Southampton MP Denham condemns axing of Government Office of the South East
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Responding to today’s announcement by Eric Pickles, Communities Secretary, that he is scrapping all Government Offices, John Denham, Labour’s Shadow CLG Secretary and Southampton Itchen MP, said: "The decision leaves English regions without any way of co-ordinating economic development, major infrastructure projects and the effective co-ordination of public services for local people. It is a decision being made under the guise of ‘localism’ but it will see a huge centralisation of power into Whitehall Ministries. "In government we laid out proposals in our budget in March for making significant savings in regional government but retaining the...
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Brighton and Hove Labour welcome fall in crime in Sussex
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Brighton & Hove Labour Group’s Community Safety spokesperson Cllr Warren Morgan, has joined Alan Johnson, Shadow Home Secretary, in welcoming crime figures today which show that crime in the UK has continued to fall. Cllr Morgan said: "Overall crime is down 6% in Sussex from last year which is promising news. "The Tory-Liberal coalition government and the local Tory-run council are putting this reduction in crime at risk – and there is still more work to be done to reduce crime. Brighton & Hove Council is cutting funding to projects tackling youth crime and there can be no justification...
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Coalition plans are an attack on frontline policing in Hampshire
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Alan Whitehead, Labour MP for Southampton Test, has joined Alan Johnson, Shadow Home Secretary, in his condemnation of the Tory-Liberal Coalition’s proposed reduction in the Police Grant this year. Speaking ahead of a House of Commons vote on the proposals which could have an immediate impact on the number of police on our streets, Alan Johnson MP, Shadow Home Secretary said: "This will put massive pressure on forces and police authorities who have already set their budgets for the year. "A cut of £115m is equivalent to over 4,000 fewer Police Constables on the beat. "With...
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Scale of job cuts for young people revealed
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New research by Southampton’s Labour MPs has revealed the potentially devastating impact on Southampton of the government’s cuts to help young people into work. New projections suggest that hundreds of new jobs for young people in Hampshire will now not be funded, and over 900 further jobs are under threat as a direct result of the Coalition Government’s choice of cuts. On taking office, the Liberal-Tory government announced it was scrapping Labour’s Young Person’s Guarantee of a place in education, training or a job for every young person after 6 months of unemployment. The...
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Ed Balls welcomes school leaver guarantee success in Reading
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 Rt. Hon. ED BALLS MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, visited Prospect School in Reading on Thursday 4th February 2010.
He visited Prospect School’s new £3.5 million vocational centre to hear about the fall in numbers of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) in Reading over the last year. Highlighting the Government’s guarantee to provide a place in education, employment or training to every 16-year-old.
Ed Balls was joined by Naz Sarkar, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Reading West, Anneliese Dodds, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Reading East and Jo Lovelock, Leader of Reading Borough...
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Apprentices show Labour is making a difference in Portsmouth
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 Sarah McCarthy-Fry and Prime Minister Gordon Brown today heard first-hand from two young BVT Surface Fleet workers the real difference Labour policies are making. Craig Fenwick and James Joyce, who both work for BVT Surface Fleet in Portsmouth, met with the Prime Minister at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton and spoke about how Labour's apprenticeship programme and the government's investment in the defence industry had made a real difference. Labour has rescued apprenticeships from collapse under the Conservatives, and rebuilt them so they are well on their way to taking their rightful place as a mainstream training option for...
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Gillingham man Doug Baldock, proud of the NHS at Labour Party Conference
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Doug Baldock, local Gillingham resident, appeared on stage on Wednesday 30th September at Labour Party Conference in Brighton to share his experiences of the National Health Service. Doug told how Labour’s action to support the NHS meant he received excellent care when he was treated for cancer last year. Doug Baldock, 74, told the conference: “Last year, I went to my local GP with a stomach ache. This raised his concerns so he sent me to the hospital for further checks. His speedy action and Labour’s guarantee to get you referred to hospital within two weeks of suspected cancer, saved...
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Reading Labour PPCs welcome new Mortgage Help campaign
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Labour prospective parliamentary candidates for Reading, Anneliese Dodds and Naz Sarkar, today welcomed a new national campaign which could help people in Reading avoid having their home repossessed. John Healey MP, Labour’s Housing Minister, today launched a new national campaign to help struggling homeowners take control of their finances and make the most of the support available for them to avoid repossessions and stay in their homes. A series of press, online and billboard advertisements will highlight the measures the Labour Government has put in place at every stage for homeowners to avoid repossession. This is especially relevant in Reading...
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High Street boost for empty shops
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Today funding announced by the Labour Government to Thanet and Hastings Councils to help support local shopping streets hardest hit by the recession has been welcomed by local Labour MPs Michael Foster - Hastings & Rye and Steve Ladyman - South Thanet. Thanet and Hastings Councils have been given £52,632 each to help shopping areas most affected by the recession. Communities Secretary John Denham gave the green light to the funding which supports “Real Help Now” for communities. It gives a helping hand for councils to liven up their high streets and town centres such as re-opening boarded up shops...
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Jonathan Shaw MP says "Never Again"
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Jonathan Shaw, Labour’s South East Minister has welcomed the news today that the South East will benefit from the 3,300 jobs created for young people across the region by Labour’s Future Jobs Fund initiative. 6 local authorities and organisations across the South East were successful in bidding for the scheme – Kent County Council, Gateway Knowledge Alliance, Thanet District Council, Brighton and Hove City Council, Hampshire County Council, Hastings Borough Council In the 80s and 90s, long term youth unemployment went up and up. During these current tough times Jonathan Shaw, is determined that we don't lose a generation of...
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Cllr Tony Page welcomes 21st century railway to Reading
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Deputy Leader of Reading Borough Council, Councillor Tony Page has welcomed a £1.1bn investment in new rail electrification which will improve journeys for passengers to and from Reading. The Prime Minister and Labour’s Transport Secretary Lord Andrew Adonis have today unveiled £1.1bn plans for the first big electrification of the rail network since the late 1980s, involving the London to Swansea line. Councillor Tony Page said: “This is fantastic news for Reading, which will not only enable speedier and more comfortable and reliable travel to London but also will hopefully ease traffic on the M4 during those busy holiday periods....
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Labour welcomes green light for South East eco-town
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Labour in the South East has welcomed news that greener living will become a reality in five years’ time when the region has two of Britain’s first eco-towns - in North West Bicester, Oxfordshire and Whitehill-Bordon, Hampshire. Jane Edbrooke, Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for East Hampshire said, "This is fantastic news for local employment. The site will generate new jobs for people living in the Whitehill-Borden eco-town. These jobs will reflect the greener lifestyle of the new towns with people needed to manage and maintain green space, maintenance and support for electric cars and jobs created when new primary schools,...
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John Denham challenges Tories on council tax plans
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John Denham Southampton Itchen MP and Labour's Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has today issued a challenge to the Conservatives over their council tax plans. Speaking at the Local Government Association Annual Conference in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, John Denham said: "The Conservative council tax freeze pledge is a con – a freeze for the few but a rise for the many. "George Osborne claims that “your council tax” would be frozen for two years under the Conservatives. But relatively few councils would qualify for the freeze and in many cases only if they agree to set their...
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Medway MPs & MEP welcome £41 million boost to Kent's cash flow
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 Labour MPs for Chatham & Aylesford and Gilingham and Rainham, Jonathan Shaw and Paul Clark and South East Labour MEP Peter Skinner gathered at Gillingham Business Park yesterday (Sunday 31st May) to welcome news that 2,420 businesses across Kent have used Labour's Time to Pay scheme - ensuring that £41 million has remained in Kent's cash flow, boosting the economy and protecting local jobs. Time to Pay allows small businesses to defer their tax payments to HM Revenue and Customs. This keeps cash in the economy - with the aim of helping keep businesses growing through the credit crunch. South...
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Naz Sarkar selected as new Reading West Labour PPC
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 At their selection meeting on 13th June 2009, Reading West constituency Labour Party chose Naz Sarkar as the Labour parliamentary candidate for Reading West at the next general election. Naz Sarkar, the new Labour parliamentary candidate for Reading West said: “I am honoured and delighted that Reading West Labour Party have selected me as their new candidate. I look forward to supporting this Labour government’s plans to bring us through these tough economic times and to clean up politics. There is a stark choice for the people of Reading at the next election between Labour who believe we must grow...
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October's Campaign Club Winner
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The lucky winner drawn out of the regional office hat for
October is Gregory MacDonald. Not only does
Gregory win £100 for himself - his constituency, Milton
Keynes South, will also be receiving a cheque for
£100. If you would like to know more about the campaign club, please
email simon_wady@new.labour.org.uk Next month could it be you!!!...
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New Deputy South East Minister announced
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 Laura Moffatt, MP for Crawley, has been
appointed as Deputy Regional Minister for the South East. Laura has
resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of
State for Health to take up her new role
in the Government Office of the South
East working alongside Jonathan Shaw, MP.
"I am really delighted to accept this
important new role," said Laura. "The South East is an
exceptionally successful region and generates an enormous amount of
business for the British economy.
"As a South East MP for the past 11 years I
have had a great deal of involvement with our local business
community, particularly in the crucial Gatwick Diamond area, and...
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South East MPs made junior ministers after the
PrimeMinister'sreshuffle
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 Three of our region's MPs have taken up junior ministerial jobs
following Gordon Brown's reshuffle. Jonathan
Shaw, Chatham and Aylesford, moves from his position at
DEFRA to a new role at the Department of Work and Pensions as Minister for
Disabled People. He will continue in his role as Minister for the South East. Paul Clark,
Gillingham and Rainham, has been appointed as Parliamentary Under
Secretary for Transport in the Department for Transport. Paul said: “I have always said it is great honour to be
elected as a Member of Parliament, doubly so to represent my home
town. But now being asked to be a Minister...
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