Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

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Jim Dobbin MP

As expected, David Cameron is now blaming the Governments’ economic woes on Europe. What a surprise! He contradicts himself every time he opens his mouth. One minute he is Euro sceptic, the next, he is a Europhile. He has no long term strategies for anything. His failure to plan long term will be his undoing. The best example of that was the Health Bill where the Government tabled over 1000 amendments to its own legislation. That is nothing short of incompetence.

The Coalition Government is completely out of touch with the fears of many British people who do not know how they are going to afford to heat their homes this winter. Energy prices are up by 20 per cent this year and nearly 50 per cent over the last four years. With food and fuel prices rising so fast people are struggling to make ends meet. The Government is simply out of touch with the anger and despair people feel as they struggle to keep their heads above water. They are making things worse not better, cutting support like the Winter Fuel Payment introduced by Gordon Brown, at a time when our vulnerable people need it most. Instead of standing up to the powerful energy companies whose profits have soared over the last six months with margins increasing between June and now from £15 per customer head to £125, they stand by and leave those with a vested interest to carry on as they please.

Labour has challenged the Tory-led Government on their failure to tackle the energy companies over soaring prices. We would stand up to these powerful vested interests. Our plans would provide real help to people this winter as well as reforming the way the energy market works in the longer term. We would investigate the mis-selling of energy and look at compensation for ripped off consumers. We would demand simple and fair tariffs. We would reform the energy market and break the dominance of the big six. The coalition allows jobs and businesses to go bust and fails to realise it needs to change tack on the economy. It is now a year since the Government Spending
Review and the decision to cut the deficit further and faster than any other major economy, a deficit I remind you caused by the banks and the markets not the public sector. These out of touch but out of date plans simply haven’t worked! The economy hasn’t grown at all in the last year with inflation soaring and unemployment at its highest level for seventeen years. The Government needs to understand how tough things are for families, pensioners and businesses. Labours’ five points for jobs and growth would introduce a £2 billion tax on bank bonuses to, fund 100,000 jobs for young people, build 25,000 more affordable homes, bring forward investment prospects like new school buildings, temporarily reverse the VAT rise which would give a £450 boost for families with children, cut VAT on home improvements to 5% for a year, offer a tax break for every small firm which takes on extra workers. The Government must accept that its plan for the economy is hurting but not working. It‘s time they got back in touch with the lives of ordinary people and started delivering jobs and growth in Britain and stop helping their wealthy friends.

Locally I attended the funeral at St Pauls, Norden for Jim Haslam, who had been a member of the Labour Party for over seventy years. Jim never wavered in his commitment. He taught at the former Greenhill High School and was a devoted Christian Socialist. My condolences go to his wife Margaret and his family.

The launch of the new Petrus facility at 90 Beswick Royal Street was a positive occasion for people who are homeless.

I also enjoyed the Business Awards Event in the Town Hall.

My Heywood Surgery was busy as usual.