Tag Archives: Leeds

Backing Rothwell Town Forum in speech at full meeting of Leeds City Council

I’m at the full meeting of Leeds City Council. My new ward colleague David Nagle has just given his maiden speech about our fight to save the allotments in Rothwell.

I spoke on setting up the Rothwell Town Forum and this is gist of what I said:

I was elected last year as a Rothwell councillor and it was obvious to me that the town of Rothwell, like many other areas, is crying out for new life. Some of our shops are struggling and we need more footfall down Commercial Street.  I’m passionate about helping to do this. Which is why I called a public meeting to start a Rothwell Town Forum.

We have a fantastic asset in our town centre with some great individual shops which I totally support, god forbid we should end up with our high streets being full of nothing but identical chain shops replacing our much loved individual local shops and no Olywn Fox providing true local service, but instead only Currys with its know nothing assistants; and no Brew tea rooms, but only Starbucks on every street.

We have to make the most of what we have in Rothwell and not only fight to keep our individuality but help our centre to realise its full potential and draw people here. I want to see us build on the unique character that Rothwell has whilst at the same time bringing it into the 21st century. We need to offer people something which cannot be matched by out of town shopping centres or the internet.

We also have other pockets throughout the district including in Woodlesford, Oulton and Carlton with fantastic shops which also have huge potential and also need our support.

There was a huge amount of enthusiasm at the first meeting for the need to do something, despite some of the challenges and setbacks traders have faced in the past. This will only work with the community coming together to help themselves and I’m sure that we can do it.

Some great ideas came out of the meeting like the need for improved signage, a directory and newsletter promoting all local businesses that could be distributed to every house in Rothwell, experimenting with late night opening for one night a week, looking at what could be done to improve the semi-pedestranisation of Commercial Street, how businesses could work together with joint promotions, perhaps creating a ‘Rothwell Pound’ – a special currency that can only be spent in Rothwell, a community notice board and better business support and advice.

And we’ve got our role to play. Keith did a great job chairing the “Commission on the Future of Local Government.” But we’ve got to ensure that it’s more than just words and truly embrace entrepreneurship. Too often our local traders face petty bureaucratic restrictions and as a council we aren’t flexible enough to meet the real needs of people.That has to change. And we here should be that change.

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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.

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Promising news for Elmet and Rothwell cyclists

A new bike link between Garforth and Temple Newsam is being proposed to encourage local people to ride their bikes more often as  Garforth Today reports. Leeds Bike Week (from June 13) will see a range of schemes put forward. Let’s hope this means fewer people will use their cars and add to the congestion we see during the school run and people taking advantage of the sunshine this summer to improve their fitness and pumping out less fumes into the air too!

Safety concerns over axing of Elmet and Rothwell night bus

It’s a blow that bus company First has axed two Leeds night buses including the 921 Leeds – Swillington, especially as this could compromise public safety. The story is in tonight’s Yorkshire Evening Post. I would have thought that with the recession more people would be in need of public transport. I would be very interested to know how widely the service has been promoted to potential passengers before the axe fell?

When I was a councillor for Garforth and Swillington I always campaigned for improvements to public transport and was pleased to have fought for my constituents best interests for example a Swillington bus re-routed to serve sheltered housing, so older people didn’t have a long walk to get to a bus stop, and getting bus shelters as some of our older folk were being battered by wind, hail and rain.

Many of us feel that Leeds has been getting a raw deal on public transport under the Conservative and Lib Dem Leeds City Council who are not fighting our corner, and this is just another deterioration of our services!

Labour tackling inequalities

One of the issues closest to my heart is equality and I’m proud that the Labour Party is continuing to do something about inequality. Labour has always stood up for equality which is one of the reasons why I’m in the party, more needed to be done and this will hopefully go some way towards addressing what needs to be done to end the many types of discrimination. It’s unbelievable that nearly 40 years after the equal pay act women are still paid less than men, having campaigned on this issue and organised a ‘no pay day’ event for Fawcett Society in Leeds I’m delighted that measures are being taken to make the difference in men and women’s pay more transparent.

The bill has two main purposes, to bring together current discrimination law and to strengthen the law to support progress on equality.

I have trawled through the bill and am happy that this is a leap forward in terms of equality and takes on many forms of discrimination. Once implemented it will be another good step forward for people in Elmet and Rothwell.

If you want to read the bill you can do so here.

Harriet Harmen’s sent Labour Party members an email with a summary of the main points:

  • introduce a groundbreaking new law to help narrow the gap between rich and poor
  • shine a light on the hidden pay unfairness against women at work
  • end the last lawful discrimination which is against older people
  • allow employers – if they want to – to make their workforce more diverse by choosing for example a woman or black person who was equally suitable for the job
  • require public authorities – like councils – to use their purchasing power to drive equality when buying goods and services from the private sector

 

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Colin Burgon MP stands down from Elmet and Rothwell

I’m very sorry that our local MP Colin Burgon has decided to stand down and not run at the next general election.  As a member of the local party I have received a letter from Colin explaining his decision and expressing his heartfelt gratitude to the local party for the real team effort over many years that saw Colin take the seat for Labour in 1997 and retain it since. There is also an article in tonight’s Yorkshire Evening Post about Colin’s decision to stand down.

Colin has been a hard working MP for local people and one who isn’t afraid to speak his mind. I admire him for both these reasons and thank him for the long service he’s given the local party (26 years) not just his time in office but also including the long hard years leading up to our victory in Elmet. I’ve known and worked with Colin for a lot of years, having lived in Elmet and Rothwell for 17 years and was pleased to be one of the team of local members who have put the work in time and again year in and year out.

I had the privilege to serve as a Leeds City Councillor for the Garforth and Swillington ward for six years from 1998 to 2004 and more recently stood as candidate in the Rothwell ward, and so have worked alongside Colin on many local issues over the years such as fighting opencast mining, campaigning for better road safety and fighting to save two of our police stations from closure.

It‘s just a shame that Colin is going out the way he is. I’m proud that we’ve had a Labour government for the last 12 years and to have helped to be a part of what we have achieved as a party together. Colin’s comments on “New Labour” are unhelpful  because it has been our willingness to change and adapt with the times that has allowed us to be able to serve as a party in government. We have an unprecedented third term in office thanks to our modern approach.

Colin is right that the link with the Unions should never be broken and I’m proud of always being a Unison member when I was a local government officer and more recently being a member of the T&G.
I also feel strongly that we should never forget our values. The worldwide economic crisis we face is worrying for us all, and no-one is going to solve this overnight. I’d rather place our current economic problems in the hands of a person with the experience of Gordon Brown than a lightweight like David Cameron any day.

If Labour is to win a fourth term It is essential that we win seats like Elmet and Rothwell. I’ll be working hard campaigning to win whoever the candidate to replace Colin Burgon is.

lap dancing clubs have the same licence as cafes

MPs

This is a pic from the protest in Parliament Square I mentioned in my last post. Object and Fawcett took part and it was good to see a good few MPs there!

I wrote to my two local Labour MPs about this urging them to support the EDM and I’m pleased to say that both Colin Challen and Colin Burgon signed.

A cafe was created in Parliament Square complete with tables/chairs and a pole to show how ludicrous the loophole is that allows lap dancing clubs to be licensed the same as cafes.

We really need to keep the pressure on now as on 18th June the Government wrote to every local authority in England & Wales asking if they would support the re-classification of lapdance clubs as Sex Encounter Establishments – a hugely significant move. Local authorities have until 15th August to repond.

Lapdancing clubs need law reform

I’m in London tomorrow looking at venues for a conference I’m organizing so I’ll be able to join the Fawcett Society protest as part of their ‘Sexism in the City’ campaign. Having written to my local Labour MP Colin Challen to ask him to support the EDM 1375 and Roberta Blackman Woods’ 10 Minute Rule Bill calling for licensing reforms, I was pleased to hear from Colin that he has given his support to this and signed the EDM.

I feel very strongly that allowing the proliferation of lap dancing clubs in Leeds has already had a negative effect on our city and people’s experience of the city centre and if changes are not made to the licensing laws then the situation will become even worse. The extent that this has effected Leeds means that the City Square area next to Leeds station is overshadowed by a huge lapdancing club and there are also others in what should be great areas of our city. This is an issue that effects all our towns and cities.

Lapdancing clubs have the same licence as a pub or cafe – with a premises licence. They need to be licensed as sex encounter establishments as sex shops already are. This would put power into the hands of each local authority to apply restrictions to protect those living and working in the area including those working in the clubs.

I’m also attending a Progress speech by James Purnell, ‘The progressive challenge: How can welfare foster independence and responsibility?

Should be an interesting day!

Rothwell local election results 2008, the dirty Lib Dems and the silent Yorkshire Evening Post

The local election results for the Rothwell ward for 2008 are as follows:

Liberal Democrat 2534

Labour 1954

Conservative 706

BNP 625

turnout 37.59%

This is the third time I’ve stood for election in Rothwell and the last two times I narrowed the Lib Dem majority and took Labour closer to winning. Both times I lost, fair and square. The voters of Rothwell looked at what the candidates offered and decided to stick with the devil they know.

This year was different. It wasn’t a fair campaign, because the Liberal Democrats were so desperate for power that they resorted to dirty tricks and lies.

That’s why this year I couldn’t congratulate Don Wilson, although I don’t actually believe it was his fault that the Lib Dems lied.

The fault lies with Councillor Stewart Golton, who apparently took pleasure in fronting the lie campaign.

When Stewart Golton went to the Yorkshire Evening Post with a story about an eco-town being built near Rothwell he must have been either lying or stupid.

That’s because he should have known that the plan by GMI Property and Oulton Hall Estates already hadn’t made it on to the shortlist.

Far from being a secret the plan was submitted before Christmas and rejected by the Department for Communities on April 4, more than two weeks before Councillor Golton took the story to the Yorkshire Evening Post.

If you’re being charitable you might believe that he didn’t know, but you’d expect a councillor to be bright enough to think of checking the official government web site.

This was simply a pre-election stunt, which I was gobsmacked that the Yorkshire Evening Post actually fell for and ran a week before the election. 

When I spoke to the reporter who ran the story, he said that people had a right to know. Know what, that an application which had not been shortlisted had been submitted?

The Lib Dems also miraculously had a leaflet ready to go at the same time, which proves that they had been holding onto this till the last minute before the election.

Further to this, MY INVESTIGATIONS revealed that GMI and Oulton Hall Estates actually withdrew their application to concentrate on their other submission. The Wakefield Express ran this story on election day (see previous post), but despite knowing this since at least Monday this week, the YEP hung fire with this story. Obviously people don’t have a right to know this information which would have reassured local people and had a huge impact on the local result.

Yes, our result was affected by the national trend (which I will post separately about) but it would have been, and was expected to be close. The Lib Dems, with the help of the YEP made sure they weren’t going to have a close result by planning the timing of this very closely so that Rothwell Labour Party had little chance of rebutting this. Although the result stands, I wanted it put on record why they won with such a majority.

The Lib Dems have really surpassed themselves at this election and I really don’t know how they can sleep at night. Winning is obviously so important to them that they will do anything to achieve it, if they can’t rely on their own personal records what’s the point?

The reality of this result is that our vulnerable older people are going to be harder hit over the next two years. There are no local elections next year so the Lib Dems and Tories will have a free reign. They are planning further cuts in vital home care services. Also, the Lib Dems may make a noise about green spaces for effect but let’s see how many planning applications actually get turned down and how many more go through.

Wakefield Express reports eco town plans scrapped

In today’s Wakefield Express GMI’s decision to withdraw their application for an eco town in our area is reported. The Yorkshire Evening Post have known about this since at least the beginning of the week as I told them, however, the good news has not been reported to residents prior to the local elections today. I hope that residents will use their common sense and know that an issue brought out one week before the local elections has been timed very precisely by the political party using it.