Hard Working People Betrayed By Labour As Anti Social Behaviour Goes Out Of Control

Anti social behaviour is one of the biggest problems affecting North Durham. It is brought up time and time again on the doorstep. Those people who voted Labour with such hope in 1997 are the people who are affected the most by the blight of anti social behaviour. Labour's failure on anti social behaviour is yet another example of its betrayal of the working class.

Labour have completely failed to address anti social behaviour in our area. North Durham has one of the very highest in the country. We have amongst the worst ASBO breach rates in England. Local people have complained to me that they cannot go about their day to day lives because of fear of anti social behaviour.

Apparently Gordon Brown will focus on anti social behaviour in his conference speech this afternoon. Who is he kidding? It is as though Labour hasn't been in power for twelve years. During those twelve years anti social behaviour in North Durham has escalated to a point where it is now out of control.

That is why I am campaigning for real action about anti social behaviour. That means giving the Police the power to do something about it and getting Policemen back on the street. It means ensuring that decent community youth facilities are available. Above all, it means taking real action to ensure that ordinary working people can go about their lives without the fear of anti social behaviour.

The North East Is Turning Its Back On The Labour Party

It has been clear to me for months from speaking to so many people in North Durham that people who have voted Labour all of their lives feel betrayed and let down by the Labour Party. So many people have told me that they will, for the first time in their lives, not be voting Labour at the next election. Instead, they will be voting for real change at the next election.

What I have been noticing on the doorstep was comprehensively supported by a poll in the Financial Times yesterday. It showed that Labour's support throughout the North of England has completely collapsed. They have gone from a 19 point lead over the Conservatives at the last election to being four points behind.

People in the North East are sick and tired of being taken for granted by a complacent Labour elite. That is why the North East and North Durham is ready to give a bloody nose to the Labour Party and turn our back on an out of touc Labour Party in favour of people, such as myself, prepared to stand up for our area.

Yes Lord Mandelson - Labour Has Let The North East Down

Lord Mandelson was fairly honest today when he admitted that our region has been "hardest hit by the recession." Such an admission will be of little comfort to the families who are suffering from the increase inunemployment of over 70% in North Durham. It will be of little comfort to the number of people I speak to on the door step who rightly point out that the Government is not doing nearly enough to tackle the recession.

Under this Government, our region has fallen behind other regions in almost every economic measurement. I believe that we have the potential to be economic trailblazers again. We have the potential to have a glorious economic future, using our immense skills, industrial legacy and natural heritage, that will match our glorious economic past. That includes using clean technology and clean coal to put us at the forefront of the green economy. But for us to have the economic future we are capable of, our area needs the vision and leadership that Labour have, time and time again, shown themselves totally incapable of delivering.

I'm tired of the Labour Party taking our region for granted. I'm tired of them using tired platitudes, instead of taking action and showing leadership. It is time that they made way for proud North Easterners, such as me, who are independent of the complacent regional elite and have an ambitious vision for the North East to be the economic envy of the UK.

I'm Backing The Journal's Campaign Against The Air Passenger Duty Hike

The Journal has launched a campaign against the Government's decision to, yet again increase Air Passenger Duty - meaning that it will be four times higher than it was three years ago. I'm backing the Journal's campaign.

The rise in Air Passenger Duty could potentially damage business links with the North East (BMI has already abandoned its service to Durham Tees Valley) and it will also limit our potential to add further long haul routes out of the North East in the future. Having airports with strong links with the rest of the UK and the rest of the world is essential if we are to grow and prosper as a region. These duty increases make our task more difficult.

As James Ramsbotham, Chief Executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce has said, as a region we rely heavily on exports. We need strong regional airports to build and develop those business and transport links. Hitting passengers with this kind of tax also impacts airports in the North East far more than it does airports such as Heathrow. The CBI have described regional air services as "critical to a growing economy."

So the rise in APD has the potential to be damaging to our area's economy whilst we are suffering from a recession. It also does not live up to the environmental benefits claimed for it. Air PAssenger Duty is in no way directly linked to emissions. Nor does it incentivise airline sto use more fuel efficient aircraft.

This rise in Air Passenger Duty will be damaging for our regional economy and do nothing to help the environment. It will punish hard working people going on their annual holiday and potentially stunt the growth of the airports in the region. The Journal is quite right in its campaign. The Government needs to reconsider this rise urgently.

England Win A One Dayer At Last. They Should Play At Chester-le-Street More Often!

England have just won a One Day International against Australia at the Riverside ground. This was after being humbled or humiliated in every match they have played in the anti climactic series.

It must be something to do with the beauty of the ground, the Durham air and the passion of the fans but England seem to do very well when they play at Chester-le-Street. As, of course, do County champions Durham.

The moral of the story? England should play at Chester-le-Street far more often!

Gap In Life Expectancy Shows That Labour Have Let Working Class Areas Down

Labour have betrayed people from working class backgrounds in so many ways. The abolition of the 10p rate of tax; declining social mobility; and new plans to claim back housing benefit from the most disadvantaged are all signs that the Labour Party have completely lost touch with their roots. In North Durham, Labour Councillors have shown themselves to be out of touch from people affected by rising unemployment and the difficulties caused by the recession.

A report published on Friday showed quite how much people from working class areas have been let down after twelve years of Labour Government. The shocking finding of the report was that, in terms of life expectancy, there is a staggering 26 year gap in life expectancy between different parts of the UK. One of the lowest levels of life expectancy was for Pelton Fell, in Chester-le-Street, which had the third lowest level in the country (70.4, compared with 93.4 for the community with the highest life expectancy).

It is shocking that after twelve years of Labour Government, such a massive gulf of life expectancy has been allowed to exist. Clearly, much more needs to be done to bridge the gap. This level of inequality is simply wrong and stands as yet another example of this Government letting this area down so badly.

Unemployment Up 76% In North Durham - So Much More Needs To Be Done To Tackle The Jobs Crisis

Unemployment is the biggest economic and social problem facing this country. The Government is not doing enough to get to grips with the problem - so much more needs to be done.

Figures released this morning show that 2.47 million people are now out of work. In North Durham, there are 2,515 people out of work. That is 76% higher than this time last year. That is over 1,000 more families suffering the effects of unemployment.

Unemployment has a devastating impact on communities, families, and of course the people involved. That is why our absolute priority as a nation must be getting people back to work and ensuring that the recession does not create a 'lost generation' of young people.

The Government has shown no imagination or vision to tackle the unemployment crisis. So much more needs to be done. We need to provide more support and advice for people out of work. We need to create real apprenticeships and training places. We need to incentivise business to take on more workers and provide the right environment for business to grow. We need to get credit flowing to business again so they are in a position to create jobs.

Above all, we need to replace this Government's inaction with real action to get people back to work.

Time For Ex Miners To Receive The Money They Are Owed

Over 150,000 miners have been improperly charged by solicitors, regarding compensation claims. These solicitors still owe miners £100 million for charging for legal advice, when their legal fees were being paid by the Government.

This is a truly outrageous situation. It is deplorable that people have taken advantage of sick and elderly ex miners and it is deplorable that so many of these ex miners have not had their legal fees reimbursed. Coming from a mining family, whose Grandfather died early because of lung damage caused by working conditions in the mine, I find anybody taking advantage of ill ex miners to be morally reprehensible.

The Government must act to ensure that miners who are owed money receive their money. This means the Government acting proactively to ensure that ex miners who are owed money know that they are owed money. It means that Government should take whatever action is necessary to ensure that ex miners receive money that is rightfully theirs. It is five years since this outrage came to light - ex miners should not have had to wait this long to get their money back.

The Government also needs to take action to speed up those cases that are still outstanding. In March 2008, there were 67,532 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cases and 5,569 vibration white finger claims outstanding. We need quicker action to deliver justice for ex miners.

It is a moral imperative that the Government does all that it possibly can to reunite ex miners in North Durham and throughout the country with money that is rightfully theirs.

Congratulations To Durham - County Champions Once Again

Durham have done us all proud by winning the County Championship for the second season a row, in quite emphatic style. A fantastic achievement for our area and confirmation that our county is the finest cricketing county in England.

Bear in mind that much of this was acheived when the likes of Graham Onions, Paul Collingwood and Steve Harmison were on international duty. Bear in mind that this fantastic achievement has happened with weeks of the season to spare.

I remember when I was growing up in County Durham that having a first class county team was a mere pipedream. I remember the journalists of the Southern media mocking us when we made our initial entry to the first class cricketing scene. And now, over a decade later, Durham are the undisputed cricketing champions of the country. Simply tremendous.

The club should also be congratulated for letting everybody in for free over the last couple of days. A great gesture - made even greater by the fantastic weather we have been enjoying over the past few days.

So congratulations to the Durham cricketers. A mighty achievement. It just goes to show, once again, that in the North East our ambitions should be limitless.

The Train Companies Should Stop Taking Advantage Of The Travelling Public

I regularly use the railways to travel in and out of Chester-le-Street and Durham. Travelling by train is, at its best, a relaxing and rewarding way to travel.

But there is nothing more galling than the fact that the train operating companies so frequently take advantage of their travellers.

Rather than improve the experience for their customers they invest big money in installing ticket barriers and empowering over officious ticket collectors.

They have increased fares by a grotesque amount almost every year for the past decade. These fares are increased at the same time as customers swelter in non air conditioned trains with malfunctioning toilets. When the train companies were told that they needed to cut their fares to follow inflation, their squeals could be heard up and down the country.

At the same time, the train companies are happy to see customers who have paid extortionate amounts hunched over their luggage in the ‘vestibules’ as there are no seats left on the train.

Ah, say the train companies, why not reserve a seat and then you will not have to stand for a long journey.

But now the train companies even charge you for the ‘pleasure’ of reserving a seat and not having to stand. National Express now charge you £2.50 for each seat reservation.

To put it bluntly, this is a disgrace. On so many trains, to get a seat you need to make a reservation. To make a seat reservation you now need to pay for the pleasure.

It is about time that the train companies started to think about how to improve customer service and the experience for travellers, rather than how to make more money out of the travelling public. It is shameful that the railway companies are trying to squeeze every last drop of cash out of a long suffering travelling public. To do so during a recession is beyond disgraceful.

Politicians Should Lead By Example By Cutting Unnecessary Perks

We are going through a time of belt tightening up and down the country. These times of recession have us all worried about the impact of the recession. It is only right that politicians should lead by example in times of rising unemployment and economic turbulence. This is why I was pleased to see that David Cameron is planning to cut back on Ministerial perks, including a 5% cut in Ministerial salaries.

I blogged last week about how Ministerial cars were an extravagance of little real benefit that cost us a fortune. The same can be said of so many Ministerial privileges. It is quite wrong that the political class are not tigtening their belts at the same time as the rest of us. It is quite wrong that Ministers live in a land of perks and special privileges that are unnecessary and unaffordable.

If we are serious about changing politics and changing the way we do things, then we have to be serious about making sure that taxpayers' money is spent wisely. Extravagant and unnecessary use of public money is utterly unjustifiable. Perhaps the Labour Councillors who awarded themselves a 20% allowance increase at the same time as unemployment increased by 90% in North Durham should take time to reflect on the need for politicians to lead by example.

Why I'm Backing The Campaign To "Save Election Night"

More and more councils up and down the country are considering shifting their general election count to the Friday evening. Moving the count from the Thursday to the Friday is something I am very much opposed to.

It is quite right that the verdict of the people, up and down the country, is known as soon as possible. As Karl Popper famously said, in Great Britain, election day is "judgement day" and it is part of the drama of election day that results are known that evening. Making election results as accessible as possible should be crucial and that means having thc count on Thursday nights, when more people are able to watch them.

For this reason, I'm opposing the backward step of moving counts to the Friday and joining the campaign established by a cross party group of bloggers to "save election night". You can read more about the campaign here and join the Facebook group here.

I'm delighted to say that North Durham will be counting on the Thursday night. Here's hoping that will be replicated around the country.

Time And Time Again, North Eastern Labour MPs Have Failed To Stand Up For Our Region

I have a piece in this morning's Northern Echo, pointing out that, time and time again, North Eastern Labour MPs have failed to stand up for the North East. From high speed rail to the Barnett Formula, the Labour government has consistenly ignored the needs of the North East. Labour MPs seem more interested in toeing the party line and ministerial limousines than they do in standing up for the area they are supposed to be representing.

In North Durham and in the North East as a whole, we are sick of being taken for granted by a complacent Labour elite. We are sick of the Labour Government ignoring our concerns and the needs of our region. That is why such a groundswell for change is building up.

You can read the full text of the piece here: http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/features/letters/4582961.Rail_links/

I have also reproduced it in full below:

A NUMBER of recent correspondents to this page were quite correct to be appalled about the fact that, yet again, the North-East has been overlooked by this Government.

This time, the Government has ignored the compelling case for a high-speed rail-link serving the region.
As has been pointed out, such a link would have been hugely beneficial to the North-East’s economy. It is scandalous that the Government has, yet again, chosen to ignore our area.

Where on earth were the region’s MPs when our area needed them? Why have they, yet again, failed to stand up for our area? The total failure of Labour MPs to make the case for the region is another example of the Labour Party taking us for granted.

I’m standing for election as a proud North-Easterner, independent of the complacent local Labour elite that has governed the area for so long.

I believe that our area now needs people such as myself willing to fight for this region, make a passionate case for the North-East and make clear that our region being ignored by Westminster is no longer acceptable.

We Need More Than Gimmicks and Headline Grabbing Initiatives To Tackle Unemployment

I have blogged many times about the need for urgent action both to tackle the 90% rise in unemployment in North Durham and to address the fact that a record number of young people are not in education, employment or training. Without action, we face the possibility of this dreadful recession creating a 'lost generation' of young people.

We need o much more than the kind of programme Gordon Brown announced on Tuesday. At least he admits there is a problem but, the truth is, that the programme he announced does not go anywhere near far enough. Indeed, it has since emerged that the action announced by Gordon Brown amounts to an exercise in media management on behalf of the Prime Minister.

He said that he was creating 85,000 training and job opportunities for young people. However, it seems that many of the 'extra' places are being offered to those already in work, including 36,000 who already work for Morrisons. Some of the training would probably have been offered anyway. It seems that a tiny minority of the places will go to unemployed young people, or those young people not in education or training. It is a step in the right direction but little more.

The scheme announced by Gordon Brown is too timid and too lacking in ambition to solve the major problems we face. We need meaningful action to tackle the jobs crisis and meaningful action to help people back into work.

We need so much more than this Government are prepared to offer. That is why, if elected as MP for North Durham, I will ensure that creating jobs and helping to create real and meaningful apprenticeship, training and employment opportunities for young people is an absolute priority.

Join The Call For A Televised Debate

I blogged a few weeks ago that there must be a televised debate between the party leaders before the next election. It is absurd that we don't have something that most other democracies take for granted.

With that in mind, I'm very pleased to see that Sky News are running a petition for a televised debate. I have signed it and I would encourage you to do the same.

http://skynewsleadersdebate.epetitions.net/

It is also time for debates between candidates at a constituency level. It is only right that people standing for Parliament are prepared to debate in front of the people they are hoping to represent. I will again challenge my Labour and Liberal opponents to a series of local debates in the run up to the General Election.