Your local Labour candidates for the villages

Giving Villages a Voice

What does your District Council do for you?  Precious little if you live in a village west of the M1. The odd planning application, perhaps, but otherwise...  It's really not good enough and your chance to change things comes on May 7th.  Not that you'd know it, but it's not just about the General Election.  Every seat on Harborough District Council is up for grabs, and the suspicion is, your sitting councillors would rather you didn't notice.  That way they can have another four years dancing to the Tory tune of cuts, cuts, cuts, and pocketing generous allowances for doing very little.

Your Labour candidates, on the other hand, are committed to village life, protecting the rural environment whilst encouraging local jobs and demanding more facilities and services for local residents.

Malcolm Maguire is standing in the Dunton Ward.

Malcolm undertakes research into aspects of employment, education, training and the labour market, with particular specialisms in: the youth labour market; vocational education and training; employers' recruitment strategies; lifelong learning; career guidance; and employee development.  He has published widely on a range of education, employment and training related topics, and is a trustee of a Leicester-based charity which support vulnerable and marginalised people in securing employment.

Liz March is standing in Misterton Ward

Liz has lived in Walcote since 2003 and for the last six years has served as a Parish Councillor.  Her four children, now grown up, were all educated in local state schools but Liz fears that recent changes make it difficult for schools to plan for the future.  She says: "Housing is also important. I want my children to have somewhere suitable to live, but this need must be balanced by the desire to protect and preserve the environment."

Elaine Carter is standing in Peatling Ward

Elaine has lived in Arnesby for 16 years, and enjoys the village community. She sits on the Parish Council, contributes music to the annual May Fair, shares in the church cleaning rota, and enjoys the local film and book clubs. She is a keen activist on environmental issues.  Elaine says: "Having worked as a consultant paediatrician at Leicester Royal infirmary for over 20 years, I have first hand knowledge of how cuts to services affect poorer people most."

Remember to VOTE LABOUR ON MAY 7, or nothing will ever change.

Broken bus market

Michael Dugher, Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary, commenting on the Campaign for Better Transport's report on local bus services, said today:

This is more evidence that like with the energy sector, the bus market is broken.  On David Cameron's watch bus fares have risen by 25% - an increase five times faster than wage growth - and big bus companies have been cutting crucial routes that people rely on to maximise their own profits.

The Competition Commission estimated the failure in competition within the bus market costs the taxpayer £305 million each year, but David Cameron has refused to stand up to the bus barons.

Labour is determined to see passenger power by regulating bus services in a better way.  We will act fast and legislate to give cities and county regions greater control over local bus services.  This will result in communities being able to determine routes, set fares and integrate and improve bus services.

Personally, I was with Michael all the way until that bit about counties.  Leicestershire County Council won't even fund rural libraries, so a fat lot they care about rural bus routes.  

I'm afraid many councils have completely failed to use the few powers they still have to face up to service provider cartels.  Another mechanism for breaking up the monopolies urgently needs to be found.  But at least we know Labour will look for one.

 

 

Labour in rural areas

I found this blogpost from Alexandra Kemp, Vice Chair of North West Norfolk Labour Party, about activism in rural areas.  Many similarities with our situation and something to be learnt, I think.  The full post can be found here, but the concluding paragraph deserves quoting in full here:

"The countryside is the natural home for Labour.  With low pay and low expectations in ex-farming areas, concentrations of older people increasingly reliant on social services, the NHS and public transport, children in poverty, young people looking for work, there is everything to gain."