Activists restart Plymstock Party as Labour targets local elections

Labour members in Plymstock have re-established their local party and elected a new chair with a mandate to win seats at the local elections in May 2012.

Retired social worker, Shirley Smith, who doubled the Labour vote when she contested the Plymstock Radford ward in the local elections this year was elected unanimously by local party members.

Shirley said: “Labour is making a come back in Plymstock. We know from our doorstep canvassing that people are struggling to find work locally, that our roads are getting worse and the Council is supporting a lot of inappropriate development in Plymstock.

“Restarting the Plymstock Labour Party is just the start of a new effort by Labour to win in the local elections in May. Over the next few months we will be launching a big membership drive and will be campaigning against local police cuts.”

After many years of decline of local parties the national Labour Party has been encouraging branches to be set up again. Plymstock is the only part of Plymouth not to have a fully functioning Labour party until now.

Luke Pollard, Labour’s last Parliamentary Candidate for the South West Devon constituency that includes Plymstock welcomed Shirley Smith’s election as Chair of Plymstock Labour Party saying: “Labour is making a come back in Plymstock. People angry at the way the Lib Dems have sold out the Tories are joining Labour at the fastest rate since 1997.

Plymouth politicians launch petition to keep adventure activities safety law

Plymouth Councillors have joined forces with local MPs and campaigners to launch a petition opposing the Government’s plans to repeal the Adventure Activities Licensing Act. The petition, the wording of which has been agreed by politicians of both parties, is now on the Government’s online petition site. It is hoped that if 100,000 people sign the petition that this issue will be debated in the House of Commons.

The petition, Keeping Our Young People Safe – Oppose the Repeal of the Adventure Activities Licensing Act, reads:

On 22 March 1993 Claire Langley, Simon Dunne, Rachel Walker and Dean Sayer, pupils from Southway Comprehensive, Plymouth, tragically lost their lives whilst kayaking on a school trip organised by the St Alban’s Activity Centre. In response to that, and other tragedies, in 1995 ‘The Activity Centres (Young Person’s safety) Act’ gained Royal Assent. The Government are proposing to abolish this act and instead introduce a voluntary code of practice for adventure activities. We believe that learning outside the classroom should be supported, unhelpful processes removed but that sustained increased participation is only possible when underpinned with an effective quality safety framework. Parents and schools will not be assured by measures they believe incapable of deterring those who would cut corners and therefore call on the Government to retain some form of compulsory licensing of these activities.

“Keep Moor View in Plymouth” boundary campaign launched

Less than 30 days left to keep Moor View in Plymouth as boundary changes deadline looms.

A campaign to oppose plans by the Boundary Commission to chop the Moor View ward out of Plymouth and give it to the MP for Okehampton has been launched in Plymouth.

As part of measures by the Government to reduce the number of MPs the Boundary Commission has recently redrawn the boundaries for Plymouth’s three MPs. Under the proposals that are currently being consulted on, the city’s Moor View ward of Plymouth is being chopped out of Plymouth and given to the new Dartmoor seat that includes Okehampton.

Alison Seabeck, the Member of Parliament for Plymouth Moorview said: “It is crazy to suggest that the residents of Estover, Mainstone, Thornbury, Leigham and Glenholt have more in common with Okehampton than the rest of Plymouth.”

“It surely cannot be right that Plymouth’s iconic buildings and essential services: Derriford Hospital, the Plymouth Herald and Plymouth Airport are to be represented by the MP for Dartmoor. These are as important to Plymouth as Smeaton’s Tower and Devonport Dockyard. They should be represented by a Plymouth MP not someone whose focus will be on rural areas.”

Labour challenges company running NHS services in Plymouth

Plymouth Labour has challenged the new company running NHS services in Plymouth to restore the NHS brand to their communications following the scrapping of NHS Plymouth. Plymouth Community Healthcare has been established as a company limited by guarantee and is now delivering services that were previously delivered by NHS Plymouth. The transfer of staff and services to the new company happened at the same time as the name ‘NHS Plymouth’ was scrapped by the company’s management.

Cllr Tudor Evans, Leader of the Labour Group said: “People in Plymouth are rightly proud of their NHS and so it will come as a shock for many to learn that not only is there a company delivering NHS services in Plymouth but that this the word NHS has been stripped from its name. It smacks of privatisation by the back door.”

Plymouth Community Healthcare came into existence as part of fundamental and wide scale changes introduced as of 1 October.

Alison Seabeck MP, Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View said: “Despite assurances that the NHS would be safe with David Cameron and the Conservatives we can see right here in Plymouth that the company running our hospital has dropped the word ‘NHS’ from its title.

Plymouth planning committee “a total shambles” claims Labour

Plymouth City Council’s Planning Committee has deferred making a decision on the controversial development of a new block of luxury flats to be built on the Hoe seafront in what Labour claims is now “a total shambles”.

The site at West Hoe has been subject to months of protracted discussions as developers have published, amended and corrected their plans for a new block.

Labour claims that this latest delay is unacceptable masking a deeper malaise. The deferment was due to some committee members not being afforded access to the same information and advice that was available to others.

Labour Councillor Sue McDonald was not surprised and said: “From inception to planning hearing this application has been dogged by mistakes and errors, this is just the latest. Local Councillors have been working hard to support local people throughout this saga. The planning process has, at times, been bewildering. The developer has issued corrections and amendments to their original plan, some at the last minute. Dates have changed and the information issued by the Council has been, at times, incorrect. It is simply not good enough!

Plymouth Labour pledges to fight NHS reforms as battles moves to the Lords

Plymouth’s two Conservative MPs voted for controversial plans to break up the NHS last week. Today, Plymouth Labour pledges to take the fight to the House of Lords as the controversial Health and Social Care Bill passes its Commons stages in Parliament.

Councillor Tudor Evans, Leader of the Labour Group on Plymouth City Council said: “Let every voter in Plymouth know that our two Tory MPs voted to break up the NHS. They didn’t vote for better healthcare at Derriford, for more doctors or more nurses. They voted to inject more private healthcare companies into the health service and begin the break up of the NHS.”

Councillor Sue MacDonald, Labour’s health spokesperson on the Council, said: “I wonder how many people know what is already happening at our local hospital. I am concerned that from October staff start transferring from being employed by the NHS to being employed by a company limited by guarantee. The break up of the NHS has already begun thanks to this Government’s health reforms and we have to stop it before it is too late.”

Date confirmed for walking forest protest to Save Cann Woods

Plymouth Labour’s Save Cann Woods campaign has announced plans for a walking protest march through the forest to highlight the ongoing threat to the future of publicly owned forests. The Government is due to receive its interim report from the Independent Panel on Forestry shortly into its plan to sell the public forest estate including Cann Woods in Plymouth.

Luke Pollard, who organizes the Save Cann Woods campaign says: “The forest sell off might not be in the headlines anymore but the plans were not scrapped completely. This march will show the Government and Plymouth’s two Tory MPs that local people want to keep Cann Woods in public hands and not sold to the highest bidder.

“On Sunday 18 September we invite people to join us from 2pm as we walk through the woods. Bring your family, bring your placards, bring your walking boots and let’s show the Coalition that Plymouth will not support any attempt to put forest sales back on the political agenda.

40,000 submissions from across the UK including many from Devon have been made to the Government’s Independent Panel on Forestry chaired by the Right Reverend James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool. The Panel is due to issue its progress report to Defra shortly on the future of the public forest estate.

Plymouth Labour joins nationwide NHS Weekend of Action

Plymouth Labour is contributing to the nationwide weekend of action on the NHS with a special street stall in Plymouth City Centre on Saturday. Campaigners across the country will be using this weekend’s NHS Action Weekend to highlight Tory plans to privatize NHS services and inject more private healthcare into the NHS.

From 2pm in the city centre volunteers and the city’s Labour councillors will be highlighting plans by the Conservative and Liberal Democrats to privatize the NHS putting patient care at risk.

Cllr Tudor Evans, Leader of Plymouth’s Labour Group said: “With all that’s been happening lately the dismantling of the NHS has dropped off the media radar. This is our chance to move the Tories broken promises on Health to the top of the agenda”.

“If MPs vote to allow these reforms to go ahead, privatisation and poor patient care will plague the NHS – and Plymouth families will suffer.”

Tory plans in the Health and Social Care Bill due to receive its next reading in Parliament next week would see a radical overhaul of the National Health Services and an increase in the involvement of the private sector and paid-healthcare services.

Plymouth Labour councillor backs Barnardo’s ‘Cut Them Free’ campaign

Councillor Nicky Williams has announced she is backing Barnardo’s efforts to tackle child sexual exploitation and has signed-up to support the charity’s ‘Cut Them Free‘ campaign, which aims to reduce the number of children and young people experiencing the horror of child sexual exploitation in Devon.

Barnardo’s spokesperson said: “We are delighted that Councillor Williams has come on board to support this incredibly important campaign.”

“We know child protection services vary significantly across the country. This means that young people in some areas may not have adequate protection from this horrific form of abuse and may not receive the support they require to exit and recover from exploitative situations.

“To help local authorities, we have produced a checklist so they can assess their own progress in protecting young people from sexual exploitation.”

The checklist includes:

- Understanding the prevalence of child sexual exploitation in the authority’s area;
- Providing a strategic response to the problem;
- Offering clear leadership on how to tackle the problem and work with partners;
- Raising awareness.

Labour Councillor accuses Plymouth Council of abandoning Honicknowle

Councillor Nicky Williams has hit back over plans to cut funding in Honicknowle, which is recognised as one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in Plymouth. The Council has decided to cut the neighbourhood team from Honicknowle ward. This team included a Warden who regularly patrolled the area to identify problems such a fly tipping and anti-social behaviour, and a Neighbourhood Manager who had been very successful in generating funding to help with community projects.

Nicky Williams said: “Nationally, Honicknowle is ranked as one of the most deprived neighbourhoods. I was shocked to learn that the Council has decided to cut funding to the area, without consultation with residents or Councillors. Ironically the Council has stated that one of the reasons for cutting the funding is so they can concentrate on their corporate priorities of ‘reducing inequalities, raising aspiration and value for communities’. I fail to see how cutting funding to this Honicknowle will help achieve these aims.

“Over the past few months I have been fighting cuts to services in Honicknowle. We have lost bus services, child care provision has been cut and voluntary groups have had funding withdrawn.