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.

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.

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.

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.