Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

One minute David Cameron is the “heir to Blair” the next he is promising to emulate Thatcher. She destroyed our mining communities and introduced the poll tax where a family of four in a council house had to pay more rates than a millionaire living alone in a mansion. Who or what are his targets? Could it be the entire public sector? Public sector workers, be warned. Mr Cameron has your conditions of service in his sights.

The Conservative leadership continues to advocate a policy of negative stimulus during this global recession. Under the Conservatives the 1990 recession ( which was not a global recession), around twice as many households were repossessed, about two and a half times more businesses became insolvent and almost four times as many people were unemployed.

Working with the Government through Gordon Brown’s leadership our action prevented this recession becoming a depression. The temporary VAT cut and the car scrappage scheme helped encourage spending and boosted confidence among consumers. Over 160,000 businesses took advantage of a postponed taxes policy.

The Bank of England cut interest rates to a record low and kept employment levels healthy.

The Budget will be announced soon and I shall comment on its content in my next letter.

I expect the Chancellor to take steps to halve the deficit within 4 years as promised and to announce measures to bolster the economy by investing in education and skills, transport, infrastructure, health and policing.

What is required now as we emerge from recession is an ambitious and careful programme that will not put the economy at risk. I understand the government intend to promote the Post Office as a people’s bank in order to offer alternative banking opportunities in the near future. This would strengthen the influence of the co-operative movement which is flourishing at the moment. The Co-op’s ethical, social model offers interesting opportunities in the near future.

Meanwhile our local Lib Dem Council introduced its budget that will close care homes and council offices across the borough, withdraw the park warden from Queen’s Park in Heywood and set the largest rate increase in council tax in Greater Manchester and one of the largest increases in the country.

Nationally the Lib Dems will keep student fees, scrap the child savings fund, scrap the universal child benefit and apply savage cuts to schools and the NHS.

All their promises can be checked out in Nick Clegg’s and Vince Cable’s speeches.

I helped launch the CAB programme of support in Middleton on 5 March and I met Dr Julie Higgins, the new Primary Care Trust Chief Executive for Heywood Middleton & Rochdale NHS. She told me that she had spent two weeks in my department at Royal Oldham Hospital on work experience when she was a schoolgirl. How time flies.

I then attended a beautifully organised Women’s World Day of Prayer Service at Mills Hill Baptist Church and in the evening I visited Anne Marshall’s Popstars Academy to celebrate the achievements of some of her students.

On Friday 12 March I visited the new Christie Scanner Suite at the Royal Oldham Hospital. When in full use the scanner will be of tremendous benefit to cancer patients in this catchment area.

My surgeries at Desmesne and Middleton Shopping Centre were very busy. Friday 19 found me at Middleton Technology College for a meeting with Head teacher Mrs Crompton. This school is one of the top schools in the country for achievement and the students and teachers are held in high regard. Most impressive.

Still within Middleton I joined Executive Director Cliff Ellison and his staff at the launch of their new Groundwork Skills and Work Office. This was in partnership with Tesco. Head teacher Mrs Rogerson and a group of pupils from Middleton Parish Primary School who had taken part in an art competition for the event were also present. James Breen recently unemployed spoke about the second chance of employment he had been offered by Groundwork Skills team and he was strong in his praise of the help and support they had given him.

After my Norden and Castleton surgeries, I looked in at the Spring Fair at All Saints Chuch Heywood and enjoyed a chat with some members. Spring is here at last, thank goodness.