Neil MacDonald

Whitton leafleting

I have been up to the Whitton estate four times in the last four days!  There seems to be a never-ending supply of leaflets to deliver.  We are still campaigning on the Tory threat to scrap the Ipswich pensioners bus pass and on the reduction in crime across the borough.  Crime is down 9.1% on last year.

Michael Lord has also been in the paper, with an advert for a surgery next Saturday.  Two surgeries, in two different places, so they are quite short.  As an avid reader of the EADT for the past six months, I can safely say this this is the first time Sir Michael has advertised.  Maybe he has realised there is an election coming up!

The Queen's Speech

The Queen’s Speech addresses some of the key security challenges facing Britain and builds on the strong security foundations the government has already put in place since 1997. There is a record number of police today and crime is down nationally by 5% this year.  Indeed recorded crime is down 9.1% year on year in Ipswich.

I warmly welcome the plans to create the Serious Organised Crimes Agency, which will be a world leader with an elite squad of specialist investigators pursuing organised criminals through all legal means.  A second Act of Parliament is about taking tough action to tackle the problems and anti-social behaviour faced by local people because of drug dealing, drug abuse, and especially the crime flowing from them.

Bad news for drug barons.  Good news for local communities.

The Queen's Speech wasn't all written by David Blunkett though.  I am pleased to see that an animal welfare Bill will be brought to Parliament.

The key animal cruelty laws date back to 1911 and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has been campaigning for changes to match modern attitudes. This will cover more than 20 different pieces of animal welfare legislation. This means the keeper of an animal will be obliged to ensure its welfare, for example by allowing it food and water and housing it with its own species.  Penalties will also be raised for the most serious animal cruelty offences - those relating to organised animal fighting, such as dog fighting.

The whole speech forms a good platform to fight a General Election.

Polish Immigrants

Official figures show that nearly 91,000 people from the new eastern members of the European Union, including Poland, registered to work in Britain from May to September, making a collective £120m contribution to the British economy and paying a further £20m in taxes and national insurance.

The Home Office says that 45% of those who have registered were already in Britain before the May 1 accession date and had used the workers' registration scheme to legalise their status.  A further significant minority - including 60% in agricultural jobs such as fruit picking - have already left the country having come only for summer jobs.

David Blunkett said the figures showed that claims earlier in the year that he was "opening the floodgates" by introducing one of the few schemes in Europe to allow new EU members to work in Britain had proved to be completely wrong.

Looks like Eastern European immigrants are providing a positive contribution to the economy and filling some of the 600,000 job vacancies in Britain.

Waiting lists down

NHS patient waiting lists are down again!

At the end of September, 856,600 people were waiting for treatment - a fall of 4,500 from the previous month.

The 0.5% decrease also means waiting lists have fallen for nine months in a row - the first time that has happened.

The last time waiting lists were this low was September 1987.

Overall, waiting lists have fallen by 300,000 since March 1997 while the number waiting for more than six months has fallen by 100,000 in the last year.

FANTASTIC NEWS!

The man who should be president

I was very disappointed to see that Colin Powell resigned this week.  Born in 1937 in New York's Bronx district to Jamaican immigrant parents, he rose to be the highest ranking soldier in the US army and then became US secretary of state.  I wonder what Prince Charles would make of that? 

Powell says in his resignation letter that he is pleased that his team "undertook major initiatives to deal with the problem of poverty and disease in the developing world".  Powell clearly sees the link between third world poverty and terrorism, and wants to fight on both fronts.

Colin Powell is a great advert for giving people the opportunity to develop themselves to their full ability.  I'm sure he will find another outlet for his talents.

Busy week (again)

The hectic pace continues with two more leafletting sessions up in Whitehouse ward and three council meetings: Police, Electronic Government and Council Housing.  Also found time to go up to Hartismere Hospital on Saturday.

The Police reported back on the crime stats for Ipswich which show a 9.1% decrease in crimes year on year.  The hard work of the Police and the multi-agency teams fighting crime should be warmly applauded.

Question Time

Last week I was invited to attend a Question Time session at Claydon High School for the Claydon and Thurleston Sixth Form.  There were also representatives from the Lib-Dems, Tories and UKIP.  UKIP are not a one issue party because they "know everything that is wrong with the country".

I thought it was a good session and it is especially valuable to listen to the views of young people because they don't talk to politicians much.  There doesn't seem to be a mechanism to communicate with young adults - perhaps we need to go into schools more?

There were two main issues: border control and Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).

EMA is paid to 60 children at Thurleston & Claydon - on family incomes up to £30,ooo per year.  It is a mean tested benefit aimed at helping children from poor families stay on at school for sixth form.  The opposition is from people who don't get it and some are just above the threshold.  The UKhas one of the highest drop out rates of any developed country, which is an alarming waste of talent.  I fully support the EMA aims which are to smash school drop out rates at 16 and boost the aspiration and opportunities for those young people who have never viewed staying on at school or college as something for them.

Border control of immigrants was seen as a big issue and some of the Daily Express terms like "spongers", "swamping", "thousands of Polish gypsies" and "we give away benefits too easily" were trotted out.  A vote was taken and all bar three called for thougher border controls. Is this view widely held?  Immigrants are contributing massively to the British economy and British culture.

There were debates on other points too and all in all it was a good session.  Hopefully I will be invited back!

Mental Heath

I spent half a day last week going round the facilities on offer for Mental Health to constituents of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.  One in four people will have mental health problems at some point in their life, a surprisingly high figure.  It's important that facilities are good so that appropriate treatment can be given early to prevent problems getting worse.

The current facilities need upgrading as they are not up to the standards expected today: patients should be in single rooms with ensuite for privacy during treatment, offices should not be near the treatment areas and consulting rooms need to be the appropriate size.  The Mental Health Trust has a plan to change the model of care with more emphasis on treating patients in their own homes (where they feel more comfortable) rather than putting people in hospital.  Early assessment is the key to this and close working between the Health Trust and Social Services.

I was impressed by the professional attitude of the staff I met and the need for a fundamental shift in the philosophy of care.  I hope that funding from the Strategic Health Authority is forthcoming.

Remembrance Sunday

Another lovely sunny day, cold but with blue skies.  I attended the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotapah in Christchurch Park, Ipswich.  A large crowd was there, the largest crowd for several years.  Perhaps due to the good weather or the war in Iraq?  Many wreaths were laid with every organisation represented.  Apart from the "Bevin Boys". 

During the Second World War, Britain was heavily dependant on coal for heating and electricity but was short of miners, mainly because mining was a hard job with poor pay and conditions.  Ernest Bevin, Minister for war production and former General Secretary of the TGWU decreed that one conscript in ten went into the mines.  The Bevin Boys don't get much recognition for being forced into a horrible job and risking their lives underground.

Saturday Leafletting

Lovely crisp autumn day today.  Just as well as I had a large number of leaflets to deliver!  A big effort from Ipswich Labour Party saw many activists out in the Whitehouse, Whitton and Castle Hill areas, leafletting against against the threatened cuts in the pensioners bus pass. 

Candidates have to do more than most, so I was out morning and afternoon.  Lovely day for it but I fell asleep on the settee when I got home!!