Lifelong Labour Voters Back The Conservatives Over The NHS

I have blogged before about how lifelong Labour voters will be voting for a radical and progressive Tory Party at the next election. One of the issues I care about most is protecting and strengthening the NHS. And this week, lifelong Labour voters who work in the NHS have said that they will be supporting the progressive Conservatives at the next election.

The first was Dr Anwari Ali. Dr Ali is GP and, until this week, was a Labour Councillor. In a past poster campaign, Dr Ali has been chosen as one of the faces of the NHS. She said:

“I have been a lifelong Labour supporter, but I believe the country cannot afford five more years of Gordon Brown. As a GP working on the frontline in the largest practice in the East End, I have become increasingly disillusioned with Labour's failure to reform the NHS. The past decade has seen this Government waste millions of pounds on bureaucracy in hospitals. Gordon Brown's obsession with top down targets and a tick box culture has ruined the morale and goodwill of the national health staff. Ill health and early death in the East End is a direct result of Labour's failure to bring real reform to the NHS.”

The second was Professor David Kerr, a lifelong Labour voter who campaigned with Tony Blair in 2001. Professor Kerr was the winner of the Nye Bevan 'award for innovation'. He argues:

“To say that we have run out of steam, I would say definitely, definitely yes... We have got lost in the blizzard of increasingly irrelevant targets. The position now is disenfranchising, dull and disconnected. That is the clinical reality.”

Professor Kerr suggests:

“[The Tories] are more committed to the NHS that we love and understand as free at the point of access and offering universal care. Only that degree of certainty would convince me to go and work for them.”

The NHS is a great British institution. I'm enormously proud of the NHS and enormously proud of the fact that healthcare in Britain is free at the point of delivery. Dr Ali and Professor Kerr have this week confirmed that we are now the party of the NHS.

Publicly Owned Banks Should Not Be Paying Obscene Bonuses

People are quite right to be angry about the action of the bankers that helped create the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression. People are right to be angry that the irresponsible actions and speculative excesses of bankers has had a devastating effect on the economy of 'main street'.

People are right to be angry that billions of pounds worth of taxpayers money had to be used to bail out the bankers and that, since then, the bankers do not seem to have changed their behaviour. People are angry that taxpayers money is being used to fund the ridiculous levels of bankers pay. Bonuses are up 40% at a time when everybody else is having to tighten their belts. Huge bonuses are being paid for on the back of taxpayer funded financial support. The banking sector has been quick to forget that without taking billions from the public purse they would have collapsed as institutions.

This morning, 85% taxpayer owned RBS announced a staggering £3.6 billion loss. Astonishingly, they also announced that they had paid out a shocking £1.3 billion in bonuses.

At the same time, it is becoming clear that banks like RBS are not fulfilling their obligations to provide finance to business.

People are quite right to demand action on this. Pay in the banking sector has become entirely out of kilter with the rest of society. It is frankly unjustifiable that banks who have relied upon the taxpayer for their very survival are effectively using taxpayers money to pay ridiculous bonuses while, at the same time, making a massive loss. That is why I support co-ordinated action to deal with excessive pay in the banking sector. I also strongly support the need for international agreement for a tax or levy on speculative financial transactions.

And the British people are right to suggest that the banks should probably think about paying the taxpayer back for keeping them in business before giving outrageous bonuses to their bankers.

Where Is The Fairness In Durham County Council's Closure Of Care Homes?

We have heard a lot about 'fairness' from Gordon Brown in the past few days. However, I don't think the residents of seven residential care homes for the elderly in County Durham have seen a great deal of fairness from Gordon Brown's Labour Party. The elderly and frail residents have been told that Labour controlled Durham County Council is 'consulting' on its plans to close seven care homes in County Durham.

Two of the care homes marked down for closure, Manor House in Annfield Plain and Stanfield House in Stanley. Local residents are very angry about the proposed closure and local residents have every right to be angry. The residents of the care homes are distressed by the news and the families and friends of the residents are very much opposed to the moves to close the care homes. The highly skilled staff who work in the care homes are understandably upset by the news.

Indeed, this morning's Journal carries the news that a local Labour activist in Lanchester has hit out at his own party's plans to close the care homes and has threatened to quit the Labour Party over the plan.

As a society, we should be judged on how we treat the elderly, as we should be judged on how we treat the weakest and most vulnerable members of society. There is no fairness in this closure of care homes. It impacts some of the most vulnerable people in society and the Labour Party and Durham County Council should hang their heads in shame for treating the elderly in this way.

David Cameron's Love Of Darts

I have blogged a few times about my love of darts. Indeed I'm typing this while watching a cracking Premier League match between Phil 'The Power' Taylor and Ronnie 'The Rocket' Baxter. It is a sport with supreme skills, working class roots and one that provides gripping, enthralling entertainment.

I was delighted that David Cameron said in an interview with 'ShortList' magazine that he is a huge fan of the game and of Sid Waddell's brilliant commentaries. Apparently, he also has a board on his office wall. Indeed, during the interview he cam face to face with some legends of the game couple of years ago:

'I was switching on the Christmas lights in Witney and they always quite rightly think that a member of parliament isn't important enough to do this alone, so they often get other people to help. One year it was John Lowe, Eric Bristow and Keith Deller - I was a bit starstruck.'

The Cabinet Visits The North East. Where Have They Been For The Last 13 Years?

The Cabinet arrived en masse in the North East today -holding their meeting in the comprehensive school where I went to sixth form.

Of course, it is always good to see our region getting some national media attention. But the question I would ask to the New Labour Ministers who descended on the North East this morning is 'where on earth have you been for the past 13 years?' It is all well and good Ministers visiting the region with a couple of months until an election, but that doesn't justify them ignoring our area when it isn't election time.

Over the past 13 years, the economic gap between the North East and the rest of the country has grown wider. We have one of the highest rates of unemployment in the country; the lowest average gross weekly pay in the country; and the lowest GDP per head in the country. After 13 years that began with so much promise but ended in disappointment, a 'Labour' Government has ignored the North East over the Barnett Formula, high speed rail, the widening of the A1 and dozens of other areas.

It is time that they focused on the North East all of the time, not just when they are panicking about the North Eastern vote in the pre-election period. That is why, if elected, I will always put the North East and our area first. It is time that we had strong voices for the North East 365 days a year, 7 days a week.

Unemployment In North Durham Up 6% In One Month

Unemployment in North Durham has gone up by some 6% in just one month as the North East continues to be the region hit the hardest by the recession. Indeed, unemployment in North Durham has increased by a shocking 125% since December 2007.

That is over 1,500 more families suffering from the devastation of unemployment over the past two years. I have spoken to so many people in North Durham over the past few months who have been terribly affected by unemployment and are, rightly, demanding that the Government should do more to create jobs in the area.

That is why I'm calling for the creation of 100,000 new apprenticeships and training places; 50,000 new Further Education places and 10,000 more Higher Education places. I'm calling for more to be done to incentivise job creation and to encourage business to create jobs. I'm calling for action to put our area at the forefront of green industry and I'm calling for a personalised careers advice service for everybody looking for work.

We need urgent action to deal with our area's jobs crisis. This Government is not proviing the action we need.

Lifelong Labour Voters Are Ready To Vote For Change In North Durham

I have blogged before about how lifelong Labour voters will be voting for my campaign for change at the last election. People who have voted Labour all of their lives are tired of being taken for granted and are annoyed that the Party they placed so much faith in has actually delivered mass unemployment, widening inequality and declining social mobility.

In the North East, lifelong Labour voters are sick of our region being forgotten and ignored by a Government that has 27 out of our 29 MPs. Since 1997, we have been represented by the likes of Blair, Mandelson, Byers and Milburn but the North East has still fallen further behind every other UK region and has the highest unemployment in the UK.

That is why lifelong Labour voters are ready to vote for change in North Durham. And lifelong Labour voters are ready to make the switch across the country, as this video shows:

People across North Durham and across the North East are ready to vote for a progressive alternative. They are sick of the traditional values of the Labour Party being ignored and are set to support a candidate who will stand for fairness, action to create jobs and will be a strong voice for the North East.

Saddened, But Not Surprised, By Kraft's Betrayal Of Trust

Despite promises made by Kraft in the process of their hostile takeover of Cadburys, yesterday they announced that they would be shedding 500 manufacturing jobs in the UK. It is clear that their promises stood for nothing. The promises of the Labour Government have counted for nothing and it is British workers who are suffering.

I made my misgivings about this takeover clear a few weeks ago. The deal was called a “bad deal” by Warren Buffett, criticised across the political spectrum and resulted in falls in the share price of both Kraft and Cadbury. My main misgivings were based around the fact that:

• Kraft are heavily in debt to the tune of £18.6 billion, more than double the level of debt in 2006. To fund the takeover, Kraft have had to increase their debt still further, with Kraft’s debt to earnings ratio increasing to nearly four times. This level of debt is not sustainable and it is likely that Cadburys UK production will bear the brunt of Kraft’s attempts to reduce their debt;
• Cadburys was a lean, well run, profitable company, with a long history of respecting workers’ rights. Kraft is a global conglomerate with a massive pool of debt and a long history of asset stripping. It does concern me that lean, well run companies are so often the targets of global conglomerates;
• The UK economy has, for too long been unbalanced in favour – with too much focus being placed on the financial sector in the South East of England and not enough being placed on manufacturing. We need to rebalance the economy. The sale of one of Britain’s great manufacturing names is hardly a statement of intent;
• The power of short term hedge funds and institutional shareholders in the takeover process, who have a vote but no real interest in the long term health of the company. Long term manufacturing vitality should not be decided by short term interests in the City;
• The takeover was funded by a loan provided by a bank owned by the British taxpayer

Despite the protestations of free market fundamentalists, I’m cannot see how the Cadburys takeover has been at all positive for Cadburys workers or the long term health and vitality of the British economy. All of Lord Mandelson’s assurances have counted for nothing.

It is surely time that we re-thought our ethos around takeovers and the power of corporate finance. There is a strong case for ‘public interest’ tests when it comes to corporate takeovers, along with the need to seek proper assurances in terms of jobs and social impact. Kraft’s sudden about turn was sadly predictable. Cadburys workers have been badly let down by a toothless Government. It is about time we made sure that the same is not allowed to happen again.

New Research: Labour's Legacy - The North East Has The Highest Rate Of Unemployment In The Country

Look North has been running a series of reports this week about the health of the North Eastern economy after 13 years of Labour Government. The findings have been fascinating and more than a little worrying.

The report pointed out that we have the highest rate of unemployment in the country in the North East. According to the report:

Over the period May 1997 to December 2009 the North East has consistently been

one of the worst performing regions in terms of unemployment... unemployment has risen steadily in the North East to stand at 85,625 or 5.4% in December 2009 – the highest rate of all the regions of the UK and significantly higher than the UK average of 4.1%.

According to the report, the unemployment problem in County Durham is even worse than in the rest of the region:

County Durham experienced the most marked increase in claimant unemployment between May 2008 and the latest figures for December 2009 with a 105% increase in the number of people of working age claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) with the unemployment rate more than doubling to 4.5% from 2.2%.

I have spoken to so many people who have been suffering from the devastation of unemployment. And the Government hasn't been doing nearly enough to help create jobs in our area. We need to incentive business to create jobs; provide personalised careers advice to people looking for work; create 200,000 new apprenticeships over two years; and get credit flowing to business again.

Yet Another Over The Odds Council Tax Increase For The People Of North Durham

The Labour Council in Durham are engaging in a bout of self congratulation about the fact that they have managed to restrict the Council Tax rise this year to 1.9%. This comes after years of big Council Tax increases for people in County Durham. Indeed, the Council is only able to 'boast' of a 1.9% increase because it looks low in relation to the scale of their Council Tax hikes in recent years.

Why they are congratulating themselves about this little fact when so many people in North Durham are having to tighten their belts is absolutely beyond me. For this to happen at the same time as the Council is closing Care Homes and cutting back other facilities is shocking. For Council Tax payers to be hit at the same time as Labour Councillors vote for a 20% allowance increase in unforgivable.

That's why I'm calling on the Council to freeze Council Tax for this year. A Conservative Government would work with local authorities to freeze Council Tax for two years. The Council Tax payers of North Durham deserve better than yet another Council Tax hike.

I'm Backing National Apprenticeships Week

I'm a great believer in the importance of apprenticeships, which is why I'm backing National Apprenticeships Week this week. Apprenticeships are a hugely valuable form of work-based training and vocational education and they will play a major part in helping our economy compete in a global economy that places a premium on skills.

There are plenty of excellent examples of apprenticeships being run by businesses throughout North Durham and throughout the North East. And we need to go even further to promote apprenticeships.

That's why, as part of the Get Britain Working programme, we have pledged to create an additional 200,000 apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship training places over two years. Contrast that ambition to Labour's failure in this area - with a fall in new apprenticeships of more than 20,000 between October 2008 and October 2009.

Time For The North East To Get A Fair Deal Over The Barnett Formula

Gordon Brown has shown time and time again that he is prepared to ignore the North East and take our votes for granted. Nowhere is this more obvious than his continuing support for the unfair, outmoded Barnett formula. It has been shown time and time again that the North East gets a very bad deal out of the formula. As has become typical of his Government, Mr Brown is utterly unable or unwilling to lift a finger to help the North East and to put right a proven wrong.

It is only right that any such formula must be needs based. The Barnett Formula blatantly isn't. Although information about funding has been clouded by the Government, we know that the North East receives £8,156 per head and has a lower GDP per capita than Scotland, which receives £9,032 per head from the formula.

The fact that the Government refuses to act, according to yesterday's Northern Echo, for fear of a "backlash from Scotland" is shameful. It is yet another example of the Labour government ignoring the North East and taking our votes for granted. North Eastern Labour MPs have utterly failed to stand up for the North East and to make sure that the North East gets a fair deal.

That is why I will be putting the North East first. If elected, I will fight for the interests of our area after years of Labour complacency.

The Groundswell For Change In North Durham

We just had a very good action weekend in our campaign to bring about change in North Durham. We had almost twenty people spreading the message of real change to the people of North Durham. And the response was overwhelmingly positive. Local people are sick of the North East being ignored and taken for granted by this Government.

They are highly supportive of a local candidate who cares passionately about our area and our region and will stand up for the North East and North Durham. People tell me about the concerns they face about unemployment and their belief, which I share, that much more needs to be done to tackle unemployment and create jobs in our area. People told us about their concerns regarding anti-social behaviour and their support for tougher action to be taken against the anti social minority.

So many people in North Durham have had enough of a Labour Party that has taken us all for granted. That is why lifelong Labour voters will be voting for change in North Durham. There is a real groundswell for change in 2010.

Transfer Deadline Day. Agony, Ecstasy... and Anti-climax

Today was transfer deadline day. A day that could have been invented by (and for) rolling sports news channels. It is incredible how much outlandish speculation is spread on transfer deadline day and how it so often arrives, and departs with little more than a damp squib (unless you were a Man City fan a couple of seasons ago!)

Speculation had linked my team, Sunderland, to virtually every player in the country. In the end, we managed to sign one player - in a loan move! A feeling of anti climax that quite a few fans around the country might be sharing now.

At the same time, the message boards; special sections from the BBC, Sky and Sporting Life were going into speculation overdrive. Sky Sports News treat today as a mammoth news event.

I'm not convinced that there is any need for the transfer window. But it certainly adds some excitement, speculation and intrigue to the first day of February. Now the rumour mill gets working again in preparation for the Summer...