For the Many Not The

The Sedgefield C.L.P. Newsletter

February 2020 ISSUE 22

FROM THE CHAIR, PAUL DALY

The leadership election is in full swing. Obviously the outcome will influence our future as a Party and the direction we take. But For it should not define us. I look around our Party and I see leaders everywhere. Community the leaders, Union leaders, business leaders, academic leaders. For me the important thing is to recognise the value of all of these people many and to have them work towards a common goal. Society, at the moment, seems to be out for a ‘gotcha’ moment. So many want to see people fail. I want us to succeed, both as a Party and a nation. not Whichever candidate is successful, I would like to see them reach out to our huge membership, valuing us and bringing the best out the of us. Members are our greatest strength, linking us to each and every community in the country. We are the key to winning the trust of voters by battling for the best for our community. few With the leadership election coming so quickly, the period of reflection that many of us said was so important seems to have passed us by. During this time, my feelings are that we do what we do best. Work hard in our communities. Show people that we are not in the political world for our own personal gain but to try to make our towns and villages better places. In short, to help. I was delighted to visit Trimdon Station Community Centre this week where our Vice Chair, Chris Varty, was delivering a ‘Baby Save a Life’ session. What could be more important than teaching people how to save lives? Knowing Chris, she will be embarrassed by my mentioning this and she will not take credit for the great things she does. There are many people in our local Party who do similar good works. When we sees Tories taking credit for things that are nothing to do with them, I sometimes feel that we should take at least a little bit of credit for the things we do. Speaking of Tories, it has been an interesting couple of weeks. Our Tory MP has not, as he said he would, resigned from either Durham County Council or Darlington Borough Council, and says that he is putting in ten hours a month into each of these roles whilst fluffing his ego by giving his allowance to, as yet, undisclosed charities. Neither of the Tory Councillors in his Aycliffe North and Middridge Ward have shown a fraction of the commitment to the residents that their Labour Councillor, John D Clare, has done for years. I think people in this Ward deserve to have the money from the unearned allowance spent in their community. The idea that the duties of a County Councillor can be done in ten hours a month is, frankly, disgraceful. It seems it will have been five months since the election before Mr Howell finally allows a by-election to take place. Not good enough. Following the election, I have been criticised by some individuals for not "giving the new MPs a chance … They have only had a couple of months". I have also been told that Labour should shut up and go away: "The people have spoken!" I have absolutely no intention of going away. I have no problem with giving people a chance. I will judge our new MPs by their actions. So far they have voted against fair funding for Durham County Council in favour of more affluent areas, and against two thousand new Community Police Officers. Our MP has accused the CLP of "smears" for pointing out his multiple roles and his reneging on election promises. What is more, the new MP from Bishop Auckland has been photographed looking very cosy with some well known local fascists, one of whom celebrated Adolf Hitler's birthday. All she could say is she "in no way condones their views". How hard is it to condemn Nazis. Is this where we are? For the avoidance of any doubt I unequivocally condemn Nazis, Holocaust deniers, fascists, eugenicists and racists. I always thought this was just the done thing, but it seems that Conservative MPs and our Prime Minister have had problems with doing so. Let's call on them to do the right thing, to condemn Nazis, regardless of how many leaflets they delivered for you during the election. If they do that, maybe I can have a few days off from being so critical.

POWER WITHOUT PRINCIPLE CLP Chair Paul Daly reflects on the conundrum facing the Party

Recently there has been a suggestion from within our Party that there is no point having principles without power.

Of course the whole point of the Labour Party is to have the power to change people’s lives for the better– to create a better country and in turn a better world. But this very statement reveals the preposterous nature of the statement “What is the point in principles without power”. The only point in us wanting to achieve power is to enact our principles – the principles of fairness for all, giving a voice to our communities and, indeed, democratic socialism.

It may seem to some that the Conservatives have power without principle. But they do have principles. Rightly or wrongly, they believe in the market, At the Labour Party Conference in that the market will solve all of our problems – that the market knows best. 2015, BBC Daily Politics reporter Adam Fleming used a plastic bins and If a business fails, it was not good enough. It is survival of the fittest. Globally balls to put this questions to Labour this means that if the Chinese dump steel in the UK, pricing our members. manufacturers out of the market, this is simply the way of the world. British You can hear what the delegates had business does not deserve support through this temporary problem. Our to say here. steelworks can close. The market knows best. It is not the government's job to support UK business. Equally, the Conservatives believe that while the state should subsidise networks such as rail, our people cannot possibly run them. They must be run for profit by private firms, or increasingly, other country's governments. The market knows best. Until, of course, it does not. Then the government will step in and run the franchise until another profiteer can be found.

We also saw many within our movement stick rigidly to their principles over Brexit. Our own former MP was willing to put his seat on the line over what he believed in. These were his principles, and while I personally thought that Labour achieving power was more important than holding a second referendum and fought primarily for this outcome, he was perfectly entitled to stick to his own principles and accept the consequences of doing so.

So when it comes to achieving power, far from asking what the point of principles without power is, we should be asking: “What is the point in achieving power without principles.” We have all joined the Labour Party on a point of principle. Our principles will vary, but largely we agree that we must stand up for our communities, distribute wealth fairly, clamp down on the excesses of the market that damage our industry and in turn our people and environment, and work together for a just environmental and foreign policy that protects our own people and their jobs.

Our solution to achieving power is not to throw away what we believe in, but to convince others that we are true to these principles and have the integrity and dedication to see these principles through. Paul Daly

CLP NOMINATIONS MEETING

On Friday 31 January, Sedgefield CLP held its meeting to consider nominating candidates in the Labour Party leadership and deputy-leadership elections; note that this meeting was not to choose the Leader and Deputy-Leader, but just to say whom we wished to see on the ballot paper. Nomination meetings have taken place all over the country. Whereas most results earned a few comments, however, Sedgefield CLP’s meeting attracted attention and the CLP’s decision last night merited 91 tweets!

THE MEETING The meetings are held according to strict rules. Arriving members queued to be checked that they had been a member for more than eight weeks and were not in arrears. Then, with the meeting’s approval, the doors were closed to voting members. After a welcome and a head count, the CLP debated the candidates. The tone of that debate was set by the Chair, Paul Daly, who told us that he was disappointed by the negative tone of the public debate, and ask that we might rather concentrate on the positives of our favoured candidates. The members agreed, and the result was a smashing, friendly debate. Strong, principled arguments were made for all the leadership, and most of the deputy-leadership, candidates. Other speakers focussed our thoughts, not on the people, but on the principles – one thing which came out of the debate was the value members placed on the manifesto, and their hope that – whoever becomes leader – the Party will remain true to its present policies. Every speaker was warmly applauded, but perhaps the most generous applause of the evening was given to CLP Vice- Chair Christine Varty who told us that, having come with what she thought was her mind made up, having listened to everybody speak, she was now finding that she did not know **whom** to vote for! Indeed, a number of people declared that they were finding it hard to make up their mind whom to support. However EVERYBODY agreed that, whomever became Leader, we need a Deputy-Leader and CLPs (including our own) who will give them unwavering support. Speaker after speaker stressed the need for Party unity … **whatever** the result.

THE RESULT After everybody who wished to speak had been allowed to speak, we chose tellers, and made our choices in a preferential vote. For the leadership, REBECCA LONG-BAILEY secured a majority in the initial vote, securing 26 votes (her nearest rival was Keir Starmer with 15). The vote for deputy-leadership, however, which from the start was between Angela Rayner and Richard Burgon, went to the fourth round, when RICHARD BURGON just pipped Angela Rayner 26-24.

THE TWITTER-REACTION I will not depress you by sharing any of the horrible comments on twitter. IT DOES NOT MATTER!! The debate at the CLP was very good-natured – a model of what political debate ought to be – and what was a calm, fair and transparent democratic decision was well-received on the night by all present. John D Clare

DEFEND YOUR COUNTY COUNCIL!

DCC gets blamed for everything, and that it perhaps part of its job. However, recently, opposition councillors have mobilised concerted campaigns to discredit and denigrate the Council … often with the support of Labour Party members.

The new HQ is a case in point. Many people, including Labour members, have their reservations about the new HQ on The Sands, and people have that right, but we need to be aware that the opposition are continually using the issue to try to destroy Labour in County Durham. Local Cllr John D Clare has previously argued on his blog that the location is not a Labour ‘Vanity Project’, but actually makes good sense.

WOULD THE NEW HQ HAVE FLOODED DURING STORM DENNIS? Nevertheless, you may have seen photos recently of so- called ‘flooding’ on the site during Storm Dennis … along with accusation and hyperbole about the ‘stupidity’ of the Council and dire warnings of future ruin. In fact events had proved exactly the opposite. The photos actually show minor inundation only of the foundations being built for the riverside path. NONE of the actual building site flooded. On Tuesday, DCC issued a statement, with a video, explaining the truth: • The HQ building has been carefully designed to take into consideration the potential for the River Wear bursting its banks. • The HQ will be built on a raised plateau – the ground floor will be at the same level as the ground floor in the existing NS&I and HM Passport buildings. For context, this is several metres above the level of flooding experienced during Storm Dennis. • The building incorporates underground tanks, whereby in the event of a major flood, the tanks will fill with floodwater and then slowly release back into the river as the flood levels recede. • In addition, a flood barrier system will prevent water ingress into the public spaces on the site and between the new HQ and the National Savings building.

SHORING UP THE RED WALL With a year to go to the County Council elections, Labour members must support and defend the County Council. Should it happen that we lose ‘#OurLabourCouncil’ in May 2021, to follow our ‘Red Wall’ constituencies last October, the county and its residents will be at the mercy of a Party which only wants to ignore their needs and punish them for being poor. Members are not required to agree with the new HQ. We must never think it is wrong to challenge our County Councillors. But please step in and support #OurLabourCouncil when you see the opposition using misstatements and exaggerations like this– out of nothing but a desire to jump on a bandwagon and use it to damage Labour.

OUR CAMPAIGNING PARTY

There is nothing which shows more dedication to the party than when Party Members are willing to give up their Saturday morning and go out canvassing during an amber alert weather warning!

Which is exactly what happened this month when six brave, and very wet, souls went out to support Brandon Fleet’s campaign in Woodham Ward for a place on Great Aycliffe Town Council. If elected, at 18, Brandon will be one of the youngest people to become a councillor, only missing the record by a few months, and this campaign has focused on the advantages of having a young person like Brandon engaged in public life. According to the Local Government Association survey the average age of a Town Councillor is 60. This is a good decade higher on Great Aycliffe Town Council. There are a variety of reason for this, and the knowledge and experience which older people bring is very valuable, but we also need a diversity of age range which reflects the wider community so the voices and perspectives of our young people are represented and they are encouraged to become involved in our democratic systems. After all, it is their future we are making decisions on. This point certainly found its mark on the doors with many agreeing that our youth should be represented, and their involvement encouraged. It was also very encouraging to have feedback from several of the residents on the good job that our Labour-run Town Council has been doing, even from someone who voted Tory, but said he was going to vote for Brandon for both of those reasons. Hopefully if Brandon is elected it will set an example for other young people to follow in his wake, and to see their voice is very much valued and needed in our communities, and put themselves forward as potential candidates in the next round of council elections.

Good luck on March 5th Brandon! Kathy Beetham (Vice Chair Membership)

STOP PRESS: NADIA JAMA

On 13 February, Sedgefield CLP voted Nadia Jama as one of its nominees for the Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) CLP representatives.

Last week we heard that she has decided to withdraw from the current NEC by-election.

Nadia writes: “There are other left candidates nominated and I wanted to ensure that a left candidate was able to progress, without splitting the vote. I will stand in the future, so I do hope that you will be able to nominate me again. Thank you for the support you have already shown, it’s very much appreciated.”

A MEETING WITH KATE BOLGER

Kate Bolger is Acting Regional Director on behalf of Labour North. Last month she came to Wingate to talk with the CLP Executive.

This was an important meeting for the CLP. We have lost the election and lost our MP. So where do we go from here? It was a very productive meeting; we felt valued, and we hope that Kate felt welcome.

ROUNDROBIN – first, Kate sought the Executive members’ thoughts about the current situation; these are the points they made to her: - there seems to be a worrying general hostility to the County Council. - there is weakness at Branch level. - hostility of the press – how are we to overcome the negative impression that we are the Party which will ruin the country? - are we getting the message across. - attacks by Labour members on DCC are damaging to the Party. - toxic division in the Party (used by the Tories as propaganda!) - can we learn from the opposition? - Brexit out of the way now – was very damaging. - Johnson appeals to emotions not logic; how do we deal with that? - our message needs to be a lot more simple – fewer policies expressed in simpler language. - the manifesto was too much, and too *now*. - social media did not seem to work this time. - at CLP level, activists were told we were worthless/ not wanted. - older membership, and have failed to engage with the new influxes/ Branches need to be places they want to come to. - communication is inadequate, both within and outwith the Party (ideas: Labour Party paper/ leaflets on what we’ve done). - the theme of ‘take back control’ is what is dominating politics atm; we lost a massive anti-establishment vote to the Tories! We need to make that theme our own. - our members need to feel fully-connected to our candidate; and we need our candidate to be fully connected to the Leadership (two degrees of separation – voting for your friend’s friend). - need to get into communities. - need to boast about our achievements in local government and the community, protecting people from the savage cuts. - need for tough discipline, including for MPs – there needs to be consequences. - disappointment was expressed that the leadership hustings will not be at Redhills (not a large enough venue). - constituencies are working in silos.

MOVING FORWARD – next, Kate briefed the Executive the current situation; this is what she told them: - the leadership debate is going to impinge on the TVCA and PCC elections BUT will get us in the news before the postal votes go out. - community organising is vital (Labour North is willing to come to do a training session). - Jessie Joe Jacob’s TVCA campaign is non-traditional, community-based; her campaign is phonebanking atm – any help appreciated. - there are long-winded procedural steps to getting a candidate MP for Sedgefield CLP – the NEC will take the lead, but it should take some time (at least 2 years). It starts with all woman shortlist decision – there is an 8-week selection process (the Executive asked how we might get a local candidate, not someone ‘parachuted in’). - atm, the 2021 DCC elections are more important; especially there must be a proactive campaign to seek people to stand. - Joy Allen is our PCC candidate – she has just one officer organising the campaign, so she is very reliant on social media posts and appearances … Kate was aware that there is some really nasty opposition. Her advice was to stress Ron Hogg’s achievements, especially his apprenticeships initiative. - the CLP should develop a fundraising strategy (she agreed to look into what has happened to the ‘Phil Wilson Events’ money) - plans for May Aycliffe North & Middridge by-election. - “We are too soft on the Tories” (e.g. we need things like a #HasHowellResignedYet campaign). - the merger of the Aycliffe Branches will be addressed quickly.

WBG BANNER UNVEILING, 8 MARCH 2020

A wonderful event to celebrate International Womens’ Day!

The Women's Banner Group are excited to share with you the incredible silk banner they commissioned the Durham Bannermakers to paint thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This one of a kind (and first of its kind) draws from the heartfelt contributions of WBG members, who nominated to appear on it women from the Durham Coalfield area they found inspirational. They can't wait for others to see it! Refreshments will be provided. If you have any special dietary requirements, do let them know.

NOTICE OF A CLP ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING

To be held: 7pm Friday 28 February 2020

At: Chilton Sports and Social Community Club, DL17 0RT

PLATFORM A space for political education

WHY IS DCC COUNCIL TAX SO HIGH?

You have to start with the understanding that Council Tax is a tax on properties to fund a range of services essential to meet the needs of local communities.

It is terribly unfair to complain – as people do – that “all the Council does for me is empty the bins” (etc.). ‘Council Tax’ is not just an invoice for the payment of services to your property. You can see the range of services provided by the County Council in their Guide to Council Services booklet. Two thirds of Council revenue goes on children’s and adult services – services to domestic properties account for only a tiny proportion of the total. In addition, many council services are statutory, and so really are a case of the national government passing on to local councils the burden (and bad press) of charging and collecting the tax to provide … services which THE GOVERNMENT requires. Most of the services provided by the County Council are required BY LAW. It **has** to provide them, has to raise the money to pay for them and – since the government is cutting its grants – has to raise that money from Council Tax. Also – as well as money to provide Council Services – the money collected under the name ‘Council Tax’ also include (declared) charges for Fire and Police, along with (not declared) charges for social care, and which can end up supporting roads, schools and Special Needs education. Much the same is true of Business Rates. Contrary to popular belief, Councils only COLLECT Business Rates – it is the national government which SETS them. Until recently, national government KEPT the Business Rate as well – and still only gives Councils half of the proceeds. The most iniquitous is social care. When George Osborne came under pressure to put more funding into social care, he did not increase the government grants, but instead told councils to double their council tax increase. Ostensibly a voluntary decision, the councils had no real choice … otherwise social care in the County would have collapsed. The Tory government have continued this year-on-year – so half your DCC Council Tax increase is in fact a faux government levy to pay for social care. Indeed, it could argued that the name ‘Council Tax’ was a clever propaganda trick by the Tories when they introduced it in 1993 because it lumped together a whole range of statutory services, collected by a visibly unjust system … and called it the ‘Council’ tax. And Council Tax is MASSIVELY unfair. The second thing you have to appreciate is that Council Tax is a PROPERTY tax, based on the value of the property. But property values in County Durham are much lower than elsewhere. 60% of the houses in County Durham are Band A; the same proportion of houses in Surrey are Band D. But – to meet its financial needs – Durham has to raise MORE from those Band A properties then Surrey does from its Band D properties. Hence the higher Council Tax. (continued)

PLATFORM (continued)

Meanwhile, a charge on property is not always a charge on income; the banding grades place a greater proportional burden on the less well-off; and, because the poorest areas have the lowest house values and the greatest local needs, a house in Hartlepool ends up paying more than a house in Westminster. Moreover, house valuations have not changed since 1991 … so a new three-bedroom house can end up in a higher band than an older three-bedroom house in the same street! And who is paying for all this? County Durham is one of the most deprived areas in the country. You can see the results of the work DCC is doing to develop our economy at Forrest Park, Bowburn, Murton and Durham City Centre. But we are still one of the poorest economies in one of the poorest regions in the country. And – because of the way percentages work – per capita disposable income continues to fall behind the national average (i.e. although we are absolutely better-off, relatively the gap is widening). So the thing about DCC Council Tax is that we are meeting a much bigger deprivation need with a much smaller wealth base – i.e. the demand on each one of us individually is greater than that, say, in a wealthier county with fewer needs. That is the problem with local taxes. Labour used to balance the problem by large grants from central government. But the more the Tories move towards their goal that local services must be funded wholly from local taxes, the worse this is going to get. They call it ‘fair funding’. So ALL the anger for this falls on the Council … and the national government– of whatever colour – gets away with it. Now that Bishop Auckland, Sedgefield and Darlington have Conservative MPs, I would hope that we will be able to lobby them to get their government to reform this archaic and inequitable so-called ‘Council’ tax and, when we do, let’s recognise it for what it is – a tax on local people for services the government wants to avoid funding itself.

OUT OF THE FRYING PAN!

Two of our new ‘Blue Wall’ Tory MPs have stumbled at their first PR hurdle this month.

First it was Paul Howell, whom our Chair discovered was not only failing to resign his County Council seat, but had declared in his Parliamentary return that he worked 10 hours a month as a DCC County Councillor. This provoked a good deal of comment, not least from his councillor colleague Cllr John D Clare, who exclaimed that he does that much work *a day* in his role as a County Councillor. Responding, Mr Howell first dismissed these comments as smears, then said he was giving the money to charity, then said he was referring to the amount of time he spent in the constituency (!!!), and finally promised that all he was doing was delaying his resignation so that the by-election could be run alongside the PCC election, thus saving cost. Although most people seem inclined to cut Mr Howell some slack, he has also still not yet set up an office in the constituency, nor does he have staff on the ground dealing with his constituents’ problems.

Then Dehenna Davison, the Tory who ousted Labour in our neighbouring constituency of Bishop Auckland,made the BBC when Hope Not Hate outed her Brexit celebrations alongside members of racist groups. Again, the new MP failed to put the issue to bed when she announced that she did not condone (but FAILED to ‘condemn’) racism. And her claims that she just happened to be in the same room looked weak when local Labour members revealed that they had warned Ms Davison months before that these campaign helpers were far-right extremists … and had been ignored. Be sure your sins.

OMIDE DEINALI

On 13 February, Sedgefield CLP voted Omide Deinali as its nominee for the Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) BAME representative.

In the past. Omide has worked in bars, call centres, factories and as a civil servant. Moving on from this, he attended University as a mature student while caring for his son who has additional needs. In Labour, he started helping with campaigning for elections and local issues; later he joined Easington CLP’s Executive, first as IT, now as BAME officer.

Here he tells us more about himself and his campaign to be elected onto the NEC:

Hello Sedgefield members,

First of all, a huge thanks for nominating me at your selection meeting – I wouldn’t be on the ballot without you. As many of you may already know, I’m Easington’s BAME officer, a Parish Councillor and Chair of Fairness4all. I’m also a Forensic Analyst and I have completed the Labour Bernie Grant Leadership Program, a program aimed at training BAME members for leadership in the party and campaigning on BAME issues.

I would like to use this opportunity to tell you about why I joined, what I stand for politically, and how that will help improve the situation of BAME individuals in the Party and the general public.

The reason I decided to join Labour, and also to stand for the NEC, was that frankly I’d had enough of the budget cuts, the prejudice, the bare-faced lies and the victimisation of the most vulnerable in our country.

I support the policies in the 2017 and 2019 manifestoes and have actively campaigned in both of these elections. For me the two most important things we need to fight for, and cement in our ideology, are Universal Basic Services and a Green Economy. We need to reject the parasitic economics lauded by the right.

If we, as a society, provide free health, education, social care and legal protection to our citizens then our country will flourish. Health care will improve life expectancy and tackle our growing mental health crisis – counselling in particular is invaluable in supporting victims of hate crime. Better education, including better social studies, will give our children the knowledge to accept everyone for who they are. Social care is essential to help those in need, but can also be used to support victims in conjunction with a well funded police force and health service. Fighting to bring back legal aid will help everyone in our society and will allow any victim of hate crimes better seek justice.

For me the Green New Deal is a great policy to help ensure a safer world for everyone, but it also needs to include a long term future commitment to renewably sourced hydrogen to fuel our industry and infrastructure.

My training and experience in the party and my working life has given me many skills and attributes that will carry forward into a position on the NEC. I intend to critique the issues arising in meetings based on how they benefit BAME members and improve our policies in tackling prejudice. I want to work towards greater transparency, open mindedness and democracy in the party by pushing for information on the NEC’s meetings to be available for scrutiny by ordinary members.

Thanks again, and please follow my social media for updates on my campaign: • twitter.com/ODeinali • www.facebook.com/Omide4NEC/ Omide Deinali

WHAT IS DCC UP TO?

ACTIVITY UPDATE DCC has produced an Activity Update for its Cabinet meeting of 12 February; you can read it in full here.

This month’s Update highlights were: (a) CLIMATE CHANGE – the Council’s achievements in this area are truly spectacular at the moment, and the Report highlights the Council’s work to replace the County’s streetlights with LEDs, its plastic and rubber roads, the increasing use of electric tools, the Business Energy Efficiency Project, its Single Use Plastics pledge and its tree- planting. Finally, at last week’s meeting, Climate Change ChampionCllr John D Clare presented the Council’s remarkable Climate Emergency Response Action Plan to Cabinet – 111 actions for the next two years. (b) STRATEGIC INVESTMENT SITES – six years after a government Inspector told DCC that its plans for the local economy were unrealistic, growth continues to far exceed even what the Council hoped for. If you read the report you will be able to find out about the amazing expansion at Integra 61 Bowburn; Jade Business Park Murton; Aykley Heads; and, critically for Sedgefield CLP, at NETPark and Forrest Park. On this all our futures rest. (c) HOMELESSNESS – this is a heartbreaking scourge on our poor, and a terrible indictment on the Tory government, but the report evidences DCC’s work to prevent and help the homeless and rough sleepers.

COUNCIL MEETINGS, ACHIEVEMENTS and CONSULTATIONS MEETINGS • DCC Cabinet meeting, Wednesday 12 February (next year’s budget, the Climate Emergency Response Action Plan, reports on the Council’s activities on Strategic Investment sites, and homelessness; school admission arrangements, indices of deprivation). • DCC Economy Scrutiny Committee, Monday 27 January (DCC Housing policies services). • DCC Environment Scrutiny Committee, Friday 24 January (Business Energy Efficiency Project; Council Performance). • DCC Full Council meeting, Wednesday 22 January (members’ allowances, polling stations… plus some political shenanigans).

ACHIEVEMENTS • DCC’s budget plans are looking to invest more than £145M in services and development projects. • Ground-breaking County Durham development in Seaham will be first to utilise mine water energy. • As part of Forestry Commission's Urban Tree Challenge Fund, DCC has secured £½ million to plant trees in towns. • DCC is preparing to launch a new Youth Council. • DCC plants a solar farm. • Durham County Council has signed the Work to Stop Domestic Abuse charter. • DCC digital projects team has been awarded the Modern Service Delivery Award. • DCC has been parised for its work during Storm Dennis.

CONSULTATIONS • Consultation on Selective Licensing. • Health & Wellbeing consultation. • Consultation on the Safe Durham Partnership Plan. • Consultation on police funding in County Durham and Darlington.

PLATFORM A space for political education

UPCOMING TRAINING Agents training: Saturday 7th March, 10am-12noon, Newcastle Every election needs an agent. This session will provide an introduction, including the nominations process, expenses, donations and how to keep your campaign activities and material legal.

JARGON BUSTER If you have new members in your branch or CLP it might be worth sending out this jargon-buster.

LEADERSHIP CAMPAIGN We have moved on to the next stage of the leadership election for the next Leader and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, and ballots will begin to be dispatched from Monday 24 February to eligible voters. If you did not get a ticket for the Durham Leadership hustings on 23 February, you can watch them online.

HOUSING CAMPAIGN PACK The Tories’ record on housing is appalling, and this Housing Campaign Pack from Shadow Housing Secretary John Healey MP aims to give Labour candidates and activists the facts and figures they need to turn their fire on the Tories and make the case for Labour.

OPENING PDFs IN GOOGLE CHROME We are hearing from members who are having trouble downloading pdf documents in Chrome – all they are getting is a black screen. If this happens, try the following: 1. On your computer, open Chrome. 2. At the top right, click and then Settings. 3. At the bottom, click Advanced. 4. Under 'Privacy and security', click Site settings. 5. Near the bottom, click PDF documents. 6. Turn on Download PDF files instead of automatically opening them in Chrome

JESSIE JOE JACOBS Sedgefield CLP wishes Jessie Joe Jacobs all the best in her campaign to become TVCA Mayor. At the very least, please follow her facebook page, Jessie for Tess Valley Mayor, where you will also find opportunities to get involved.

JOY ALLEN DCC Councillor Joy Allen is the Labour Party’s candidate for Durham and Darlington Police & Crime Commissioner. Again, at the very least follow her facebook page, Joy for Durham Police and Crime Commissioner , linking and contributing positively to the posts there.

COULD I BE A COUNCILLOR? A space for political education TherePLATFORM are many people out there who would make fantastic County Councillors, but who hesitate to come forward, solely from a misplaced lack of confidence! Don’t think you could do the job? GREAT!! The very worst candidate is someone who has never done the job, but thinks they know it all (you know, like the Independents we come up against in the elections). OF COURSE you do not know the answers when you start! B ut, if you are fortunate enough to be elected, there is a Members’ Support office there to help you , and lots of experienced councillors to offer advise if you ask. Don’t think you could cope with the nastiness? There are indeed councillors who put themselves about in the media, the figureheads … and life for them is indeed pretty much wall-to-wall abuse. But for every councillor in that position, there are dozens of top-class ward councillors who get on quietly, dealing with residents’ issues … and who will form a protective wall around you if you do find yourself under attack. To be a great councillor, the two most important attributes you need are: (1) Do you care about the residents and the area? Are you the kind of person whom people would feel able to go to with a problem? Are you prepared to go out on walkabouts and doorknocks to discover their issues? (2) Are you prepared to accept the wisdom of the Group? At County Hall, all decisions are made as a group of Labour councillors by the Labour Group. As a Labour Councillor you will be able to speak up and try to influence that decision – you will have a say in the Council’s policies. But, when the decision is made, even if you disagree, you have to go with the Group. Labour Councillors have VERY different opinions. But you have to be prepared to accept that the wisdom of the Group is greater than your own. If you cannot accept that without qualms, you should not become a Labour County Councillor. Everything else can be learned or arranged. And you will find yourself in an unparalleled position to do genuine good for individuals, and for your community.

To become a Labour County Councillor candidate first you have to apply to get on ‘The Panel’. This involves getting a report from your Branch Secretary and going through an interview process. Once on the Panel, you will then be able to apply to the selection meetings of the different wards, to try to get yourself chosen as their candidate. Then, of course, all you have to do is to get yourself elected. So it is an extended journey, but we have people there to help and encourage you though the process.

This weekend, Chris Turner, Secretary of the Local Campaign Forum (LCF) appealed for candidates to come forward to interview to be on the Panel of Approved Candidates from whom the candidate for the upcoming Aycliffe North & Middridge by-election will be chosen. Members were sent the documentation with their Agenda papers, but if you have not received them contact Chris at [email protected] or 07773 847672.

And, soon, the LCF will be looking for multiple Labour Party members to come forward to stand for the Panel to become candidates for the May 2021 County Council elections. For this reason, in March, the Party is holding two ‘Do you Want To Be A Councillor?’ familiarisation events. Please think about it. It is a lot easier than you think.

OFFICERS’ REPORTS

Barbara Clare – Secretary Lots of reading material emailed with the CLP Invitations this month, bringing members up to date with the Nomination Meetings which have taken place. Ballots have been completed for Leader and Deputy Leader and for the CLP/BAME positions on the NEC. There was only one candidate for the PCC nomination, Joy Allen. Also included this month is an invitation from the LCF (whose meeting I attended on Saturday 15 February 2020) asking that any interested members put their name forward to be selected to be entered onto the Panel List re County Council candidates. And it was good to meet with Kate Bolger this month. The CLP has been working hard to build good working relations with Labour North, and we were pleased that she had taken time out of her very busy schedule to come to see us. It was good too – after a short time reviewing the past – to turn our eyes to the future.

Kathy Beetham – Vice Chair Membership We have had another record-breaking month in Sedgefield CLP with a total of 61 new members joining in January. Lapses have been lower than average, so we now have 720 members. 423 male, 293 female, and 4 not known. I hope we can break the 300-female member target by the end of this month. Please log into https://labourmembership.com/home or contact our CLP secretary to keep your records up to date. It is important for us to be an effective opposition and that we hold our Tory MP to account for his actions locally and on his voting record nationally. Over the last week or so we have been successful in focusing public attention on his broken promise to resign his two Councillor roles, one of which is in our Branch area. As Labour Party members we need to unite effectively with one voice to keep issues such as this in the public domain and show a united front in backing any narratives that highlight the disregard which the Tories are showing towards our democracy and the rights and needs of the public, especially those in our own locality. I would be grateful if we can all get on board with these aims.

Chris Varty – Vice Chair Campaigns This month I have: • attended an Executive meeting with Kate Bolger from Northern Region, discussed moving forward. • attended the Sedgefield Women's Forum in Sedgefield discussing current items relating to women. • presented a ‘Baby Save a Life ‘course in Trimdon Station Community Centre to the Girls Group and their adult mentors.

Stuart Sutherland – Membership Officer I have continued my membership calls over the last months and as always it has been a pleasure to speak and listen to members. Please do not worry if you get a missed call or short message from myself. I would also like to apologise to anyone I have missed or anyone I was unable to get back to. This and the next month’s focus for calls has been on the new arrivals to our membership and members in the Newton Aycliffe area. I will endeavour to contact as many members as possible so should you be in either of those groups you may find me contacting you. This is done to support the campaigning going on in Newton Aycliffe for the Town Council by-election and expected County Council by-election. I have also been working alongside branch officers to help find ways they can best contact and serve you, and supporting any branch in need of the membership team’s assistance. If you would like to discuss a membership matter or arrange how we contact you in future please feel free to contact myself through the CLP secretary. It is always an absolute privilege to have your time. Thank you.

Jed Hillary & Thom Brooks – Policy Officers (Jobshare) Our Policy Officer Thom Brooks was published in The Independent last month : BORIS JOHNSON'S BIGGEST BREXIT PROMISE HAS JUST BEEN EXPOSED AS A RED HERRING

Laura Daly – Campaigns Co-ordinator On Sunday 9th February I held my first Campaign Team get together. This was attended by people who had shown an interest in getting involved in campaigning within Sedgefield Constituency. It was wonderful to have the input of so many experienced and enthusiastic people and I hope to be hosting more of these sessions in the near future. If anyone would like to be involved please do let me know. We have agreed that we need to focus on communities and the hard work our members already do within them. It is clear that the next few years under this Tory Government will be at the very least a huge challenge; our communities need us more than ever. I also attended the first Local Campaign Forum (LCF) meeting of 2020 in which we decided on a draft timetable for County Councillor elections for 2021. This is going to be an important focus, having representation locally and a voice looking after the people of our area. If you know anyone who you think would be good in the role, please do not hesitate in asking them to step forward and stand. The Labour Party has so much talent it can offer to our communities, some of these talented people may not even realise they would be perfect for the role and there is a great deal of support available from experienced councillors; we look forward to hearing from you. I am organising ‘become a councillor’ training sessions. If you or anyone else is even remotely intrigued by the idea, please do come along and have a chat with people who can give you more information and support. Keep an eye on mails for further details.

Derek Atkinson – Disability Officer We have entered a dark place that in truth we humans never actually left. Opinions, beliefs and prejudices, once embedded, are not readily forsaken. To be different is seen as being a threat. Prejudice has so many masks, guises and suitors, though essentially it is about Them and Us. THEM and US is based on education, birth, environment, wealth, privilege and opportunity pathways. The US is the ‘underclass', the THEM, the privileged. Although often nuanced, each co-exists in the same time and space but within separate realities. Tensions between the classes have ebbed and flowed for centuries. How to control the 'underclass' and limit their breeding, an issue for academic research and social engineers from the 1860s. Therefore, it should be no great surprise that Boris Johnson's amoral Tory government actually appointed an advisor who had dangerous and prejudicial views against women and women's sport, the disabled, the IQ of the American coloured population, and other poisons from the 'selective-breeding' section of the Eugenics handbook. Under the provisions of the Equality Act of 2010, we as a CLP are legally bound to make 'reasonable adjustments' with regard to access and opportunities. If you have previously self-identified as having a disability OR within the safeguards of the GDPR legislation you wish to self-identify and discuss any relevant issues, in the first instance please contact Barbara Clare, our CLP Secretary on [email protected] Thank you.

Neil Collinson – TULO The GMB Union has called for a Parliamentary inquiry into Amazon as conditions for workers worsen. The GMB Union represents 100,000s of Local Government and Schools staff across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. On the 5th February 2020 Local Government Employers tabled a pay offer of 2% .The GMB rejected this offer because it falls short of the pay demands set out by GMB members: 'Its a No from GMB'. Local Government workers are the backbone of our communities. Join GMB's campaign for Public Services Pay Justice. For the latest information and news visit: www.gmb.org.uk Unite the Union continues its campaigns for Lorry Drivers’ Safety and London Bus Drivers: the 'Sick and Tired campaign'. A culture of long hours and insufficient rest is damaging their physical and mental health. The drivers in a consultative ballot in February voted by 97% in favour of strike action. Unite will now begin the preparations for a full postal ballot of its members; for the latest news visit: www.unitetheunion.org.uk Unison have backed Kier Starmer in the Leadership Election and Angela Rayner for Deputy Leader. Their main campaigns include: 'Fair Pay for Social Care Workers' and 'Decent and Affordable Housing', launching a housing manifesto. For the latest news visit: www.unison.org.uk The FBU have announced they have backed Rebeca Long Bailey for Leader and Richard Burgon for Deputy Leader. They have launched an exciting new membership recruitment tool for use by officials, including a presentation and membership pack. For latest news visit: www.fbu.org.uk

Claire McPhail – Women’s Officer The last Women’s Forum meeting was the first of the year and it was wonderful to see some new faces amongst our regular members. There were lots of exciting ideas for the coming year, including plans for more baby massage and ‘Baby Save A Life’ sessions, delivered by the brilliant Chris Varty, which have been very popular. The next Women’s Forum meeting will be at the end of March and details will be emailed out nearer the time. It would be great to see you there! This month, the Women’s Forum is holding an Easter Egg collection. The eggs will be distributed to children across our community who may otherwise miss out this Easter. Donations can be brought to the CLP meeting, or you can get in touch to arrange collection.

Our Branch Labour Parties are at the heart of grassroots Labour – they are Labour-in-the-Community. Not all of our CLP’s Branches are vibrant and active, but it is important that we work together to make them so. We intend, therefore, to publish this page each month, so you can see what your local Branch is up to.

AYCLIFFE EAST BLP The Chair reported that both Branches in Aycliffe had agreed to join together, and that this would be put to the next CLP meeting. It was reported that the CLP had nominated Rebecca Long-Bailey as Leader and Richard Burgon as Deputy. The Town Council report was given: Ash trees were in danger from dieback. The precept was set to increase by 2.25%. Councillor James Atkinson’s DCC report focused on planning decisions: Aldi was coming to Spennymoor, Lidl to Barnard Castle. The local crime rate was up; Ward 6 at Bishop Auckland was to remain open. DCC is lobbying the Government re the replacement of EU money – it must be as much as County Durham was getting from the EU, take account of need, and be locally controlled.

The next Branch meeting will be held on Thursday 5 March 7:15pm at the Big Club.

AYCLIFFE NORTHWEST BLP It was all change at Aycliffe Northwest branch at our AGM last month with changes to the Executive taking place unopposed and congenially. Brian Hall our long-serving chair took over as Vice Chair and was replaced by Stephen Braithwaite. Kate Hopper stood down as Secretary to focus on her busy county council work and was replaced by Kathy Beetham. Our Treasurer, Ian Wiggett remained in place and Brandon Fleet took over as youth officer from Owen Dickinson. With no one else nominated for the role, Kathy Beetham remained as Women’s Officer and a new role was created, that of Political Education officer taken by John Clare and immediately re-named, with the branch members’ approval, as Political Discussions officer. How long the Branch officers will remain in these positions is moot, as the branch then passed a motion to approve the merging of the two Aycliffe branches into one large branch which will be put forward to the CLP this month, and if successful will result in another AGM! So this may be my first and last report as Aycliffe NorthWest secretary.

Brandon Fleet’s campaign in the Woodham Ward by-election is continuing apace. Another door knock will be taking place this Saturday. If anyone is interested in helping with further door knocking/leafleting and has not already been in touch, please let me know. The next Branch meeting will be held on Thursday 27 February 7:30pm at the Navy Club.

CHILTON BLP Chilton branch’s AGM took place on February 6th, the date being delayed as the January meeting had become a Town Council nomination meeting and the usual date of the second Thursday of the month was unsuitable due to clashing with other community commitments. The AGM was well attended and saw the election of officers. Many long standing officers retained their posts with two new roles added to the branch. Elected: • Chair – A. Bruce • Vice chair – L. Potts • Secretary – V. Collinson. • Treasurer – C. Potts • CLP rep – S. Sutherland • Women’s Officer – L. Rundle • CLP delegates were also elected. It is of note that this AGM saw the election of Chilton’s first Women’s Officer in Luci Rundle.

The next Branch meeting will be held on Thursday 12 March 7pm at Chilton Sports & Social Community Club.

BRANCH BUSINESS (continued)

FERRYHILL BLP At the Branch’s AGM meeting, the Chair thanked M. Walton for her role as Secretary. The following branch officers were elected: • Mr P. McCourt – Chair • Mrs K. Conroy – Vice Chair • Mr T. Fenny – Secretary • Mr P. Atkinson – Treasurer • Mrs I. Thompson – Women’s Officer • Mrs K. Conroy and Mr P. McCourt – CLP Executive Delegates. The next Branch meeting will be held on Thursday 12 March 6:30pm in the Town Hall.

HURWORTH SADBERGE & MIDDLETON ST GEORGE BLP A meeting is being held to relaunch the Branch. It is being held on Tuesday 10 March 7:00pm Parish Council meeting room, Community Centre, Station Road, Middleton St George.

SEDGEFIELD & FISHBURN BLP A meeting is being held to relaunch the Branch. An AGM is being held on Tuesday 3 March 8:00pm Sedgefield Parish Hall.

TRIMDON & THORNLEY BLP No meeting this month. The next Branch meeting will be held on Wednesday 18 March 7:00pm in Wheatley House.

WINGATE BLP At our branch meeting there was a positive discussion about supporting Jessie Joe Jacob's campaign to be elected as Mayor of Tees Valley as well as some discussion on developing a leaflet to show how much progress has been made by both our Labour controlled Parish Council and County Councillor John Higgins. The village is beginning to see the benefit of John's hard work as he comes good on election promises to deal with road safety and to try to deal with issues in the Pit Heaps area where local residents have complained of antisocial behaviour on motorbikes. More developments are on the horizon and we are very grateful to John for his efforts.

The people of Wingate have been very complimentary about the Christmas lights provided by the Parish Council once more and it is lovely to hear some positive feedback for our volunteers.

The next Branch meeting will be held on Wednesday 18 March 7:00pm in Wingate Community Centre.

NO REPORT: • Bishop Middleham & Cornforth BLP • [There is no active branch in Heighington & Coniscliffe.]

BRANCH DISCUSSION TOPIC

Are you knocking for an idea for something to discuss at your next Branch meeting?

WHY NOT … discuss DCC’s proposed Selective Licensing Scheme? This scheme, which DCC believes will help deal with rogue landlords, improve tenants’ wellbeing, and reduce bad neighbours, is very unpopular with landlords, who say it is a tax on good landlords to deal with the bad and will just push up tenants’ rents. WHY NOT … address the questions 7 and 11 of the consultation: • Do you agree or disagree that privately rented properties contribute to deprivation in your local area • Do you agree or disagree with our proposal to introduce a selective licensing scheme? and then email your Branch’s conclusions to: [email protected]