Tonight I’ll be talking to party members in Even Swindon Community Centre,  Jennings St,  Swindon Swindon SN2 2BG.

The meeting will be open to members of the public from 8pm to 9pm and all are welcome.

Victor Agarwal,  Labour Candidate, North Swindon victor4nswindon@googlemail.com

The Tories are spending millions (literally) on their poster campaigns and must be helping the economy doing this. This is a nice picture of Gordon that I spotted at the Moonrakers Roundabout, but it’s a pity that the Conservatives didn’t check the facts before printing it…

… the facts are that, if we exclude the full-time students from youth ‘unemployment’ (and that is the definition of the International Labour Organisation), there are 657,000 young people who are unemployed, compared to 830,000 in the early ’90s and more than 1 million in the early ’80s.  It was the Tories who turned their back on young unemployed and left a lost generation, whose scars we have seen for very many years.

Labour is not prepared to turn its back:  which is why we are investing in the youth guarantee.  Labour is backing 470,000 additional youth opportunities, including through the £1 billion future jobs fund, as well as extra training and job opportunities. That is part of the youth guarantee:  which is that all young people should be guaranteed a job, training or a work placement if they have been unemployed for more than six months. The Tories oppose all this and are pledged to scrap the guarantee.

So can I thank my Tory opponents for paying for this expensive poster.  I’m delighted to have had the opportunity to put the facts straight.

Incidentally,  total unemployment in the UK is now 7.6%.  That’s not acceptable,  but its 2% lower than the EU average and only 0.1% higher than Germany.  The Tories voted against most (all?) of the measures that we put in place to save jobs through the depression.

Victor Agarwal, Labour Candidate, North Swindon.

Hello again – last Saturday I was out on the doorsteps with Rochelle Russell – Labour’s excellent candidate in Gorse Hill and Pinehurst.  Some people mentioned the Tories’ plan not to increase National Insurance in April 2011.  While the Tories did get good press coverage for this ploy, they only achieved it by COMPLETELY DESTROYING THEIR CREDIBILITY.

By putting politics before economics, putting their short-term political interests before the longer-term economic interests of the country, they are scoring points rather than sticking to the policies that will secure Britain’s economic recovery!! When things get choppy for Mr. Cameron his first thought is to abandon fiscal discipline and his commitment to tackling the deficit, and instead reach out for crowd pleasing about-turns.  Easy politics does not make for sound economics. And it isn’t leadership.

So my point for voters in Swindon is this:   the headlines achieved by the Tories show that it is really only Labour which has consistent and credible policies to keep the country on the road to recovery.  Nothing must get in the way – no gimmicks and no cheap give-aways to keep wealthy Tory backers happy.

Gordon and Alistair must continue to make the right calls, as they did when we were hit by the global financial crisis. They were the first movers on a plan that averted a Great Depression in the global economy, and their decisions set us on the road to recovery. Through the resilience and sacrifice of the British people, the impact of the recession was blunted and shortened. As a consequence, the rate of unemployment, business failures, and home repossessions has been significantly lower than under the Tory recession of the 1990s (and with lower mortgage rates too).

Cameron-Osborne got all these big economic judgements wrong. They would have let Northern Rock go to the wall. They opposed the fiscal stimulus and the real help we gave businesses and families so we could get through this recession together.  Now they are getting it wrong on the recovery. Cut through George Osborne’s waffle and you will see him confirming that he plans to take £6-7 billion out of the economy this year in his ‘emergency’ budget, even though private demand remains weak.  To take this amount of spending power out of the economy straightaway – when the economy needs support and the road ahead will be bumpy – would pull the rug from under the recovery. This ‘emergency’ budget would put the economy straight back into the crisis room.

The rise in National Insurance – which we propose – is not due this year – but in 2011 once recovery is secured.  It is a necessary measure to enable us to restore the public finances whilst maintaining the public services.   Government is about hard choices and we cannot shy away from them if we want to tackle the deficit and protect schools, hospitals, childcare and the police.

Frontline schools, police numbers and Sure Start will not be protected by the Tories.  That much we know. If you are a parent with children in school, or who use Children’s Centres, you should know before you cast your vote that these budgets will be cut under the Tories, not protected.  The Tories can say what they like. But a promise to cut the deficit further than Labour, cut taxes and sustain public spending doesn’t add up – it is a three card Tory con trick.

Securing recovery and protecting frontline services will be on the ballot paper come election day:  and they are both under threat from a Tory party that is showing itself to be a party little changed from the past.  Look at their platform: immediate cuts that would put jobs and services at risk; unfunded tax cuts; an inheritance tax giveaway for the 3,000 richest estates in the country, whilst middle income mums have their child tax credits and Child Trust funds taken away.

But when it comes down to it, people do not trust the Tories to be on their side. They believe the Tories want to cut public services whether it is necessary or not. Some in the media may wish to obscure this fact but the public’s attitude is deeply felt.

Please let me know what you think.  I’m glad to receive emails on victor4nswindon@googlemail.com

Victor Agarwal, Labour Candidate North Swindon.

Saturday was another busy day of campaigning –  getting our Labour message across in Western Ward.   Several residents raised the issue of hunting,  and were concerned about Tory plans to restore fox-hunting.  Labour made fox hunting and other cruel sports illegal, and I fully support this policy.  A petition to ‘back the ban’ is available here.

Here I am with Mr Ali and his staff at the Curry Place on Rodbourne Road (The Lane) which is close to where I live. They were keen to show their support for my campaign, and I'm looking forward to visiting as many local pubs and restaurants as I can over the coming weeks and beyond. If you'd like to show the support of your pub or restaurant to my campaign please contact me through this website.

Victor Agarwal, Labour Candidate, N Swindon.

Gordon Brown today launched Labour’s 5 pledges for the next parliament:

1. Secure the recovery and halve the deficit through economic growth, fair taxes and cuts to lower priority spending
2. Raise family living standards, keeping mortgage rates as low as possible; increasing tax credits for families with young children; providing new help for first-time buyers; and restore the link between the state pension and earnings from 2012.
3. Build a high tech economy, supporting businesses and industry to create 1 million more skilled jobs and modernising our infrastructure with High-Speed Rail, a Green Investment Bank and broadband access for all
4. Protect frontline investment in policing, schools, childcare and the NHS, with a new guarantee of cancer test results within a week.
5. Strengthen fairness in communities through an Australian style points-based system to control immigration; guaranteed education, apprenticeships and jobs for young people; and a crack down on anti-social behaviour.

In future weeks I’ll be looking at what these pledges mean to Swindon. Isnt it interesting that they’ve followed the web-design pioneered by Swindon Labour to present our pledges to the electorate of the Borough!

Victor Agarwal, Labour Candidate N Swindon.

See more details on the National Labour Pledges, or view the Youtube version.

Today I was delighted to hear Alistair Darling’s budget.  Its clear that Labour has acted decisively and consistently to support the economy, businesses and families through the deepest global recession for more than 60 years.  The Tories want to put all this risk and will  depress the economy – thereby increasing unemployment and decreasing the take in income tax from people in work.

Look at what Alistair announced today:

• Extending the Young Person’s Guarantee after March 2011, to ensure that young people continue to be guaranteed a job, training or work experience if they cannot find work within six months
• Funding 20,000 extra undergraduate places on courses starting in 2010-11
• Giving Working Tax Credit to people over 60, working at least 16 hours per week
• Investing in Britain’s 21st century infrastructure by creating a Green Investment Bank that will support low-carbon projects
• Giving a hand-up to first time buyers with a two year stamp duty holiday on transactions up to £250,000
• Giving us all the right to a basic bank account so that everyone can manage their finances
• Making additional annual payments of £100 into the Child Trust Fund accounts of disabled children (with severely disabled children to receive £200 per year)
• And we’ll bring in a 2.5% increase in the basic State Pension from April 2010, benefiting over 12 million pensioners.

And, despite this investment, Labour still plans to halve the deficit - a deficit – remember – which was created bailing out friends of the Tories – Bankers and the City of London.    We will do this while protecting key frontline services, as we have been doing already. The facts speak for themselves: unemployment is 2% lower than in the Euro area and in the US, while borrowing this year is £11bn less than forecast by experts.   Furthermore:

• Labour is going to cut down on waste, and make real and lasting changes to make government more efficient – saving £11bn
• Reducing the costs of public sector pay and pensions allowing us to save £4.4bn to get the deficit down
• Making tough choices across Whitehall to cut £5bn from low priority programmes so we can continue to support those frontline services which people really rely on
• And continuing our commitment to fairness by making sure that 60% of all tax rises this year are paid by the wealthiest 5% of society.

David Cameron and George Osborne would put the recovery at risk by cutting support to the economy now. They refuse to match Labour’s commitment to protect frontline services; and they would hit families on middle and modest incomes while pledging a £200,000 giveaway to the 3,000 wealthiest estates.

Victor Agarwal, Labour Candidate, North Swindon (and here I am campaigning recently in Penhill).

This weekend I was talking to residents around Purton Road in Moredon.  Many issues were raised – such as lack of facilities in the ward, closure of the local old-folks home, and  increasing costs in the Community Centre.  In Moredon Park there were concerns about local parking – similar to elsewhere in the Constituency.  I met with one resident who told me despite submitting 5 petitions he got no response by Tory run Swindon Borough Council or his local Tory Councillor.

While green parks must be kept green, there is scope small areas of grass to be used for temporary parking.  These days you can get a cellular lattice of concrete that allows grass to grow through and keep a natural look to the area, while allowing free drainage of rainwater.   Here I am with Maureen Caton, the Labour Candidate in the local elections, looking at one of the problem areas.

Victor Agarwal

Today I was meeting residents in the Duchess Way area of St Philips, with local Labour candidate, Joe Tray.  Comments on the doorstep focused on failings in the Tory Council and their complete lack of consultation over the rat run between Cricklade Rd and Hyde Rd.  I know that this is an issue that  Michael Wills has been campaigning on for years and years.   But I was dismayed to hear that the latest decision of the Council is to do nothing. Officials had recommended an experimental road closure but the Cabinet Member for ‘Sustainability, Transport and Strategic Transport’ (that’s a mouthful!) rejected this and a number of other options, including:

• Controlled access using an automatic bollard
• Peak hour closure with lockable bollards
• Introducing an no left-turn restricution from the two main roads during peak periods
• Introducing traffic calming measures in Queensfield
• Linking the short gap from Arkwright Road into Hyde Road
• Removal of the section of buslane southbound on Cricklade Rd and replacing with a dedicated left turn slip road.

There is clearly a major problem here – which is not going to go away by the Council  ignoring it.  Local residents have come up with many options.  These deserve to be treated seriously.  Please let Joe Tray and I know your views on j.tray@ntlworld.com and victor4nswindon@googlemail.com.

Hi I’m Victor Agarwal the Labour Candidate for North Swindon.  Today I was talking to residents in Western Ward with the local Councillor and candidate in the May elections,  Kevin Small.  People were worried about the state of the roads, the closure of care homes and the some of the ways the Tory Borough Council was spending your money on cunsultants and loans to private companies – while they are cutting back in important areas like  Dial-a-ride.   These are some of my supporters at Rodbourne Green,  please email me if you’d like to join the campaign.

On the doorsteps I was able to tell people about the five campaign priorities that Gordon launched today.  You can learn more by clicking the links below ……….

• Securing the recovery
• Protecting frontline services – health
• Protecting frontline services – education
• Standing up for the many
• New industries future jobs.

Gordon and Alistair have guided the country well through an amazingly tough recession – with unemployment ending up 450,000 lower than the experts predicted (saving the taxpayer around £2 billion) – with the VAT cut and the tax cut for 22 million people helping families and businesses at a tough time  – and with the car scrappage scheme helping to sell over 300,000 cars and keeping the car industry on its feet!!

Andy Burnham is doing a great job protecting our health service.  Its Labour’s health service.  Andy runs a department which has delivered 89,000 more nurses and 44,000 doctors than in 1997, brought hospital waiting to their lowest level since records began, and ensured that over three-quarters of GP practices now offer extended opening hours.

Ed Balls in education runs a department which has appointed 42,400 more teachers and 212, 000 more support staff, including 123,000 more teaching assistants since Labour came to power.  It has built or rebuilt 4,000 schools, and gives a guarantee of a good education for every child, including catch-up tuition for pupils falling below their best.  It has also introduced a guarenteed education or training place for those up to 18, and a job or training place for any 18-24 year-old who is out of work for six months.  Ed is proud of Labour’s creation of a Sure Start children’s Centre in every community, and the offering wrap around childcare, healthcare and other services offered by these Centres.  The Tories are pledged to close these.

Alan Johnston the Home Secretary has seen overall crime fall by over a third since 1997, violent crime is down by 41 per cent, and the murder rate down to a 20 year low!  His department has given new guarantees on police response times and a pledge that your neighbourhood policing team spends at least 80 per cent of its time on the beat in your community.  Alan has also presided over the introduction of the Australian-style ponts-based system of immigration control to ensure that only those with the skills that we need to build a stronger economy can come here.

Peter Mandleson is the new supremo of the Department of Business, Industry and Skills.  Labour is investing £5 billion to help people back into work and will guarantee a job or training place for all 18-24 year olds out of work for six months.  Ed Miliband is the minister for Energy and Climate Change.  Having exceeded our Kyoto target, insulated millions of homes, and become the first government to bring into law binding climate change targets, Ed’s department is laying the foundations for new low-carbon industry.  Our blueprint for a low-carbon economy could create 1.2 million green jobs in areas such as renewables, nuclear power and clean coal.

So, thats just some of the ways that Labour is getting out of the depression and helping make our society safer and fairer.  Soon I’ll tell you how the Tories will put all these achievements under threat.

Want to know more?  – email Victor

Hi, I’m Victor Agarwal the Labour Candidate for Westminster,  and on Saturday 13th Feb I was out campaigning in Highworth.   I was very impressed by the local market, met lots of residents and collected scores of signatures on a petition to keep Dial-a-Ride  safe from threatened Tory cuts.  In the afternoon I talked to hundreds of people on their doorsteps in the streets around Queens Avenue.  Please get in touch on victor4nswindon@googlemail.com