Sign the Shelter Petition against Rogue Landlords, urges Graham Jones MP.

Rogue landlords are taking advantage of the rental sector boom, Shelter warned today, calling on the Government to give tenants the protection they need and deserve.

Photograph courtesy of Shelter.org.uk

Comedy actors Sean Lock, Chris Oliver and Mike Fielding are supporting Shelter’s campaign against rogue landlords in a new spoof film launched today. The film depicts a scene where a rogue landlord is showing prospective tenants around a grotty and dangerous property, oblivious to any problems it could pose to them. You can view the video of Shelter's facebook page here.

The video can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/

As the number of households privately renting hits 3.4 million (a 40 per cent rise in the past five years), Shelter has seen a worrying 23 per cent increase in the number of people seeking our help for problems with their landlord in the past 12 months.

Tory Council slashes services and goes on a spend, spend, spend

This week the Council Leader is writing more cheques as he prepares for defeat in May's local elections. An attempt to leave the cupboard bare for an incoming Labour Council.

This gross waste of money is a reminder that Hyndburn's Tories don't care about the Borough. Having racked up £millions in debts with nothing to show for it, they seem intent on leaving the Council bankrupt and facing more drastic cuts in each of the next three years.

This week Hyndburn Council has announced a £130,000 refurbishment project for the Sports Centre and handed over £25,000 for a kitchen garden project in Rhyddings Park, Oswaldtwistle.

Mind you the Council Leader with 5 jobs is putting up his allowances, after all to quote him "he's worth it".

Graham Jones supports the Campaign for a Fair Society

The Campaign for a Fair Society took to the streets of London at the weekend to March for an alternative to this Government's cuts to vital public services.

Organisers estimated between 400,000 and 500,000 teachers, nurses, firefighters, council and NHS workers, other public sector employees, students, pensioners and campaign groups came to the capital to show their opposition to the cuts. And apart from a very small amount of people who came determined to cause trouble the protest was peaceful and succeeded in raising the importance of those being affected by the cuts.

The Campaign for a Fair Society

According to the campaign website more than £7 billion of the government's £27 billion cuts will be borne by less than 2% of the population - the most vulnerable.

Why the Government needs to re-think its cuts to the defence budget.

This week I wrote for Total Politics on why there is a need for an urgent re-think on the Government's cuts to the defence budget. You can read my article below:

Time to re-think the SDSR by Graham Jones / 25 Mar 2011

Graham Jones MP calls for the government to rethink defence cuts and the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR)

Following the recent developments in the Middle east and the subsequent imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya, David Cameron is finding himself under increasing pressure this week to rethink the cuts to the UK’s defence budget following claims that decisions such as the scrapping of the aircraft carrier Ark Royal and the Harrier Jump Jet fleet is undermining the UK’s ability to mount military operations.

The government is cutting 5000 personnel from the Royal Air Force by 2015 and an additional 5000 from Navy personnel. There has also been heavy criticism over the decision to reduce the number of all RAF trainee pilots by a quarter.

Last month former Army and Navy chiefs wrote to the prime minister calling for him to urgently rethink the cuts that were previously laid out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) in October of last year.

The ongoing problem of illegal entry in to properties for scrap metal

I found this vehicle travelling down back alleys seeking scrap metal. Today I saw another with the cheeky moniker on the side proclaiming green credentials. This vehicle has been reported to the Police.

Budget broadcast response by the Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls MP

Please find below the text of this evening’s Budget response broadcast by Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls MP. The broadcast was recorded at Coin Street Children’s Centre in Lambeth, South London:

All around the country families, pensioners and businesses are facing tough times.

Over the last three years we’ve been through the biggest global financial crisis and world recession since the 1930s and it’s left us with a huge challenge to reduce the deficit.

The Conservatives want you to believe it was too much spending on schools, hospitals and police which caused the recession and the deficit, because they want an excuse to cut spending on those services now.

The reality is that, while Britain had low national debt, it was the irresponsible actions of banks all around the world that got us into that mess.

Every major country in the world faced that recession and as tax revenues plummeted they all ended up with big deficits.

But it was also the fault of governments and central banks –including Britain’s – who did not see the financial crisis coming and should have been tougher in regulating the banks.

When the City and the Conservatives called for lighter regulation, we should have ignored them and been tougher still.

Prime Minister's Questions yesterday

Yesterday during Prime Ministers Question Time  I bobbed up and down to catch the speakers eye. I wanted readers to know that I am trying to raise the issue of odious Aso Ibrahim Mohammed on behalf of the Houston family with the Prime Minister.

Budget Calculator

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12773565

The truth about George Osborne’s Budget - Ed Miliband

Ed Miliband MP, Leader of the Opposition, responding to today's Budget, said:

“It’s not the Chancellor that’s rescuing the country. It’s the country that needs rescuing from this Chancellor.”

This is a no growth Budget. One fact says it all: growth is down last year, this year and next year.

What we learned today is that George Osborne's plan to cut too deep and too fast is hurting, but it's not working.

On the cost of living, it’s the same old Tory con. As the IFS said today he’s “giving with one hand... and taking away with lots and lots of other hands”.

He’s promising a £45 tax cut next year, but he’s taking away £450 from families with children in higher VAT this year. And he’s cutting fuel duty by 1p, but VAT is adding 3p to the cost of a litre of petrol.

So it’s hurting. But it’s also not working. The independent budget watchdog's verdict on today’s Budget is clear: this so-called growth plan won’t work.

Growth is down last year, this year and next year, inflation is up, unemployment is up and that's why the government will be borrowing £44.5 billion more over coming period.

So this plan will actually make it harder to get the deficit down.

Instead of giving the banks a tax cut this year he should have repeated the bank bonus tax to create over 100,000 jobs, build 25,000 affordable homes, rescue construction apprenticeships and boost investment in businesses.

These cuts are too deep and too fast, they’re hurting families, they’re damaging our economy and George Osborne needs to think again before it’s too late.

The Truth: Growth down, borrowing up, and unemployment up.GROWTH DOWN LAST YEAR, THIS YEAR, AND NEXT YEAR

GDP (% change)
	2010	2011	2012
Autumn Forecast	1.8	2.1	2.6
Budget 2011	1.3	1.7	2.5
Change	-0.5	-0.4	-0.1

BORROWING UP BY £43.4

Public Sector Net Borrowing (£ billion)
	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16
Autumn Forecast	148.5	117	91	60	35	18
Budget 2011	145.9	122	101	70	46	29
Change	-2.6	4	10	10	11	11

HIGHER DEBT INTEREST PAYMENTS AND £17.6bn HIGHER DEBT INTEREST

Central Govt Gross Debt Interest (£ billion)
	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16
Autumn Forecast	42.7	44	48.6	53.5	58.9	63.1
Budget 2011	43.1	48.6	50.9	56.6	62.4	66.8
Change	0.4	4.7	2.2	3.1	3.5	3.6

UNEMPLOYMENT UP EVERY YEAR BY UP TO 200,000 PEOPLE comparison of Supplementary Forecast Data from November and today’s OBR forecasts shows that in both A Q1 2013 and Q4 2013 ILO is revised up by 200,000.

See http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/econ-fiscal-outlook.html and http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/econ-fiscal-outlook-march.html.

ILO Unemployment (% rate)
	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Autumn Forecast	8	7.7	7.2	6.7	6.1
BUDGET 2011	8.2	8.1	7.6	7	6.4
Change	0.2	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.3

HIGHER UNEMPLOYMENT MEANS A HIGHER BENEFIT BILL
SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS UP BY £12.6 BILLION OVER THE PARLIAMENT

Social security benefits (£bn)
	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16
Autumn Forecast	169.3	174.5	177	176.5	181.2	188.1
Budget 2011	169	174.3	179.4	178.9	183.2	189.3
Change	0.6	0.6	3.2	3.2	2.9	2.1

The truth: How few people benefit from this Budget

It will do nothing to help first time struggling first time buyers.

According to Shelter the first time buyer announcement benefits less than one per cent of people struggling to get on the housing ladder:

“Today’s announcement will help less than one per cent of people struggling to get on the housing ladder, leaving them more likely to win the lottery than be helped through this small-scale scheme.”
Campbell Robb, Chief Executive of Shelter, 23 March 2011 - http://england.shelter.org.uk/news/march_2011/budget_offers_little_help
It will do nothing to help small businesses:

R and D tax credit changes benefit fewer than 7,000 (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/rd-numberofclaims.pdf) small businesses out of 5 million (4.8 million to be exact: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/).

The increase in entrepreneurs’ relief benefits just a few hundred people. (Just 2,000 people make cgt gains of more than £1 million: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/capital_gains/table14-3.pdf)

It will do nothing to benefit charities:

The Inheritance Tax change on donations will benefit hardly any charities at all because fewer than 16,000 people pay inheritance tax (16,000 taxpayers each year: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/table1-4.pdf).
It will do nothing to help reduce youth unemployment, which currently stands at historic levels:

New apprenticeships help just 12,500 young people each year (Budget 2011, p.33) out of nearly 1 million youth unemployed (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lmsuk0311.pdf p2).

The Truth: A Budget of smoke and mirrors
This was a Budget of smoke and mirrors designed to deflect from the reality that the Tories are breaking their promises and hitting people hard.

George Osborne said today that he didn’t need to ask the British public for any more and that this was “not a tax-raising Budget”.

“But we have already asked the British people for what is needed, and today we do not need to ask for more. So this is not a tax-raising Budget.”

George Osborne, Budget statement, 23 March 2011
But this ignores the fact that his decision to index direct taxes by CPI from April 2012 is a tax rise - netting the Treasury £1bn by 2015-16 and hitting hardworking families up and down the country.

Looking just at direct taxes, even taking account of the personal allowance changes, the Chancellor today raised more than he is giving away Personal Allowance: - 1230, CPI Switch +1080 and NICS +610 (Budget 2011, Page 42).
Pensioners get no benefit from the increase in the personal allowance:

George Osborne is raising taxes by more than he is increasing the personal allowance.

But what he didn’t say in his Budget is that pensioners won’t benefit by a penny at the same time as they’re having to deal with a higher rate of VAT.

The idea that drivers should be grateful for a 1p cut in fuel duty when George Osborne’s VAT rise is adding 3p to the price of petrol is laughable.

When people fill up their cars this weekend, they should remember £1.35 of the cost is because of the Tory VAT rise.

Figures from the independent House of Commons Library show the VAT rise has added nearly 3p cost of a litre of petrol – around £1.35 to the cost of filling up a 50 litre tank with fuel.

House of Commons Library figures also show that under the last Conservative government between 1990 and 1997 the tax take from unleaded petrol rose 16 percentage points from 59% to 75%.

The table also shows that under the last Labour government – between 1997 and 2010 – the percentage tax take fell from 75% to 65% The table can be found on page 11 here: http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/briefings/snsg-04712.pdf.

George Osborne knew he didn’t have a Budget for growth which is why he panicked at the last minute. The OBR have let slip that he added the corporation tax cut at the final moment and have cast doubt on whether this measure will affect growth:

“B.13 The OBR was notified of the change to corporation tax and the 1p cut in fuel duty from 1 April 2011 too late to incorporate any indirect effect of these measures in the economy forecast. However, we believe any such effects would have been minimal.”
Budget 2011 Policy Costings, (p.75) - http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_policycostings.pdf

Why fuel duty is a Tory tax

Thanks to the efforts of Labour MP John Mann who has produced an empirical factual document on changes in fuel duty since 1929 we are able to work out where responsibility lies in fuel duty tax.

It is no surprise then that the Conservatives are waking up to that fact they can no longer play the blame game.

The summary findings are

· The Liberals and Conservatives introduced fuel duty and VAT

· Of every pound spent on fuel, Conservatives are responsible for around 43 pence of tax. Labour are responsible for 17 pence.

· 70% of tax on fuel is Tory tax.

· Conservatives introduced VAT, and raised it four times: from 0 to 10%, from 12.5% to 15%; from 15% to 17.5% and from 17.5% to 20%.

· Conservatives quintupled fuel duty between 1979 and 1997

· In 1999, the Labour Government stopped the fuel duty escalator and the proportion of tax on fuel fell by a fifth to a level not seen since 1992.

Lancashire Police Authority - Viewpoint March

I thought I would publish this months as it focuses on the reckless Police cuts the  Tories have imposed and the Police Reform Bill.

WaterAid. Walking for clean water - Hundreds of thousands walk around the world

This week I agreed to support the 'walk for water' at Westminster as part of a global campaign to raise awareness for the world water and sanitation crisis.

Recession is hitting the poorest hardest, says IFS report.

A new report out today by the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that pensioners and poorer households are amongst those that have been the worst hit by the recession. Whilst those earning higher incomes have also seen their income fall, the report also shows that the rich are better able to cope with the brunt of cuts than the poor.

Report summary
Over the last three years there has been a substantial change in the average household income. The report found that from 2008-2011:

• Richest income down 3.8%
• Pensioner income down 2.4%
• Poorest income down 2.1%
• Households with children down 1.1%
• Households without children down 1.8%
• Median income down 1.6%

Across the board, real incomes in the UK fell by 1.6% a year between 2008 and 2011, the study found.

Does Cameron remember the economic misery of the 1980s?

You can read my article for Total Politics here on my hopes for George Osborne's budget this week and the importance of protecting jobs.

Ahead of Osborne’s budget next week, the chancellor must be thinking carefully about how to prevent the further loss of jobs and skilled workers from our economy. Will the government put forward a credible proposal for growth or will they plough ahead with their programme of deep and damaging cuts.

SORE Save our Respite Establishments - Hargreaves House facing possible closure?

Next Saturday, the 26th at 12.30 in Accrington Town Centre there will be demonstration to save Hargreaves House, one of the 8 respite units for children with disabilities across Lancashire.

The 2011 budget cuts see disabled children's respite under threat. All 8 of the respite units across Lancashire are affected. A number of the units are to close unless the council once again listens and has a change of heart.

The respite units are a home-from-home, a place where children can stay overnight, have fun, learn independence and play and socialise with their peers in a safe environment while their families take a break from 24/7 lifelong caring. It means both child and family get a break from their caring situation.

Many families describe their respite unit as their 'lifeline'.

The Save Our Respite Establishments (SORE) was formed by parents of disabled children in 2006 when Lancashire County Council proposed for closure -simply due to budget cuts- Maplewood House, a disabled children's respite unit. SORE supports families who use the respite centres and will continue to highlight the importance of the respite units for families.


Driver does screeching U-turn... but in wrong direction..
http://sore2011.blogspot.com/2011/02/driver-does-screeching-u-turn.html

Back in 2009 Conservative's in Lancashire described the closures by the then Labour County Council as 'hitting (the services) of those who rely on them most' with £150,000 of cuts to respite care homes. See flyer below.

This was is the fire storm of the economic downturn. Now the Conservative plans to go much further than mere savings but to close these centres entirely and scale back services. Clearly it wasn't time for change as indicated on the bottom of the leaflet.



If you feel you could benefit from this service contact them for further details:

Alexandra House, Lancaster, Tel: 01524 37606
South Avenue, Morecambe, Tel: 01524 411530
The Bungalow, Preston, Tel: 01772 716252
Maplewood House, Bamber Bridge, Preston, Tel: 01772 336384
Grimshaw Lane, Ormskirk, Tel: 01695 572861
Long Copse, Chorley, Tel: 01257 264485
Reedley Cottages, Burnley, Tel: 01282 602245
Hargreaves House, Oswaldtwistle, Tel: 01254 235675

Michael Dugher (Barnsley East) (Lab) puts the Tory spin machine in reverse

I thought my colleague Michael Dugher condensed the the current economic woes and political spin succintly with this little speech.

"For the past six months, Labour Members have had to endure speeches from Government Members based on the Andy Coulson script. I am allowed to criticise the No. 10 scripts because I used to write them, which is probably just one of the reasons we lost the election.

The script basically says that the deficit is the only thing that matters, and that the deficit was caused entirely by the profligacy, over a decade, of the Labour Government.

Graham Jones writes for Left Foot Forward

Axing of housing regeneration scheme could set communities back a decade.

Graham Jones MP (Labour, Hyndburn) writes for Left Foot Forward

At the end of this month the Housing Market Renewal programme (HMR) introduced back in 2002 under the previous Labour government, will come to an end; so, what is HMR? Housing Market Renewal (HMR) Pathfinders have operated since 2002 in areas of low housing demand.

They were introduced under the previous Labour government with the aim of rebuilding housing markets and communities in parts of the North and the Midlands where demand for housing is relatively weak – areas which have seen a significant decline in population, dereliction, poor services and poor social conditions.

The intention of the strategy was to renew failing housing markets and reconnect them to regional markets, to improve neighbourhoods and to encourage people to live and work in these areas.

Speech to the SMARTEX Transport Card Forum in London

This morning I spoke at the SMARTEX Transport Card Forum in London on the use of Smartcards on buses in East Lancashire. Smartcard technology is a key factor in making public more accesible to everyone in the local community.

You can read some of what I said here having added a lot of local content as I spoke:

Politics Show North West - BBC iplayer.

Council Leader, Peter Britcliffe were side by side with Anabell Tiffin on Sunday discussing Housing, Primary Schools and the Big Society.

Whilst Peter has spent 30 years in politics it was my first TV Interview and I was a bit nervous.You can watch it again here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00zgk8j/The_Politics_Show_North_West_13_03_2011/

Llloyds Foundation for Charities & Barclays Take One Small Step competition

1. Barclays £450,000 'Take One Small Step' Competition - Get Your Local Businesses Involved
2. LloydsTSB Foundation Supporting small and medium charities

Is this Cameron's idea of localism? Woodnook faces the brunt of housing cuts

Spending cuts stall regeneration plans as housing minister ends 10 years of community regeneration efforts, says Graham Jones MP for Total Politics Magazine

A decade-long housing regeneration programme will come to an end at the end of this month leaving £2.2bn worth of taxpayers' money invested in projects only halfway through completion.

The Housing Market Renewal (HMR) programme, introduced in 2002 under Labour, operated in some of the most deprived areas of the country. Its aim? To rebuild housing markets in areas of social and economic decline.

Originally intended to be a 10 to 15-year programme, the government has pulled the plug on it eight years in, at a time when many of the schemes were beginning to see results.

This week, a report released by the Audit Commission commended the HMR programme. It found that HMR made a substantial contribution to improving housing and economic circumstances in some of the country's most deprived areas.

Dromey calls on Government to think again on abandoning Housing Regeneration Programme

Jack Dromey, Labour’s Shadow Local Government Minister, has called on the Government to think again following the release of a report today which highlights the success of the Housing Market Renewal programme which will be terminated by the Government on 31st March, 7 years earlier than planned.

The report by the Audit Commission shows that the programme has:
· generated £5.8 billion of economic activity across the economy
· created some 19,000 jobs in construction and related industries
· for every £1 of HMR investment, attracted over £1 in additional investment from the private and public sectors – and it anticipates that this could have risen significantly had the programme been allowed to run its full length.
· refurbished more than 108,000 existing homes
· attracted private investment to complete over 15,000 new homes

The report suggests that the termination of the programme “untimely and premature” and it states that “the emphasis must be on completing current key interventions; not least to ensure that promises made to communities are met and to reduce the risk of previous investments being undermined by leaving a legacy of uncompleted projects.”

BBC News - Pathfinder home regeneration schemes scrapped

This morning BBC TV News ran a piece about the cuts in Housing Market Renewal which Hyndburn was one of the most significant recipients receiving some £8.5m per year. This money has been axed and Woodnook, East Accrington and parts of Blackburn Road will remain derelict and run down.

The Government has stated in this interview and others that ‘enough money has been provided’ to finish legal obligations. Hyndburn has received just £2.7m to cover around 1400 properties. £2,000 per property or around 100 demolitions.

The Government has run in trouble as Hyndburn Borough Council have decided to spend the funding large scale election promises in marginal seats. Funding has not been ring fenced for the purpose the minister has identified and Conservative Hyndburn Council is taking full advantage.

Early indications suggest that current commitments and a minimum exit strategy to avoid blight becoming the norm will cost in excess of £2.7m allocated. To watch the full piece follow the link below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12662502

Ed Balls - Government must do a u-turn on VAT increases on fuel

The turmoil and revolutions we’ve seen in the Middle East and North Africa will have profound consequences – for democracy and millions of citizens in that region, but also for living standards and growth here in Britain and across the world.

We’ve been here before. The two global recessions in the 1970s were both linked to the supply and cost of oil from that region which the whole world is dependent on. The 1973-75 recession followed the collapse of the OPEC deal which saw a big rise in oil prices. And in 1979 it was the revolution in Iran and the deposing of the Shah which forced up world oil prices, with petrol hitting £1 a gallon. 

Both times global downturns hit Britain hard. But in 1979 things here were made much worse by the austerity budgets of the incoming Thatcher government – near-doubling VAT, cutting spending and forcing up mortgage rates.

Ivan Lewis MP (Labour), DCMS Shadow Sec: Statement on Newscorp and BSkyB in the HoC

Four weeks ago, the Secretary of State said he was minded to refer Newscorp’s acquisition of BSkyB to the Competition Commission.

Today, it is clear he has changed his mind. Hon Members and many people outside the House will want reassurances that the Rt Hon Gentleman hasn’t put the perceived interests of his party and career ahead of the public interest.

Ratings website for private renters could help show bad landlords the door says consumer watchdog

The private rented sector generates more complaints than almost any other. According to a new report issued today by Consumer Focus, the consumer watchdog, one of the biggest issues is that private renters often know very little about their landlords before signing a tenancy agreement.

Today the watchdog has written to some of the largest letting agents and deposit schemes in England calling on them to explore how online feedback could empower tenants by giving them a better insight into their potential landlords.

The new report – ‘Opening the door’ – outlines the information imbalance which works against consumers in the private rented sector. Just 15 per cent of tenants surveyed were able to find all of the information they wanted about a prospective landlord or letting agency.

Why an Independent-Conservative in Milnshaw is good for democracy.

Gerrymandering at elections seems all the vogue. Nationally we have had the Constituencies (Gerrymandering) Bill. Locally we have an independent candidate doing a back door deal with local Conservatives who then did not field a candidate.

Some might say this consensus politics. A healthy relationship. It isn't when Tory voters are not able to vote for someone who fundamentally believes in what they believe. Who may defect having no official allegiance and take his vote with him leaving his mandate to the people behind.

Signing a pledge to vote Tory but present your self on the ballot paper as Independent (and anything but Conservative on leaflets) will be viewed as political dishonesty. It is my guess the leaflet won't say in big letters, aligned to the Conservatives.

Democracy works in wonderful ways though having been approached by a Independent Conservative who shares my democratic view. I have said I will support his candidature as he has indicated he wants to stand in Milnshaw presenting 'a traditional blue-Conservative view'.

His political views of course I do not share but our common ground is democracy and the right to representation on the ballot paper. My support will be for Paul Cox, the Labour candidate in Milnshaw.

These tight hard fought local elections seem to have many twists and turns. The people of Milnshaw may well have 3 names after all on the ballot paper. Independent (Conservative), Independent and Labour.