Local MP Glenda Jackson has strongly criticised the Tory / Lib Dem budget as “Thatcherism dressed up for the twenty-first century” in a barnstorming speech to the House of Commons.

The full transcript of the speech can be found here.

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Camden Labour have launched our manifesto for the 2010 local elections.  The full document, entitled “Building our Future Together”, can be downloaded here.

Camden Labour’s 10 Pledges

If elected we will:

1. Stop the housing sell offs: we will crack down on illegal sub-letting; review contractors performance with tenants and leaseholders; and do everything in our power to stop the privatisation of caretakers.
2. Listen to you: we will bring people into the heart of our decision making with places on scrutiny committees, a housing procurement panel and within three months convene a Camden Green Summit.
3. Deliver value for money: Camden Labour proposed a council tax freeze for 2010/11. We will freeze senior officer pay and share services with other public sector bodies to save money. We will introduce a London Living Wage.
4. Tackle climate change: we will hold a Green Summit involving the whole community to develop a Camden strategy to reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2020.  We will increase facilities for cyclists and introduce 20mph zones where communities want them.
5. Defend education: we will do everything we can to maintain standards in Camden’s excellent state schools and have an immediate review to find a way to begin the building of a school south of Euston Road.
6. Protect advice services: we will reinstate Camden’s  Welfare Rights service that helped the vulnerable manage debt and bought money in to the borough. We will properly fund other advice services like CAB and Camden Law Centres.
7. Support Camden’s economy: we will use the new Learning and Skills funding to improve jobs and apprenticeships for the long term unemployed. We will expand Camden’s own apprenticeship scheme.
8. Keep Camden safe: we will reinstate the dedicated executive member to give a real focus to tackling crime in our community. We will work with businesses to keep Camden Town clean.
9. Promote Camden’s voluntary and community sector: our vibrant community and voluntary sector really delivers for local people.  We will keep it that way. In tough times the voluntary sector has a crucial part to play.
10. Protect Camden’s vulnerable: we will bring together all the expertise in Camden to develop a holistic programme for looking after older people and vulnerable adults to enable them to live independently for as long as possible.

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Camden Labour is joining forces with families across the Borough in a campaign to Save Our Sure Start children’s centres from Tory plans to cut their funding and prevent access to these valuable services for families on middle and modest incomes. You can support the campaign at www.saveoursurestart.com.

Instead of the universal service Labour has created for all families, the Tories have said they would cut £200 million each year from the Sure Start budget – which could see one in five children’s centres being forced to close.

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Campaigners and users were dismayed at news that Camden Council Executive voted to plough ahead with cuts to UK online centres across the Borough.

Protestors outside Camden Town Hall

Labour councillors had urged the Lib Dems and Tories to not to proceed with a staggering 83% cut to the funding the council gives the centres, suggesting that they use the councils recession fund to at least guarantee fundingfor the coming year.

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Camden Labour is supporting the Crown tenants in their campaign to prevent their landlord, the Crown Commissioners, from selling off their homes to a speculative developer. The proposal involves 539 units of social housing in Regents Park Ward. Many of the residents are elderly and have Rent Act protected tenancies. More recently, flats have been allocated to “key workers” under assured shorthold tenancies.

Local residents, Mary and Bill Greenleaf with Cllr Heather Johnson, Frank Dobson MP and Cllr Nasim Ali

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Michael epitomised the true socialist values and beliefs of the Labour movement; whether as a Leader of the Party from 1980 till 1983; or as Member of Parliament from 1945 for Plymouth Devonport constituency for 10 years and then losing the seat. He became MP for  Ebbw Vale  and held cabinet posts including that of Employment Secretary.
 
Born in 1913; he was for part of his early life Liberal following the political views of his father, Isaac Foot. He was a passionate advocate of freedom of the press with his famous call for “we must fight, fight, fight” to defend freedom of speech. He led the then Old Labour Party until 1983  and resigned as Leader after the Party’s election defeat and was succeeded by Neil Kinnock. 

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Regent’s Park councillors and Action Team members are taking a firm stance on the Northern Line closures. It has been reported that the Northern Line will be closed for 82 weekends. Last week Action Team member Tulip Siddiq wrote a letter to the CNJ demanding that Camden Council start to lobby Transport for London properly about these closures. It will severely impact the lives of Regent’s Park residents who regularly use Mornington Crescent tube for their main method of transportation.

Councillor and Leader of the Labour Group Nasim Ali has also voiced his concerns about this closure. Regent’s Park will be exerting more pressure on Camden Council to take action on this inconvenient proposal.

Right: local campaigner, Tulip Siddiq

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The local Kilburn Labour team welcomed Foreign Secretary David Miliband MP to Kilburn to celebrate the contribution Bangladeshi people have made to this country.  Speaking at the Tricycle theatre, the minister said: “Bangladesh and the UK have deep historic and cultural ties.  With many British people of Bangladeshi origin living in the UK, we enjoy a vibrant partnership.”  

Kilburn Labour camapigner Maryam Eslamdoust added: “Bangladeshi people have made a huge contribution to the local area, both culturally and economically.  We’re very proud that they play such a vital role in our community”.

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The Lib Dems running Camden have announced one of their largest cuts to date – an eye-watering 82.5% slash to Camden’s UK Online Centres budget.

These vital centres help people use computers and get online – essential as more and more everyday activity relies on accessing the internet, from applying for housing to filling in tax forms and applying for jobs and benefits.

The axe has fallen particularly hard in Kilburn, as there are a number of centres in our area: at Kingsgate Resource Centre on Webheath, at Kilburn Library and in the Youth Centre on the High Road; the South Hampstead Education and Lifelong Learning Centre on Boundary Road and the Latin American Association on Kingsgate Place.

Labour campaigner Mike Katz said: “Camden’s Lib Dems are really making good on the promise of ‘savage cuts’ their party leader gave a few months ago.

“And as with other Lib Dem/Tory cuts, it will be the most disadvantaged, the elderly and poorer children who will be hit the worst, who either don’t have access at home or need help to get online.

“This will really hurt Kilburn, as we have five centres here – and a great demand for the service.

“So much for a council willing to help people improve their skills and access benefits – especially during a recession.

He added that Labour would be campaigning with the centres across the borough to fight the cut and help keep them open.

Tags: Kilburn.

Camden Labour have been backing the campaign to save the Whittington A&E from closure.  There will be a public meeting about the planned closure on Monday 25th January, 7pm at Archway Methodist Church, N19.  We hope you can join us there to protest against this terrible decision by NHS executives.

Closing the Whittington A&E would force some people to travel further in an emergency.  It would also put an extra strain on other hospitals, such as the Royal Free, and potentially lead to the closure of other services at the Whittington.

More than 1,000 people have signed the petition against the closure.  You can add your name here: http://www.savethewhittington.org.uk/tag/petition/

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