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Email from Celia Barlow MP

Posted by Celia Barlow, MP for Hove, at 11:54, Wed 1 February 2006:

MP takes bike campaign to the Commons

Southern decision to ban cycles to be considered by Transport Secretary

In Business Questions today, Celia Barlow MP has called for a Commons debate about Southern’s ban on bicycles on their trains on peak-hours. She urged the Leader of the House, Geoff Hoon MP to make time for a debate on the measure, which came into force on Monday. The Minister promised to bring the matter to the attention of Transport Secretary Alistair Darling MP.

In her question, Celia Barlow MP said that Southern’s decision was particularly ironic in view of the Department of Transport’s decision to make the City of Brighton and Hove a “Cycling England Town”, with a total of £1.5m in funding for better cycling facilities over the next three years.

Geoff Hoon MP replied that he would raise the matter with the Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling MP, as he knew that his colleague was enthusiastic about cycling

Last Monday morning, Celia Barlow had joined a meeting of cyclists at Brighton Station, urging Southern to rethink their policy.

Celia Barlow MP said: “I will continue to lobby Southern and the Government to lift the ban on bicycles. This unwelcome decision is unfriendly both to the environment and train customers in Brighton and Hove.”

School league table success

Celia Barlow praises Blatchington Mill’s top performance Celia Barlow MP has congratulated teachers and pupils of Blatchington Mill School in Hove on their recent success in the school league tables. The school was listed amongst the top quarter of schools nationally. Celia Barlow MP has written to head teacher Neil Hunter to pass on her good wishes to the school.

In her letter, the Hove MP congratulated staff, students and governors for their hard work. She wrote: “This excellent result shows that their hard work over the years has elevated Blatchington Mill to one of the top schools nationally and that the extra resources put into new buildings locally have made a substantial difference.”

Chancellor praises MP’s work

Gordon Brown MP, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has commended Celia Barlow MP on her work on international development. In Treasury question time today, the Chancellor said that the Hove MP had done “a great deal to make people more aware of international development” in her constituency.

Celia Barlow had asked the Chancellor if he would make a statement on proposals for debt relief for poor countries to be discussed under Russia's Presidency of the G8 this year. He replied that international development was still very high on the British agenda.

Since her election in May 2005, Celia Barlow MP has taken several opportunities to lobby the Government on international development issues. She has raised the subject in parliamentary debates and meetings with Ministers from the Treasury and the Department for International Development. The MP for Hove and Portslade is also in a constant dialogue with constituents on development issues via letters, her website and parliamentary newsletters.

For all the lost generations

Celia Barlow joins Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations Celia Barlow MP joined thousands of people across the country to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day last Friday. The MP for Hove and Portslade attended a workshop with school children from all over Brighton and Hove at the Duke of York Cinema in Brighton. City Mayor Bob Carden was also present at the workshop, which included the screening of the film “Hiding from Hitler” and a question and answer session with Holocaust survivor Janina Fischler Martinho. In Westminster, Celia Barlow signed the Holocaust Educational Trust’s “Book of Commitment” the Holocaust Memorial Day Book of Commitment to honour the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust and pay tribute to the bravery of those who risked their lives to help the persecuted. The Hove MP wrote, “For all the lost generations we must never forget”.

Celia Barlow MP said: “We must never forget the horrors of the Holocaust. Remembering the evil of fascism from the past compels us to fight racism and anti-Semitism today. We all have an obligation and role in combating bias and hate and Holocaust Memorial Day is one important way to confront it.”

Local MP pledges to tackle climate change in 2006

In light of the government’s new climate report, Celia Barlow MP for Hove has renewed her promises to support a campaign to halt climate change. Her pledge is in response to lobbying from local people – and the news that 2005 was the warmest year in the Northern Hemisphere since records began.

As a member of the Environmental Audit Committee, Celia Barlow MP has received over 60 postcards, emails and letters asking her to support the Climate Change Bill, which would set a legal framework requiring future governments to cut carbon dioxide emissions every year. Carbon dioxide is the main “greenhouse” gas responsible for climate change as it traps in the heat of the earth’s atmosphere just as glass traps in the heat of a greenhouse. Burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, causing the climate to warm up.

Locals have been lobbying Celia Barlow with the help of Friends of the Earth who have launched the Big Ask campaign to push for the Climate Change Bill to become law. Over 300 MPs of all parties are supporting the campaign.

Government experts have warned that unless we take action to stop climate change we face:-

* Increased flooding and storms – the cost of repairing the damage from extreme weather events and floods in the UK has increased by 60 per cent since 1998. * Sea levels could rise by as much as 86cm (almost 3 feet) by 2080, and by 7m over the next 1000 years. * The heaviest winter rainstorms, that currently take place around once every two years, are expected to increase in intensity by between 5 and 20 per cent.

Celia Barlow MP said: “I am delighted so many constituents have lobbied me on climate change. Scientists tell us we have to cut our fossil fuel use dramatically if we are not to cause terrible problems with our climate.

This problem must be a priority for every government, of every party, for at least the next 50 years. We cannot sit back and hope someone will solve it sometime in the future. I am supporting this campaign because it sets up a framework to make sure all governments tackle the problem by making the 3 per cent cut in emissions every year. It is essential for us to stop dangerous climate change.”