My old campaign manager (old as in former, not age!), Mark Pack, now writes a really good newsletter about the Liberal Democrats which I think merits going far and wide.
In pursuit of which – you can see what you think – and promote it further on your social media networks if you agree. See what Mark says by signing up here.
There is an excellent piece by FactCheck on the Channel 4 website here. FactCheck investigated the claims by the No2AV campaign that the cost of a Yes result in May will run well over £100m due to need to introduce electronic voting machines, as counting ballots manually under AV would be too difficult.
FactCheck find that:
They find the NO2AV’s claims are ‘fiction’
There’s never been any suggestion that electronic voting machines will be necessary under AV. Australia has used AV for 90 years has never had electronic voting, all counting is done manually.
As such there’s no estimate of how much it would cost as it’s simply not necessary and therefore not on the cards.
Furthermore, in elections in Northern Ireland and other countries where they use STV, a more complicated system, counting ballots is still done manually.
Here is my most recent column from the Muswell Hill Flyer and the Highgate Handbook:
I declare an interest. I am not enjoying having to go to the sub-post office on Archway Road instead of the one that closed in Highgate Village. I expect I am not alone in this! It may be that there are no queues there – but certainly on each and every occasion I have been – there has been a long queue (often into the street).
Unforgivably – Labour closed five of Hornsey & Wood Green’s sub-post offices – despite huge campaigns by local people, local LibDems and myself – and the fantastic support of local celebrities like Victoria Wood.
Labour stopped the closure program when they realised the political cost that they would pay. Five thousand post offices closed – leaving their communities bereft. That loss is still being felt keenly by those communities – including our own! Sadly the political realisation that Labour was losing votes over the closures came too late to save our much beloved local post office.
Enter the Coalition last May. The Coalition government’s plans for the Post Office are excellent – and will save the Post Office and Royal Mail. Hurrah! Indeed – there are exciting plans afoot for new sorts of arrangements for post offices – working with local councils and others.
In the new model – the Coalition wants to see the Post Office expand its financial services and become a real front office for local and Government business. There are a lot of pilot projects on the table and lots of new things being developed. The Coalition believes that the Post Office could do more of the verifying of documents for the pension service, offer an end- to-end Criminal Records Bureau application service. Maybe it could support JobCentre Plus and the work on National Insurance application processes. All good stuff!
But I want a sub-post office to re-open in Highgate Village (and in other locations where the need is evident following the loss of a local facility) and was wondering if anyone else felt the same? By the time you read this I will have met with the regional Head of the Post Office to ask him to consider opening another sub-post office in Highgate Village.
I am sure the new ‘model’ for local post offices will be splendid – but where we have lost a treasured local community service – all we really want is what we had – back!
So I am meeting Mr Richard Barker – he who is Head of our region Post Officewise – to get an early bid in for a future service in Highgate Village. It is probably on the over-optimistic side to think this meeting will produce a new sub-post office – but hey – I am an optimist. And more to the point perhaps – I want to start campaigning now – so that when perhaps a new ‘post-office local’ is developed – we are first in line to pilot it here in Highgate and Muswell Hill. (Alexandra sub-post office was also closed by Labour – leaving many, many residents there with a bus journey to reach the main post office in Muswell Hill).
So – as I said – I declare an interest because I miss my local post office. If you do too – then please let me know by emailing at me featherstonel@parliament.uk or write to me at the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.
UPDATE:
Post the meeting – which was also about the the overlong queues at Wood Green, Muswell Hill and Crouch End – these main post offices will now to have action taken to reduce wait times. As for ‘post office local’ – it is still a bit distant horizon and gleam in Post Office eye rather than imminent reality – but I am convinced that we will get back local services in the future in a new form under the new arrangements.
Reports of the Budget meeting of Haringey Council from Thursday show Labour in their true light – clapping and cheering as they cut youth services and day centres.
Labour voted to close older people’s day centres, cut youth services by £2 million (75%) and slash budgets for the voluntary sector. The Labour group rejected my Liberal Democrat colleagues’ alternative plans to further reduce the Council’s bureaucracy which would have saved day centres and reduced the effect of cuts on youth services, the voluntary sector and projects to tackle crime and unemployment.
Yes – cuts have to be made – by councils up and down this country. There is no money – thanks to Labour, the banks and a general buy now pay later – personal debt mountain.
However, where the cuts are made here in Haringey is entirely down to Labour – and this was their choice. There were very, very good alternatives put forward by the LibDem group which would have saved these very vulnerable services – but they were totally ignored by Labour.
This is from the news release sent out following the meeting:
Labour councillors cheered and applauded cuts to youth and older people’s services after they voted down opposition budget proposals to these protect front line services.
Labour also ignored the powerful last minute pleas by Haringey’s young people who were present at the meeting to ask Labour councillors why they were being targeted with 75% cuts when the Council’s overall budget faces a funding reduction of 13%.
Cllr Robert Gorrie, Haringey Liberal Democrat Leader, comments:
“I was shocked by the actions of a minority of protesters last night but what angered me more was the behaviour of the Labour group.
“They say they care about front line services and vulnerable residents, yet when faced with alternative proposals which would save some services for our older residents, help mitigate the cuts to youth centres, the voluntary sector and projects to tackle crime and unemployment, they reject them.
“Labour is more worried about playing the blame game of national politics rather than making the right choices Haringey’s residents.”
The plans to reverse Labour’s closure of older people’s day centres, drop-in centres and luncheon clubs which were part of the Liberal Democrat’s alternative budget proposals were contained in five amendments.
Liberal Democrats set out their choices for spending priorities which would protect older people’s services, invest in the youth service, support action on crime, and help to develop the voluntary sector and job creation.
Liberal Democrats were crystal clear that Labour were making the wrong decisions targeting front-line services for cuts and, proposed instead, new savings in IT, management, and communications.
The position faced by Haringey was obviously made worse by Labour’s home-made financial crisis in their financial management of Haringey. A £10 million overspend during the course of the current year, £20 million of cost increases forecast for next year, the failure to deal with waste sooner, the ongoing impact from the £37 million frozen in Icelandic Banks all add up to put Haringey in a worse situation to deal with the funding reductions.
Cllr Robert Gorrie, Haringey Liberal Democrat Leader and Resources Spokesperson, comments:
“Haringey Labour’s home-made financial crisis compounds the mess made by their Labour colleagues nationally when they were in government
“We believe that there is an alternative to Labour’s decision to close older people’s day centres, cut youth services by 75%, and cut funding for action on crime and job creation.
“More savings can be made on the £16.5 million spent on IT, the £20 million spent on senior management, the £1.5 million spent on communications, and the £3 million spent on policy and performance. Yet Labour have instead made the choice to shut day centres and cut youth services by 75%.”
To read the Liberal Democrats’ alternative budget proposals please click here.
Yesterday we (the Government) launched new guidelines to help front line professionals – nurses, doctors, teachers and social workers – know how to recognise and prevent Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The guidelines are being sent to chairs of Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards, Directors of Children’s Services and Regional Directors of Public Health, will help professionals:
* identify and prevent further incidents;
* ensure that victims and potential victims receive the response and support they need; and
* provide a step-by-step practical guide to sensitively handling cases of FGM
The guidelines have been developed across government departments in partnership with the Royal Colleges, FGM experts, charitable organisations and the Association of Chief Police Officers.
This is part of my Home Office domestic violence portfolio. FGM is a most brutal crime and has the most terrible and long lasting effects on women and girls. One of the challenges we face in putting an end to this practice is the lack of knowledge about how to recognise the signs and what to do when you do recognise the signs.
I attended a recent round table on FGM as a pre-launch event to set out just how – local teachers, nursing staff, police officers, community leaders and survivors of FGM can work together to end such a cruel practice.
If a teacher had a pupil come into class with a black eye – that teacher would surely and rightly be concerned and ask questions. We need teachers to be equally concerned if, for example, a girl keeps taking abnormally long times when she goes to the toilet (one of the signs of FGM).
This is what Hagir Ahmed, survivor of FGM and Manor Gardens advocate said:
“I had the experience at the age of five or six. When you are a child you usually don’t remember things at that age but I remember. I remember being at a party and the people holding me down. My legs. My hands. My knees. And then I remember the practitioner with the knife.
“I don’t remember any anaesthetic. I just remember crying, crying and pleading. I was completely shattered, emotionally and physically.”
Joy Clarke, Lead Specialist Midwife at Whittington Hospital:
“When people migrate they take their customs with them and FGM is practiced in communities to keep those communities together. Because they love their children they continue to do it.
“Organisations like the Manor Gardens Advocacy Project are already doing good work to educate communities. I work with Manor Gardens to go out and run workshops with social workers and teachers in practising communities so they can recognise if a child is at risk. And I talk to parents about the physical and mental health implications and the law. In 99 per cent of cases this makes a difference but we need to revisit the families to make sure they have understood.”
Paul Waugh’s article ‘He Who Libs wins’ takes a look at the difference LibDems are making in government. Yes – it is a nice article about LibDems. Given the amount of flack we take for being in government – it is good to see some recognition of the benefits of having us there.
For those interested you can see Paul Waugh’s article here.
Plans to reverse Labour’s closure of older people’s day centres, drop-in centres and luncheon clubs are part of the Liberal Democrat’s alternative budget proposals.
In the five amendments to Labour’s budget, to be proposed on Thursday (24th Feb 2011), Liberal Democrats have set out their choices for spending priorities which would protect older people’s services, invest in the youth service, support action on crime, and help to develop the voluntary sector and job creation.
Liberal Democrats have said that Labour are making the wrong decisions targeting front-line services for cuts and, have proposed instead, new savings in IT, management, and communications.
The position faced by Haringey is made worse by Labour’s home-made financial crisis. A £10 million overspend during the course of the current year, £20 million of cost increases forecast for next year, the failure to deal with waste sooner, the ongoing impact from the £37 million frozen in Icelandic Banks all add up to put Haringey in a worse situation to deal with the funding reductions.
Cllr Robert Gorrie, Haringey Liberal Democrat Leader and Resources Spokesperson, comments:
“Haringey Labour’s home-made financial crisis compounds the mess made by their Labour colleagues nationally when they were in government
“We believe that there is an alternative to Labour’s decision to close older people’s day centres, cut youth services by 75%, and cut funding for action on crime and job creation.
“More savings can be made on the £16.5 million spent on IT, the £20 million spent on senior management, the £1.5 million spent on communications, and the £3 million spent on policy and performance. Yet Labour have instead made the choice to shut day centres and cut youth services by 75%.”
Lynne Featherstone MP comments:
“If Labour had been better at managing the budget in times of prosperity, they would have been much better placed to deal with today’s cuts.
“Despite the difficult financial circumstances, I believe my colleagues have come up with a strong alternative budget that protects the frontline for the most vulnerable.
“I hope Haringey Labour will listen hard this Thursday, and make better choices that are better for Haringey’s residents.”
To sign the petition against cuts to older peoples’ services please click here: http://bit.ly/SaveOlderPeoplesServices
To read the Haringey Liberal Democrats’ alternative budget proposals please click here: http://bit.ly/libdembudget
The coalition government has announced it will be reviewing Haringey’s unfair school funding in the spring, after years of campaigning by local Liberal Democrats. Lynne Featherstone MP received the encouraging news in a recent response from the education minister Michael Gove, after writing to him about Haringey’s unfair funding.
In the letter, the Minister recognises Haringey’s special school funding case, where local pupils get up to £1,300 less than students in neighbouring boroughs, like Hackney and Camden. He has also confirmed that Haringey’s unique circumstances will be considered as part of a review to make the national school funding formula fairer and more transparent, due to be launched in the spring.
Since 2006, Lynne Featherstone MP has spearheaded the campaign to address the funding shortfall resulting from local teachers getting ‘inner London’ wages, but schools getting ‘outer London’ funding.
Lynne Featherstone MP comments:
“This is a real step forward for Haringey’s children, and for fair funding for our schools. I’ll be campaigning all out to make sure local people respond to the consultation later on in the spring.
“Labour kept depriving our children of fair school funding. But thanks to the Liberal Democrats in Government, Haringey’s special case has at last been recognised.”
Local Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Councillor Rachel Allison adds:
“The coalition understands the importance of extra funding for the poorest children, with local schools getting an extra £4.5 million in pupil premium.
“Changing Labour’s unfair funding formula is the next step in getting fair education for Haringey’s children.”
With residents continuing to suffer from long queues at post offices in Hornsey and Wood Green, three years after Labour closed half the area’s post offices, Lynne Featherstone MP recently met with the top post office boss to get action on queues.
The Liberal Democrat MP last Monday met with Richard Barker, manager of the post office network, to discuss steps to cut queues at post offices in Wood Green, Muswell Hill and Crouch End. Mr Barker confirmed that the waiting times at the Crown Post Offices continue to exceed the 4 minute target, with Wood Green the worst offender, with average waiting times of almost 10 minutes. To cut the queues Mr Barker has now promised to put in a special ‘queue buster programme’, with new queue management systems and extra staff.
Liberal Democrats in Government have promised not to close any more post offices, and are working with The Post Office team on new innovations to make the network sustainable across the UK.
Lynne Featherstone MP comments:
“Since Labour closed half our post office here in Hornsey and Wood Green, queues have gone from bad to worse.
“Local people using the Wood Green office are particularly badly hit, but I am glad that the Post Office bosses are keeping a close eye, and are doing their best to bust the queues!
“Rest assured, I’ll be watching this one very closely. If residents have concerns about long Post Office queues, or any other related issues, don’t hesitate to get in touch – I’m always happy to help.”
Commenting on the announcement to allow civil partnership ceremonies to take place in religious buildings and on the consultation to look at the next steps for civil partnerships and civil marriage, Liberal Democrat Equalities Minister, Lynne Featherstone said:
“Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for equal rights for same-sex couples and last autumn our Conference formally endorsed the Liberal Democrat policy to campaign for equal marriage.
“There is much demand from same-sex couples to allow civil partnerships to take place in a religious setting and to end the difference between marriage and civil partnerships. We have been listening to this.
“I am delighted that same-sex partners will now be able to hold their civil partnerships in religious buildings and that the Coalition will look at what the next steps for civil partnerships will be.”
Lynne Featherstone 