The latest unemployment figures show that both in Swindon and nationally, the Tories economic strategy is hurting but not working.  Unemployment has soared to 2.64 million, the highest levels since 1994.  And youth unemployment is at its highest level since records began. 

The Tories are presiding over the economic decline of Swindon.  Under the Tories youth unemployment in Swindon has more than trebled and stands at the second highest in the South West region.   Cruel cuts are hurting but they are not working.  The Future Jobs Fund, Education Maintenance Allowances and the Connexions Service have been cut and tuition Fees trebled.  Families, pensioners and businesses already know the Tories cuts are hurting.  And with £158 billion more borrowing than planned to pay for economic failure – it’s just not working.

And in Swindon we see the same story. Under Labour in the 1980s Swindon became a powerhouse for inward investment attracting Honda, BMW and Nationwide.  In the last three years the Tory Council have succeeded in attracting just 3 new companies to Swindon, providing a sum total of 5 new jobs.  This is the startling truth of the Tories economic failure.

Instead we need a plan for growth.  Nationally we should implement Labour’s 5 points plan for jobs including a new bankers bonus tax to fund 100,000 jobs for young people.  By getting our economy moving again, it will help to get the deficit down.

Swindon needs a plan for growth.  Swindon Labour’s Green New Deal will ‘get Swindon working’ and build the new businesses, the new jobs and the new economy that our town needs.  Our plan includes placing Swindon at the heart of the hydrogen highway and at the forefront of creating new green collar jobs. We will also establish a new inward investment team to market Swindon and build relationships with businesses.

To help Swindon’s successful businesses to grow and expand, we will establish mini enterprise zones by reorganising the Council’s land holdings to attract supply chain businesses of Swindon’s major manufacturers. And using the extra funds from the localization of business rates we will help small businesses by creating a Small Business Loans Scheme.

To increase local opportunity for education and skills, we will build a long term plan for a University for Swindon and we will support the bid for a University Technical College to unlock the talents of local people and training provision in Swindon.  Finally we will create a new Masterplan for the regeneration of Swindon Town Centre. The Tories have failed to regenerate Swindon.  Our Masterplan is the key measure that will end degeneration and kick start regeneration.  With a strong economic strategy Swindon can once again become an economic powerhouse for jobs and prosperity.

Cllr Mark Dempsey (Deputy Leader Labour Group).

This money will enable us to open a Youth Club at Park South Community Centre. We have also allocated some of the money to drain and create new children’s football pitches on Buckhurst Fields

We are in desperate need of better facilities for young people.  We promised to take action and we are delighted to be delivering on that promise.

>> If you would like to get involved with the new Park South Youth Club please contact mark@markdempsey.org.uk

We donned our gloves and took our litter pickers and black bags and cleaned up Buckhurst Fields north of Bentley Close.  We have also cleaned up Cranmore Avenue and the parkland between Lyndhurst Crescent and Dulverton Avenue.

>> Help us clean up your area and email the team at mark@markdempsey.org.uk.

Since we launched our campaign for the repair of Parks Potholes last year, we are delighted that many of the roads in Parks have been repaired.  And our continued pressure has delivered results with the resurfacing of Kingswood Avenue,

>> Report Pot Holes in Parks to mark@markdempsey.org.uk

The Square has been resurfaced thanks to a partnership between Parks Labour Councillors, the Parks and Walcot Forum and Swindon Walcot and Parks Community Group (SWAP).

Cavendish Square had been abandoned with half left as a derelict building site.  After numerous meetings agreement was reached on how the resurfacing could be financed.

It has been a long wait but we think that the resurfacing has made a huge difference to the look of the Square.

The developer still owns this land and is exploring the longer term future of this land.  We will keep you updated if and when proposals emerge.

• 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

 
As part of the TUC’s ‘All Together for the NHS’ campaign, UNISON wants activists, members and all supporters of the NHS to tell their local MP how concerned they are about government’s plans for the health service.
 
“We want everyone to go and book appointments with their local MPs in their surgeries on 1 or 2 April,” UNISON national officer Sian Davies says.  “We must really influence MPs and show them how concerned people are – not just health workers, but everybody who uses the NHS.”
 
The Government is trying to railroad the Health and Social Care Bill through as quickly as it can. That is why it’s important that we all act now.
 
The 1 April date aims not only to highlight the foolishness of some of the plans, but also coincides with a key stage in the progress of the Health and Social Care Bill through the House of Commons, before it reaches the House of Lords.
 
Book an appointment to meet your MP at their surgery on 1 or 2 April 2011.
 
To find out who your MP is go to www.theyworkforyou.com – from there you can access your MP’s website and find out how to book an appointment to meet them.
 
For more information on the TUC  ’All Together for the NHS’ campaign other helpful resources click HERE.

Cllr Fay Howard, Labour Candidate, Parks Ward.

When protecting Swindon’s most vulnerable people, Swindon Borough Council needs to uphold three core values:  Empowerment, Cooperation and quality of care over cost.

Tory-led Swindon Borough Council is failing to deliver any of these vital values.

Tory-led Swindon Borough Council has failed to sufficiently empower its vulnerable care users, by not delivering its personalisation agenda until now. This has meant that, while other local authorities implemented the personalisation agenda in social care when they were receiving funding increases, Swindon Borough Council have had to deliver the personalisation agenda at a time of widespread cuts, thus increasing risks in implementation.

The Tory-led Swindon Borough Council has also failed to properly cooperate and consult with care users in some of its most radical policies, including the formation of a new Social Enterprise.

And the Tory-led Swindon Borough Council continues to value cost and the handing over of social care to the private market, over quality of care. This was exemplified with the Conservative administration’s proposed privatisation of the Council’s Homecare service, which has been rated an excellent service.

The Swindon Labour Party believes this does not meet the fairness test for Swindon’s vulnerable residents.

A Labour-led Swindon Borough Council would:

• Support the personalised care agenda that the former Labour Government championed
• Back Multi-stakeholder Care Cooperatives. This model will allow for the engaging of Swindon’s Social Care service with users and with frontline staff
• Support voluntary sector organisations like Dial a Ride and value quality of care over market reforms
• Promote the Labour Party’s National Care Service, which will provide home care to all those who need it

Councillor Fay Howard today raised concerns about the newer Academies in Swindon. Conversations with staff and governors at schools appear to indicate the main reason schools are opting to become Academies is the belief that they will get more money at a time when schools budgets are facing savage cuts.

It is thought the bonus will be greater for those who go early, and in future Academies will recieve less.  The Government therefore appears to be bribing schools in order to see the number of Academies rise.  For those schools unable to comtemplate the Academy route there is nothing they can do but wait for their budget allocation.   They will have to watch as services once shared across all Swindons schools disappear,  and the budget that once provided these services is transferred to Academies.

The new Academies are often the highest performing schools (as assessed by Ofsted) and, now that they are receiving even more money, there is real concern that the gap between them and struggling schools will widen further.  This is entirely the opposite of the concept of Academies implemented by the Labour Government.   Then it was the struggling schools which benefited from increased outside funding.

A total of 371 English secondary schools are now Academies, that’s 11% of all secondary schools in England which are independent of local authorities.  Teachers unions: ATL, NASUWT, NUT & Unison have all raised concerns at the speed in which new academies were brought in.  They point out that an Ipsos-MORI poll found that 96 per cent of parents want a good local school run by local councils, and are against giving more power to head teachers by a ratio of 9:1.

In a joint letter to the Times they state ‘surely an essential principle for all education reform is that it must raise educational standards.  All of the independent  evidence confirms that Academy schools do not deliver better educational outcomes for pupils, but they cost more money, and create widespread inequality and social segregation.’

With local Swindon schools opting to receive the financial incentive that comes with becoming an Academy, services that all have previously shared are being reduced.  The axe has yet to fall fully, but already some Primary support has already been affected.  The local authority,  Swindon Council has no say in how an Academy school is run,  leaving a two-tier system with some schools accountable and supported by the Council and others not.  Academies can set their own pay and conditions for staff,  set aside parts of the curriculum and change the length of the school day.  Headteachers carry greater responsibilty without the support of outside sponsors received by the older Academies.  They are responsible for their own premises and maintenance without the support of the local Council.  If it works well – fine,  but if doesn’t what then – will the Council have to pick up the bill?

For those left behind, schools and students, the Council can only offer less support and fewer services as the budget shrinks.  Once again we are tasting the Tory old favourite, those that have take, & those who don’t can go without

Councillor Fay Howard is Labour’s spokesperson for children and young peoples services and represents Parks Ward.

The focus of the Tories and Liberals on cutting public services and blaming the public sector is completely unreasonable and the wrong approach.  It is utterly unfair that the police, our schools, and our hospitals pay the price of cuts and the poor, the elderly and the vulnerable suffer; while the banks appear to get away scot free.

The Tories and Liberals economic strategy is failing.  The economy is deteriorating and unemployment is now at 2.5 million and spiraling upwards towards 3 million; just as it did the last time the Tories were in power.

We need a clear plan for the economic future of Swindon.  One area that provides a source of hope and a potential way forward is the growth of green collar jobs.  Swindon should position itself at the heart of this ‘Green New Deal’; so that we can take advantage of these new green collar jobs.  The European Union has already committed to 3 million green collar jobs by 2020.  Employment in the environmental sector has been growing at 7% since the year 2000, whilst the UK wind energy sector has seen a 91% leap in employment over the last three years, and now employs more people than the coal industry.  However the UK is importing 80 per cent of renewable energy equipment and  services from abroad, whereas Denmark has anticipated the future and now half of all wind turbines are produced by Danish manufacturers.  We should seize the opportunities that will arrive as a result of the need to tackle Climate Change and become a centre for renewable energy, energy efficiency; and low carbon industries.

A briefing paper on wind power is available from the Socialist Environmental and Resources Association, and a recent report for the South West Regional Development Agency (which the Tories have scrapped) indicated that 6000 jobs could be created in the region in offshore renewable energy alone.

Swindon could benefit massively from a Green New Deal.  In the last century the decline of the railways forced Swindon to undergo its own economic transformation; and the inward investment from Honda, BMW, Motorolla and Nationwide among others made Swindon into a powerhouse of economic growth and zero unemployment.  However  Swindon is vulnerable to the fortunes of Honda, which itself will need to change its business model as the car industry moves from away from petrol.   Honda is currently proposing to erect wind turbines at its factory in Swindon, which may be part of a new business direction for the company.  At the same time the M4 is set to become a hydrogen highway to create the infrastructure for hydrogen, electric and compressed gas powered cars.  This will create the opportunity for attract new cutting-edge companies to Swindon, providing the opportunity for an economic and environmental transformation of the town.

Swindon’s Economic Plan should be focussed on bringing the businesses and the jobs of the future Swindon.   The economic strategy of Swindon should be based on building growth and prosperity for the future and not cutting services.  The Green New Deal provides a coherent and sustainable way forward to reduce our dependence on the banks, address Climate Change, and build the businesses and the jobs of the future . This is the challenge we must meet and it is a call we must answer.

Cllr Mark Dempsey, Parks Ward