A new direction for Bury South

Today Gordon Brown called the much awaited General Election for the 6 May.  Now the people of Bury South have a clear choice 5 more years of Gordon Brown of a change of Government and a change to this country.  I have been out and about today meeting people who are pleased that they will now have the chance to make that change.

Last Tuesday night I took a break from canvassing and leafletting to relax at a most enjoyable concert put on by Halle Brass at St Mary’s Parish Church.  This is part of the Prestwich Concert Series and was a most pleasant evening and I was also invited to take part as first bell ringer during one of the pieces.  If you enjoy music it is certainly worth going along – the magnificent setting of one of the finest mediaeval churches in the area is worth the visit alone!  The next concert is on the 6th April at 7.30pm and is Feldspar (a folk evening).

Wednesday saw the Chancellor get on his feet to deliver what will hopefully be his last ever budget.  This budget proved once again that Labour have been caught hiding a stealth tax in the small print of a Budget.  This time 30 million people will pay more in tax thanks to personal allowances being frozxen.  It’s the biggest single tax rise in the Budget – but the yet the Chancellor failed to mention it.

The Budget failed to set out a credible plan to deal with the deficit; we are now borrowing more than at any time in our modern history.  For every four pounds the Government spends, one pound has to be borrowed. We will be paying more in interest on the government debts than on the entire school system.

I have had a very busy week again and last Thursday one of the highlights of the week was to welcome HR Highness the Due of Kent to Bury when he officially opened the new NHS and Council buildings in Bury Town Centre which are situated directly opposite the Town Hall.

I will not be going on holiday this Easter but for the many thousands who have booked a holiday with a strike by BA looming it does not look like a time to look forward to.  It is horrifying to learn of the full extent that Unite, the BA strike union, holds over Gordon Brown’s Labour Party.  Under Gordon Brown £11m – 25% of all Labour Party funding – has come from this single union.  148 Labour MPs and PPCs are bankrolled by the union and not only that Charlie Whelan, Unite’s Political Director, is helping to run Labour’s election campaign.

This means that Gordon Brown can’t put the national interest and the interests of British Airways, its passengers and its employees ahead of his own narrow political interest and the cash he needs for his general election campaign.

Do we really want another 5 years of Gordon Brown?

Last Thursday was my last day at work at The Nicky Alliance Day Centre as I take two month’s leave to concentrate on the election campaign in Bury South.  I was sorry to leave but will still be calling in to see all my friends in fact I was back on Sunday to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Purim and also back tonight for the AGM of the League of Jewish Women who do amazing voluntary work throughout the whole of the Jewish and wider community not only in the North West but the UK.

I have been taking the time since leaving work to get out and about and meeting residents of Bury South and was at Prestwich metrolink this morning talking to local residents.

I was delighted to learn earlier today that it has been confirmed by Bury Council that the Longfield Suite is not to close.  Not that this was ever an option but just scaremongering by my political opponents.  I have had several meetings with the Leader of the Council over this issue and gave my assurances at public meetings that this would not close.  The deliberations of the Task and Finish Group concur with this and a report will go to the Executive next Wednesday, 10 March which will state that the Longfield Suite will not close and will be retained in its current format but an effective business plan will be put in place to improve marketing, awareness, usage and income. 

I am delighted with the outcome and delighted that this much used and needed facility in the heart of Prestwich will remain open.

Last week I met with Mike Mabey from Metrolink to discuss the issues of safety and security that are an issue of many users of the Metrolink.  Mike spent nearly two hours with me explaining the role of the new transport safety officers and the powers they have which include being able to remove people off the trams who for example have not paid their fares or are causing a disturbance.  I was pleased to learn of the new initiatives Metrolink have brought about but of course there are always further measures that can and need to be taken to improve the safety of passengers not only on the tram but when they are waiting for the tram and once they leave. The responsibility for the station itself and the security around this is GMPTE and I plan to meet with them shortly.  If you go on the metrolink from town to Altrincham you will be able to see that the stations have new ticket machines (still to go live on the Bury Line) and some of the stations have been opened up to make them safer.  We in Bury are once again the ‘poor relations’ and hopefully this can soon be resolved.

As someone who runs a Day Care Centre for the elderly I am always getting asked about the Conservatives’ proposals for care for the elderly and in particular the new plan unveiled by George Osborne at the Party Conference last October.   A Conservative Government would bring in a Home Protection Scheme, which is a voluntary insurance programme to allow people – for a one off £8,000 payment – to make sure they never have to sell their home to pay for residential care.   No one will disagree that care for the elderly is imperative but Labour’s plans to extend free personal care and to introduce a National Care Service are in chaos.  Gordon Brown is considering levying a death tax of up to £20,000 on every person in England, and new research says he will also need to increase council tax by £26 a year to pay for his plans for social care for the elderly.  The Prime Minister has to come clean about who will pay for these services for the elderly.  Council leaders have spoken out about Gordon Brown’s plans in today’s Times newspaper.

Having spent the weekend visiting my son at his university where is now in his final year and also having a daughter who is taking her A’level exams this year and hoping to go to university this autumn I was alarmed to read about the cuts that are having to be made at universities.  When this Government came into power it stated that their aim was for 50% of school leavers should have the opportunity to go to University for further education. Now we learn that up to 300,000 hopeful students will not be offered places this year.  For those who graduate this year it will also be tough with many employers cutting down on their graduate intake.  I know from personal experience that my two children who both graduate this year are still to find a job.

Yesterday I welcomed the Mayor and Mayoress of Salford to the Nicky Alliance Day Centre.  I actually just went in to visit for the afternoon as I am currently only working two days a week and yesterday was one of my days off.  I could not resist picking up the knitting of one of the members in the art room wondering whether knitting is like riding a bike ie you never forget.  It must be 15 years since I last knitted something so the photographer could not resist photographing me.  I have heard that knitting is making a comeback so maybe I will find my old knitting needles and get clicking away!  It is a sign of the times though when I went to visit my daughter at university the other month and found her knitting – when asked who taught her she told me ‘oh I learnt how to knit on U-tube!’  There were still some tips she had to learn from her mother like how to seemlessly start a new ball of wool!

Whilst questions were being asked last night at the full Council Meeting at Bury Town Hall about the lack of grit Ofgem today announced their concern about the lack of energy which may mean us facing power cuts for the first time in 30 years.  The full report can be read here,  This is a devastating verdict on Labour’s 13 years of neglect of Britain’s energy security.  Labour has buried its head in the sand, rather than produce an energy policy during its time in office.  It is a sign of desperation that the regulator, which is supposed to execute Government policy, is having to urge the Government to adopt a policy for energy.

The response to the query about the grit is that we are being rationed by the Government who is this instance also did not ensure that enough supplies were available.  No grit bins in the borough of Bury are to be refilled in the foreseeable future.  As you can imagine I have received many, many requests from residents asking for a grit bin or at least for theirs to be refilled as it is often impossible for them to get out of their road, sometimes even on foot.  Yesterday’s snow quickly melted but some of the pavements were still icy today. I am sure we have not seen the last of the snow and ice for this winter.

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day and tonight I will be attending a service at Radcliffe Civic Hall.  We must never forget the holocaust nor those whose lives were taken.  This feature by Michael Gove MP in this Monday’s Daily Telegraph explains so clearly why we must never forget.