“These figures show that Labour’s tough action is working in YOUR area” says Oli de Botton, Labour PPC

 Figures released today show that crime across Herts has fallen by 5% from an already low base. Across the country, crime has fallen by 8%, with burglary, robbery and violence all down this quarter.  This welcome drop is the latest indication that Labour’s tough line and investment in frontline services is making our communities safer.

 Oli said:

 “Today’s crime figures chime with the unemployment figures earlier this week. Just as Labour’s investment has helped keep people in work through the recession, investment in policing and communities is helping make people safer in their homes and on the streets

 “Though every crime committed is terrible for the victim, and every job lost a personal tragedy, the evidence clearly shows that Labour’s policies are working, both on crime and the economy. 

 “It’s also clearer than ever that the Tories would be a disaster for both, choking off recovery with their irresponsible economic plans and opposing tough action on crime and anti-social behaviour.”

 Labour’s Home Secretary Alan Johnson said:

 “New Labour always understood about tackling the causes of crime. As the latest crime figures show – your streets are safer.

“When it comes to the general election voters will have to take a decision about which party they trust to tackle crime. The Tories tried this week to show they are tough on crime but they can’t airbrush the truth.

“David Cameron has ignored middle Britain’s concerns about crime in favour of attracting plaudits from their liberal dinner party friends.

“Labour is keeping Britain’s streets safe. As we get closer to the election, the choice will become increasingly clear.

“As the Tories have shown this week, the risk of the Conservatives will become ever clearer as the public discover their soft attitude to law and order.”

The East of England Labour Party has collated and released a new analysis of figures, comparing unemployment rates during the current global recession to the rate of unemployment during the previous UK recession in 1992. These figures are broken down to a local level and show the following:

• In North Herts in December1992 unemployment was 4,994 and 7.1 per cent. In November 2009 it was 2,243 and 3.0 per cent
• In St. Albans in December 1992 unemployment was 4,330 and 5.4 per cent. In November 2009 it was 1,739 and 2.1 per cent.

The figures highlight the importance of maintaining support for the economy and for those who lose their jobs at this difficult time. Across the whole of the East of England, the levels of unemployment at the end of 2009 were 116, 854, but in December 1992 – during the previous recession, that level was 230,549.

In every single area of the East of England, unemployment during the recession of the nineties was higher than it is now. In some areas, unemployment was more than twice as high under the Tories.

 Oli de Botton said:

“These figures show that the support Labour has put in place is having an effect in the area.

 “In difficult economic times, we cannot risk halting a recovery by cutting off investment too soon. To do this, as the Tories suggest, would lead to unemployment and fewer opportunities for people to support their families.”

Labour Candidate Oli de Botton has urged local people to take advantage of the Labour Government’s boiler scrappage scheme to get a new boiler during the cold snap.

It is thought that the scheme will sustain work for the heating industry during the recession, save families around £200 per year on fuel bills, as well as helping the environment.
 
Up to 125,000 households in England with working “G-rated” boilers can from today apply for a voucher which will entitle them to £400 off the price of a new, modern “A rated” boiler or a renewable heating system, like a biomass boiler or a heat pump. The Government’s action has already triggered some companies to complement, and in some cases match, the offer and it is expected others will follow suit- similar to the successful car scrappage scheme launched last year.

Oli said:

“You only need to look at the weather we have had this week to see why having a good boiler is so important.

“Labour in Government is making sure that people can afford to get a new boiler now, to replace their old boilers that are bad for the environment and cost households more in energy bills.

“With Labour’s boiler scrappage scheme, households could get help to save around £200 per year on their bills.

“I am urging everyone in the constituency who has an older boiler to consider using this Labour Government scheme to upgrade their boiler and lower their bills.”

Oli de Botton, Labour parliamentary spokesman in Hitchin and Harpenden, has launched a stinging attack against his Tory opponent, Peter Lilley. This, after national press reports today identified Mr. Lilley as a leading member of a growing band of senior Tories with extreme views on climate change.

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Mr. Lilley has consistently questioned the impact of climate change. In fact he was one of only five MPs in the whole House of Commons to vote against the ground-breaking Climate Change Bill last year.

Meanwhile next week, world leaders, including American President Barack Obama and Chineese Premier Hu Jintao, will attend a summit in Copenhagen to try and hammer out a deal on reducing global emissions.

Oli de Botton commented: “I find Mr. Lilley’s views complacent in the extreme. The overwhelming majority of scientists have identified the huge damage that we are doing to our planet. I believe local people do not want to see our future risked by these fringe views.”

Ed Miliband MP, Labour’s Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, also responding to reports of Tory scepticism on Climate Change, said: “The true face of the Tory Party is on show today. No amount of riding around with huskies can conceal the fact that the Conservative Party have closed their ears to the science.

·         Peter Lilley commented in Parliament last month (Peter Lilley, Hansard, 5 November 2009, col 1052)

 “There are plenty of other fairy stories around, and I want to touch on the idea that a rise of 2° C would constitute dangerous climate change that we should try to avoid by spending unlimited amounts. That is a 2° C rise not from now, but from before the industrial revolution. We have already had a rise of 0.7° C, so it is being said that a further 1.3° C rise in world temperature would be dangerous. One reason why the ordinary public are in disbelief is because they spend their time looking for places that are 10° C warmer than here, not 1° C. The Minister was frightfully upset when I pointed out that the average temperature in north-east England was more than 2° C higher than that in Cornwall and asked whether it was dangerous for people to go from Newcastle to Newquay. We cannot pretend that comparatively modest changes to the temperature of the Earth will lead to Armageddon-they will not.”

Michael Gove has spent a long time over the past few years brandishing his credentials as a zealous reformer, committed to freeing up schools and finally breaking the link between background and achievement. In these terms, his speech yesterday at the Conservative Party conference was a big disappointment.

Firstly, the policy content was based on his personal preferences for schools rather than the needs and choices of parents and pupils. He insisted that heads should focus on smart uniform, “set” by ability, have smaller classes and shun trendy ‘ fads’ in the curriculum. The problem is that in practice these things are neither intrinsically good nor bad. Setting works in some schools, for some pupils and not in others. Instead it is innovative school leaders, free to meet the needs of the pupils and parents in front of them that make the real difference. They do not need to be encumbered by the ‘one-size-fits-all’ proscriptions of the Secretary of State.

Secondly and more worryingly, Gove’s commitment to the most disadvantaged seems to have wavered. He bemoaned the high number of suspensions from schools and confirmed that he would change the rules to limit pupils’ right of appeal to permanent exclusion. This is short sighted. Given that excluded pupils are more likely to be from tough backgrounds, more likely to be illiterate and more likely to end up in prison, shouldn’t part of his agenda focus on keeping these kids in full time education? Shouldn’t some of the new schools he talks about be targeted at particularly challenging pupils?  In reality, if schools are able to exclude pupils more easily, the discrepancy between educational outcomes at the top and bottom of society will only increase.

Also published here: http://www.leftfootforward.org/2009/10/back-to-basics-gove-is-no-progressive/