• Pam Adams                                 pam.adams51@gmail.com
• Charlie Adams                           charlieadams559@gmail.com
• Phil Beaumont                           philbeaumont@tiscali.co.uk
• Anthea Beaumont                    anteabeaumont@tiscali.co.uk
• Alison Durrant                          amdurrant@cjed.net
• Gerry Edwards                          gerald.edwards1936@btinternet.co.uk

The Labour Party meet every month on the 3rd Thursday. If you want to jon us and get a copy of minutes and the agenda phone Pam on 07799136373

Well, thanks in part to pressure by the new Labour councillors the Town Council now has a very attractive website, see www.highworthtowncouncil.gov.uk

• Support jobs with money raised from repeating the bank bonus tax – not hold back recovery with the VAT rise and cuts that will put almost one million workers out of their jobs.
• Protect police numbers – not cut them while wasting £100 million on new elected police commissioners.
• Protect your frontline local services – not make unfair cuts which will hit the least well off the most.
• Get the deficit down through strong growth and sensible cuts – not by slashing too far, too fast, and putting your local economy at risk.
• Stand up for young people – not kick away the ladder by tripling tuition fees; scrapping EMAs; cancelling Building Schools for the Future; and slashing school sport

DOWNLOAD THE SWINDON LABOUR MANIFESTO 2011

Voting Stations are open from 7am till 10pm.

Guidance on voting procedure is available from Swindon Borough Council.

Labour Candidates and their contact numbers are:

1. Abbey Meads – Mark Viner (07811 142 413).
2. Central – Derique Montaud (07711 556 261).
3. Covingham & Nythe – Peter Watts (01793 529163).
4. Dorcan – Ged Meheran (07989 918 352).
5. Eastcott – Chris Watts (07776 238 327).
6. Freshbrook & Grange Park –  Neil Heavens (07817 262 258).
7. Gorsehill & Pinehurst – John Ballman (01793 694 584).
8. Haydon Wick – Tim Page (07717 669944).
9. Highworth – Anthea Beaumont (01793 762 517).
10. Moredon – Jenny Millin (07879 023 903).
11. Old Town - Cindy Matthews (01793 644 388).
12. Parks – Fay Howard (07952 350 656).
13. Penhill – Paul Baker (01793 334 598).
14. Shaw & Nine Elms – Michael Heal (07810 872 849).
15. St Margaret – Nigel Chalk (01793 346165).
16. St Philips – Joe Tray (07813 170 202).
17. Toothill – Steve Wakefield (07775 911 922).
18. Walcot – Ellen Osa (07577 923 694) .
19. Wroughton – Geraint Day (07753 957 565).
20. Western – Des Moffatt (07709 066 707).

Polling Stations locations are available from THIS LINK:

To use this link you’ll need to know your Polling District. Check on your card – the Districts in each Ward are as follows:

1. Abbey Meads - AM1-AM4.
2. Central – CE1-CE4.
3. Covingham & Nythe – CN1-CN4.
4. Dorcan – DN1-DN4.
5. Eastcott – ET1-ET5.
6. Freshbrook & Grange Park –  FG1-FG4.
7. Gorsehill & Pinehurst – GH1-GH3.
8. Haydon Wick – HG1-HG5.
9. Highworth – HW1-HW5.
10. Moredon – MD1-MD6.
11. Old Town - TL1-TL5.
12. Parks – PK1-PK4.
13. Penhill – PH1-PH4.
14. Shaw & Nine Elms – SE1-SE4.
15. St Margaret – SM1-SM3.
16. St Philips – SP1-SP6
17. Toothill – TW1-TW3.
18. Walcot – WA1-WA3.
19. Wroughton – WC1-WC5.
20. Western – WE1-WE4.

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OFFER YOUR HELP IN NORTH SWINDON OR SOUTH SWINDON

I have just become the chair of Highworth Labour Party and I would like to keep you informed of the things that the group are planning to do in the coming year.

I am very concerned at the actions of the Government that have led to major cuts in Swindon and therefore Highworth.

One of our Infants Schools was closed in July – what will happen to the school buildings and land?  This may be needed as a school again in the future and, in the meantime, should be retained as a community facility (Ongoing disucssions are underway with the Highworth Community Partnership, but it will be shortsighted of the Borough to sell the school)

The Rec is also under threat as SBC have claimed that the Rec Trust have debts of over £500,000 and Highworth residents may be asked to pay extra rates or higher charges to repay the debts. I believe that the residents of Swindon, not just Highworth, should pay towards the running of this leisure facility as we do for the Link, Oasis, etc.

A new housing development in Pentylands is planned – do we need more houses when so many are for sale?

My deepest concern is that the Highworth Town Council have proved ineffective for many years and do not take an active role in major decisions about the town. There are 3 Borough Councillors who did little to take part in the discussions over the closure of Northview School and were also absent, in the 2 hours we were there, from the meeting to discuss the situation of The Rec.  Also there were only 2 Town Councillors there – a Labour and an independent (none of the 12 Tory Councillors!!!)

We need a strong group of people to question the Councillors who say they will represent our views – they obviously DO NOT.

I hope this letter has struck a cord with Labour Supporters and that you will be able to come to our next gathering to discuss any local issues that are important to you.  It will be held at 24 Shrivenham Road, Highworth.  As my mother continues to say: If you want something done, do it yourself!

email highworthlp@gmail.com and click on the join labour icon to the right.

Pam Adams (Chair Highworth Branch Labour Party)

Did you know that 32% of the Parliamentary Labour Party (81 members) are women –more than all other parties combined!  This was one of the facts I learned at the Labour Party celebration to mark 100 years of International Women’s Day.

A variety of speakers, from Ed Miliband to Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper, emphasised how the Tory cuts are hitting women with a triple whammy.  Not only are most of the benefits being cut those drawn by women and particularly mothers and female carers, but women as the highest proportion of workers in the public sector  are now being hit more severely by job losses and pay freezes, and as prime users of  council services are again suffering more of the pain of reductions in spending.

While Labour, by taking positive action, has done much  to get more women onto councils and into Parliament, there is still a long way to go.  For instance, while Rwanda has 50% female representation in Parliament Britain lags behind on just 22%.  The conference overwhelmingly supported the idea of having a reformed, elected second chamber with 50% female members.  There was also a strong demand for more support for women in politics, whether this takes the form of local support networks, better training and mentoring schemes, or an end to the misogynistic culture which still prevails in the corridors of power.

Thinking more locally, it is possible in Highworth that we might end up with all three borough councillors being men.  At borough council meetings I have been struck by how men (from all parties, it has to be said) seem to dominate the discussions, and how few women we have in leadership positions who can champion the cause of low-paid, part-time female public sector workers .  All too often when jobs are outsourced to the private sector it means poorer pay and conditions of service such as working patterns which do not fit in with child care responsibilities – and meanwhile the cost of child care continues to rise.

Anthea Beaumont, Labour Candidate Highworth, 5th May

All 3 of her children were educated at Highworth schools and Anthea is concerned that education in Highworth should remain of the highest quality and that the schools should receive the funding they need to upgrade their buildings.  As a former college librarian and staff governor at Swindon College she would work hard to promote the interests of libraries and those of further and higher education opportunities in Swindon.

Anthea is also a longstanding Trade Union activist and former member of the 6th Form and F.E. College National Committee of Unison, representing the South West.

Young people’s services are being closed across Britain as ConDem spending cuts start to bite.   The June budget reduced spending in the current year by £6.25 billion, and put most of the burden on local councils.   Swindon lost £1.4 million in its current budget and a further £2.5 million  in Government clawbacks of capital grants (i.e. grants for specific projects).

Nationally around half of the cuts were targeted on services for children and young people.  In Swindon the proportion was 86% – with a cut of £1.2m of its budget for young people.

Nationally, the final year of Labour’s £45 billion “Building Schools for the Future” initiative to rejuvenate over 700 decrepit schools has been scrapped, and the £235 million Playbuilder Scheme to create up to 3,500 community playgrounds in England was abandoned.  Swindon’s share of this decision is the proposed axing of playgrounds in Penhill, Highworth, Wroughton and Rodbourne and the cancellation of playschemes for up to 7000 children.

The biggest impact of the Government’s education cuts are on the NEETS (those not in employment, education or training) whose programmes have been cut severely: for example 10-50% cuts are being made in the Connexions careers advice service.  In Swindon the proportion is higher: with cuts of £700,000 per year planned.  This includes axing the Activity Agreement and Entry to Learning pilots which offered young people intensive support and incentives to take part in activities moving them into employment and training.

All this coincides with news that 186,000 students have been denied access to a course of study at university this year.

Its the tip of the iceberg of course:  Swindon Borough Council’s budget announcement in Swindon on 7th October is likely to cut a much wider range of youth services including support for a wide range of charities.  Cuts of £45 million are threatened over 3 years.

The coalition’s “Programme for Government” states that Sure Start centres, which provide early education and health advice, will close down in all but the neediest areas.  A scheme of “incentivisation” and “pay by results” is being prepared to reduce the service’s funding.  In July, the Government launched the National Citizen Service, a residential scheme that will see all 16 to 18-year-olds volunteer for outdoor pursuits each summer.  Some 10,000 youths will be involved in pilots this summer, with funding from charities, business, and possibly from young people themselves.  However, the scheme is a gimmick, because similar schemes started by the Labour Grvernment are being shut down (saving £7 million of the £14 million budgeted).

Doug Nicholls, Unite’s national officer for community, youth workers and not-for-profit sector said, “The £13m due to be spent on the pilots is equivalent to the cuts in the youth service in five authorities I am dealing with at the moment. Overall, those five are cutting £200m this year from social services young people really need”.

As part of the Tory “Big Society” agenda, many local council children’s departments will be put onto the market (is this going to happen in Swindon?). To give this wholesale privatisation a democratic facade, the government is encouraging workers to form co-operatives and bid for contracts alongside companies.  Twelve trials of the so-called “Mutuals” are taking place, four of which are children’s services, with an eye to expanding the idea across the public sector. They include an organisation to help homeless people established by NHS workers from Leicester and a co-operative in Swindon incorporating adult social services and community health.

And lets not forget the Future Jobs Fund which has been scrapped by the ConDems, and the tw0-year freeze on child benefits.

Remember too the JOBS GUARANTEE Labour gave that:

• Everyone aged 18 to 24 would be guaranteed a job, training or work experience place if they are unemployed for more than six months.
• A place in education or training would be available for all 16 and 17 year olds.
• The ambition was to create 500,000 apprenticeships starts a year across the UK by 2020.
• 20,000 extra university places would be created, starting in 2010-11, with the aim that 50 per cent of young people get a chance to go to university by the time they are 30.
• By the age of 30 75 per cent of young people should have been to university or completed an advanced apprenticeship or equivalent technician level qualification.

And dont forget that Labour created the National Minimum Wage – which is crucial for young people, and that this was opposed by the Tories. It lifted a  generation of young people out of poverty.  Its Labour’s Child Tax Credits, Child Trust Funds, Youth Community Action and Sure Start centres that helped to give young families the best start in life.  All this is threatened.

Now is the time to become part of Young Labour in Swindon – CLICK on the JOIN box opposite.

Steve Adams (Youth Officer,  North Swindon)

George Nimfour (Youth Officer, South Swindon)

(Caption:  Keir Baynham with Phil Beaumont, Chair of North Swindon Labour Party)