My blog on Labour Party Conference
Posted by Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, at 09:52, Fri 27 September 2013:
I’m back from one of my busiest Labour party conferences ever - with a terrible cold. Brighton was beautiful, the sun shone and the sea looked lovely, but clearly I should have spent more time outside in the sea air!
But there was so much going on inside, I didn’t want to miss a moment. Announcement followed announcement of policies that Labour would introduce to help millions of people around the country facing a crisis in the daily cost of living. Probably the most eye catching announcement was the freeze on energy bills until 2017. With winter just round the corner, I know what a worry these bills are for people in Stretford and Urmston, so this pledge is really important. If you’d like to know how much of a difference Labour’s energy price freeze could make to your household bills, try out our online calculator at http://labour.org.uk/energy.
Predictably, the big energy companies complained at once, saying they wouldn’t be able to afford to invest, their profits would collapse. But when have we ever known business NOT to complain when laws are introduced that affect their interests? From the abolition of slavery to maternity leave to the minimum wage to this week’s announcement, this is familiar ground.
It’s time these business millionaires realised Ed Miliband is dead serious about a new, responsible capitalism. The energy companies make millions in profits; it’s time to hand something back. Meantime, families need help right now - this winter will be tough. So Labour is calling on David Cameron to freeze energy prices straight away. You can sign our online petition to ask him to do that at www.labour.org.uk/freeze-that-bill.
But it wasn’t just help with energy bills that Labour announced this week. For young families, the cost of childcare’s another big financial headache.
So Labour would increase the hours of free childcare available for 3 and 4 year olds to 25 hours a week. And to help parents who start work early, or get home a bit later, we’d also require every school to be open with breakfast clubs and after school activities from 8am – 6 pm.
Cutting the costs is one side of the bargain. But we also need to improve household incomes. Labour wants to see increases in wages too. In 38 of the 39 months since David Cameron became Prime Minister, prices have gone up faster than wages. Working people know that’s simply not sustainable, but the government’s not done a thing.
So Ed Miliband announced Labour would increase the value of the minimum wage. Since 2010, it’s lost 5% of its real value, and that’s something we’d put right. What’s more, Labour believes that some industries in particular could pay a bit more, with only a negligible effect on their profits, and we’re looking in detail at how that could work.
There were plenty of other good announcements, about travel costs, about jobs, about new measures to tackle hate crime, and Andy Burnham reiterated our commitment to reverse the government’s wholesale privatisation of the NHS.
But for me, some of the most important announcements this week were in relation to housing.
Again and again at my surgery, I meet young families desperate for a decent home. Too often, they’re trapped in cramped conditions, raising children in damp flats with no gardens, stuck on the housing waiting list for years and years. But there’s nowhere in Trafford to move to.
Labour will deal with this crisis. We’d build 200,000 houses every year - a million new homes across the country under Labour. That’s really good news for families desperate for a house, and great news for people looking for work – thousands of new jobs will be created.
And I was really delighted that Labour’s also committed to scrapping the hated bedroom tax.
People say the parties are all the same. But when I listened to Ed Miliand's speech to the conference this week, I knew Cameron could never have given it. And when I look at the policies we’ve announced this week, I know only Labour could deliver this ambitious programme; it’s only Labour that stands up for the whole nation.
Best wishes Kate
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Posted by Mr Clive Gibson, 10:28, Fri 27 September 2013: (Is this post abusive?) #
Please Kate, price control of energy like the abolition of slavery!!!!Despite the predictable right wing hysteria a price freeze is hardly a radical socialist measure, re-nationalisation, that would be! Ed is a nice middle class liberal without a socialist bone in his body. The underlying problem, exploitation for private gain via bogus 'market' structures of what should be commonly owned resources will remain and Ed wouldn't dream of doing anything to change it.
Posted by Maureen Ryan, 10:17, Sat 28 September 2013: (Is this post abusive?) #
I honestly think freezing energy prices is a not a realistic thing.
But I am pleased to see the announcements re childcare, breakfast and after school activities and particularly re an increase in the minimum wage.
Although this doesn't affect me personally, I have always thought the minimum wage was unrealistic and really do not agree with the minimum wage being different depending on age. If you do a job you should get paid for that job regardless of how old you are. I would like to know if Labour propose addressing that issue or if the different levels of minimum wage would remain the same.
The building of 200,000 houses every year sounds excellent, but where is the money coming from? Will these homes be split between private and public sector, joint ownership offered etc?
Posted by Maureen Ryan, 10:28, Sat 28 September 2013: (Is this post abusive?) #
Promising things that are simply not feasible and end up being reversed is not the way to go. This has happened with the Government we have now and they have been made to look ridiculous and their credibility has been greatly reduced.
Council houses should never have been sold off, these were built as homes for people who could not afford to buy on the open market. If you can afford to buy you should do so and vacate that Council home for someone who really needs it. To my mind that is a matter that should be addressed but I don't think Labour will do that. The bedroom tax didn't work as it wasn't thought through ie there weren't in particular enough 1 bedroom homes to move anyone to. Therefore it was unworkable and unfair to many disabled people and rightly should be abolished. But, I could see the sense behind it.
Posted by JANICE FLANAGAN, 16:47, Mon 30 September 2013: (Is this post abusive?) #
Im so glad to see Ed Miliband is taking the reigns and showing exactly what this Nation actually needs to bring us totally out of recession. So far the poor to middle classes (MORE POOR) have suffered from the Tories savage cuts and the Welfare Reforms have hit many people really hard...the disabled have to find jobs that frankly don't exist....and how do they get to work without suitable transport and reliable employers who wish to take them on in the first place?? Oh let me think ...yeah let's take away the age old Contract of Employment and replace it with b"Zero Hours"!!!??? Three hours a week of employment is better than none... who thought up that crazy idea?? . Basically no job in this country is safe!! Watch this space. The energy companies need to put people before profits and free child care for all. Let's get our priorities right...!!! Janice Flanagan Mrs