What will these parents do...?

Sure Start Children’s centres have been one of Labour’s big successes over the last five years, growing rapidly to reach 3,500 across the country.

Here in Central Devon, parents can access services at six centres – serving areas in and around Ashburton / Buckfastleigh; Bovey Tracey / Heathfield; Crediton, Hatherleigh, and Okehampton

What will parents who use these centres discover, if a Tory Government gets in?

The Tories would cut Sure Start from families on middle and modest incomes.

Those same families would suffer a double whammy because the Tories would also cut Child Tax Credits and the Child Trust Fund.
And now we learn that the Tories secret plan is to let nurseries charge top-up fees
The Tory voting record speaks volumes -
Against increasing maternity leave. Against introducing paternity leave. Against flexible working. Against the National minimum wage.

Don't give the Tories the chance to plunge parents and their children back into hardship and poverty.
Vote Labour.

See what Labour will do here....

Visible, vocal, going for votes

Ten weeks since our Central Devon Campaign took off and I'm overwhelmed by the superb welcome and support from local Labour Party members and supporters.

In particular I'm indebted to members who have walked miles delivering newsletters in their area, and to supporters who have put my posters up in their windows, or invited me to have a garden stake in front of their home.

Everywhere I've been, across Central Devon, there are Labour-minded people who greet me and are delighted to see a Labour candidate actively campaigning for votes.

There's an myth the Tory Party promotes that rural seats are 'naturally' theirs.

Not so.

Central Devon is a new constituency voting for the first time in the election. No-one knows how the votes will go.

But it is true that this country's antiquated first-past-the-post electoral system betrays voters up and down the country and often creates 'safe seats'.

That should never be so in any election. It has to be changed. Labour recognise that need and have pledged to do something about it. Everyone should be able to vote postively for who they do want, not negatively against a Party they don't want.

Central Devon has no track record. It is important that voters vote for who they want. If you're Labour, please vote for me - the many other Labour people in Central Devon, who are active in this campaign, would love to see their efforts rewarded.

Student Amnesty

I know Amnesty International has a strong following
amongst university students.

Last night at Queen Elizabeth's Community College we had a big turnout crowd treated to a first rate hustings organised by teaching staff and

the School's Amnesty International group of pupils.

I was delighted to discover that QECC is also a Fairtrade School.

One of my great pleasures in this election is to find young people very engaged with politics - not necessarily party politics, though there's a big revival in the Labour Party, but in the commitment to making our world a better place - caring as much for others as themsleves.

For thirteen years our Labour Government has worked to foster fairer and more socially responsible attitudes. Now we can see the re-connection of young people to decent life-enhancing values, away from the Thatcher's Children generation's selfish obsessions with its conspicuous consumption and the me-me-me heedlessness that bred inequality.

The Sixth Form students at Queen Elizabeth's Community College are axcellent ambassadors for their high acheiving school. It was a pleasure to be part of their event.

Labour fields more women candidates than ever before

There are more Labour women candidates in this election than ever before.

And the last Parliament already had three times the number of Labour women MPs than all the other parties combined.

See more about this great news

With Labour back in Government there would be further progress made on making sure that all this country's legislation is looked at from both a female and male point of view.

Result - much better legislation.

For a Government that reflects everyone's interests - Vote Labour.

It's Legal!

Huge thanks to the dozens of people who
have worked hard on my behalf already.

The crucial step of ensuring I am properly registered as a candidate
was completed today, so all their work has been rewarded.
We can now race on towards polling day - 6th May.

All five candidates in Central Devon have registered and there's been no last minute shock of discovering, as have some of my Labour colleagues, that there's the appalling BNP to contend with.

So far the election contest has seemed fair and decent, without personal rancour as we five meet at the various hustings. I for one intend it to stay that way.

J K Rowling - "I've never voted Tory before...

"I've never voted Tory before," writes J K Rowling in The Times, "... and they keep on reminding me why."

Fab article - short, cut to the point - brilliant - The Single Mother's Manifesto

EU-Yes!

Last night's hustings event in Lapford - very well attended after good organisation by David Bragg and the Lapford Churches Together Initiative - again saw attacks from the  UKIP candidate and sceptical comments from the Tory candidate regarding this country's membership of the EU.

I said then, what I've said at other hustings events, that it hugely benefits this country to be in the EU.

It is crucial that our Country should be at the centre of things in the EU, as we are now, making sure British business and social interests are at the forefront and that the power of the EU can be directed at global problems like the financial crisis, climate change, poverty, sustainable energy, fighting diseases such as malaria and Aids, opposing extremists.

Here are just a few of the very many highly important reasons why our central involvement in the EU must be maintained  -

What would the media say if...

What would the media say if Labour candidates were driving round in lush liveried vehicles? I've seen the cars of two of the Tory candidates now - styled in similar fashion to promote the visibility of the candidate. Do all the South West candidates of every other party  have the same expensive styling? No.
Why hasn't this splashing of cash been questioned?

Just suppose that after any election there was a system whereby the amounts spent by each party were compared - and the party that spent the most had to give an amount to charity that was equal to how much more they had spent than the next highest spending Party.....?

And the voting paper would have a space where we could name our favourite charity so that the charity that got the most votes nationally would get that money....?

A fantasy of course.
But the reality of vastly unequal party spending power goes on.
It shouldn't be possible for any party to hugely 'spend its way' towards a victory it desires.

I Stand For Children

The NSPCC have asked for my pledge.

But they will not send my pledge message to all their members in Central Devon until they can do so with the pledges of all of Central Devon's candidates.

Fair enough I say - the National Charity has to play carefully by the rules and cannot be seen to favour one or the other of us.

So while I'm waiting and hoping that all candidates do pledge - here's what I said

Tory "Change" hype exposed

When David Cameron and his nasty party say they'll give power to the people beware. What they mean is they'll leave you alone to take the actions you know you need.

That's well and good.... BUT what if sometimes you don't know? What if you need advice? What if one day you need some-one to turn to?

Giving power to people assumes everyone has the power to solve all their own problems themselves. Labour knows that has never been true and never will be. Labour wants a future fair for all, not just the powerful.

What the Tory promise means is that people will be abandoned to their own fate.

Don't be conned by the Tory "Change" mantra. Wise warnings such as "Don't buy a pig in a poke" or  "The grass isn't always greener over the hill" remind us to look closely at what it is we might be giving up without really knowing what we're getting.

A Woeful Wooing of the Gay Vote

(image - me promoting membership of CTC - national cycling charity - at the UNISON LGBT Conference in Bristol 2008)

David Cameron wants the Gay vote, but he doesn't 'get it'

A good Labour friend tipped me off today about -

• Cameron visibly flustered in Gay Times interview
• Cameron edits gay reference from pre-election speech
• how the Shadow Home Secretary Chris Greyling had to apologise for his B&B Gay Comment

Tory internal strains over LGBT issues have been so bad that I'm voting Labour, founder of Tory gay rights group says   See her speaking out in this Pink News article

Why would anyone who is LGB or T ever want to vote Tory?

Only Labour is working for a future that is fair for all.

Foxhunting Tories Go To Ground

Perhaps feeling hounded by the media, and belatedly beginning to sense

what a vote-loser it is, every Tory candidate in the SW played foxy

on their own issue of voting to repeal the Hunting Act.

Not one of them was prepared to appear on yesterday's

BBC Politics South West Show.

Why?

At issue was – their own Tory proposal

to hold a free vote in Parliament on repealing the Hunting Act.

Supposing they win the election, that is.

Given the total Tory appearance turndown the Politics Show

A Change You Can't Afford

At every turn George Osbourne and David Cameron made the wrong judgements

on tackling the financial crisis.

They are now getting the big judgements wrong on the recovery.

Thanks to the pro-active good judgements of our Labour Government our Country is now embarked on the road to recovery. The Tory proposals would wreck the recovery.

And here's the independently verified proof -

Keep Fat-Cat claws out of our NHS

Labour came to power promising to triple spending on the NHS.

And we did.

Here's an independent verdict.

The NHS - our best-loved national institution - has gone from strength to strength under Labour - constantly improving services, drasticly reducing waiting times, always increasing patient choice.

The Labour years have seen so much progress for our NHS that now the Tory Leader thinks he can promote his PR image by posing beside a hospital bed. It's enough to make you sick.

The Tory approach to the NHS, if they are elected, will be to undermine health decision-making. They want to fling open the door to those private businesses that are already trying to worm profits out of our NHS.

Our ill-health, our maternity care, our accident and emergency services must never be cherry-picked for profits. If Tory plans go ahead we'll end up with monstrous post-code health lotteries where the articulate and well-off will make sure they get the best and leave a poorer, second class service for the rest of us.

Only Labour remains committed to NHS principles which have stood the test of time. Under Labour we have an NHS we can depend on where-ever we are, when-ever we need help.
Don't let the Tories attack our NHS.

CND - most impressive lobbying so far...

Campaigning organisations find election time useful. Their websites ask members and site-visitors to lobby election candidates in their area.

I've received several.

But so far it's Big-UP to CND.

CND members in Central Devon have contacted me three times more than any other campaign group.

But then, my early-80's memories of Greenham Common (that's me in the blue jeans and wellies), were of CND being highly effective - bringing coach-loads of women from all over the country to big mass-protest days at the base.

Here's what they're up to now - CND

And here's my response to their lobby -