Constituency Labour Party Parliamentary Report David Clelland MP www.david-clelland.org.uk 11 September 2008 Gateshead Youth Council I was happy to support the fun day organised by the Youth Council’s Youth Events team in Saltwell Park - great activities, all focused on young people, including a disc jockey training session (which nowadays involves ‘scratching’ the records) as well as information on housing, education, employment and volunteering. All funded by Gateshead Council - another example of how the Council is reaching out to disengaged groups across the community.

Olympics coming to Gateshead! Welcome to Eaga I visited Eaga’s new customer services centre at the Watermark in Gateshead to see how staff deal with the 32,000 calls each week from people applying for Warm Front energy efficiency grants or advice about making their homes greener and more Just as the Games closed in Beijing, the affordable to heat. Rising fuel prices and the need to protect the Mayor raised the Olympic flag at environment make their work increasingly important. Since 2000, Gateshead Stadium which will be a the Warm Front scheme has helped more than 3,000 households in training ground, hopefully also with an the Tyne Bridge constituency, giving out grants worth almost three ice rink or snow dome too! million pounds! (above with government affairs manager Ann Toms)

Summer Fairs I joined the Deputy Mayor to open the Dunston Summer fair and attended the Bensham Fair at Brighton Avenue School. Both, like the Lobley Hill Festival I went to last month, were well-attended, and my congratulations to local Party members who were both prominent in the organisation and on the day. Its exactly this sort of dedication and commitment that keeps the Party very much to the fore of local communities and I have nothing but praise for local Party activists who devote so much of their time to keeping up the Party’s profile. (top left with Deputy Mayor Joe Mitchinson, bottom left with Cllr Kevin Dodds chatting to local police, left with Cllr Gary Haley and ward chairman Sharif Abbas) 11 September 2008 increased the Winter Fuel C o n c e r n , a n d t h e L o c a l Comment Allowance for 12 million elderly Government Association and the This time last year, the Labour Party and vulnerable people. CIU to discuss the serious problems was riding high in the opinion polls, But there has been no let-up in the facing the clubs world. - as new Prime negative media scrutiny to the Minister - had dealt masterfully with extent that it overshadows floods and terrorist attacks, and we everything Ministers do. Such as were looking forward not only to the recently launched plans for what promised to be a good regulating pre-school child care to conference (and was) but also to the ensure that very young children possibility of a general election. But receive quality educative care. A Events intervened. Some - like the good scheme that comes on top of Constituency abolition of the 10p tax band - were the 180 new schools that have Recess started well, with the Felling self inflicted problems created by been opened in the biggest new ward party Social - as always, a the Government itself but school building programme for 30 really good night out, with good everything else - the ‘credit crunch’, years - but good news is ignored entertainment, good food and good rising fuel prices, rising food prices, by a media obsessed by the company as demonstrated by the the downturn in the UK housing ‘should/must/will Gordon go?’ photo below! market - stems from international debate. events and the world economic downturn. I remain of the view that Parliament the UK has a strong basic economy, and that we will weather the storm Obviously, with the House in without diving into a long recess, only a few weeks of recessionary period, but fear for the legislative business have taken future is now the defining factor in place since my last report, but voters’ perceptions. As a result we members might be interested to lost the Glasgow East byelection. note that the Employment Bill I visited the excellent and hugely The difficult economic situation received a Second Reading, and improved Kingsmeadow School to almost certainly kept Labour voters the National Insurance Bill, the express my support in the wake of at home in Glasgow. Add to that Health and Social Care Bill, the unfair media coverage. I was able to peculiarly local factors - huge Housing and Regeneration Bill discuss this with Education question marks about why a sitting and the Crossrail Bill had final Secretary Ed Balls when he came to MP should resign, internal readings after their consideration ‘state-of–the -art’ Gateshead dissension, squabbles over the in the Lords. Statements that will College at my invitation, after I told candidate - plus the looming be of interest to members include him of the fantastic opportunities on presence of the SNP, and the result one made by the Education offer, and I welcomed Treasury was always going to be tricky. I Secretary about the delays in Minister Jane Kennedy and thought we’d just hold on but the processing this summer’s SATs regional minister Nick Brown to result turned out to be an results and Communities’ Gateshead for an economic summit. unmitigated disaster. And now, Secretary Hazel Blears’ statement I met with Gateshead Council’s against all the odds, we have on Communities in Control Leader to discuss issues such as the another by-election in another which was accompanied by a Town Centre redevelopment and the Scottish constituency with many of White Paper that contains a welcome news that the Freightliner those same factors in play!. number of flawed proposals in my site logjam is finally broken. I I’d like to think that the Labour view. visited the Mecca Bingo to support Party’s Fight Back has started, with Before the House rose, I had the the promotion of energy-saving the recent announcements on Stamp opportunity meet with the Prime lightbulbs and appeared on the Duty, and other proposals to help Minister We discussed the general Politics Show. I am currently the struggling housing market and to political scene and I also took the visiting Party branch meetings and enable local authorities to develop opportunity to specifically raise a have attend 4 so far. While members much-needed social housing and number of issues - support for are concerned at the general also the measures to help people carers, and the (then) ongoing political situation I detect no support with rising energy costs. In a sense, Freightliner site saga in particular. for the press fervour for a leadership the ‘fight back’ actually started in In addition to the usual Northern contest. Rather a desire to get on July when the Government froze Group and PLP meetings, I met with finding solutions to the fuel duty for a full year and with representatives from Age problems our country is facing.