Lancaster Labour Party

Local Parliamentary candidate Cat Smith has today called for support for parliamentary moves to enshrine Britain’s commitment to the rest of the world in law.

On Friday September 12 MPs will vote on legislation to enshrine the UK’s promise to donate 0.7% of our Gross National Income in international aid – in line with promises made over 40 years ago.

Cat Smith said,

“Partly thanks to UK aid, global development has been a tremendous success over the last two decades – poverty has halved, more than nine in ten now receive a primary education and 17,000 fewer children die each day.

“But there is much more to do – this generation has the power to eliminate aid dependency for good. We could enable a billion people to lift themselves out of poverty and prevent half a million a year from dying on their first day.

“British aid makes a huge difference to millions – we should be proud of what our generosity can do for those in need and what it says about us as a country.”

Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for International Development Jim Murphy said,

“The Labour party has been demanding that Ministers keep their promise to legislate on 0.7% for years. It was a Labour government that put this country on the road to fulfilling that historic commitment, it was Labour whose pledge to legislate forced the other two parties to follow suit, and it is Labour that has shouted loud and most often about this government’s failure to do so.

“Labour will do everything we can to ensure that this Bill becomes a law. We know that some Tory backbenchers will do everything they can to hold us back, but whatever they do, the Labour party will not turn our back on those in need.”

The House of Commons will vote on legislation to enshrine the UK’s commitment to donate 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) in Official Development Assistance  (ODA) on Friday 12 September.

Between 1997 and 2010 Labour:

• Helped lift 3 million people out of poverty each year.
• Helped to get some 40 million more children into school.
• Improved water or sanitation services for over 1.5 million people.

Households in the Lancaster district have lost nearly six times as much council funding as those in the ten most well off areas of the country, new figures show.

Cat Smith, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood, is calling for a fairer funding deal after the figures revealed that households in the Lancaster district have each lost an average of £286.31 in Government funding since the Tory-led Coalition Government came to power in 2010.

The ten least deprived areas in the country lost an average of just £48.35 per household.

And 13 councils, all in the south, have enjoyed increases in average funding per household.  The Isles of Scilly receive an extra £80.11 per household, while households in Epsom and Ewell district in Surrey get an extra £61.43 per household.

The figures come after Lancaster City Council lost £1.7m in Government funding – nearly 14% of its total – for 2014/15.  Between April 2010 and April 2014 the number of staff employed by the council fell from 955 to 791 – by 17% - amid the budget cuts.  Spending on services is likely to have to be cut by another £2.5m over the next two years as the Coalition’s cuts continue to bite.

Ms Smith said: “David Cameron told people in this country ‘We are all in it together’ but these figures again show that nothing could be further from the truth.

“It is a scandal that spending has increased in households in more affluent areas while some areas of real deprivation have lost as much as £1,000 per household.

“Lancaster has not lost quite that much but £286 is still a significant amount, especially for an area in the top half of the table for deprivation in which some people are really struggling.

“People understand that touch choices have to made following the recession but they have a right to expect that these choices will be fair and Labour will ensure a fairer deal for everyone.

“We will devolve £30 billion in Government funding to local councils and enterprise partnerships - giving them more powers to help local people and invest in things that really matter like skills for young people, apprenticeships, health and social care, new homes and transport.”

Labour's general election candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood, Cat Smith, visited the Royal Mail mail centre in Preston which serves North Lancashire and South Cumbria, including Lancaster and Fleetwood. During the visit she spoke with staff working at the site about the challenges they are facing as a business as well as meeting with shop-floor staff and representatives from the Communications Workers Union.

Proposals which could allow American healthcare companies bid for contracts to run NHS services at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI) and Fleetwood Hospital have been given the thumbs-down by local residents.

Nearly three quarters of people surveyed in the Lancaster and Fleetwood parliamentary constituency said the NHS should be excluded from a new EU-US trade agreement.

The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) aims to make trade between Europe and the United States easier.

But if the NHS is included as part of the deal, private healthcare companies in the US would be guaranteed the right to bid to run NHS services.  If a future UK government tried to stop the practice, US healthcare firms could then take legal action due to the lost business opportunities.

The polling company Survation asked people in Lancaster and Fleetwood for their views during a telephone survey.

More than 71 per cent of people surveyed said Prime Minister David Cameron should exclude the NHS from TTIP, while little more than 7 per cent supported its inclusion.  Just over 21 per cent of people said they weren’t sure.

Cat Smith, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood, who has been campaigning with Keep Our NHS Public against the privatisation of pharmacy services at the RLI, said: “People in Lancaster and Fleetwood are sending a clear message to David Cameron that he should put the safety of local patients ahead of fat profits for trans-Atlantic multinationals.

“The Tory-led Coalition’s Health and Social Care Act is already putting our precious NHS at risk by allowing private companies to compete for contracts.

“Including the NHS in TTIP could make this situation even worse.  Imagine a company boss in California or a manager in Massachusetts being accountable for local health services here in Lancaster and Fleetwood.

“The Prime Minister needs to make a clear commitment to excluding the NHS from this deal and re-think his Government’s damaging health reforms.”

The telephone survey involved 202 people chosen at random.

Cat Smith is asking people in Lancaster and Fleetwood to join her in turning their lights out on the evening of 4th August to mark 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War.

The Lights Out campaign invites people across the country to switch off their lights between 10pm and 11pm on 4 August and light a single candle in a shared moment of national reflection.

The moment will mark precisely a century since Britain declared war on Germany and formally entered the First World War at 11pm on 4 August 1914.

The campaign is inspired by the words of the then Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, who famously remarked on the outbreak of the war: 'The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.'

Millions of people across the UK are expected to take part in Lights Out, which will see hundreds of public buildings and iconic landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge and Blackpool Illuminations also turning out their lights.

The project is being organised by 14-18 NOW, the official cultural programme for the First World War Centenary Commemorations, with particular support from the Royal British Legion.

Cat Smith, Labour's parliamentary candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood said:

"The First World War was a conflict that changed Britain forever. It touched every family, affected every community and fundamentally altered our country's place in the world

"The centenary anniversary is a unique opportunity for us to commemorate those who served and sacrificed for us on the frontline and the home front, and to think about the profound impact the war had on our society. 

"I hope people across Lancaster and Fleetwood will join me in taking part in the Lights Out campaign and turn out their lights between 10pm and 11pm on 4 August. With the busy lives we lead today, the simple act of pausing, switching off the lights and lighting a candle will be a very powerful tribute."

Fears that the founding values of the NHS are under “the worst ever attack” were raised during a public meeting into plans to privatise pharmacy services at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

Cat Smith, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood issued the warning during Wednesday evening’s No Health Sell Off meeting at Lancaster Town Hall.

Earlier that day campaigners handed in a petition of more than 9,000 signatures opposing the pharmacy sell-off to John Hutton, acting chair of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.

At the meeting, Ms Smith was joined in raising concerns over the pharmacy proposals by fellow speakers, Eugene Doherty, president of the Lancaster and Morecambe Trades Council and Dr David Wrigley of the Ash Trees Surgery in Carnforth.

More than 80 people in the audience were urged to write to their local Conservative MPs Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) and David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) to oppose the privatisation of the pharmacy services.  Both were invited to the meeting but did not attend.

Ms Smith said: “Learning that the trust was taking expressions of interest from private companies to run pharmacy services was a wake-up call for us here across Morecambe Bay.

“Since the introduction of this government’s Health and Social Care Act, the number of NHS contracts awarded to non-NHS providers has more than trebled. This leaves the future of our NHS in the hands of companies whose main objective is making profit for shareholders, rather than the provision of quality healthcare which is free at the point of use.”

Ms Smith said the NHS was “in the grips of a silent sell off”.

She added: “Its founding values are under the worst ever attack.  Sixty five years ago our parents, grandparents and great grandparents stood together to make sure that no person would ever be denied good healthcare, on the grounds of wealth.

“Now, the Labour movement’s greatest social achievement is facing extinction.”

Ms Smith told how the hospital trust’s advert for the contract had stated that a “key business driver” for the sale was VAT savings due to a loophole which means that while the NHS has to pay 20% VAT on drug dispensing, private companies do not.

A campaign day held in Lancaster city centre at the end of last month revealed huge public opposition to the £25m pharmacy services sell-off, which also affects Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal and Furness General Hospital in Barrow.  More than 800 people signed  the petition on that day alone.

Cat Smith, Labour’s candidate for MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, has backed Labour plans for a better deal for those renting their homes privately.

In an Opposition Day debate in the House of Commons forced by Labour earlier last week, Labour called on the Government to stand up for generation rent by backing Labour’s reform plans in a vote in Parliament.

Eric Ollerenshaw, Tory MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, failed to back Labour’s reforms to the private rented sector to give the nine million people who rent greater stability and certainty by legislating for three year tenancies with a ceiling on rent increases and making renting more affordable by banning letting agent fees charged to tenants.

The next Labour government will act to ban letting agents’ fees for tenants, and will legislate to make three year tenancies with predictable rents the standard in the private rented sector to give people who rent the certainty they need.

Labour has also committed to getting 200,000 built a year by 2020 so that more families can fulfil their dream of home ownership.

Cat Smith said:

“Families who are renting in Lancaster and Fleetwood are often worried about the prospect that their rent could jump up by a big amount from one year to the next. Having rented here for many years myself, I know they want to be able to settle down, put down roots and have peace of mind.

“While the Tory-led Government refuses to act, a Labour Government will give families the security of a longer tenancy and predictable rents to stop excessive rises so that they can manage tight family finances and plan ahead.

“If you buy your home, most estate agents will not charge you fees, but people who rent are given no protection and they get charged £350 on average. That’s a lot of money for a lot of people and that’s why Labour will legislate to ban these rip-off charges by letting agents.”

Nearly 600 households in the Lancaster district and 400 people in Wyre have been hit by the Government’s Bedroom Tax, new figures show.

The figures, released on the first anniversary of the introduction of the charge, show that 581 households in Lancaster were affected by the tax between May and November last year, with 416 impacted in Wyre.

Yet a recent BBC survey suggested that just six per cent of those affected in the UK had been able to downsize to a smaller home.

Cat Smith, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood, said: “Labour has already pledged to scrap this cruel and unfair tax if we win the next General Election.

“The Bedroom Tax hits vulnerable people in the Lancaster district, some of whom are already really struggling to make ends meet and the Government’s own figures show that two-thirds of people affected nationally are disabled."

“The Conservative-led Government has known all along that there were not enough smaller homes for people to move to - its figures for how much the Bedroom Tax would raise were based upon people being hit by the tax and show it was always intended for use as a cash cow.

“But worse still, last month’s Budget shows the housing benefits bill is rising and will cost £1 billion more than thought over the next five years as people are forced to move to more expensive private rented homes by the Bedroom Tax and the shortage of affordable housing.”

Ms Smith added that Labour would fund its move to scrap the Bedroom Tax by reversing the Government’s recent tax cut for hedge funds and a shares for rights scheme which has opened up a tax loophole meaning lost revenue of £1 billion.

Separate constituency figures for Lancaster and Fleetwood show the number of households affected by the Bedroom Tax stood at 538 in May 2013.

By November 2013 that figure had reduced to just 460, suggesting few of those hit by the tax have been able to move house.

The proposals, which would see spending power transferred from central government to city and county regions, will be rolled out by the Labour Party if it wins the next General Election.

Labour leader Ed Miliband is writing to the leaders of Lancaster City Council, Wyre Borough Council, Lancashire County Council, the University of Central Lancashire, Lancaster University, the University of Cumbria and the Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership to outline the ambitious plans.

They will be asked to draw up joint plans to boost growth and private sector jobs in their regions and those that bring together proposals in the first nine months of the next Labour government will receive a devolution deal.

Cat Smith, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood, said: “This idea is a win-win for people in Lancaster and Fleetwood.

“It will mean important decisions about things like jobs, the economy, housing and transport are made more locally and if elected I will fight hard to ensure North Lancashire gets a fairer share of investment.

“The long arm of central government has exercised control over decisions and investment for too long and while the Tory-led Coalition claims it is creating new private sector jobs, nearly 80 per cent of them have been in London.

“The divide between the North and South is growing under the Coalition and many people in Lancaster and Fleetwood are worse off - but decisive action like that proposed by Ed Miliband today would help to reverse this worrying trend.”

Under the plans more than £4 billion a year in central government spending would be devolved to city and county regions which cross existing council boundaries.

That is double the amount proposed by the Coalition, which scrapped Labour’s Regional Development Agencies.

The funding will help pay for new homes, transport infrastructure, as well as skills training and help for people looking for work.

A combined transport authority, similar to Transport for London, would be set up in each area to take control of some transport operations and manage fares and revenue.