the children or what will happen to them once they pass their 18th birthday and become adults.

Since that article. everything seems to have gone very quiet on the issue and I cannot find any more information; although I will continue to search. I found a very interesting site called the public whip which details the voting record of any MP  http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/25413/alberto_costa/south_leicestershire

Mike Wailoo made a key point at last night's meeting. Despite the heroic work they do, we shouldn't be leaving matters like these to charities. As a rich country it should be a basis of government policy that no child anywhere in the world should go to bed hungry. Now is as good a time as any for the Labour Party nationally to consider making that a mantra.

Jeremy's IN for Britain

A vote to Remain is a vote for our NHS

Heidi Alexander demands answers from Jeremy Hunt

On 19 May our Shadow Health Secretary, Heidi Alexander MP, demanded answers from Jeremy Hunt on his shambolic handling of the junior doctors’ dispute.

Emily Berrington is IN for Britain

Get out and vote for Willy Bach TODAY!!!

It's polling day for our next Police and Crime Commissioner.  

You've not voted for Willy?  OK if you're a member of another party or a criminal, but anyone else? Have a word with yourself!

Voting until 10pm tonight at your usual polling stations.  So get out there and make a difference!

Voting for Willy Bach as PPC this Thursday!

This Thursday we get our chance to vote for a truly local candidate as Police and Crime Commissioner - a candidate, moreover, who has actual experience of the law and leading big bureaucratic organisations.

Willy is obviously the best qualified candidate - but everyone still needs to vote on Thursday. The PPC elections are not popular but they are important.  Look at what happened last time - police stations closed, only some crimes investigated.  Policing matters and the responsibilities of PPCs are only going to increase, with Theresa May talking about hiving off all emergency services and even the courts.  It's time to make the right decision for everyone in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

If you haven't already voted by post, voting in person is at your usual polling station from 7am to 10pm.

Dame Glenis Willmott, our Labour MEP in the East Midlands, reports from Strasbourg.

Every month Labour MEPS debate the big issues and vote on new legislation and proposals in Strasbourg. This Strasbourg session has been another busy one for Labour MEPs. We've voted for a range of proposals, from tax transparency after the Panama leak, to a new package to help combat terrorism while protecting your privacy.

EU adopts Labour proposals for tax transparency

Some welcome news while the Panama Papers scandal keeps unfolding: a Labour report has led to new proposals for EU wide rules on tax havens, including public country-by-country reporting and a common list of tax havens.

Conservative MEPs have repeatedly failed to support EU action in the past, and David Cameron and the UK government have continually blocked stronger EU measures at meetings of European leaders.

New rules for air passengers and data protection laws will help combat terror and safeguard privacy

The European Parliament voted this week for the EU Passenger Name Record (PNR) directive and data protection package.

The PNR directive will provide uniform rules on the processing and sharing of flight data between EU countries, and allow law enforcement to view the data in a dedicated database.

At the same time, the data protection package - long supported by Labour MEPs - will ensure the provisions of the measure are aligned and will mean a clear legal framework is in place for the use and sharing of personal data.

Labour MEPs back extending EU's Erasmus student exchange scheme to include more disadvantaged young people.

Labour MEPs have also voted for a report calling for the EU's Erasmus student exchange programme to be extended to more disadvantaged young people, for example those in vocational training rather than at university.

The report calls for expanding and improving mobility for vocational training and education, including specific support for disabled young people.

Labour MEPs believe one of the challenges of programmes such as Erasmus is to ensure they not only reach out to students in higher education but also to more disadvantaged young people who would not otherwise have access to such opportunities as learning abroad.  Research has shown that Erasmus participants are half as likely to experience long term unemployment and 5 years after graduation their unemployment rate is 23% lower, so the more of our young people have access to this scheme the better.

Many thanks to Glenis for keeping us all up-to-date. Who says the EU doesn't have positive benefits for the UK? Perhaps if we had more positive and active MEPs like Glenis the popular impression might be very different.

Constituency Gala Dinner 2016

On Saturday 27th February 2016 South Leicestershire Constituency held its annual Gala Meal at Braunstone Civic Centre.

Speakers were Jon Ashworth MP and our own Willy Bach, prospective candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. 

Mr Ashworth gave a speech very appreciative of Labour achievements in government and concerned for the losses in services and quality since 2010. Mr Ashworth called for the Labour party to be more robust in its statements about how good Labour's achievements were, when statements are made during the current government period.  

Willy Bach talked about his campaign for Commissioner, in particular the need to support 'city' policing for those most in need in the area. Sadly most crime occurs in areas of the police authority where there is most need.

Over 50 members attended, with 21 from Lutterworth.  Together with a raffle and auction over £400 was made for constituency campaigns.  Many thanks to organiser, David Gair.  Planning is already underway for the 2017 event

.

EU referendum - What does Lutterworth think?

On Saturday, April 9th, Lutterworth BLP held a coffee morning at the Town Hall. Shoppers were invited for a cup of coffee and to chat about their feelings on the EU referendum. Many people were keen to join in the debate, and there was a lot of interest and discussion! People were asked to "vote" for "in", "out" or "not sure" by means of ping-pong balls dropped into 3 glass jars.

At the end of the morning the results looked pretty similar to the national ones - more "in" than "out", but by a relatively small margin, and still quite a number of people "not sure". So there is lots of debating left to do, to help people come to their decision and make the best choice!

Lutterworth BLP supports the "In" vote, but we were glad to give out information and chat to passers-by to help them decide which way they will vote in June!

Labour Folk Evening at Fleckney

On Friday 8th April we had great entertainment from many Leicester folk singers. It was a great evening, hosted by Nic Burnett at his Linic plastics factory in Fleckney - a mega-interesting venue! There were lots of acts from local musicians, enjoyed by an audience of over 70 people. As well as a good night out, funds were raised for the Labour Party. Many thanks to all who contributed to make this such a successful event.

Willy Bach, Labour PCC candidate said a few words about the campaign, and we all wished him the best of luck in the remaining few weeks to May 5th!

See pic below: Nic and Willy with musicians and Labour supporters at Linics plastics venue

Willy Bach for PCC! Campaigning in Highfields.

More campaigning in Highfields produced lots of positive responses and supporters!
Here is Willy with South Wales MP Wayne David, local councilors Mohammed Malik and Mustafa and other campaigners. Vote for Willy!

WILLY BACH for Leicester PCC, 5th May - on the campaign trail!....

The campaign for Leicester PCC is well underway. We had a big turn out to door-knock in Groby on March 12th, (see picture below) where there were many encouraging responses. Further door-knocking took place on March 19th in Narborough road area, (see other picture) with further positive responses. There will be campaigning every weekend, leaflets to deliver, and a coffee morning in Lutterworth town hall on 9th April, where we will also be campaigning for an "IN" vote for the EU referendum.
Do join in! every little helps!

 

Jeremy Corbyn: Budget has unfairness at core - BBC News

EPLP newsletter - out now!

The latest online newsletter from the European Parliamentary Labour Party is here.  Check it out - it's full of interesting facts.

Jeremy Corbyn's reponse to Jeremy Hunt

We need to get an EU deal done soon to end this uncertainty

An alternative to this government

Taking Liberties - the Tory Trade Union Bill

Following Gerry's brilliant introduction to the horrors of the Trade Union Bill at last night's branch meeting, here is the article by John Monks which Willy mentioned.

John Monks on the motives behind the Trade Union Bill, which has its Lords Second Reading on 11 January

For every £1 spent on workplace training delivered by trade unions, the economy gets a return of £9.15. According to the Business Department, 77% of unionised workplaces have a policy on flexible working arrangements, compared with 43% of non-unionised. The annual Labour Force Survey meanwhile, shows that strikes are at an all-time low, with far fewer days lost to industrial action than to illness. Throw in widespread condemnation of the practices of Sport Direct and other over-mighty employers, and you have to wonder why the government wants to prioritise weakening trade unions, reducing the voice of working people and attacking Labour’s funding base.

The Bill proposes to introduce new thresholds for ballots on industrial action. All trade unions would need to achieve a turnout of over 50% for the ballot to be legally compliant. But for ‘important’ public services, such as schools, transport and the NHS, this would also need to deliver a 40% ‘yes’ vote. Ministers say the changes would improve democracy. Yet they have bizarrely refused to agree to introduce electronic or workplace balloting, despite evidence of its positive effect on turnout.
The government is also seeking to bring in intrusive requirements for those engaged in picketing, including wearing armbands and giving contact details to the police. The latter have no problems with the current law, and Liberty has described the proposals as ‘a major attack on civil liberties in the UK’. Such moves are entirely unwarranted. No incidents of unruly or unlawful behaviour have occurred on picket lines since the 1980s. If there were to be, existing public order law could be used.

There are also plans to prevent employers from deducting union subscriptions at source via their payroll, something known as ‘check off’. This is short-sighted, given that employers in all sectors value the current process, which in some cases can generate them a profit. Many have expressed anger over ministerial interference in their right to manage their own employment relations. Ministers also want to interfere with facility time agreements, where paid and unpaid time off is given to union representatives who are being trained to deal with matters that could cause wider problems, for example workplace safety.

At the heart of the proposals, is a fundamental challenge to how unions contribute to political funds – requiring members to opt in rather than opt out as is currently the case. All the evidence shows that opt in would reduce subscriptions and it is therefore a naked, partisan attack on Labour Party funding. Estimates range but the many millions of pounds lost each year will put the Party at a significant disadvantage at election time. Naturally, there is no commensurate proposal to look at how hedge funds and the like contribute to Conservatives coffers. Nor any attempt to ask company shareholders to opt in or out to similar donations.

The final part of the Bill hugely increases the powers of the trade union regulator, the Certification Officer (CO). There is no evidence that there are new problems that the CO can’t deal with under existing legislation. Ministers are expressly concerned about the ‘burden’ of red tape on business but care little about the impact of excessive regulation on unions.

All in all, this Bill is an attack on civil liberties, flouting international standards and singling out unions for draconian intervention. It has little real support from employers, has been rushed through without proper consultation and should never have seen the light of day. Labour Peers will do what they can to counter the worst of it, and work with others across the Lords to make the government see sense. We can only but hope.

Lord John Monks is a backbench Labour Peer and a former General Secretary of the TUC
Published 29th December 2015

And here is the link to the TUC's website about the bill.

Join us for heartunions week