A wonderful night was had by all at this year’s Opera in the Park which as always was set in the glorious surroundings of Temple Newsam on one of the most beautiful warm evenings we’ve had this year! I’ve always thought that this free event provided by Leeds City Council was a real bonus for Leeds folk to be able to enjoy the delights of popular classics made accessible to all. It’s now an unmissable tradition for many local people and we had a great evening having a picnic with good friends. Esme, who is two, was still talking about her magical night this morning and I know that our friends’ children enjoyed it just as much as she did. Amongst the many thousands of people there, we usually bump into some familiar faces and it was nice to see Cllr Andrea McKenna (my former ward colleague in Garforth and Swillington) and Cllr Jim McKenna (an Armley councillor). It was also a coincidence that Cllr Stuart Golton, one of the Rothwell Lib Dem councillors, set up his picnic right near where we set up ours with friends. Congratulations to Alfie Boe and Natasha Marsh together with the Halle Symphony Orchestra and the Leeds Festival chorus on their splendid and enjoyable performances.
Wetherby girl given Asbo
Leeds City Council reports that an Asbo has been given to a 14 year old girl in Wetherby to try to curb her drunken, threatening and violent behaviour. Earlier interventions had failed to control Catherine Emery’s behaviour. The Asbo will put strict controls on her for a two year period.
Asbos are an effective tool to use in the fight against anti social behaviour and have been one of the Labour government’s success stories, though there can always be further improvements. Asbos can be a necessary measure to protect others in the community from the individual’s behaviour and to highlight the seriousness of the situation. I have spoken at Labour Party conference on the issue of anti-social behaviour and know from my casework on behalf of others as a councillor in Garforth and Swillington and candidate in Rothwell just what a nightmare anti social behaviour can be and how it makes peoples lives a misery. The Garforth skate park, a project initiated after I met with local young people has been having problems with vandalism. Swillington residents have seen some hairy scenes recently as the Tesco Express has been targeted by vandals throwing objects at the windows which had to be boarded up. I know as a former resident and councillor that Swillington residents take great pride in their village, and many are tireless in their efforts to keep Swillington an attractive village community.
For the very real problems that anti social behaviour creates for our communities and the suffering to our people, the process of obtaining Asbos can be long – in some cases it can take two years.
I know from talking to Home Secretary Alan Johnson that anti social behaviour is an issue close to his heart also, and that’s why he recently called for a reinvigoration of Asbos as a weapon in the fight against extreme cases of intimidation and harassment. He said courts must be able to issue Asbos quicker to make it easier for problems to be reported and to provide more counselling for victims.
Although we are still tackling anti social behaviour in our communities, it’s comforting to know that since 1997 overall crime is down 39 per cent (over 5 million fewer crimes); domestic burglary is down 55 per cent; vehicle related crime is down 57 per cent and violent crime is down 40 per cent.
It’s good to remember the numerous achievements of the Labour government in the last twelve years of which these figures are just one example.
Rail Link Nationalised
It’s a disgrace that National Express have relinquished the London to Edinburgh route now they are having a tough time of it. When times were good National Express reaped the benefits of running the line. I’ve always thought that privatisation of the railways was wrong and that a poorer service has resulted for passengers. I worked in various roles for West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive for 14 years so saw first hand the disastrous effects on our transport of first the deregulation by the Conservatives of the bus services and then the privatisation of the railways. Now the government has had to pick up the pieces. The transport secretary, Lord Adonis, said the contract will be put back up for auction to private companies at the end of next year but it is expected to fetch much less than £1.4bn, leaving the state with a gap in its rail budget. I’ve been astounded at the prices charged on this line, the complicated booking system which means that to get the cheapest fares, not only do you have to book online but also need to split your journey! At least we can celebrate it being in public ownership in the short term, even if it might have to revert back to the private sector.
Social media campaign hammers the Daily Mail
In the Elmet and Rothwell constituency we’ve often had issues with unauthorised traveller sites causing problems for local people. However, even the people who’ve suffered from these problems would be shocked by the online poll that the Daily Mail is running. It asks “Should the NHS allow gypsies to jump the queue?”
At the time of me writing this blog post the poll is still live so you’ve got time to register your displeasure by voting YES (so far 93% have, which given the leading question isn’t the hate filled answer the Daily Mail was looking for.)
Please vote and make sure you ask your friends to do so as well.
UPDATE: As of 16:47 on June 19 the bit.ly link http://bit.ly/w4b6Q?r=td has been clicked 31,980 times (you can see the detail here http://bit.ly/w4b6Q+).
Elmet and Rothwell Labour Party meeting
Excellent all member meeting yesterday evening of Elmet and Rothwell Labour Party. Whilst this is a difficult time for us as a party it was great to see members fired up and speaking passionately about the issues that matter to them. Colin Burgon, our retiring MP gave a really interesting speech, I can identify with a lot of what he was saying, especially about his background having grown up on the Gipton Estate, and I think this has meant that Colin can identify with people when they are going through hard times. I grew up on Portobello Estate in neighbouring Wakefield then lived all my adult life in Elmet and Rothwell, growing up I also knew what it was like to struggle and do without. It is clear that members are sad to see Colin go as he has worked tirelessly on local issues.
The local Conservatives in Elmet and Rothwell are showing their true colours. Alan Lamb, a Wetherby councillor, on his blog, is calling for cuts in public services. He even goes as far as to say and I quote “I hope, and the signs are encouraging, that my party will go into the next general election proudly promising to cut public spending and being specific and honest about what that will mean.” Does Alan care to tell us exactly what he means and which of our local residents will get their operation axed, which older people in our communities will lose their home care, and which of our streets in Elmet and Rothwell will feel the effects of having their local police team cut?
I’m proud to say that Labour is there to look after everyone, and we know that cutting our public services hits our most vulnerable people hard, especially those most in need, whereas, the Conservatives have always stood for benefiting the few!
Garforth Arts Festival
Doesn’t time fly! The Garforth Arts Festival is now in its fifth year. This year it runs from Monday 29 June to Saturday 11 July. The thriving festival has attracted a line up including Garforth Jazz Rock Bank, Leeds’s own Chumbawamba, punk band Buzzcocks and Ricky Tomlinson’s Laughter Show. The local bookshop (at 15 Main Street) is selling tickets for this year’s event. I remember that the event was free for the first couple of years, and although there is a charge,the prices are reasonable and I’m pleased to note that there will be discounts for families and local residents.
Incinerator issue burns on
Just an update on the ongoing incinerator issue (the proposed waste treatment plant), the council have four bidders for the plant, three are proposing the use of ‘energy from waste’ whilst the fourth is proposing ‘mechanical biological treatment’. Three of the bidders are intending to use the former wholesale markets site on Pontefract Lane, whilst the fourth is opting for a site in the Aire Valley near the sewerage works.
Renewing the local Labour Party in Elmet and Rothwell
We had a good Rothwell Labour Party meeting this week. We had a lively discussion about what we all thought about recent national issues, including the devastating recent Euro election results, the expenses scandal, ID cards and elected mayors. We also talked about the issues local to us such as the incinerator which is to be built near us, that our MP is retiring, the fact that Oulton residents are feeling the effects of having lost their library, are amongst some of the subjects we got around to discussing.
Open farm Sunday in Swillington
Today was ‘Open Farm Sunday’ which is great as it gives everyone the opportunity to experience the countryside and connect with the land that feeds us.
We went to a local farm, Swillington Organic Farm, which was taking part, with our little girl Esme. I know Swillington well, having lived there before we moved to neighbouring Carlton, Rothwell, I represented Swillington as a Garforth and Swillington councillor for 6 years so have many friends.We have also gone to the farm shop for its lovely produce several times, as well as getting our Christmas trees there regularly. We were lucky as we bumped into Colin Burgon MP for Elmet and Rothwell who was also enjoying the delights of the farm.
Follow me on Twitter 
