Letter from Parliament

Jim Dobbin MP

Parliament is in recess until Monday 4 June.  The recess gives MPs the opportunity to work in their constituencies meeting local groups, individuals and discussing progress in developments taking place.  My offices in Heywood and Westminster generally try to bring casework up to date at recess, although case work never ends.   Mostly the casework comes from advice surgeries that I hold throughout the constituency or letters from constituents asking for help with personal problems.  I have a few vociferous constituents who only write to me around local or general elections and I can usually prophesy in advance who they will be and what issue they will raise.  It is an opportunity for those interested in politics to get involved, to let off steam and to engage in a debate even though they are not always interested in my response.  I have no problem with this as it is part of the democracy we are fortunate to live in and I’d rather people got involved than be apathetic about a process that can change lives. I tend to concentrate on the genuine needs of those individuals who need my support.

In the two weeks before the recess there was a real buzz around Westminster as the Labour leadership election momentum gained pace and the nominations opened for Labour MPs.  At a packed special Parliamentary Labour Party meeting, the General Secretary Peter watt spoke to us about how the process would work.  At the close of nominations, Gordon Brown received 313 votes for the leadership of the Labour Party.  For the Deputy Leadership Hilary Benn got 47, Hazel Blears 49, Jon Cruddas 49, Peter Hain 51, Harriet Harman 65 and Alan Johnson 73 respectively.  We now move on to the next stage of the leadership elections with Gordon Brown and the six candidates for Deputy leadership engaging with and listening to the people in the country starting at our first meetings in Coventry.  On the 24 June in Manchester the Party leadership and Deputy leadership will have been completed.  I nominated Gordon Brown and Jon Cruddas as my team.  I had a 20 minute session with Gordon on the future of the Labour Party and I know the future of the country will be safe in his hands.  On 27 June Tony Blair will hand in his resignation to the Queen and Britain’s most successful Chancellor ever will become Prime Minister.  Meanwhile the business of government continues.

On Wednesday I was briefed on some new measures to target bad employers with tougher fines if they pay below minimum wage.  Paying less than the minimum wage is unfair not only to workers but also to the vast majority of employers who obey the law.  This Labour government introduced the minimum wage in 1999.  Opposition parties opposed it claiming that it would increase unemployment.  The opposite has happened with employment at record levels.  Last week the Empty Property Rates Bill was published to encourage buildings back into use as part of Labour’s efforts to regenerate areas.  Presently most empty commercial properties receive relief from taxation, whereas empty warehouses and factories receive a permanent exemption from rates.  It does not make sense to provide tax relief for buildings that sit empty.  I look forward to voting on this bill as I know that in my constituency this change in the law could benefit the area considerably.  Empty buildings held by charities will be exempt as will empty properties held by community or amateur sports clubs.

The government also announced its intention to introduce road charging and Manchester has offered to be ac pilot scheme.  This will only have my support if the public transport system and infrastructure is improved within my constituency and is in place in advance of road pricing.  The detail announced so far looks interesting and if handled properly could be successful.  It would only apply at peak periods on certain routes going into the city.  If it contributes to a better service for the public and reduces congestion, then future generations will also benefit from reduced carbon levels that could impact beneficially on climate change.

I spoke at the Manchester and North Cheshire Newman Association in Wilmslow on legislating for Life. There followed an interesting discussion on palliative care and pain control at the end of life with one doctor describing the advances in pain management that allow patients to spend their last weeks at home, managing their own pain relief.

On returning to Heywood on Friday, I had called a meeting of all the partners involved in the New Deal Community project.  This was a stocktaking exercise to evaluate progress so far and plan the way ahead.  It was a worthwhile session and visible signs of success will be seen around the town in due course.  My next meeting was with Chief Superintendent Peter Mason and his three Inspectors for Heywood, Castleton and Middleton.   He briefed me on plans to introduce ward neighbourhood policing that should bring greater police visibility around communities and bring police and people closer together.

It was a great pleasure to meet with the Friends of Peine who were hosting a delegation from Heywood’s twin town Peine in Germany.  They visited Queen’s Park to present a bench from the Mayor of Peine, Woodland Primary school where the Mayor planted a tree dedicated to the friendship and later went to Rochdale rugby Union club for a dinner to celebrate 40 years of friendship. I visited the Petrus celebration in the Wheatsheaf Centre.  Petrus do a marvellous job supporting the homeless and deserve public support.

I left on Monday 21 May for Lisbon with the members of the European Scrutiny Committee where we had a packed two days taking evidence from Portuguese politicians and officers prior to Portugal taking over the presidency of the European Community.  We then travelled to Gibraltar to meet with the Governor Sir Robert Fulton and the Chief Minister Peter Caruana QC.  The discussions were detailed about improving relationships between U.K and Spain over Gibraltar and its place in the European Union.

On 26th I visited the fabulous Scout camp at Ashworth Valley where 500 scouts had gathered for a two day event to celebrate their centenary.  I never cease to be impressed at the dedication of the volunteers who contribute such a lot of their spare time and energy supporting the Scout movement.

They could do with many more volunteers.

I ended the day with a visit to Norden Cricket ground for a match with Middleton which I sponsored.  My guests had a superb day and we were made most welcome by the members and club staff and officials. Thank you for a great afternoon.

I intend to have a very short break next week although I still have a few commitments to complete.