Three new councillors
All three target seats won by Labour and
Co-operative candidates
Ian Mantle, Clare Billing and Deepak Sangha (pictured below l. to r.) won seats back from the Tories in Letchworth East, Grange and Wilbury, giving us two councillors in each of these wards.
Clare had a majority of 234 over the Tory candidate. Ian's and Deepak's majorities were 89 and 17 respectively.
The other Letchworth seats and Baldock Town were retained by the Tories, and Baldock East was taken from the Liberal Democrats by the Tory candidate.
Across the constituency border in Hitchin the Labour and Co-operative candidates held two seat. Joan Kirby retained her seat in Hitchin Oughton and Deborah Segalini retained the seat previously held by Deepak Sangha before he moved house to Letchworth.
So, we have increased our representation on North Herts District Council by three. We narrowly missed making that four: Derek Sheard missed taking Hitchin Walsworth by only three votes
Full results are on the District Council website here.
Go to the election page for more information.
3 May (amended 14 May) 2012
And a fourth new
councillor ...
Rob Inwood,
who is a North Herts District Councillor and a Royston Town Councillor,
has decided that he can no longer support the Liberal Democrats
and has
joined the Labour Party.
He will now sit as a Labour councillor for the Royston Palace ward on both councils and will continue to represent the concerns of people in that ward.
Announcing his decision at the end of his term of office as mayor of Royston, he said:
“In
the past I have become more disillusioned with the Liberal Democrats
and its support of the Conservative-led coalition government. Some of
the party’s most treasured policies have been abandoned in pursuit of
places in government and a lust for power. It is now a party I do not
recognise - and certainly not one that I could continue to support.
“I
joined the Labour Party because it is now beginning to shape policies
which, I believe, will see growth and an improved economy, and will
still protect the most vulnerable people in our society."
He was welcomed to the Labour Party by Les Baker, Labour's constituency party secretary, and himself a former town and district councillor for Royston.
You can read their full statements here.
16 May 2012
Switch Off
There is growing concern over switching street lights off.
The
Conservative-controlled Herts County Council has decided to turn off
street lights in residential areas between midnight and 6am.
But
elderly people talking to members of the Labour Party at a street stall
in Letchworth were worried about the scheme. They saw the
potential of an increase in crime and anti-social behaviour.
Clare Billing, Labour’s district council candidate in Grange ward, said: “There is genuine concern about the turning off the street lights. Almost everyone we spoke to was worried about the consequences. This really is a case of the Tories keeping us in the dark.”
All
this is to save a predicted £600,000 to £800,000 a year across the
county. Yet, last year the Tory-controlled county council had an
underspend of £28 million.
The scheme has been implemented without any public consultation – and led to one Conservative county councillor remarking that residents could “make do with torches”.
15 April 2012
Vote NHS. Vote Labour
"Vote NHS. Vote
Labour," says Lord
Winston (Prof. Robert Winston). He details all the broken promises made
by David Cameron on the future of the NHS. Clearly very upset by what
the Tory-led coalition is doing to the health service, Robert Winston
calls on everyone who cares about the NHS to vote Labour.
Watch him on YouTube.
Andy Burnham, Labour's shadow Health Secretary, has said that he will repeal the hated measures in the Health and Social Care Act when he becomes Secretary of State For Health.
12 April 2012
Labour's
6-point plan for
North Hertfordshire
The Tory district council in North Hertfordshire received £1m from the government to promote the building of new affordable homes. They used half of it to balance the budget and put the other half into reserves. Meanwhile, 2,150 people are on the priority waiting list for homes. At the present rate of building, they will get their homes in the next 25 years!
The Tory district council signed up in 2006 to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2020. Good for them, you may think - but they have not achieved any reduction at all yet!
These are two of the failures of the Tories which Labour would tackle. They form two of the items in Labour's Six-Point Plan for North Hertfordshire, which you can read here.
There are seven wards where there are elections on 3 May 2012 - one seat in each ward. Labour is fielding a strong team to contest all these seats. In the three seats which we held until recently - Letchworth East, Grange and Wilbury - our candidates are Ian Mantle, Clare Billing and Deepak Sangha (pictured below l. to r.).
For more information, go to the election
page.
5 April 2012
Labour with
you in
tough times
The Conservatives are a party of the "wrong values, wrong priorities and wrong choices" and the Tory-led coalition was out of touch, Labour leader Ed Miliband told his audience as he launched the Party's local election campaign.
"I know that a lot of people thought that Labour eventually
lost
touch when we were in
government. That is why Labour is changing so that we can once more
change the country,"
he said. "The issues on which Labour will campaign in these local
elections are rooted in real life, in the experiences people have in
every local authority area in the country."
He accused the Prime Minister of betraying his promise on the NHS. David Cameron was elected saying there would be "no more top-down re-organization". "But as soon as (the government) got in, what did it try to do? Not just re-organize the NHS, but the biggest re-organization in the history of the NHS."
Ed Miliband went on to say that the Tories had abandoned any pretence that they govern for the whole country. "They have abandoned middle England," he said. "They prefer to listen to those who have given millions of pounds to the Conservative Party."
"Labour would govern for the whole country, not just the wealthy few," he said. "Those are the values that in these tough times this country needs more than ever today. Those are the values at the heart of what we are campaigning for in these local elections."
Labour's policies for the local elections are set out in a new leaflet, which you can read here.
4 April 2012 (revised 5 April 2012)
Millions pay more so that millionaires can pay less
This was the Les Baker's view, as reported in the Royston Crow on 22 March 2012. Les (left) is Labour's constituency party's secretary.
"There's
been a cut in tax credits," he said, "and, in lots of cases, child
benefit has been taken away. The introduction of stamp duty on
properties with more than £2m will not raise much as there are only
4,000 houses of that price sold each year."
He added that there were something like 14,000 people earning more than £1m a year and the cuts will mean a pay rise for them of £40,000 a year.
The fact is that, in contrast to this hand-out to the very rich, families on £20,000 a year will lose £253 per year, on top of the VAT rise which is costing families £450 a year on average. 4.4 million pensioners will lose £83 a year and people turning 65 next year will lose £322 a year.
In the same report, Sally Salisbury of North Herts Citizens'
Advice
Bureau was reported as saying that the raising of the personal tax
allowance was "an empty gesture".
"Poorer working families who get housing and council tax benefits," she
said, "will not get all the money in their pocket because, as their
income goes up, their benefits will go down."
Cllr Sharon Taylor (left), Labour leader of Stevenage Council, was quoted in the Comet on the same day. She said that it was the same old Tories "giving big hand outs to millionaires". "The additional amount of tax allowance is nowhere near going to meet the amount people are going to have to spend (with fuel increases, food price going up, unemployment up to nine per cent and wages frozen)."
23 March 2012
And now the 2012 budget show
You will have read a review of George Osborne's budget show in your own paper, but do you know what the Tory press said?
"George Osborne yesterday hit five million pensioners with an 'outrageous' £300-a-year stealth tax." Daily Express.
"Osborne picks the pockets of pensioners." Daily Mail
"Osborne's dodgy plans on fuel, tax and pensions, have put your money in the wrong trousers." The Sun
"5m pensioners robbed in the budget." Daily Express
"Granny tax hits 5m pensioners." The Daily Telegraph
"5m to pay higher rate tax by 2014 - IFS." The Times
For the sake of political balance, perhaps we should also quote the Daily Mirror's verdict:
"Osborne and Cam rod OEPs, but the richest handed tax breaks." A much more balanced review, would you not say?
23 March 2012
National Health Service
born 1948 died 2012
After a long fight, finally dispatched by the Tories and Liberal Democrats
"In certain hope of resurrection, 7 May 2015"
21 March 2012
130 billboards to save NHS
130 billboards went
up across London yesterday (5 March 2012). 20,000 members of 38 Degrees
paid for them
in the last few days. £300,000 is what they gave.
You can help. Go to the 38 Degrees website and get a window poster and put it up in your window. You can get 30 free leaflets as well. Give them to your neighbours or workmates.
Everyone needs to know that the NHS bill must be stopped. Labour will repeal the bill, but a great deal of damage can be done before 2015.
Unison's Eastern Eye: for an account of what is happening and what is in store for the NHS in the East of England, take a look at Unison's Eastern Eye newspaper.
6 March 2012 (revised 7 March)
Death of Colin Harris
It is with great sadness that we record the death of Colin Harris. Colin was an East Hertfordshire district councillor for eight years and took over from Henry Sargent as leader of the Labour Group early in that period.
With only eight Labour councillors, he was able to give the group more influence than its numbers merited, through his thoughtful and pragmatic approach. This did not mean, however, that the group did not challenge the assumptions of the Tories, who effectively held power even during the period of a "hung council" as a result of the support of "independent" councillors.
There is a memorial service on Monday, 5 March 2012 at 2 pm at Hertford Baptist Church.
25 February 2012
Richard Howitt defends the European Parliament
Richard
Howitt, Labour MEP for the East of England, has set out why the
European Parliament is important for a democratic Europe.
Writing in Next Left, the Fabian Society blog, he rejects Jack Straw's proposal to revert to an assembly of national MPs, saying that this would not be workable, given the work load of a Parliament that now has legislative powers. He also says that it makes the Parliament more effective since it gives voters a direct say in the election of those making these laws.
You can read his succinct case for an elected European Parliament here.
25 February 2012
147,922 signatures
and counting ...
You have signed the Labour
Party's
Drop the Bill petition and the 38 Degrees petition,
but have you signed
Dr Chand's petition on the Government's own website? The Government
says that any petition which reaches 100,000 signatures is eligible to
be debated in Parliament. Ed Miliband has written to David Cameron to
ask him to set up the debate on this petition, which was set up by a
GP, Dr Kailash Chand OBE.
Add your signature now. Read more about the Health and Social Care bill below.
19 February 2012
At least £1m to elect a Police and Crime Commissioner
Next
November, we shall have an election for a police and
crime commissioner
for every police force (except the Metropolitan Police)
in England
and Wales. This will cost at least £1m, and possibly £1.5m, in
Hertfordshire alone.
The Comet newspaper, which covers the Letchworth and Baldock area of this constituency, picked up on this as a result of the letter - reported below - from David Bell, the constituency party's parliamentary spokesperson, complaining about the cost at the time of cuts in the number of police.
As well as the unnecessary expenditure,there are also objections in principle to the whole idea. In the article, Cllr Sharon Taylor (above left), Labour leader of Stevenage Council, and David Bell set these out.
You can read the article here.
19 February 2012
Outrageous
Health Bill
and costly election for Police Commissioner
Letters from the constituency party appeared in the three main local papers last week. In the Mercury, David Bell, as spokesperson for the party, attacked the Tory-led government for insulting nurses and doctors, for reneging on their promise not to re-organized the NHS and for implementing changes before they had Parliamentary approval.
He argued
that the main purpose of the bill was not, as the government had said,
to put medical professionals in charge of commissioning health care,
because that could be done by appointing them to the boards of primary
care trusts.
Rather the purpose was the marketisation of the NHS. Furthermore, this reorganisation would cost £65.4m in Hertfordshire alone.
You can read the full text of his letter here.
Meanwhile, the Royston Crow and the Comet carried a letter about the cost of the election of a Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, contrasted with the loss of 550 staff over the next four years as a result of budget costs. David Bell put the cost of the election at £1m, but that figure does not allow for the fact that the election will not be held at the same time as other elections. This probably makes the cost closer to £1.5m. (The election will be on 15 November 2012.)
You can read the letter here.
11 February 2012
Three months to save the NHS
Ed Miliband has called on everyone who loves the NHS
to fight
to defeat this "misguided attempt to impose a free market free-for-all
on our National Health Service.
Writing in the Observer on 5 February 2012, Ed said that the bill was already contributing to the NHS's problems by diverting billions away from patient care at the time when pressure on NHS resources was greater than it had been for a generation.
He highlighted three false claims being made by the Tory-led government:
-
The government says that health professionals are opposing the bill because of trade-union "vested interests". Ed says that thousands of doctors, nurses, midwives and others have devoted their lives to the NHS, that they can see how the bill will undermine the guiding principles of our health service, but that David Cameron, who wants to make GPs' voices stronger in the NHS, will not listen to them.
-
The government says that those opposing the bill are "anti-reform". Ed says that the changes will actually hinder the greater integration of health and social care and a greater emphasis on prevention.
-
The government's third argument is that it is too late to turn back. Ed says that, if the bill is passed, there will be even more upheaval and even more money wasted on reorganization, rather than treating patients. And we could have greater clinical involvement in commissioning without legislation.
The bill reaches the report stage in the House of Lords on 8 February 2012. "We have three months to prevent great harm being done to the NHS," Ed concluded. "Now is the time for people of all parties and of none .... to work together to try to stop this bill."
Read more about the campaign to save the NHS below.
6 February 2012
You are
going to pay
to have your air polluted
An incinerator is to be built at New Barnsfield, Hatfield.
Actually, planning permission has not yet been granted by the County
Council. 
However, they are so confident that they will
give planning permission to their contractor (Veolia) that
they have already shut the central library, which was on the
site, and put the books into storage. They also plan to move the
special
school next door into temporary accommodation for the duration of the
construction at considerable cost.
This is in Hatfield. So, why should it concern us? There are four main reasons:
-
The prevailing S.W. wind will carry the smoke over Hertford, Ware and parts of this constituency, such as Standon, Braughing and Buntingford. Modern plants filter out most toxins from the smoke, but dangerous particulates still escape into the air.
-
The incinerator will burn 300,000 tonnes of waste per year, with a minimum of 180,000 tonnes coming from Hertfordshire. This means many lorries heading on to the county's roads to carry the rest.
-
Construction and running costs are both high, arguably much higher than alternative waste disposal methods. The incinerator is being built through the PFI scheme, so that we shall all be paying for it over the next 25 years. It is true that it will produce electricity, but waste incineration is by far the most expensive way there is of producing electricity.
-
The plant will still cause pollution of the atmosphere, since it will produce CO2. Furthermore, since there is a minimum amount of waste that Hertfordshire will be contracted to supply, it will actually discourage recycling.
Concerned? The consultation on the plant ends on 31 January 2012. So, go to www.hatfield-anti-incineration.co.uk to learn more and to find out how to respond to the consultation document.
Labour's Kieran Thorpe, a Welwyn Hatfield councillor, (above) has been very active in the campaign against the incinerator.
20 January 2012
Almost all
GPs want the
Health bill to be withdrawn
Over 98% of general practitioners want the royal medical colleges to press for the withdrawal of the Health and Social Care bill, according to a survey by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).
The majority think that the bill will not improve patient care
and that it will increase bureaucracy - the very opposite
of what the
Tory-led government say will result from it. Over 89% think that it
will increase private sector involvement, which increasingly seems to
be the core purpose of the bill. You can read more on the RCGP's website.
"These results are devastating for both David Cameron and Andrew Lansley. It is hard to see how they can possibly carry on with their Bill in the face such overwhelming professional opposition," says Andy Burnham, Labour's shadow health secretary (right).
He calls on the government to withdraw the bill and begin cross party talks on greater involvement of GPs in health service commissioning, using the current structures.
The government has repeatedly said that it is important to involve GPs more closely in commissioning. Dr Clare Gerada, who chairs the RCGP, suggested from the outset that this aim could be achieved by the simple expedient of appointing GPs to the boards of Primary Care Trusts.
Sign the Labour Party's Drop the Bill petition and also the e-petition set up by a GP, if you have not already done so.
More on the changes that no one voted for below.
12 January 2012
Tory attack on trade unions defeated
An attempt by a Tory MP, Jesse Norman, to introduce a
10-minute 
rule
bill to make trade unions refund the cost of time off for trade union
duties, including time spent on training others and on health and
safety, was thrown out by the Commons by 211 to 132 votes.
This measure, which could have destroyed good employer-employee relations in the workplace, was strongly attacked by John Healy (left) for Labour.
The fact that 132 Tories could vote for such a measure shows their lack of understanding of how to establish good work relations.
12 January 2012
Half the
hospital beds for
private patients
Up to half the beds in foundation hospitals could be given over to private patients. An amendment to the Health and Social Care bill, currently going through the House of Lords, sets the cap for income from private patients at 49%.
And remember, it is intended that all hospitals should become foundation hospitals.
Perversely, Andrew Lansley, the Tory Health Secretary, says that this will benefit NHS patients through the income generated. It looks more like a panic measure because hospitals are finding it difficult to cope within their newly constrained budgets.
Andy Burnham, Labour's shadow health secretary, says: "This surprise move, sneaked out just before Christmas, is the clearest sign yet of David Cameron's determination to turn our precious NHS into a US-style commercial system, where hospitals are more interested in profits than people.
"With NHS hospitals able to devote half their beds to private patients, people will begin to see how our hospitals will never be the same again if Cameron's health bill gets through parliament."
More on the outrageous health service changes below.
28 December 2011
Write
your resignation letter
over Christmas
Andrew Lansley (Secretary of State for Health) has sent pro forma resignation letters to the chairs and directors of primary care trusts (PCTs) throughout England, for return by 31 December.
The abolition of PCTs is one of the proposed changes in the organization of the NHS contained in the Health and Social Care Bill. Their role would be taken over by GP consortia (now with the addition of other health professionals).
There are only two problems:
-
The consortia to replace the PCTs are not fully in place.
-
The Bill has not yet been passed. At present, the House of Lords is considering it.
"It is arrogance in the extreme and an affront to democracy to dismantle the NHS in this way before Parliament has given its approval," says Andy Burnham (above), Labour shadow Health Secretary. "The Government is steering the NHS towards the rocks and, unbelievably, is now busy throwing captain and crew overboard."
More on the health bill below.
20 December 2011
Only one social
housing
start in East of England
There was only one social housing start in whole of the East of England in the last six month period. This is massively down on the normal number: in the previous two six-month periods the starts had been 6,116 and 5,362.
The same is true of the whole of England. Disgracefully, starts were down by more than 99% to 454.
The mirage of "compassionate conservatism" is disappearing before our eyes.
20 December 2011
£65
million to re-organize
the NHS in Hertfordshire
"We will stop top-down re-organizations of the NHS that have
got in 
the
way of patient care," said David Cameron. Work began on the
re-organization plans immediately they took office. Broken promise 1.
"We will give the NHS a real rise in funding," said David Cameron. The increase is minimal - insufficient to cover increased responsibilities. Broken promise 2.
And now we find that £3.5 billion of this virtually static NHS budget is to be spent on the re-organization, instead of patient care. This is a re-organization which has no democratic mandate and which was not in the Coalition agreement with the Liberal Democrats.
Nevertheless, the Liberal Democrats have been voting for the disgraceful Health and Social Care Bill. Even Liberal Democrat peers have supported the government, with some notable exceptions, such as Baroness Shirley Williams.
In
Hertfordshire alone, 
NHS Hertfordshire, our primary care trust, has
been told to set aside £65.4 million over two years for the forthcoming
re-organization.
How can this be justified, when those on low incomes are having to pay up to try to rescue George Osborne's plan to deal with the deficit (see below)?
If you have signed the 38 Degrees petition and the Drop
the Bill petition, you may wish to sign the petition set up by a GP on the 
government website or go to NHS Alert to
see what else you could do.
Within this constituency, we plan to deliver leaflets, because we believe that people are not really aware that the NHS is being demolished before our eyes. Email us if you can help with that.
Read more in earlier items here.
6 December 2011
It's the poor
as gets
the pain ...
It's the same the whole world over,
It's the poor as gets the pain,
It's the rich as gets the pleasure,
Ain't it all a bleedin' shame?
"The (Autumn Statement's) tax and benefit measures are, on average, a takeaway from lower income families with children, and a giveaway to those in the middle and top of income distribution," says Robert Joyce, who is a researcher with the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
The money for the boost to the economy is all coming from
those below the average wage, whilst those above the average wage
actually recoup some of the money that they would have lost as a result
of earlier measures.
The IFS has analysed the "Osborne Effect". In 2012/13, for example, those on £15,700 pa will loose 1.7%. The least affected are those on around £40,000 pa, loosing around 0.2%.
Even the richest 10% of the population, with an average salary of £76,100 pa, loose only slightly more in monetary terms than those on £15,700 - £301 compared with £266, in spite of earning nearly five times as much.
As Liam Byrne (above), Labour's shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions, said after the Autumn Statement, "David Cameron has just buried compassionate Conservatism for good."
Read on to the next item for more on the Autumn Statement.
5 December 2011
It didn't have to be this way
The Autumn Spending Review
An extra £158 bn of borrowing. This takes borrowing in future years £37 bn above Labour's plan.
Two years extra of austerity to eliminate the deficit.
George Osborne's austerity
programme choked
off the growth that was
beginning under the Labour
Government. This was well before the crisis in the Eurozone,
although
this new crisis has exacerbated the problems.
So, just like the budget last March, we have George Osborne's plans for growth resulting in a downgrading - by almost half - in the forecast for growth.
There are measures to try to boost the economy: £400m to jump start construction projects, underwriting of mortgages for first time buyers, £1 bn for small and mid-sized businesses and £1 bn for the Regional Growth Fund. There is money too for additional capital expenditure in schools, but half of this extra £1.2 bn is for unneeded free schools.
But this is not what the extra borrowing is for. The extra borrowing is to pay for the mess created by the Coalition Government, which has reduced tax revenues and increased unemployment costs. These new measures are to be paid for by us - or, at least, some of us.
The promised rise in child tax credits has been scrapped. This means an extra 100,000 more children pushed into poverty. After two years of pay freeze, public sector workers will get only a 1% rise for each of two years, rather than the promised 2%.
There will not be a tax on bankers' bonuses, as Labour had proposed. So, unlike those 100,000 children, bankers will not pay. And those even poorer than this will pay too: the overseas aid budget will be cut, in spite of David Cameron's promise that it would not be.
We are losing count of how many of David Cameron's promises have been broken. "No re-organization of the NHS," he said. "We shall be the greenest government ever," he said. "We will maintain NHS funding," he said. And now he cuts the other ring-fenced funding - overseas aid.
"It didn't have to be this way," says Ed Balls (above left),
Labour's
shadow chancellor. "His economic and fiscal strategy (is) in tatters.
And it is not as if they were not warned - including by their coalition
colleagues."
And it does not have to be like this now. Labour's plan for growth and jobs has already been set out. You can remind yourself here.
30 November 2011
Anger over pensions
On 30 November, almost all the unions
in the public sector
plan to strike. It is a measure of the anger of their members that most
of 
them
voted to strike by a much higher majority than British governments
usually get
at
general elections. Amongst them is the National Association of
Headteachers
which has never before in its 114 year history gone on strike.
There are number of myths which need to be busted:
-
Public sector pensions are not gold plated. The average is less than £5,600 p.a.
-
Public sector pensions do not need to be reformed. The Labour government negotiated radical changes in 2007.
-
Public sector pensions have not become unaffordable. Because of the Labour government’s changes, the future cost was reduced by 14% according to the National Audit Office, with costs stabilising at 1% of GDP or 2% of public expenditure.
-
Public sector workers are sharing the pain of recession. The coalition government has imposed – without negotiation – a pay freeze and a lowering in the rate at which pensions, including those already in payment, increase.
Under the 2007 reforms, the unions agreed these changes: pension contributions were increased: pensionable age was increased to 65 for new entrants; a new system was introduced whereby individuals and the state share the cost of any unexpected increase in longevity of pensioners; and civil servants accepted a career average scheme.
The argument that, because private sector employers have reneged on their responsibility to provide for their employees in retirement, public sector employers should do the same is particularly pernicious. Private sector employers got away with reducing pensions because their employees largely had not joined trade unions and because they protected existing employees, imposing the massive reductions only on new recruits.
“We don't have a crisis in public sector pensions. 
We
have a crisis in private sector pensions. Most private sector employees
will become a burden on the state when they retire. Private sector
employers have already imposed an unacceptable burden on
taxpayers. Public sector employees will find themselves, as taxpayers,
paying for the withdrawal or reduction of private sector pensions,”
says David Bell (right),
North East Herts Labour Party’s parliamentary spokesperson.
You can read David’s analysis of the Hutton report on public sector pensions here. Our earlier comments are here.
Under the threat of the strike, the government improved its proposals, but they still want to make a further increase of around 50% in contributions, raise the age of retirement and reduce the pensions. No wonder public sector employees are angry.
There are no marches on 30 November in our constituency. The nearest are in Hertford and in Cambridge. If you are a public sector worker or you wish to support them, you can get details here.
23 November 2011
Privatisation
is coming to
a hospital near you
The disaster about to overtake the NHS - unless the House of Lords saves us from it - is getting scant coverage in any of the media. This letter from David Bell (below right), vice-chair and parliamentary spokesperson of the constituency party, was published in the Royston Crow of 17 November 2011. A similar letter was published in the Comet on the same day. This is the text of the letter:
Privatisation is coming
Privatisation
is coming to a hospital near you. Hinchingbrooke
Hospital
in Huntingdon is to be run by a private company. The
government points out that it is 49% owned by staff, but the
controlling 51% is in private hands. In
any case, after the 10-year contract, other private companies could
take over.
Such privatisations are taking place elsewhere in the NHS, but this is the first hospital. If Royston Hospital is saved ("New move on the future of hospital", November 10), it could well end up in private hands.
Meanwhile, the government’s Health and Social Care bill is going through Parliament. After Commons’ approval, only the House of Lords can prevent the disintegration of the NHS.
The
initial bill was, after a widespread outcry, withdrawn and amended.
This
has lulled people into thinking that the bill is now
acceptable. However, clauses remain which will lead
to a break-up of the NHS into unco-ordinated units, many run by private
companies.
Liberal Democrat, Labour, cross-bench and even Conservative peers have been trying to prevent this. Yet, the media have given this very little coverage. They have got the government to re-consider the clause which removed the Secretary of State’s duty to provide NHS services, giving it instead to unelected quangos, but we do not know the outcome of this.
The Lords are now considering the “hands off” clause. This allows the Secretary of State to interfere with how organizations provide services only if it is absolutely essential – a hard test to meet if the action is challenged at law.
Even if these clauses are amended, do we want the government to spend £2 bn on a re-organization which nobody voted for and which David Cameron promised before the election would not happen?
If you want to keep a national health service, show your disapproval of this bill at www.38degrees.org.uk or at www.dropthebill.com.
David Bell
Parliamentary Spokesperson
North East Herts Labour Party
The front page of the same edition in which this letter was published reports that the privatisation of Royston hospital is, indeed, being proposed. (And, yes, that is Ed Miliband in the top right corner of the front page. He was visiting the business park in Melbourn.)
17 November 2011
Drop the Bill
Sign the petition
Today Andy Burnham, Labour's shadow Health Secretary, is
calling
for the Government to drop the Health and Social Care Bill. His
call comes as the Government seems to be considering yet
another
retreat - this time on the part of the bill which would give NHS
organizations autonomy and thus allow competition rather than
collaboration.
Even if all these changes are made at the behest of many distinguished peers from all parties and the cross benches, the Bill will still be wasting £2 bn on a re-organization which nobody wants and which nobody voted for.
Remember that David Cameron promised no re-organization of the NHS before the election, perhaps the one aspect of the Tory manifesto that was appealing to many voters! After the election, we get the biggest ever re-organization. And perhaps the biggest ever breach of a politician's promise.
38 Degrees has been doing a great job with their petition, which now is nearing half a million signatures. Now you can sign Labour's very clear "Drop the Bill" petition. Click here to do it now, before the Coalition Government destroys the NHS.
If you have not signed the 38 Degrees
petition, sign that as well and help them to continue to put pressure
on the Lords. Click here.
8 November 2011
Government
to discuss
further amendment to NHS Bill
Amazingly, the media have in the main not reported the very important debate in the House of Lords on Wednesday. Important amendments had been tabled by Baroness Williams, Baroness Finlay and Lord Patel and also by Baroness Jay and Lord Mackay of Clashfern - a mix of Labour, Liberal Democrat, Conservative and crossbench peers.
These amendments were aimed at ensuring that the Secretary of State would have ultimate responsibility for the NHS, would be accountable to Parliament for the public money spent on it and for the services that it provides.
"It is important to have an absolutely solid basis by which the whole of the House and the public can understand exactly the accountabilities and responsibilities of the secretary of state," Baroness Williams said. Lord Mackay put it succinctly: he wanted to ensure that "the buck stops here".
Earl Howe, speaking for the Government, agreed to further discussions about the role of Secretary of State and, therefore, the amendments were not proceeded with. As Shirley Williams pointed out, if they had been proceeded with and had been defeated, then the House of Lords would not have been able to further consider this crucial part of the Bill.
3 November 2011
Sharon Taylor
selected
to stand for Stevenage
Congratulations to Sharon Taylor on her selection
as the Labour and Co-operative Party candidate for Stevenage. Sharon is
the leader of Stevenage Council and the leader of the Labour Group on
Hertfordshire County Council. She stood for Stevenage in 2010, when she
lost narrowly to the Conservative candidate.
Her website is www.sharontaylor4stevenage.com.
26 October 2011
Labour MEP manhandled
from media area
"Disgraceful action by Tory Council"
Richard Howitt, the elected Labour MEP for the area (pictured right),
was
physically removed from the media area at the Dale Farm site. On 19
October 2011,
when the bailiffs were moving in to remove travellers from Dale Farm in
Basildon, Richard was specifically invited by the BBC to go to the site
and give an interview for the BBC programme Look East.
Before the interview took place, Richard was told by a council official that Basildon Council, which is Tory controlled, was ordering him from the site. Two security guards seized Richard by the arms, lifted him over the distance to the edge of the media area and pushed him on to the road.
Although the BBC relocated their cameras in order to interview Richard, interviews that had been scheduled for LBC, ITV Anglia and Sky News did not take place as a result of this action.
One can only speculate about the reason for this action, but it seems that the Council wanted to suppress Richard's criticism of the way that they had proceeded in evicting the travellers, although he has consistently called for the law to be respected and for the police to be supported.
"Disgraceful and politically
motivated action by the Tory Council," said Clyde Millard, our
constituency party chairman (left).
"Richard is an MEP, so surely this is a contempt of the European
Parliament and a denial of free speech." His message to Richard was:
"100% support for your legal action and for all the great work you do
for everyone in the Eastern Region."
You can read more here and see messages of support from the Labour leader on the Basildon Council and many others, including some Conservative supporters, here.
26 October 2011 (revised 28 October 2011)
All the fuss in the media about what Liam Fox has or has not done has obscured two far more important new items: the Lords' vote on the NHS Bill (see below on this) and Labour's plan for growth and jobs.
Last
Thursday, Ed Miliband (left)
and
Ed Balls (right) launched
the plan to
restore growth to the economy and give hope for employment to
the
record number of unemployed. Youth unemployment is at a record high.
Unemployment for women is at a 23-year high and total unemployment at a
17-year high. In the EU only Greece and Portugal are growing more
slowly than the UK.
The five points are:
1. A £2 billion tax on bank bonuses
to fund 100,000 jobs for
young people and build 25,000 affordable homes
2. Bringing forward long-term investment projects, like new school
buildings
3. Temporarily reversing the VAT rise – a £450 boost for families with
children
4. A one year cut in VAT to 5% on home improvements and repairs to help
small
businesses
5. A tax break for every small firm which takes on extra workers
Read more about the plan and how it would help the East of England here.
15 October 2011
Out of touch and out of date
The world has changed. The Tories haven't. Read a detailed critique of the Coalition government here.
15 October 2011
Still some hope for the NHS
The House of Lords rejected the motion by Lord Owen and Lord Hennessy to refer part of the government's NHS Bill to a special select committee. Labour peers and about half the cross-benchers voted for the motion, but all but two Liberal Democrat peers voted against.
However, there is still a little hope, although the patient is very sick. The Bill does have to go through the committee stage in the House of Lords. So, sign the 38 Degrees petition if you have not yet done so.
In the debate, Prof. Lord Darzi, the consultant surgeon who was a health minister in Gordon Brown's government, put the main issue vividly: "We now (will) have health and well-being boards, clinical commissioning groups, clinical senates, local health watches, the NHS commissioning board, a quality regulator and an economic regulator ..... Who is reponsible for making sure that the NHS saves more lives this year than last? Who is accountable for how its budget is spent? Who will inspire NHS staff to lead the difficult changes?"
He got no clear answers, because there are no clear answers.
13 October 2011
Outrageous
The destruction of the NHS
"We will stop top-down re-organizations of the NHS that have got in the way of patient care." That's what David Cameron said before the general election. It is outrageous that we now face a complete change in how the NHS works.
More outrageously, even before the bill gets through
Parliament, the Coalition
Government is implementing many of the changes, to bring more and more
private companies into the system. GP commissioning bodies are not in
control of this. They are required
to find three outside bodies for a whole range of services.
Most outrageous of all - the unaccountable quango, the NHS Commissioning Board, will control the £120 bn budget of the NHS. The Secretary of State will be forbidden from interfering! Questions about the NHS in the House of Commons are likely to be ruled out of order!
Only the House of Lords stands between us and this disaster, after the Liberal Democrat MPs caved in to the Tory agenda for privatising health services. Lord Owen (David Owen) is proposing to refer much of the bill to committee scrutiny in the House of Lords. This, at least, offers some hope of a more rational way forward.
Our new shadow Secretary of State, Andy Burnham (above), proposes co-operation with the Government on giving GPs a bigger role in commissioning if the Bill is dropped. We shall see if the Government really believes that the important change is to bring GPs into the commissioning role, or if their real agenda is privatisation by the backdoor.
They did not respond to the proposal from Dr Clare Gerada, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, when she suggested that they could involve GPs in commissioning by putting them on the boards of primary care trusts - an almost cost-free method of achieving what they said was their main aim.
Polly Toynbee, writing in the Guardian on 7 October called this a "constitutional affront". Read more about this affront here.
10 October 2011
A new bargain for Britain
One of the worst legacies of Margaret Thatcher's government was that she was successful in getting people to believe that greed is good. The banking crisis has shown us where that gets us!
Ed
Miliband, in his thoughtful address to the Labour
Conference last
week, set out his determination to tackle this culture which is so
corrosive of society. He said that we had a "failure of a system, (of)
an old set of rules, an economy and a society too often rewardinng not
the right people with the right values, but the wrong people with the
wrong values."
One example is senior bankers taking unjustified rewards. "We must end the cosy cartels of the way top pay is set in our economy," he said.
"The top demand of my Shadow Cabinet, my party, my team, is this: ambition to change out country. That is why we were founded."
"The new bargain in our economy must be built on co-operation, not conflict. That is the most important future for the trade unions in this country."
He also saw our environment and climate change as "an essential part of the new bargain - responsibility, commitment for the long term". "So let's break the dominance of the big energy companies."
It is now the task of all of us in the Labour Party to work out the policies which will deliver Ed Miliband's vision of "a new bargain to ensure responsibility from top to bottom.... to break open the closed circles and break up vested interests, that hold our country back".
You can read the full speech here. Unlike David Cameron he did not change his views because the press criticised what he was going to say!
5 October 2011
Boundary Changes
The Boundary Commission for England has made its initial proposal for changes to Parliamentary constituencies as required by the Coalition government's legislation.
The proposals are now out for consultation until 5 December 2011.
The proposed changes involve the constituency shedding some of the East Hertfordshire wards and acquiring two Central Bedfordshire wards. More ...
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