A New Report Says That Our Area has Been Hardest Hit By The Recession

There are so many examples in North Durham of how we have been particularly badly hit by the recession created in Downing Street. I have spoken to many, many people who are out of work and not getting anywhere near enough help from this Government to get back to work. Indeed, unemployment is up by around 70% in the past year. The effect of the recession is painfully obvious on the streets of Chester-le-Street and Stanley. The number of shops that have closed on Chester-le-Street's high street in the last year alone is devastating.

Now we know that this recession is the longest since records began. A number of reports have shown that our area has been hit hardest by the recession - coming on top of the fact that since 1997, our area has trailed other regions using almost every economic metric. A report released today confirmed what many of us have feared - that the Chester-le-Street area is amongst the hardest hit in the country by the recession. Indeed, the report from Experian suggests that Chester-le-Street will suffer the most from the recession.

I have said so many times before that this Government is not doing anywhere near enough to deal with the recession. Local Labour politicians seem completely devoid of answers or solutions. Local people are rightly demanding action. All they are getting from the Labour party is hot air.

We need urgent action to create jobs; help people to find work; help business to recover; and provide apprenticeship and training places. It is time for the Labour Party, which has taken us for granted for too long and left our area exposed to the worst of the recession, to step aside and make way for people such as me who believe in our area and want to take urgent action to help create jobs. It is time for the Labour Party, which has let our area down for too long, make way for people like me who believe in our region, are prepared to stand up for our region and have a vision for a glorious economic future for our region.

Labour Should Be Ashamed About The Rise In Fuel Poverty

Labour should be ashamed of their record on fuel poverty. A The Northern Echo reported today, the number of North Eastern households suffering from fuel poverty has increased from 73,100 to 177,021. In Chester-le-Street alone it has more than doubled in three years – from 1,500 to 3,360. In Derwentside, fuel poverty showed a shocking increase from 2,500 to 6,783. According to the Fuel Poverty Action Group, these figures understate the scale of the problem – with up to 5.5 million households nationwide suffering from fuel poverty.

When I was brought up in Consett, I was told that this was the kind of thing that a Labour Government would not allow to happen. But a Labour Government has allowed it to happen and it is a disgrace.

As Age Concern have said, “the human cost of fuel poverty is great, particularly among vulnerable older people.” Age Concern have called on the Government to “en the misery” over fuel poverty. They are quite right that urgent action needs to be taken about this distressing problem. Once again, the Government has not done nearly enough to help the most vulnerable in society.

That is why I am calling for a series of reforms to directly tackle the human tragedy of fuel poverty. I would like to see:

- Tough measures on the energy companies, including rules to ensure that energy and utility companies give customers a fair deal and, in particular, make it illegal for these companies to charge price premiums on repayment meters. Energy companies must make it clear to all customers what the cheapest available tariff is;
- Energy companies being forced to offer preferential tariffs and affordable payment plans to vulnerable households;
- Real action to refit the houses of people suffering from fuel poverty. Every home that requires should be refitted in an energy efficient way, to be repaid through fuel bills over a 25 year period. This would result in immediate reductions in the cost of energy;
- People without a bank account enabled to pay energy bills using direct debit style payments through their Post Office, cutting energy bills for millions of people without bank accounts in fuel poverty.

We need to ensure that this action is taken urgently – before so many households in our area suffer the devastation of a winter with limited access to heat. I’m sick and tired of this Government not standing up for or helping the people who need their help the most. Now is the time for action – not rhetoric. We must consign fuel poverty to history.

It Is About Time That we Had North Eastern MPs Who Are Prepared To Stand Up For The North East

The Government kicked the North East in the guts twice in a day on Monday.

Firstly, Lord Adonis, the Transport Minister said that campaigners against the hike in Air Passenger Duty, which will disproportionately affect the North East, had no right to complain.

Secondly, a group of transport experts have made a first class case for a high speed rail link to include the North East. As I have said before, our area's future economic competitiveness depends on it. And where were the region's MPs as the case for jobs and business in the area was being made? Nowhere. It seems that the Government has already made the decision to ignore the North East yet again.

It is about time that we had a Government who didn't treat our region in this way. It is about time that we had MPs prepared to stand up for the North East. If elected as MP for North Durham, I will ensure that I am a proud North Eastern voice making the case for our area in Westminster.

Newcastle Brown Ale Must Not Be Brewed Outside Of The North East

Newcastle Brown Ale is one of the great symbols of the North East. It is a great symbol of our region that is recognised worldwide. As somebody who enjoys a fairly regular drop of the brown stuff or 'the dog' as it is known, I'm particularly proud of the heritage and regional pride that comes with the Blue Star.

I was very sad to hear that Scottish and Newcastle have decided to shift production of that great North Eastern symbol to move production away from the North East. Clearly, this is devastating news for the workforce in the North East and our first thoughts must be with those whose jobs and livelihoods are at risk because of this decision. Up to 63 jobs could be at risk from this decision.

This decision shows that we must do more to support the pub trade, which has been hit by rise after rise in beer duty - so much so that one third of every pint now goes in tax and 6 pubs are closing every day of the week.

We must all appeal to Scottish and Newcastle to reverse this decision. Newcastle Brown Ale is special because it is brewed in the North East. It will lose its distinctiveness and, to some extent, lose its credibility as a brand if it is brewed away from our region. It is, frankly, an insult that a brand, which has made so much of the distinctiveness of our area to strengthen the beer's appeal, is considering dealing a blow to our area.

More Needs To Be Done To Tackle Rising Unemployment In North Durham

I have spoken to so many people across the constituency who have been affected by the devastation of unemployment. So many people have told me that they feel not enough is being done to help them back into work. That is why we need real action top help create jobs and to cut unemployment.

Figures released this morning show that unemployment is up by 80,000 nationwide to 2.47 million. In North Durham, the unemployment rate has increased to 4.9% - well above the national average of 4.2%. In North Durham, 2,533 people are now claiming Job Seeker's allowance - an increase of almost 68% since September 2008.

There are some shocking figures as well about youth unemployment in the constituency. There are 850 claimants aged between 18 and 24 - a percentage of 33.6% that is well above the regional and national average.

I have made clear many times that I believe that unemployment is the worst of all economic problems. It has terrible effects on families, communities and, of course, the individuals involved. That is why tackling unemployment must be a real national priority and I will treat it as an absolute priority if elected as MP for North Durham.

I am calling for real action to tackle unemployment, including:

• The creation of a hundreds of thousands of new training places and apprenticeships;
• Provision of specialised careers guidance and support for people who are out of work;
• The provision of tax breaks and incentives for business to create jobs;
• A proper National Loan Guarantee Scheme to help get credit flowing and create jobs;
• Support for people who want to start their own business.

We need to act and act quickly to tackle unemployment in the area.

Labour Has Betrayed The Working Class Over Higher Education

I have blogged many times about Labour's betrayal of the working class. It is shameful that a Labour Government has presided over rising unemployment; over 1 million young people not being in employment, education or training; rising poverty; falling social mobility; and widening inequality. The Labour Party that has presided over this mess certainly isn't the Labour movement I was brought up with.

This betrayal of hard working people is evident if you look at the Government's terrible record regarding getting more people from underpriveleged backgrounds into Higher Education. Just consider a few factors:

• The Government says that it wants 50% of young people to go to University. That figure stands at 40% at the moment, some ten years after the Government made 50% their target;
• In the ten per cent most deprived neighbourhoods, only 30% of young people go to University, compared to 60% in the twenty per cent least deprived neighbourhoods;
• Sutton Trust research has shown that 40% of university scholars went to private school. Only 7% of children are educated privately;
• One third of students from top ranked universities went to private schools. Only 7% of children go to private school;
• In 2005, the probability of going to university for the top two social classes was 78% - the same figure as in 1948. According to the Times Higher Education, "for the bottom social class, it was 13 per cent, 1 per cent lower than in Clement Attlee's Britain."
• The Government's limit on university numbers, meaning well over 100,000 university applicants have been left without a place has impacted working class people in particular.
• The student finance fiasco of this summwer has meant that over 150,000 students, predominantly from lower socio-economic backgrounds have had to start university in a state of financial crisis.

Lets be clear about this. The Government have totally failed to widen participation in university. And widening participation is absolutely what needs to happen. In too many cases, universities represent finishing schools for the middle class. We must do all that we can to broaden the social base of Higher Education, to ensure aa boost in social mobility. That must be a national priority.

That is why I support real action, rather than talk, to widen participation. That is why I support the plan, set out at last week's Conservative conference to create an extra 10,000 university places.

Is This Man One Of The Greatest Sportsmen In The UK Today?

I get sick and tired of the toffee nosed Southern press having a go at one of the most popular participation AND spectator sports in the UK. Every time a big darts tournament is on TV, we don't hear about phenomenal skill, accuracy or talent, instead we hear snobbish comments about the game and the people who play it.

I say this as a big darts player and a big darts fan. It is a game where accuracy, holding your nerve, dedication and talent count for all. It is, after Premiership football and test match cricket, Sky's most watched sport. It is a sport that packs out arenas up and down the country and sells out Alexandra Palace every year for a fortninght. Why, then, do most of the Southern media give the game fewer column inches than a reserve match for their beloved 'rugger'? Why does the game warrant no serious reporting in too much of the press? Why do newspapers seem more fixated on the alcohol intake of of the players/ spectators than about the talent of the players. I believe this can be answered in one word: snobbery.

The reason I mention this is that Phil 'The Power' Taylor became, on Sunday, the first darts player to hold the 'grand slam' of televised titles. A phenomenal achievement in itself. But bear in mind the fact that he has won no fewer than 12 World Championships and has come closer than anybody else to mastering a sport many thought couldn't be mastered. A genuine working class hero, who would be getting ten times the press coverage he is getting if he played in a more middle class sport. The great commentator Sid Waddell compares him to Bradman and Babe Ruth in terms of his domination of the game. That comparison may not be as far out as it first appears.