News

achel Reeves has joined other MPs in urging people to go online and back a new campaign to turn a promise to tackle global poverty into a law. The www.globalpovertypromise.com website is part of a campaign to put the Government’s promise to raise international development aid to 0.7% of national income by 2013 into legislation.

Douglas Alexander, Labour’s International Development Secretary, said:

“Aid increases and debt cancellation have helped to get 40 million more children into school, while the number of people with access to AIDS treatment has increased from just 100,000 to over 4 million. The proportion of the world’s population living in poverty has fallen from a third to a quarter thanks to a combination of both aid and trade.

“The Tories say they want a consensus on international development but when you scratch the surface, you find that they have changed their branding but not their beliefs. When they were last in Government, the Tories halved the British aid budget while Labour has trebled it. Now they refuse to back our plan to put our promise into law.”

This week Rachel visited two schools in West Leeds.

The first was Swallow Hill Community College, which has been described as one of the most modern and advanced schools in the UK. The school, which resulted from the merging of West Leeds High School and Wortley High School, opened in September 2009. Rachel was given a tour of the school, which gave her the chance to see it's state of the art facilities. Rachel also had the chance to discuss the challenges of merging the two schools together in this new site and the excellent work being done to foster a sense of community.

Rachel said "I was delighted to be given a tour of this new school with its fantastic facilities, it's great to see local investment like this, it's a huge asset to the local community. I will keep in close touch with the staff here, and I wish it every success.”

Rachel also visited Stanningley Primary School in Bramley. She was shown around the school, including the new classrooms for the older years, and saw first hand the great work that the teachers and staff do. Rachel was also lucky enough to get the opportunity to observe the Year three children practice for their Christmas concert next week: “It was fantastic to see such a wonderful school and atmosphere. I wish the children every success in their concert next week!”

Rachel visited some work being done by the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers this week. The children at Bramley St Peter’s Primary School are receiving a huge boost as staff and volunteers from the BTCV are building them an allotment of eight new beds to plant vegetables in at their school.

The Supergrounds Project, which has been running for over five years, is funded by RBS. Staff from RBS have also been in the school painting the fence and doing other much needed tasks. Next week the children will choose what to put in the beds, as each year group will have their own bed. They will also help to install a fence around the allotment.

The Assistant Project Officer Dougie Watson said, “This new allotment is a fantastic opportunity for kids to learn to grow their own vegetables, and take messages home about sustainable living to their families, in turn helping to reduce their carbon footprint.”

Claire Rogers is a Volunteer Officer at the project. She commented, “This project allows me to give back to my local community, and encourage kids in inner city schools to grow their own food. As part of my role at the BTCV I enjoy leading groups of volunteers from a wide range of different backgrounds.”

Rachel Reeves, Labour’s parliamentary candidate in Leeds West visited the project this week, and commented, “It was great to meet the staff and volunteers of BTCV. I was happy to hear that RBS are funding the project. As the Copenhagen summit debates our world’s future, it is great to see projects like this one, encouraging children to think about their impact in our local area.”

Rachel has written about the Chancellor's Pre-Budget Report. Focusing on support for small businesses, tackling youth unemployment, boosting the low carbon economy and reducing the deficit, the PBR drew clear battle lines ahead of the next general election, offering voters a stark choice on the economy.

Progress

Rachel co-signed a letter to the Daily Telegraph, published on 7th December, which called on the Chancellor to take measures in the Pre-Budget Report that will secure the recovery for which the government has worked so hard, rather than slash public spending.

You can read about it here.

Rachel will be leading a deputation to the council on Thursday to outline concerns at Leeds City Council's plan to build a Waste Transfer site opposite Kirkstall Valley Primary School. If you want to get involved in showing the council why it is wrong to process 100,000 tonnes of waste within 400m of 1000 houses, 1mile of 4 schools and just off one of Leeds' busiest roads, come to the NW Area Committee meeting on Thursday (10th December), at 7pm, at Woodhouse Community Centre, Woodhouse Street, LS6 2NY.

The campaign to stop has also gone online!

There is a petition to show exactly what we think about the site here. The names signed on this site will be added to the hundreds that have been signed in the shops that surround the proposed site.

You can also join our facebook group

All the campaign information can be found at www.wastenotwanted.org.uk.

Residents in Kirkstall and Burley don't want the added traffic and environmental risks of 100,000 tonnes of waste on their doorstep.

On Tuesday night Rachel chaired a meeting in Parliament to launch a new pamphlet on the Copenhagen summit, with speakers including the Foreign Secretary Rt Hon David Miliband MP. The pamphlet is called ‘The road to Copenhagen – the progressive case for climate action’, and it includes chapters by David Miliband,Douglas Alexander (the Secretary of State for International Development), Rachel, and many others.

David Miliband spoke on why it is only the progressive left that are in a position to tackle climate change, and welcomed the release of the pamphlet. Rachel said, “I really enjoyed the event. There was an excellent turnout, and all of the speakers were very interesting. It is crucial that we get a deal at Copenhagen.”

Also speaking at the event were Emily Thornbery MP and Andrew Pakes, who is Chair of SERA (the Labour Party’s environment campaign) and the Labour/Co-op parliamentary candidate in Milton Keynes North. The pamphlet is published by SERA, and the event was organised by Progress and SERA.

To see the pamphlet click here

On Wednesday morning Rachel visited Leeds West Academy, to inspect plans that are being drawn up for the new building, set to be completed in September 2011.
Rachel met Annette Hall (Principal) and Mike Gidley (Finance Director), along with people from the organisation helping to draw up plans for the new building.

Rachel said, “It’s great to see these plans coming together. The next few years will be a really exciting time for Leeds West Academy, and the new building will help the Academy tremendously.”

Kirkstall Valley Primary School got involved in the "Waste Not Wanted" Campaign against Leeds City Council's proposed Evanston Avenue waste transfer station.

The plans for a 100,000 tonne facility on the doorstep of the school have outraged the school body, as well as local residents and businesses. In a display of their frustration, children at the school donned gas masks and were featured in the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Coun. Monaghan was dismissive in his response in the YEP, seeming to say that because it won't be built until 2016 it isn't an issue. As a local resident and governor at Kirkstall Valley, however, I am concerned about this attitude, and worried that the decision has been taken already.

A series of letters to the editor shows the level of opposition to the waste transfer site amongst the local community. To find out more about the campaign, go to www.wastenotwanted.org.uk