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Friday 03 February 2012
Bankers' Greed under the Spotlight
The meeting noted that despite the Tory manifesto promises to curb executive excesses, the latest round of banker’s bonuses just kept coming. Last week’s announcement that the chief executive of the bailed out bank RBS was due to receive a massive bonus on top of a salary of £1.2 million annual salary beggared belief. The meeting was told that David Cameron had said he didn’t think it was right that employees should have a seat on company remuneration committees, but he did think it appropriate that shareholders be given rights to block such payments agreed by those committees. The government, which is the major shareholder in RBS and which should be demonstrating its serious intent to to tackle endemic executive high-pay, should therefore be blocking such enormous bonuses. But the government did absolutely nothing. The chairman of RBS quickly announced that he would not take up all of his option of a £1.4 million bonus. But it was not until several days later amid mounting pressure, most notably a motion tabled by the Labour opposition, as well as growing anger from the public that the CEO, Mr Hester, finally announced that he would not take up the bonus. The meeting felt that if the government is unwilling to instigate regulatory reforms, despite widespread acceptance that they are needed to ensure the country’s financial stability, then surely they have lost the right to govern us! Friday 20 January 2012 Parents oppose plans to move Nelson primary school to Brierfield – pendletoday.co.uk
Parents, governors, local councillors and concerned community members expressed their anger at the way Lancashire County Council and management at St Paul’s CE Primary School had dealt with the consultation process, and voiced their opposition to the planned move of the school to the former Mansfield High School site in Brierfield. Councillor Eileen Ansar, who sits on Pendle Council and is also chairman of Nelson Town Council, said she had only officially been told of the consultation two weeks ago, and was appalled at the lack of information from the county council. Walverden Ward councillor Julie Henderson said she lived next door to the school and had not been informed. “We have to put the kids’ safety as our number one priority, and walking to the Mansfield site for young infants is outrageous. County Councillor George Adam told the meeting a joint working group had been set up between Pendle Council and Lancashire County Council and he would be pushing to have local councillors and parents on this so they can have their say. He welcomed the creation of an action group and urged everyone to stick together in opposing the move. Azhar Ali, former Pendle Council leader and community activist, said: “If half of what we are hearing here tonight is true, the headteacher needs to be held accountable for her actions.” To read the full story visit pendletoday.co.uk Friday 20 January 2012 An evening with Stephen Twigg MP, Shadow Education Secretary.
Pendle CLP Chair, Cllr Bob Allen, said: “ I’m very pleased we have a Front Bench spokesman coming to support us and I know it will be an interesting evening. We have kept the price of tickets down to £10 for a 3-course meal to encourage as many people as possible to come along. If you have questions you want to ask on education policy please book your ticket early as I expect this event to be very popular.” For tickets contact Pendle Labour Party on (01282) 612573 or email pendle.labour@btconnect.com Vegetarians will be catered for and non-curry meals can be made available if ordered in advance. Please arrive at 7.00 for 7.30. For further information contact Azhar Ali on 07734 384 602 or Bob Allen on 07769 727 200. Saturday 14 January 2012 Barrowford Labour Party stalwart retires
The Barrowford Branch gave Douglas a gift of an engraved glass tankard and his partner Carole also shared the occasion with a present of a bunch of flowers. Sue Nike, chair of the Barrowford Branch, said “Douglas has been a real asset to both the local Labour Party and the Barrowford community for years and years. He was involved in the launching of the very successful Barrowford paper re-cycling scheme which kept many of us busy one Saturday each month for years. That was one of the first real attempts in Pendle to take action on environmental issues, long before it became mainstream. Sue added “It will be sad not to have Douglas at our monthly branch meetings at the Rising Sun in Blacko. He has a clever knack of quietly keeping us focused while contributing his individual perspective on any topic of the day. His local knowledge combined with his sharp wit often unblocked a discussion that was getting nowhere! We will all miss him.” Saturday 31 December 2011 Tory County Council abandoning Nelson
Cllr Adam said “For months now rumours have been circulating that the Centre is to be closed and many users have challenged County political bosses to come and explain their reasons but they have chose to ignore the people of Nelson. This is no surprise as the closure of this centre is yet another example of the Conservatives abandoning areas such as Nelson, in recent months we have seen the closure of:
I am angry that our Tory Councillors in Pendle are happy to sit back and watch their bosses at County Hall taking services away from Pendle, they need to wake up and challenge these stupid decisions. It’s not a Happy New year for Pendle residents Thanks to the Tories” Wednesday 21 December 2011 Tories block reconsideration of closures of waste centres
Brierfield and Nelson North Labour Councillor Mohammed Iqbal said: "This is a clear message to the 13,000 plus people who objected to this proposal that the Tories do not care about Lancashire residents. They proved that they are putting money before people by endorsing the decision to close these very well used centres. I am very angry and sad for everyone who fought against this". Thursday 15 December 2011 Challenge to Deputy Leader of Lancashire County Council to face the public in Pendle
Cllr Iqbal said "It is a dark day for the people of Lancashire when Cllr Atkinson ignores a call made by over 17,000 people to keep our recycling centres open. He has ignored the arguments and pushed ahead with his and the Tory Party's project to let the people of Lancashire down. The centre at Colne is very well used and is manned by a group of excellent employees who help elderly, disabled people to dispose of or recycle household waste" Cllr Adam added "I would invite the Scrutiny Committee and Cllr Atkinson to come to Pendle and listen to evidence direct from members of the public who are directly affected by this decision. It's a shame if the centre at Colne is allowed to close in March 2012 thanks to the Tory cuts. Where are our Tory Councillors and MP on this issue- they are very quiet” Thursday 17 November 2011 The out of touch Tories are letting young people in the North West down.
Chuka Umunna, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills during a visit to Chorley in Lancashire explains why there is a better way; Labour's five point plan for jobs. Labour's #jobsplan includes a tax on bank bonuses that would create up to 18,000 jobs for young people in the North West. Watch Chuka's LabourNorthWest YouTube video now. Then please sign Labour North West's #BankBonusTax online petition Friday 04 November 2011 Ed Miliband visits Pendle  County Councillor and Leader of Pendle Labour Group Mohammed Iqbal commenting on Ed Miliband’s visit to Daisy Communications said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the Labour Leader on his first visit to Pendle and a good opportunity for Ed Miliband to see and discuss how much this area is being neglected by Tory/Lib Dem cuts.” “He was encouraged to see local people setting up business in Pendle and prepared to invest in young people of the area who have been abandoned by this Tory/Lib Dem government.” Ed Miliband had said: “Unless we get people spending and take action to get young unemployed people back into work, we’re not actually going to get the growth we need to help manufacturing.” Tuesday 01 November 2011 Europe Vote a Distraction
In last week’s “From The House” we had Stephenson facing both ways on Europe. Europe was identified by 1% of voters as an important issue in a recent poll. Even Lord Ashcroft, the billionaire funder of the Tory party and bankroller of Stephenson’s 2010 election campaign, was furious at the Tory obsession with Europe. His comments came after last Monday’s vote. If our MP is ever going to make a meaningful contribution to the local political debate can he please concentrate on what concerns his constituents here in Pendle. I would like to know his views on the destruction of the local NHS services and on the job losses at County Hall etc. etc. Saturday 15 October 2011 ‘Hands Off’ our Community Hospital
Judging from the comments of signatories, there is considerable concern over the proposed withdrawal of services that have already been announced and the possibility that the 72 rehabilitation beds at the hospital could be axed. The obvious concern is that if these beds are axed other remaining services and clinics will also be under threat. George Adam, collecting signatures in Nelson noted that several people had remarked that it was a betrayal of the commitments given when Reedyford and Hartley Hospitals were closed. Sheryl Waterhouse, who was collecting signatures in Colne said: “People were shocked and upset that the beds, wards and services at Pendle Community Hospital are under threat and we took 291 signatures just from today! “People told us personal stories of themselves or family members that have used the hospital and think it's disgusting that its services are threatened. “I met an Irishman called Denis who not only signed the petition but bought me some red and white flowers from the market stall too!”If you believe that you can help save our community hospital, please download the petition, ask friends, relatives, neighbours and work colleagues to sign it and return to Pendle Labour Party at the above address. You can also help by by signing our online petition. Tuesday 11 October 2011 Whose Quantitative Easing? – nothing in it for Pendle
This week the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee have done a 180 degree turn in agreeing to spend £75billion of tax-payer’s money, called quantitative easing or QE2. Could it be that this vast sum of money is being used to keep the Tory government backer’s, from the financial sector, afloat when the Euro zone finally allows Greece (and others!) to default on its unpayable debt’s? This will result in banks everywhere nursing huge losses on their loans to Greece. QE2 is neither going to help the two and a half million unemployed nor the growing number of young people who cannot find a job. George Osborne sits back and waits for the stagnant business sector to grow when household spending is being cut to the bone. Increased inflation is going to hit anyone on a fixed income for years to come. Incidentally, £75billion is about twice Britain’s annual defence budget, or the same as the entire market value of BP. It would be good to know what our Tory Member of Parliament’s views are on the issue and its likely effect on Pendle. Monday, 10 October 2011 The NHS Bill Has No Mandate - Robert Oliver
"The Lords should be affronted by the slipshod way our health system is being blown apart before they can even debate it". Can we count on Lord Greaves to defend Pendle's NHS by voting to support proper scrutiny of the Health Bill this week, and not just to toe his Party line again? Polly Toynbee's article on Saturday must surely have given him pause for thought. And after all, he did call for proper debate in his motion to Pendle Council in April. Saturday 08 October 2011 Storm in a Tea Shop
The recently opened Tea Time café at 99 Gisburn Road was an attractive addition to the main shopping area of Barrowford, but has been forced to close because of the recent planning committee’s decision. The reasons for the refusal are given as “… the proposal would result in the proportion of non-shopping uses along this designated Primary Shopping Frontage being above 25%.” Planning Policy 26 encourages retail centres by aiming to limit non-retail space to 25%. John Pope, Chair of Barrowford Parish Council said: “The fact is that changing the former Travel Agent into a café would have increased the non-retail space on the west side of Gisburn Road from 26% to 36%. But if you take into account both sides of the road the overall proportion is only 18% with the new café included. “To make the decision even more questionable is the fact that Barnoldswick already has a stretch of primary shops where 33% are non-retail. “The Parish Council discussed the issue at last Wednesday’s meeting and were left wondering, who is pulling the strings. In these difficult economic times it seems any business that is willing to try something new and innovative should be encouraged, especially as Barrowford is putting effort into encouraging visitors to the village and persuading locals to ‘shop local’.” It appears that the decision by the Development Management Committee was proposed by Lib Dem Cllr John David and seconded by the council leader, Tory Mike Blomeley. It was passed by 4 votes to 3. It just happens that Cllr David is one of Pendle Council’s representatives on the Heritage Trust for the North West’s board, which runs the Pendle Heritage Centre and its café! The question being raised with this ‘storm in a tea shop’ is, are the elected councillors being allowed to use their ‘common sense’ to arrive at decisions that are best for the community of Pendle, or, are they being persuaded to implement policy based on rigid percentages, by the council’s officers? Thursday 06 October 2011 Pendle Community Hospital Closure Threat
Cllr George Adam said “I have been approached by a number of concerned patients/staff of the hospital that there are plans to close it down next year. I am furious at this back-door style of management and demand an urgent public assurance that Pendle’s only hospital will remain open to people”. Cllr Iqbal added “Only a few months ago, I asked the question over the future of the hospital and was told there were no plans to close it but I am concerned that people across Pendle are being isolated in terms of healthcare provision. We all remember the previous Tory government closing down Reedyford,Marsden,Victoria and Hartley hospitals all of which were Community based. It seems that this Tory/Liberal government want to continue the axing policy of their predecessors”. Thursday 22 September 2011 Letter to Leader Times - Boundary Re-organisation  Dear Sir, It really is a bit rich for Pendle’s MP to be complaining about the proposed new constituency boundary for Pendle. It was his government that set up the constituency reduction in the name of less costly and fairer democracy, and I don’t remember any complaints from him at the time he voted for it in Parliament last year (along with Lord Greaves). Voices inside and outside Parliament warned that such a large reduction in the number of seats, combined with a very narrow margin of 5% above or below the new standard number of electors per seat, would lead to a break-up of geographical and local authority links. But little notice was taken. Given these limitations, the Boundary Commission has made the best of a very bad job, and if West Craven is to move into Ribble Valley constituency it is quite clear where the real blame lies. Dozens of other constituencies have had to be lumbered with similar problems. But to my mind there is an equally bad consequence of this boundary re-organisation : until it is complete, opposition parties in constituencies up and down the country are being prevented from even beginning to select their next Parliamentary candidates. You can hardly expect people to put their names forward until they know whether a constituency is still going to exist, and, if it does, what its geography is and therefore how winnable it might be. Our current MP of course had a well-financed three years and more before the last General Election in which to get himself known in the Pendle constituency. But the new constituency boundaries for the next General Election, which cannot be later than May 2015, will not become law until late 2013. So new candidates in Pendle will get only 18 months at best, and quite possibly a lot less, giving the incumbent MP a further advantage. Hardly very fair and democratic. Cynics have put it to me that our MP’s complaints stem more from a fear that his majority might disappear in the proposed Pendle & Burnley North seat, rather than from his love of overlapping local authority and constituency boundaries. I would find it hard to ascribe such low motives to an Honourable Member. But I think we should be told. Robert Oliver Pendle CLP Wednesday 14 September 2011 All change for the Pendle Parliamentary Constituency?
Under the proposals instigated by the coalition government Nelson, Colne, Brierfield, Barrowford and the wards of Blacko & Higherford, Foulridge, Higham & Pendleside and Old Laund Booth will be joined with the Briercliffe, Lanehead, Daneshouse with Stoneyholme, Queensgate and Bank Hall wards from Burnley to form a new constituency of Burnley North and Nelson, with an estimated 74,989 voters. The West Craven wards of Coates, Craven and Earby would become part of a new Ribble Valley constituency stretching from the Forest of Bowland in the north to the outskirts of Preston in the south, with an estimated 73,653 voters. These changes would not reshape the existing borough councils, but will inevitably lead to confusion in understanding the relationship of local government areas of operation with parliamentary constituencies. The plans will now go out for public consultation for three months and revised proposals may be brought forward in 12 months time. Monday 25 July 2011 Pendle Labour Party members send their condolences to the people of Norway  The response of the Norwegian people has been humbling – a poignant contrast to those who so quickly and hysterically sought to blame Muslims for this act of extremist terror. Instead of vengeance, the Prime Minister of Norway called for more democracy, asserting that their values would not be shaken by the politics of hate made so violently real. "Hope not Hate" have opened a book of condolences to the Norwegian people. Tuesday 19 July 2011 Colne Waste Recycling Centre - you can help to keep it open  Labour Party members in Colne are urging all Pendle residents to become active in campaigning to keep the Colne centre open. You can help by printing out the petition and collecting signatures and also writing to Lancashire County Council using the model letter as a guide. Even easier, please sign our online petition Tuesday 05 July 2011 Plans for Nelson school get go ahead - Lancashire Evening Telegraph
But following the site visit councillors unanimously voted to give plans for Whitefield Primary School the green light. County Coun George Adam said the community wanted the school to be built. He said: “This school is the heart of the community, the children want it, the parents want it and Pendle Borough Council want it. “It does complement the regeneration that has already happened and those that went on the site visit saw the boarded-up terraced houses, which have been boarded up for donkeys years, and because of the Elevate funding being withdrawn it might be donkeys years again before these houses can be made good.” Plans for the £3.5million school were first unveiled in 2009 but faced delays after English Heritage and the Heritage Trust for the North West objected to the demolition work. Both eventually withdrew their objections before the application went before the council. Monday 04 July 2011 Labour councillors push for action on Social Care cuts and Police Station closures in Pendle  At Thursday night’s Pendle Council meeting (30 June) newly elected Reedley councillor Bob Allen succeeded in getting cross-party support for his motion on Lancashire County Council’s cuts to Social Care. Speaking after the meeting, Bob Allen said “I was pleased that the Council backed my view that these are unacceptable cuts to some of the most vulnerable people in our community. The County Council is proposing to remove all care support for older people, people with physical difficulty, people with learning disability, and people with mental health problems assessed with moderate needs.” “They also appear to be proposing to reduce the care support for vulnerable people with substantial or critical needs (by reducing formal support from 100% to 70% and looking for unspecified ‘community capacity’ to fill the gap in provision) to meet the balance of its cuts.” “My motion, which was passed with some amendments, instructs Pendle’s Chief Executive to write to Lancashire County Council to express this view and seek that they reconsider these damaging cuts.” Police station cutbacks At the same meeting Labour’s Councillor for Brierfield, Naeem Ashraf, spoke against the proposal by Lancashire Constabulary to close the front desk of Brierfield Police Station. Cllr Ashraf said “This will be sending entirely the wrong message about policing in Brierfield if it goes through. I know that the Constabulary have to find a horrendous £42 million of cuts as a result of the Government’s so-called austerity measures, but effectively closing a station that was only opened a few years ago can’t be the right way.” “I was happy to combine my motion with a similar Lib Dem one calling on the Chief Constable and a member of Lancashire’s Police Authority to attend a special meeting of the council to listen to the concerns of councillors and local residents.” “We are also calling on local MP Andrew Stephenson to support Pendle people, and not the Tory party for once, by voting against the introduction of elected Police Commissioners. Nobody wants them and setting them up will waste over £100 million of money that should be going into policing.” Monday 04 July 2011 Pendle Council supports Taekwondo Star
Thirteen year old Aneila from Nelson, is a student at Pendle Vale School. She has just become British taekwondo champion in the under 49kg category which she won at the Velodrome, Manchester. Her success is increasing her chances of competing in the Olympic games in London 2012. Aneila started Taekwondo at the age of six, and now, just seven years later she’s going to European tournaments. Aneila will be competing in London in July, Dublin in October, Germany in December and Holland in February. She said: “Taekwondo’s not about fighting, it’s really fast and I like the adrenaline.” Her mother, Janat Afsar said: “I wanted to get her involved because she was quite quiet and shy. “I’d like her success to bring more people, especially girls, to the sport.”Sunday 05 June 2011 One year on Andrew Stephenson 'buries' the Burnley Children’s Ward and A&E.
One notable change is the removal of a page posted on 11th April 2010 which carried a message, that he was currently leading the campaign to stop NHS bosses closing down our Children's Ward in Burnley and was continuing to fight against the closure of the A&E service also at Burnley. The future of the Children’s Ward and A&E were key campaigning issues for both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in both Pendle and Burnley in the lead up to the 2010 General Election. Andrew Lansley the current embattled Secretary of State for Health and Nick Clegg the current hapless Deputy Prime Minister visited the area during that election campaign. Both gave reassuring words about returning/retaining those services at Burnley. The reality is that the expectations that they raised amongst local people have been shattered. So far, it appears that it was a shabby electioneering sham. The situation has been exacerbated by the news that plans to build a multi-million-pound mental health hospital in Hapton have been axed by health bosses to save cash and instead facilities will be extended at Blackburn. All of these cutbacks in services for Burnley and Pendle do not augur well for the future of hospital facilities locally. There is no mention on Andrew Stephenson’s new website about him campaigning for the Children’s Ward, the return of A&E or the mental health facility. Perhaps he has a different understanding of his stated belief “Andrew believes the most important role of an MP is to represent their constituents and to work hard to resolve local problems”, than we have. It is time that he put his own future prospects to one side and stood up for the people of Pendle by holding Lansley and Clegg to account. Page from Andrew Stephenson's old web site (PDF 110KB) Archived Items (local items removed from this page) |
