Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

There is anger in Heywood and Middleton over the decision of the Lib Dem Group to prevent the three Heywood councillors representing their electorate on Heywood and Middleton Townships.

The Labour and Conservative groups both oppose this move.

The voters of Hollin and Hopwood will rightly punish the instigators of this politically naïve decision at the appropriate time. This decision goes against every concept of natural democratic justice.

Councillors Susan Emmott, Linda Robinson and Carol Wardle should stand firm or these Lib Dem Councillors will attempt to impose other vindictive changes in both Townships. Their claims to uphold devolved local government is a complete sham and they should be ashamed of this decision.

Let me also make it clear once again that the review of grade and salaries that is on going is to bring some fairness into the structure.

The disgraceful model used by this same Council resulting in huge salary reductions for some is of Rochdale council’s choosing. They should take a leaf out of some other authorities’ book and look at how they are implementing changes in a much fairer and more sensitive way. They should go back to the drawing board instead of riding roughshod over their employees and the Trade Unions.

I have been campaigning with a number of MPs against the decision by United Utilities to grossly inflate charges for surface water drainage. This has adversely affected Churches and Sports Clubs and Scouts and Guides in particular. This decision meant that they were paying more than some private companies. The Bishop of Middleton has certainly put the issue on the political agenda and I congratulate him on his campaign.

We have had an initial victory in that United Utilities have agreed to place a moratorium on any further increases in the immediate future. We need to continue the fight to get the recent charges reduced as soon as possible.

The global financial crisis continues to dominate. Russia and America have both introduced considerable financial stimulus to try to kick-start the world economy. The banks are still not demonstrating a willingness to lend and must now be under threat of complete nationalisation, a move I would support.

As a former Chairman of Housing in Rochdale, I support the Prime Minister’s call to build council housing. I was the last chairman of housing to be responsible for building 300 homes across the borough. Derek Walker Court, Arnold Bagnall Court, Longford Street in Heywood and Threlkeld Court in Middleton were part of that programme. Castleton, Norden and Bamford also benefited at that time. Rochdale Council has considerable capital receipts from the sale of land and buildings and should listen to the call of the Prime Minister.

Down in the Commons this week the weather has dominated the headlines. London was brought to a virtual standstill on 2 February.

Boris Johnson failed to ensure the roads were clear for traffic. Buses and trains were unable to function.

I have never seen the streets of London so empty of people and traffic since the terrorist attacks. When we arrived in the House of Commons around 9am the place was like a ghost town.

As Chair of the All Party Group on Tranquilliser Addiction I sponsored an Exhibition in the Upper Waiting Hall last week to raise awareness and to focus the attention of 2 government departments the Dept of Health and the Dept of Work and Pensions on the tragedy of the 1.5 million people whose lives have been ruined by this problem. These individuals have been damaged by prolonged dependence on prescribed tranquillisers. The government needs to invest in withdrawal support to get the sufferers back to work. The investment would be cost effective in reducing the numbers on incapacity benefits. I have arranged a meeting with Tony Mc Nulty, the Minister from Work and Pensions who has responsibility in this area to see what can be done.

Phil Woolas MP, Paul Rowen MP and I had a meeting with Sion Simon MP a Minister in the Dept for Innovation, Universities and Skills to discuss the new Sixth form College and the future of Further Education in the Borough, especially Heywood and Middleton.

It was a pleasure to have a visit from Mr and Mrs Langford from Heap Bridge and their relatives also from Heywood on 3 February. Norma does a huge amount of work through Daniel’s Trust, an organisation set up by Norma and Lynn Farr to offer support to relatives and victims of bullying in the armed forces. We had a meeting with Defence Minister Kevan Jones MP who also has a personal interest in this serious issue. Although Norma had a series of meetings to attend that day she managed to fit in some lunch with me. It was a pleasure to see her and her family and I have enormous respect for the selfless work she does.

I have embarked on a series of school visits and began with a visit to Heap Bridge Primary where I met with new Headteacher Mr Cockcroft. I was able to take part in the morning assembly and present some awards to some pupils who took part in a project called Wizards’ Writing. The youngsters were excited and thrilled to be part of a project of great merit.

I am glad they did not quiz me on the details of Harry Potter. It was a lovely assembly.

The weather forecast for the journey to London is not promising. Let’s hope the roads are clear and safe. I think the answer to traffic congestion is constant snow. It certainly restricts traffic and helps to reduce CO2 emissions. This must be the secret solution.