My week ahead, 25 - 30 January 2016

Monday 25 January - 6pm, Labour Group meeting

Wednesday 27 January - 6pm, Ipswich Borough, Full Council meeting

Thursday 28 January - 7pm, North East Ipswich Labour meeting, speaker from the Refugee support centre - Old Times Guest House, Cauldwell Hall Rd

Friday 29 January - 8am, Culture portfolio meeting

Saturday 30 January - 10am, Labour campaigning in Rushmere Ward


A fine sunny Saturday and great to join 20 other Ipswich Labour members back on the doorstep, we have been campaigning all year but now their is an added bounce in our step as we start to focus on the elections in May (with a possible Euro referendum in June also on our minds).

Yesterday we were in North West Ipswich, and as well as canvassing we were also collecting signatures for our joint campaign with the FBU to stop the savage Tory cuts to our fire service.

I got an interesting response on the doorstep and one that highlights a problem Labour has got nationally. Everyone was keen to sign our petition against the Tory cuts to our fire service, even Tory voters and that is the issue. Many people are happy to vote Tory in the General Election are are very unhappy with the Tory County Council and would not want a Tory run Borough Council. What they seem to be unaware of or happy to ignore is the fact that many of the proposed cuts are due to the way the Tory Government are slashing funding to local councils.

I can understand their concerns about the Tories taking control in Ipswich - they would look to freeze council tax (even if the Tory Government is expecting councils to now raise council tax by 2%) so without Government support a Tory council in Ipswich could lead to the closing of sports centres, swimming pools, cuts to to grants to local charities and a start to charging for your bins.

What we have to do as the Labour party is to persuade voters that they can trust a Labour run Government just like they already trust Labour Councils over Tory run administrations.

This week we also saw one more Ben Gummer column where there is no mention of Europe - with a possible referendum under 6 months away, is it not about time our MP tells his constituents if he wishes us to stay in Europe?

My week ahead, 18 - 23 January 2016

Monday 18 January, 4pm – Culture portfolio briefing

6pm – Labour Group training

Tuesday 19 January, 5pm – Early Warning Group

Thursday 21 January, 7pm – North East Ipswich Labour campaigning

Saturday 23 January, 10am – Labour campaigning in South East Ipswich

On Thursday at the North East Ipswich Area Committee, we had a briefing by senior Fire Officers on what can only be described as a plan for savage cuts to our Suffolk Fire Service with Ipswich seeming to be facing the brunt of the cuts.

The tow senior Fire Officers were very honest in the answers they gave the public and councillors (not surprising but most of the questions came from the Labour councillors as only one Tory councillor out of the 4 present asked a question – are they happy with the planned cuts?)

We had been promised that the Tory Cabinet Member responsible for the Fire Service would attend but he had ended up remaining at Endeavour House trying to explain the cuts to the Fire Service Staff, but we would have hoped to have seen at least one Tory County Councillor present but we had none. Cllr Murray the only Tory County Councillor in Ipswich sent his apologies and there was no sign of Cllr Hudson.

Who is Cllr Hudson you may ask, well he is the supposed Tory solution for Ipswich having no representation on the ruling Tory Cabinet but not sure he spending much time on Ipswich matters, he has been given the dates of all the 5 Ipswich Area Committees but so far has failed to attend any and I am almost certain that he been at no other meetings held in the Borough – Full Council, Executive or Scrutiny.

So maybe he should just give up the role as it becomes more obvious by every meeting he fails to attend that his appointment by Tory leader, Colin Noble was just a simple PR stunt and even more evidence (if it was needed) that the Tories have no interest in what happens in Ipswich – the County town of Suffolk.

One test of the County will be the building of the Wet Dock Crossing, the original plan by Mr Gummer did not seem to me to stack up and just seemed all talk as I could not see how a crossing involving the Island would help alleviate traffic congestion in Star Lane, but I do see some merits in the new plan that was presented this week but Mr Gummer may not be so keen on the new price tag, over £100 million and almost twice the original budget - £100 million may seem cheap when you try and work out what the Tories spent £20 million on with ‘Travel Ipswich’ budget!

The new Wet Dock project would require a financial contribution from local Government, not sure how Mr Gummer will have to cheek to ask for anything off us when his Government has just slashed its direct grant to us. The Tory County Council may also struggle to help pay for the crossing when it also has to contribute to the second crossing in Lowestoft which seems to be above the proposed Ipswich Wet Dock crossing in the major project pecking order.

My week ahead, 11 - 17 January 2016

Monday 11 January, 5pm – Briefing on cuts to Suffolk Police Force

7pm – Labour Group campaigning

Thursday 14 January, 6pm – North East Partnership Group meeting

7pm – North East Area Committee, St John’s Church – Cauldwell Hall Road

Saturday 16 January, 10am – Labour campaigning in North East Ipswich

Sunday 17 January, 7pm – Labour fundraising curry night

It was great to get out campaigning again on what could be a busy year, we know we have council elections in Ipswich in May and they will be combined with the vote for the Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner and it now seems that David Cameron is keen on a Summer vote in his proposed European Referendum, leaving little time to campaign after he has completed his re-negotiation with our EU partners. Also giving little time for the splits in the Tory Party to surface and possible destroy his hopes of a further 4 years as Prime Minister.

We have our own well documented splits in the Labour Party and I can’t see a total truce between both sides of the party but there are enough local members willing to work hard for the party and actually use campaigning to show that we are united in our refusal to accept that the Tory way is the best way.

In fact local Ipswich Tories know that the Tory way is not popular as they are quick to distance themselves from unpopular Tory policy by shouting “it’s not us it the (Tory run) County Council” seeming to forget that the proposed cuts to the Fire Service and rural transport are down to Tory Government cuts (plus a large dose of ideological reasons).

Any bad news in Ipswich seems to just be ignored by local Tory politicians, their leader is quick to comment on the terrible events in Cologne (as she has the right to) but total silence from any local Tory over the very critical Ofsted report that Thurleston Academy received this week.

We also hear very little comment from any local Tory councillor (or either MP in fact) over the cuts to our Fire Service, Police Service, and transport budget or highway fiasco.

Maybe the local Ipswich Tory party should be renamed the Tory ‘Head in the Sand’ party?

We will campaign on our great record as a Labour Borough Council – Council homes built, investment in town centre, grants to cover cuts to education by Tory County Council but it is only right for us to highlight what you get from a Tory run council – cuts, cuts and cuts all with little consultation!

My week ahead, 4 - 10 January 2016

Monday 4 January, 7am – Labour campaigning

4pm - Culture Portfolio meeting

7pm – Labour Group campaigning

Wednesday 6 January, Culture working group

Friday 8 January, Lecture to Public Service students at Suffolk New College

Saturday 9 January, 10am – Labour campaigning in the town centre

For many work in 2016 will start tomorrow and many will start their day by using a train, our Tory MP, Ben Gummer has banged on about the great improvements that he and his fellow Tory MPs from Witham and Norwich have provided for us on our local railways – what a load of rubbish – most of us have just seen the system get worse but fares increase.

It has become obvious for many that all Mr Gummer is really interested in is the Ipswich-London line, the cry of ‘Norwich in 90 and Ipswich in 60’ but in fact tat will just mean a worse service for those who just want to travel to Colchester or Chelmsford, maybe Mr Gummer is becoming more like the former Tory MP for South Suffolk – Tim Yeo and just more interested in making it back to London as fast as he can?

What i think most commuters and occasional passengers would rather have is a guaranteed Ipswich to London in 75 minutes but with a clean train, seat, wif-fi and maybe a buffet.

Yet again yesterday there were no trains between Ipswich and Felixstowe, but if it is not going to London, Mr Gummer does not seem interested – actually I maybe wrong as he was keen on the varsity line for Cambridge to Oxford , but not sure how it will help those of us in Ipswich when the Ipswich to Cambridge line is so slow. We have also not seen the promised improvements to the Ipswich – Peterborough service, an important link to trains to the Midlands and the North East. Only a few weeks ago we had no trains on that line but thankfully Tory MP for Suffolk Coastal did give her constituents the advice that they could o go via Cambridge! A tweet that indicates how out of touch Therese Coffey is with her constituents, at least it was a tweet giving some sort of advice as most of her tweets seem to be written by Tory HQ (something she has in common with Mr Gummer).

It might not be all pain sailing for Mr Gummer on his rail crusade, the latest franchise deal was thrown into chaos when one of the bidders pulled out of a joint bid and the new MP for South Suffolk may have realised that ‘Ipswich in 60’ may not mean a better service for his constituents, who in fact may see less trains from places like Marks Tey an important junction for many from South of the county.

Mr Gummer mentioned the railways and the town centre in his ‘New Year’ message but no mention of Europe – strange when it now seems that Mr Cameron may even want to go to the country with the Euro referendum in the Summer. I believe Mr Gummer is pro the EU but we hear nothing from him whilst the local Tory Leader is anti EU and one of their candidates for the local elections in May even blamed the flooding in the North of England of Europe. So I for one think it is about time our MP tells us his constituents what his views e on Europe and the EU referendum .

My week ahead 21- 26 December 2015 - Happy Christmas

Monday 21 December, 6pm - Labour Group campaigning/training

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL THE READERS OF MY BLOG 

Walking Home For Christmas - done it!

A few months ago I decided to participate in the #walkinghomeforchristmas charity campaign organised by the veterans charity, 'Walking with the Wounded'.

I also decided to make it very challenging for myself, so came up with the idea of walking back to Ipswich from Fulham, well not exactly West London, I decided to get the train to Chelmsford and then walk back over 60 miles, solo, starting at midnight and cross country via the Essex Way.

Good news is that I have raised over £2,000 so far bad news was that it was harder than I thought, not helped by falling a mug bog up to my waist after only just 40 minutes! But by Wednesday evening i was home if slightly tired!

You can still sponsor me here

Find out more about 'Walking with the Wounded' here

Whitehouse Estate and Ipswich remember two of their own

In 1979 the British Army suffered one of its worst losses of life when 18 soldiers were murdered by the IRA at Warrenpoint, this was in the time  before the days of 24/7 news and also when the troubles in Northern Ireland seemed to many of us to be deliberately ignored by both the press and politicians.

But in one part of Ipswich the Warrenpoint atrocity would not be forgotten as one of those from the 2^nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment murdered that day was 18 year old Gary Barnes.

Gary was from the Whitehouse Estate and a former Westbourne School pupil.

There is a memorial at Warrenpoint, a bench in Aldershot (the former home of the Paras) and a further memorial in Palace Barracks, Belfast. Gary was not forgotten in Ipswich and his name was added to the Cenotaph in  Christchurch Park, Ipswich.

27 Years later, another young man left Whithouse Estate to join the British Army  as a member of his local regiment, the Royal Anglians. Aaron McClure lived close to where Gary lived and went to the same school as Gary and was even in the same year at school as Gary’s nephew. Whithouse is a small estate where everyone knows everyone, a village within the town. In 2007, Aaron was to lose his life in Afghanistan, just north of Sangin in a ‘friendly fire’ incident.

One town, one estate, one school and now they had lost two young brave men fighting for their country.

I became a councillor in 2008 and then had a year away as I returned to the army in 2009 to serve in Afghanistan, on my return I was keen for a lasting memorial to be in the town to Aaron and David Ellesmere the council leader agreed and we both thought a street named after Aaron would be a fitting tribute.

We had a number of opportunities to name a street after this brave man but we were keen for the new road to be in the area of the Whitehouse Estate. Over the last few years we have been building more council homes and one new development would be behind the Whitehouse Estate shops on Ulster Way, so we saw Mrs McClure and family join us to place the McClure Way sign up.

The council was then approached by one of the areas more senior residents who thought it would also be an ideal opportunity to also honour another Whithouse lad, Gary Barnes.

So on Friday all those ideas and plans came to fruition as we unveiled Barnes Square, a new development of flats on McClure Way. It was an event that I will never forget, the three sisters of Gary, were joined by Lorraine the mother of Aaron plus other family members but they were not the only people there to honour the tow lads, also in attendance were friends, pupils from Westbourne School, local Ward councillors , veterans and the Mayor – also a Whitehouse boy.

I was very happy that I was also able to facilitate the  involvement of  the regiments that Gary and Aaron served in and it was fitting that the families were joined in the unveiling and the photographs by serving members of 1 Royal Anglian and 2 Parachute Regiment.

It is important in my mind that Ipswich remembered these two young lads who left our great town to serve in the British Army, now their names will always be part of the Estate that made them – McClure Way and Barnes Square on Whitehouse Estate.

Ipswich will never forget them.