Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

Jim Dobbin MP

The local elections have come and gone and there will be no local elections here in Rochdale until 2010. I was reasonably pleased with the results overall in my constituency where Labour held its own. We lost one seat in North Heywood to the Lib Dems but we gained one in East Middleton from the Lib Dems.

The Conservative revival nationally was mirrored in each ward except North Heywood, where a sizeable Conservative vote supported the Lib Dems. The Lib Dems generally lost votes to the Conservatives which is a return to normal Heywood and Middleton politics with the Labour Party in first place, Conservatives second and Lib Dems coming third.

The Lib Dems increased their overall control of Rochdale Council. It would appear that the local electors are happy to accept the Lib Dems’ support for the congestion charge that is coming in, they are supportive of the cuts in Adult Care and cuts in the Voluntary Sector. They appear to support a reduction in the bin service from a weekly collection to bi-weekly collection. The road chaos that still exists appears to be acceptable to motorists and the above inflation Council Tax rise, despite Rochdale Council receiving the best grant settlement in Greater Manchester, also has public support. One can only assume that the local electorate only has a problem with the government.

The stable economy with still low inflation and the highest level of employment in living memory, the increases in winter fuel allowance, child benefit, tax credits and pensions and the numbers taken out of the tax system altogether (all in the last budget) have obviously been obscured by the 10p tax abolition. I recognise that this last issue was a serious mistake and that is why I signed the Frank Field amendment which has gone a long way to force the government into a U turn. I was called to the Whips’ office to explain my action but insisted that my decision was morally correct. I will work to ensure compensation is given to those groups who lost out. The Government has made a commitment to find a solution to this as quickly as possible.

I am sure they will take the lessons to heart and will continue to seek solutions to the global economic turmoil that has pushed up oil prices causing rises in food prices and fuel costs and subdued the housing market. Every country in the global market has been adversely affected by this financial downturn.

The Government has taken the following steps to try to alleviate the position we find ourselves in by providing £50 billion to help stability in the lending markets. The Chancellor stepped in to save Northern Rock and prevent its problems spreading to other banks and building societies otherwise Northern Rock would have gone bankrupt.

The government led by the Prime Minister is working with the Bank of England , European and international partners and the rest of the financial sector to promote conditions to encourage the banks to start lending to each other again. This action will help families, businesses and the mortgage market.

The £50billion will help to maintain stability in the financial markets, protect the economy and help homeowners.

The recent rise in energy prices makes it clear that vulnerable households in my constituency need further help so I was really pleased that 100,000 households could be lifted out of fuel poverty by an extra £225million to help with rising fuel bills.

Households struggling to pay their fuel bills are set to receive significant extra help with the cost of warming their homes. This money is being provided by domestic energy suppliers in a deal brokered by Energy Secretary, John Hutton. This follows last month’s Budget decision to increase the winter fuel allowance and secure an increase in the amount of money suppliers spend on their social programmes providing help with fuel bills to those who need it most. The government have promised to bring in changes to alleviate the 10p tax problems this financial year. If there are individuals or groups who feel they are not included please write to me at the House of Commons and I shall make the necessary representations.

This week I met representatives from the General Medical Council to discuss awareness on the issue of involuntary tranquilliser addiction as I have indicated previously this is a much larger addiction problem than that of illegal drugs. It is estimated that over 1.5milliom people suffer from long term addiction to these tranquilisers.

My select committee on Communities and Local Government had a three hour evidence session with the Secretary of State Hazel Blears on migration and cohesion and the effect on local services and communities.

I chaired a conference in the House of Commons organised by Maranatha, a Manchester based charity that speaks up for marriage and the family. The speakers included a family court judge, a head teacher, a hospital consultant and a retired Inland Revenue civil servant. It was a most enlightening and informative conference with 150 delegates from around the UK taking part.

I then attended a dinner meeting with the Riverside Group from Liverpool who are involved in the regeneration of Langley Estate. I intend to meet the local staff and board members as soon as possible.

On Thursday I took part as a panel member taking evidence on the prevention of Pneumococcal Disease in the developing world. We heard from medical experts from the UK, Geneva and the USA. All commented on the UK’s lead in introducing the International Finance Facility, an idea from Gordon Brown’s time as Chancellor. They all praised the initiative as the possible solution to providing a vaccine to pneumococcal pneumonia and meningitis and of course the eradication of malaria and other diseases in developing countries, particularly Africa.

I joined the Rochdale Lourdes Group at a dinner dance in the Town Hall where I gave some idea of a week in the life of an MP. It was good to see so many young people involved in the organisation of this fundraiser and the competence and confidence they demonstrated in making it an excellent event. I enjoyed having a chat with Father Joe Sweeney, Catholic Dean of Rochdale and many old friends.

I travelled to London on Sunday and then off to Wexford on Monday morning to attend the British Irish Assembly. I returned to London early on Monday night for a vote on the Finance Bill where I abstained on one vote - trouble with the Whips again I’m afraid.

I have my knee operation on the 13 May and will miss the Second Reading and the early stages of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. I have left a group of MPs from across the parties to deal with this dangerous bill. Our amendments are ready and we will simply do our best. It’s bad luck that I cannot take part. I am speaking at a rally on the Bill in Salford Cathedral at 7.30 on the 8 May.