Lib Dem = Con

A MILLION YOUNG PEOPLE NOW UNEMPLOYED UNDER THE TORIES

With over a million young people now out of work, Labour has launched a clear plan to create and support new jobs for the next generation.

The Tories’ economic policies have resulted in over 1 million young people now being unemployed. In Lewes the number of young people claiming Job Seekers Allowance has increased by 46 %.

The Tory-led Government inherited an economy in which unemployment was coming down but because of their decisions to cut too far too fast – including scrapping Labour’s successful Future Jobs Fund which created over 100,000 jobs for young people – unemployment is now rising again, with youth unemployment at a 19 year high.

In response, Labour has set out a clear five-point plan to create jobs and help the next generation. This plan includes:

1. A £2 billion tax on bank bonuses to fund 100,000 jobs for young people – which they would be required to take-up – and build 25,000 more affordable homes.

2. Bring forward long-term investment projects in schools, roads and transport to get people back to work and to strengthen our economy for the future.

3. Temporarily reverse January’s damaging VAT rise – an extra £450 for a couple with children would provide a boost for our high streets and help struggling families.

4. A one-year cut in VAT to 5% on home improvements, repairs and maintenance to help homeowners and small businesses.

5. A one-year national insurance tax break for every small firm which takes on extra workers would help small businesses to grow and create jobs.

Linda Drabble, Chair of Lewes Labour said: “It’s terrible news that so many young people are now unemployed and unable to find work. David Cameron’s Government have been given a million reasons to change course on the economy – and they need to do so before it’s too late.

“There is a better way. Labour’s five-point plan for growth will get our economy moving again, help get the deficit down in a steadier and more balanced way and create thousands of jobs for the next generation.”

ENDS

To find out more about Labour’s five-point plan for jobs please visit labour.org.uk/plan

The Government is planning the biggest re-organisation of the NHS since it began in 1948.

It is unnecessary, unwanted, wasteful and damaging – and threatens to end the NHS as we know it. Only last year, the Government promised people they wouldn’t do it. Many thousands of people have already called on the Government to stop.

But they are ploughing on, ignoring public and professional opinion, out of touch with Britain.  We need to make the Government listen before it’s too late.

Get involved and help make a change by signing the petition here

Its a simple enough question, with a lead Green Councillor: Matt Kent leaving the Green Party fold to become an independent.  We have to ask why he felt the need to leave after being committed to the green cause.  What would so put him off, what would divide the Greens.  In Lewes they seem to have a habit of losing councillors or people leaving.

Perhaps they will offer some transparency on these matters?

Matt has his own web site that seems to promote many of things Labour has been campaigning on in and around Malling, lets hope he continues to push our agenda.

http://mattdkent.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/lewes-town-cllr-matt-kent-becomes-independent/

LOLA – LEAVE OUR LOOS ALONE!

The draft budget from the Green Administration of Brighton and Hove City Council is proposing to close 9 public toilets and reducing the level of attendance at 6 others. The Labour Group has launched a campaign, LOLA (Leave our Loos Alone), with the support of Hilary Benn MP (Shadow Secretary for Communities and Local Government). Toilets are a basic public service and are essential for parents of young children, older people, and people with medical conditions such as crohns and colitis.

We are hoping to present a signed petition at a Council Meeting on Thursday 26th January, so please sign our e-petition http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/lola-leave-our-loos-alone.html, and show the Green Administration that Public Loos are there for a purpose and need to continue to be provided.

In addition we are also supporting a campaign by local busineses and traders against the over 100% increase in Business parking permit and trader costs. These rises will damage small businesses and be bad for the local economy. The petition can be found at on the Brighton & Hove Council website.

Can I urge you to sign both petition and pass it on to friends and neighbours.

With thanks for your support

Nigel Jenner
Campaigner, Brighton and Hove Labour Party

Website: http://brightonhovelabour.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeaveOurLoosAlone

 You may have heard the news that under this Tory-led Government, there has been a 17% increase in the number of families losing their homes.



These aren’t just dry statistics – they are real families facing homelessness. 



The Government must change course, stop cutting too far and too fast and come up with a Plan B for the economy – before more people lose their homes.



Help us send that message by signing the petition

Look out for us, the next community action is on Saturday 21st January and we will be meeting up at the Labour North Street Offices (LPHQ) from 9am

Anyone notice crime and disorder on the up in Lewes as the place gets tattier and the litter gets higher, I wondered at the link up and then found this info about the relationship…

In the 1980s, New York City’s crime rate was soaring. Total crime had more than doubled over the previous two decades; violent crimes tripled. It peaked in 1990 and then began a sudden, nationwide decline as the dismal economy began to show new life.

But New York’s economy did not follow the national trend. It remained flat. Yet crime plummeted to a third of its peak rate, surpassing the drop in the national average. New Yorkers say they feel the safest they have in years, and the city’s notorious subway system is no longer the fearsome dungeon it once was.

Exactly what they did differently is the subject of some debate. The authorities tried all sorts of things, but there is one measure that is widely credited for being the catalyst that made the other approaches effective: 

They cleaned stuff and fixed broken things, They scrubbed graffiti from the subway cars, collected litter from the sidewalks, and replaced damaged fixtures in public places.

And they kept them that way. Vandalized walls were repainted immediately. When they got tagged again, they were repainted again. The policy dictated that anything that was repaired or cleaned was to be kept in that condition no matter how many times they had to restore it. The epidemic of petty crime began to wane, and so did serious crime.

The approach was based on a theory by criminologists James Wilson and George Kelling. They argued that the disorder symbolized by graffiti, litter and minor crimes would inevitably lead to major crime and broken communities.

This phenomenon is easy to identify, and it applies to more than just crime. Anytime something goes from an immaculate state to a flawed one, it becomes exponentially more vulnerable to further degradation. This principle extends beyond physical things, to good habits, stable relationships, pleasant moods and positive attitudes.

It’s that first broken window that is so crucial to fix immediately, because the second and third happen much more easily.

Think of it in terms of your home…When the kitchen counter is spotless, even a preoccupied teenager is less likely to leave a dirty plate on it than he would be if it were already cluttered. It’s easy to toss clothes thoughtlessly onto the floor when the it’s already covered in clothes, but the same person would hesitate if the floor was clear.

As Lewes succumbs to the 100s of millions of pounds of County Council Cuts, what further effect will it have on not just its material make up but its social fabric, when things are mended or cleaned up we have less respect for them and the evidence shows crime sores, but we will have less police.

Labour have begun a series of community action initiatives, they are not new and we are not the first, but we do want to encourage and enable others, mostly they are just getting out to clean streets where local residents have told us there is a problem with litter.  Every time we have gone out local people have joined in.  Its our way of saying enough is enough.

Look out for us, the next community action is on Saturday 21st January and we will be meeting up at the Labour North Street Offices (LPHQ) from 9am

This is a really worrying time for families and businesses; struggling with higher food prices and gas bills and worried about their jobs and their children’s futures. 



The Tory-led Government are cutting too far and too fast and risk choking off economic recovery. Unemployment is rising again and is currently at the highest level in 17 years.  One in five young people are out of work and now more women are unemployed than at any time since 1988. 



We need to act now to show the Tory-led Government that there is another way.



Labour has set out a clear five-point plan for jobs, to help struggling families and support small businesses. Our jobs plan includes:

Tomorrow if you work in the Public sector, you may be on strike. Or, if you don’t work in the sector, you will know somebody close to you who has decided to take industrial action.