Link: http://www.labourlist.org/the_importance_of_thursday_cannot_be_underestimated

The G20 meet in London this week. The decisions they make will impact us all. Here Rachel argues for tougher bank regulation, a crack down on tax havens and targeted government spending - both in the UK and globally to lift us out of the recession.

Rachel and John visited the motorcycle project at the Lazer Centre, Armley. The Lazer Centre is doing fantastic work with young people - often young people who are at risk of getting involved in crime or anti-social behaviour or who have dropped out of school. By providing an alternative activities, for example, using the skills of young people to learn how to fix and repair motorcycles and drive them responsibly, the Lazer Centre is helping to engage young people and find a productive outlet for their skills and energies.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/19/can-labour-win-young-candidates

At Rachel Reeves's first job after university, her boss dropped on to her desk at the Bank of England a textbook on something called quantitative easing in Japan. Interest rates had reached zero and the Japanese government had resorted to printing money to end a 10-year recession. There was puzzlement at the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.

Now, nine years later, Reeves is the Labour candidate for Leeds West, and while most cabinet ministers are using the ride home at night for cramming A Beginner's Guide to QE, for Reeves it's old news - QE2.

Guardian Politics - 19 March 2009

Alison Shaffner, Area Manager at Leeds Ahead and former manager of the West Leeds Family Learning Centre attended a special event with Rachel Reeves at 10 Downing Street to celebrate international women's day with Gordon and Sarah Brown. Rachel said: "It's not only women who make a difference to communities. But the experience of women - as mothers, as carers and as workers do give women a huge insight and stake in their communities. Alison was just one woman of a hundred women thanked this evening by the Prime Minister and Sarah Brown, and they are just one hundred of the thousands of women, up and down the country making a difference to the lives of millions."

The Bramley Children's Centre has gone through a lot of change in the last few months. On 10th March an open day at the Fairfield Community Centre was a great opportunity to see what services local parents can access. As well as he groups, intensive family support (now run by Barnado's) and Outreach (run by Wildfire) parents can also make appointments to see an advisor from the Citizens' Advice Bureau, have lessons in English if it's not their first language and receive counselling and advice on a range of issues. There is also specific support for childminders and a crèche.

We hope that all parents on the Fairfield will use the Children's Centre and all the services attached to it, to ensure the best possible start for their children and all the support they need during the exciting but daunting time as new parents.

Rachel joined Councillors' Alison Lowe and Jim McKenna on a visit to the new Armley Leisure Centre site next door to the current sports centre on Carr Crofts.  It is fantastic to see work progressing, and we are sure it will be worth the current disruption to get a state of the art leisure centre in the heart of Armley. The new centre is expected to open in April/May 2010.

Intake High School in Bramley will be re-opened as an Academy in September 2009. In 2011 it will have a brand new building. Rachel, along with John Battle MP and Councillor Ted Hanley welcome the new school and the investment that it will bring.

The government has announced additional support to local authorities enabling them to keep rent for council tenants in 2009/10 down.  The average guideline rent increase for local authority tenants in 2009/10 will be halved from 6.2% to around 3.1 % to encourage councils to reduce the amount tenants would have to pay for the coming year.  The changes to the guideline rent increase means tenants should see a marked drop in their proposed average rent increase for the coming year from around £4 per week to approximately just under £2.

Link: http://www.labourlist.org/rachel-reeves-economy#comments

Celebrating International Women's Day, Rachel asks whether women would make a better job of managing the economy, and whether more balanced boardrooms would provide more challenge of risky business decisions.

Today is an historic day in tackling the recession. The Bank of England has already cut interest rates to an all time low, and today has cut them further to just 0.5%. But the real story is that the Bank has started to pursue quantitative easing, to the tune of £75bn - directly buying government and corporate bonds. Some businesses and the government will now be able to borrow directly from the Bank of England, side-stepping the commercial banks who are either unwilling or unable to lend. The move will boost the amount of cash in the system, something even unprecedented cuts in interest rates has struggled to achieve.

Rachel has called on ITV Yorkshire to re-think up to 192 job losses at ITV Yorkshire, based in Leeds. Rachel has also contacted Secretary of State Andy Burnham, Yorkshire Forward and trade union BECTU, asking them to do whatever possible to support those affected by the cuts and pledging her full support for local jobs.

Rachel welcomed new measures to tackle criminals illegally lending money announced by Consumer Affairs Minister Gareth Thomas.The national hotline - which is confidential - is now up and running and gives consumers one single point of contact. The Stop Loan Sharks teams have successfully prosecuted more than 60 people with a further 90 prosecutions underway. This amounts to nearly 40 years of custodial sentences for illegal lending and associated crimes. The teams have supported more than 7,000 victims of illegal money lenders. The first two pilot schemes were launched in September 2004 and then rolled out to every region of England, Wales and Scotland in 2007. Their work has meant around £14million has been saved for consumers who were locked in illegal deals with these money lenders.

Rachel will be attending the West Leeds Debt Forum on 13th March.

Link: http://progressonline.org.uk/Magazine/article.asp?a=3795

Rachel argues in an article published Saturday : "April's budget is Alistair Darling's opportunity to commit more to fighting this global recession. Alternative sources of growth are needed and government investment, including to build a more balanced economy, will ensure the economy is well placed to benefit from the upturn, when it comes."