News

The Labour Party are rallying around in the fight for a fourth term at conference this week. Rachel is in Brighton, speaking to conference on the economy and at a variety of fringe events.

As part of a packed schedule, Rachel is getting her message on the economy, and Labour's positive record in Leeds West by any means.

On Sunday, Rachel was interviewed by Sky News alongside Lucy Powell and Toby Perkins. Later in the day, she sat next to Harriet Harman and Gordon Brown, alongside other Labour PPCs, and asked the Prime Minister about the positive measures Labour have taken to protect small businesses in the economy.

Today, a day when Lord Mandelson declared that "if I can come back, we can come back", Rachel continued her message on the economy. She spoke to the conference on the importance of policies that will see all 18-24 year olds guaranteed work or training, and on the need to challenge the "monopoly money" culture prevalant in banking. Chancellor Alistair Darling also addressed the conference on the dangers of short-termism in the economy.

Still to come for Rachel are events on equality, housing and the future of cities.

Rachel will keep to a punishing schedule over the coming days of conference. She is updating progress on Twitter and Facebook. She is also posting a blog daily on this website and at Progress. Yesterday's blog includes a video of Gordon Brown's speech. The Prime Minister's speech tomorrow should be a stirring call to action, one which will be ringing clear in the ears when Rachel returns to continue the campaign for Labour in Leeds West.

Today was the economy and prosperity debate. I arrived early in the conference hall to try and secure a chance to speak in the debate. After hearing from apprenticeship providers and entrepreneurs who are leading the way in the economic recovery and re-building of our economy, I was called to speak.

I called on the government to quickly bring forward legislation to restore stability to the financial system with a deep bite in to the bonus culture – and if banks didn’t change their behaviour, I urged the PM and Chancellor to tax excessive bonuses away from them. I also welcomed support for young people, to ensure that unlike in the 1980s and 1990s no one is put on the scrapheap and instead that we are guaranteeing work or training to every 18-24 year old out of work for a year.

It’s been a great day that has seen Labour uniting and setting out our vision for the future – with Alistair Darling, Peter Mandelson and Ed Miliband all addressing conference.

This evening it’s two fringe meetings for me – Housing Futures and Urban Hubs. And tomorrow, Gordon needs to give the speech of his life to set out his vision for a fourth term.

The sun is shining down on Brighton. And don’t i know it...?! Interviewed by Adam Boulton this morning on Sky with the sun bearing down on me so much I could barely see! But, made the point that Labour’s record on the ground is a good one – two new schools, Swallow Hill Community College and the Leeds West Academy opened their doors in my constituency this month, and Farnley Park High is due for a re-build, all thanks to Labour investment.

This afternoon was on conference stage, with Gordon Brown, Harriet Harman and other parliamentary candidates from up and down the country. I asked the Prime Minister about support for small businesses – the backbone of the Leeds West economy and critical for the economic recovery. The Prime Minister recognises the role of small businesses and thanks to government action 200,000 businesses have been helped to stay in business – because of loan guarantees, tax deferrals and record low interest rates. He also said that now was not the time to abandon young people – and that’s why we are investing in apprenticeships and guaranteeing a job or training for 18-24 year olds out of work for a year.

Video of the afternoon session is here:

Tonight it’s the Yorkshire and Humber reception and also the Fabians. Tomorrow the economy debate. Fingers crossed I’ll get called to speak.

Thirteen days in to the refuse workers strike and Leeds is awash with rubbish. Refuse workers earn just £18,000 a year and the council wants to cut their wages by a third. That's not fair and it's not acceptable.

Refuse workers do an important job, and are not on a high wage. Lib Dem and Tory council leaders need to listen to local people and the refuse workers and find a resolution to this crisis, a crisis which councils across the country have successfully avoided.

At last week's Area Committee Meeting it was revealed that a shocking 100,000 tonnes a year of rubbish a year is now planned to be sent to Kirkstall's waste transfer site if the council get the go-ahead to build the super-size plant. That amounts to half the city's waste and is 25% more than published in recent plans.

This shows once again that the council have no intention of being open and honest with local residents.

I will continue to work with local residents, businesses and councillors to oppose the scheme.

Speeding cars are a big problem across the constituency, and Spen Lane in Kirkstall is a particular hotspot - with cars coming down the hill often exceeding 40 or even 50 mph. With the help of local councillors and community groups at Norman Towers and the Spens, we have been checking speeds and reporting back to the council.

If you are worried about speeding cars and would like us to do this in your area, please get in touch.

Rachel joined striking bin workers at Leeds Civic Council yesterday. Councils up and down the country have implemented the equal pay act without strikes, but in Leeds the Tory-Lib Dem coalition seem intent of cutting the pay of some of our lowest paid workers by a staggering £6,000. Another signal of what the Tories ‘age of austerity’ will look like – with working class families taking the hit.

Rachel, pictured above with Labour Group leader Keith Wakefield and Cllr Bernard Atha, has written an article on the wider impacts of Tory plans, you can access it here.

George Osborne said today that the Tories would take a cost-cutting leaf out of Tory-led councils' book if they were to get in to Government. Channel 4 News tonight (10th Sept) gave us an idea of what that might mean. They featured what’s going on in Hammersmith and Fulham, where the Tory-controlled council is cutting services and support for the disabled.

Closer to home we are also getting to see what Osborne would be up to if he ever got the keys to 11 Downing Street. Pay cuts for the lowest paid council workers are certain – refuse workers in Leeds stand to lose as much as £6,000 a year. It’s going to be working class families who will suffer the consequences of Osborne's Age of Austerity rhetoric.

Other victims will include the elderly and vulnerable. The Tories in Leeds want to cut day care centres - including Bramley Lawn in Leeds West - which provide much needed support for those who use them – and some respite for their families.

There is a clear choice. Yes, future spending rounds are going to be tough, but Labour are on the side of hard-working families and those who most need government to be on their side – the young, elderly, disabled and vulnerable. We can see, in Leeds and elsewhere, that the Tories are on a different side – a cut in inheritance tax for the richest few hundred families and pain for those who can afford it least.

Council officials last night finally met with local residents in Burley to discuss the plans for a Waste Transfer Station being developed just off Kirkstall Road. In a heated meeting, the officials faced heavy criticism over the plans, both for the facility being developed and the way the council has been working.

The Council has decided to replace the facility, which burnt down in 2002, and has been dealing with bids from the private sector – including from two firms who have faced big fines for environmental damage in other areas. A failure to discuss the plans with local residents has created a great deal of tension – with many people questioning why the site must be in Burley – a residential area. The argument happens at the same time as the refuse worker strike across Leeds.

Local residents complain of smells and flies and noises that plague local shops, houses and schools. The council officials maintained that “a lot” of the issues that local residents currently face will be addressed by the new facility, and that no viable alternative locations had been found, but after a summer of experimenting with storing brown bin waste, which has resulted in extra noise and smells, local people were far from convinced.

Rachel questioned why the council was building the site so close to local schools, houses and businesses. She criticised the lack of consultation from the council and raised concerns about the environmental credentials of bidders for the PFI scheme.

Other residents, including school governor Steve Harris and Kirkstall Valley Community Association Chair John Liversedge echoed these worries, and questioned the impact on traffic on Kirkstall Road, especially after the decision to double the capacity of Leeds Bradford Airport. Despite concerns about the lack of consultation, however, the council officials offered very little information or reassurance.

Local residents left the meeting still largely in the dark about the proposals, but with the clear impression that the decision had already been finalised without any reference to their interests or concerns.

Why does it always rain when we plan to go out door-knocking? I wonder whether it’s the same for the Tories and Lib Dems?!

Getting out on the doorstep is one of the key past-times for prospective parliamentary candidates, but encouraging activists to go out in all weather isn’t easy. I expect people think we’re a bit crazy when they open the door to be-draggled candidates and MPs. But, it’s the best way to meet people and find out what they’re thinking.

At the moment we’re campaigning to stop the council building a massive waste transfer site in the area. It’s a crazy scheme. The site is in a residential area with two schools very nearby and it is on a single lane road which is already almost permanently grid-locked – not least because it’s one of the two main routes to the airport (which isn’t even served by a train/tram link – but that’s another story). The council seems deaf to public opinion so we’re out getting signatures and persuading people to turn out to a public meeting next week. The Tories use the slogan ‘vote Blue, get Green’ but in Leeds they have failed to invest in public transport and have plans to build an incinerator and now this waste transfer site with apparent disregard for their environmental impact. If that’s the green-print for a Cameron government everyone should be worried.

Alongside local councillors, I visited Bramley Lawns Day Care Centre today. Like other day care centres across the city, Bramley Lawns offers a vital service to local people who rely on the centre for company and stimulation.

What day centres like Bramley Lawns do is fight the exclusion that older people routinely face in modern society. This work is increasingly important when you consider our ageing population, and the fact that 2m older people live in poverty. I am more and more concerned at the plans of Tory led Leeds City Council to close a number of these centres, including Bramley Lawns.

Instead of reinforcing the idea that older people in our community are invisible and insignificant, we should be helping everyone enjoy the same opportunities. A simple chance to socialise on a regular basis does not sound like a lot. But depriving people of that opportunity has huge ramifications. Connecting everyone with their community can bring untold benefits, benefits that will be lost if we enter a Tory led age of austerity.

EVANSTON AVENUE WASTE TRANSFER SITE

Leeds City Council is pushing ahead with plans to rebuild the Waste Transfer Facility on Evanston Ave., just off Kirkstall Road. Because it is so close to a school, businesses and houses, there is concern about the development, shared by Labour Councillors and Rachel.

The Kirkstall Burley Forum meeting will discuss this issue on Tuesday 8th September at 7pm at the Community Room on Haddon Road. We want to make sure as many people as possible attend the meeting to make sure the council gets an accurate, local view on the facility. We encourage you to come to the meeting and have your voice heard.

Why we oppose the facility:

* If it hadn’t been developed before, we don’t think Evanston Avenue would ever be considered as a location for a Waste Transfer Station.

* The smells and flies, which have recently reared their ugly head again, are unacceptable for local businesses, residents and Kirkstall Valley Primary School.

* Kirkstall Road, as the Council admits, is already “saturated”. Adding waste transfer HGVs will only make this worse.