Kirklees Labour Group Local Election Launch

Kirklees Labour Group Manifesto and List of Candidates for the

Local Elections 2nd May 2019

Councillor Shabir Pandor, Council Leader, said, at the release of the Labour Group Manifesto, that “I have been proud over the last year to have delivered a Local Plan for Kirklees and a budget which gives us an opportunity to invest money in our towns and villages to revitalise them and to make them able to face the difficulties that all town centres are experiencing in this changing world. All this at the same time as prioritising the most vulnerable in our society, making sure that our services for children and vulnerable adults are the best we can make them in these times of austerity.”

“This is why as a Labour Group we are also happy to back the Local Government Association’s Campaign ‘Breaking Point’. Alongside all other local authorities in the country we are telling the Government that local authorities have reached breaking point! Cuts, year on year, are bringing us to our knees.”

“That is why I am proud of the Council I lead, the Council that, despite every challenge that has been thrown at it over the last few years, has managed to maintain vital services and to put something back into communities. I look forward to seeing the results of all this hard work in the coming few years.”

In the last few years Labour has delivered a huge amount for people throughout Kirklees whilst facing unprecedented levels of cuts from the Tory Government in Westminster. We have managed to protect frontline services, balance the books and made progress on regeneration of our town centres. There are tough decisions ahead of us but it is not all doom and gloom. There is much we want to do, much we can achieve by investing to strengthen our communities.  We want residents young and old to live healthy lives in safe communities, with access to recreation and the services they need. We want those who require extra support to receive it. Local groups, organisations and the voluntary sector play a significant role in shaping our communities and we will commit to helping them to do this.

This year we have set a budget which supports our focus on People, Place and Partners, we have agreed our Local Plan which will help to achieve our ambition and we will be shortly unveiling our Masterplan for our towns and villages. This is the culmination of many years of hard work by the Labour Cabinet and our officers to protect the residents and businesses of Kirklees from the damaging effects of the Tory Government’s attack on Local Government. So, this year, in launching our manifesto, we also want to send a strong message to central government that enough is enough, austerity isn’t over and we, Kirklees Council, along with all other local authorities in the country are at “breaking point”!  We are joining with others in the local government community to support the LGA’s campaign to bring pressure on the government to support local government not to work against them.

Our priorities are:-

• Children in Kirklees to have the best start in life
• People in Kirklees are as well as possible for as long as possible
• People in Kirklees have aspiration and achieve their ambitions through education, training and lifelong learning
• People in Kirklees feel safe and protected from harm
• Kirklees has sustainable economic growth for communities and businesses
• People in Kirklees experience a high quality, clean, sustainable and green environment
• People in Kirklees live independently and have control over their live

Our candidates are:-

Candidate	Ward
Julia Green-Wiles	Almondbury
Cllr Amanda Pinnock	Ashbrow
Cllr Habiban Zaman	Batley East
Yusra Hussain	Batley West
Cath Pinder	Birstall and Birkenshaw
Khalid Patel	Cleckheaton
Lesley Warner	Colne Valley
Cllr Mohamed Sarwar	Crosland Moor and Netherton
Cllr Mussarat Khan	Dalton
Jackie Ramsay	Denby Dale
Cllr Eric Firth	Dewsbury East
Cllr Nosheen Dad	Dewsbury  South
Cllr Darren O’Donovan	Dewsbury  West
Cllr Hilary Richards	Golcar
Cllr Carole Pattison	Greenhead
Aafaq Butt	Heckmondwike
John Heneghan	Holme Valley North
Paul Davies	Holme Valley South
Neil Denby	Kirkburton
Lisa Hogarth	Lindley
Jude McKaig	Liversedge and Gomersal
Keiron Dunn	Mirfield
Chris Owen	Newsome

Friends of Batley Station - Cllr Gwen Lowe

Recently there was an RMT strike with only 40% of Northern trains in operation. As Chair of the Friends of Batley Station FOBS) myself and other FOBS members volunteered to chat to train users about the limited train service and to help ensure a safe journey. 

On Saturday FOBS were presented with a cheque for £200 – thank you to Bilal for nominating us and to ASDA and its customers for their support!

 

LOCALA Representative - Cllr Gwen Lowe

 

I’m now back as a representative of LOCALA and very happy to be part of the Charities Working Group who get to decide which community groups get a share in the Locala Community Fund worth £5,000. Yesterday (Sunday) morning I read through 50 applications which was a total request of just over £42,000! It wasn’t an easy task having to decide which groups should receive funding as there’s some amazing volunteers out there doing great work.

Daffodil Rally - Cllr Gwen Lowe

In 2010 I worked closely with the Batley Methodist Church to help them solve the ownership of a piece of derelict land at the back of their church. When it turned out to actually be theirs I helped them secure funding at that time for the land to be cleared and securely fenced off.

Also a group were looking to take over a piece of land for an environmental project, which includes the Community Payback Team, so it all worked out really positive for all. 

As a ‘thank you’ I was invited that year to attend their Daffodil Rally organised by the Methodist Church North Kirklees & Morley Circuit. A wonderful celebration of Spring, the church bursting at the seams with daffodils donated by attendees, and apparently this has been happening for over 50 years. I’ve been invited back every year since so I was their last Tuesday. A lovely service again and my thanks to Margaret Webster for again making me feel so welcome!

Watch the Labour Group speeches made at the February 2017 Budget Council



Watch the Labour Group speeches made at the February 2017 Budget Council

 

Kirklees Budget 2017: Proposed, Seconded, Backed

At the Kirklees Council Budget meeting, February 2017, a budget proposal was put forward by the Labour administration.

Cabinet Member for Resources, Cllr Graham Turner, proposed the budget. The Deputy Leader, Cllr Shabir Pandor, stood to second the budget proposal. The Leader of the Labour Group and Council, arose to give his backing.

You can see all three speeches here:

 

Labour’s Local Campaign Launched

Kirklees Labour Group launched their election campaign for this year’s local elections on Saturday in Denby Dale. 

Nearly 50 Labour Party members and supporters took to the streets to talk to residents across the ward about their concerns. 

Local Labour councillor and Cabinet member for Resources, Cllr Graham Turner, said:

“It’s fantastic that Denby Dale was chosen to launch this year’s campaign, and that so many party members, candidates and supporters came along to support me. 

"We were also really pleased to welcome Mark Burns-Williamson, Labour’s Police and Crime Commissioner, to the area. It was a very useful day with lots of residents sharing their concerns with us. 

"We face some difficult times locally, and it’s more important than ever that the residents of Denby Dale Ward have a strong voice to represent them.

"If re-elected, I will build on the work I have done over the last four years, fighting for residents and our area.”

Accommodating Syrian Refugees in Kirklees - Cllr Shabir Pandor

At the Kirklees Council meeting of 7 October 2015, Cllr Shabir Pandor, Cabinet Member for Kirklees Council, delivered a speech imploring that more be done nationally and locally to address the devastating humanitarian issue that is the Syrian Refugee Crisis.

 

David Sheard’s vision for the future of Kirklees

Cllr Sheard, Leader, Kirklees Council, published in Dewsbury Reporter

Kirklees Council leader David Sheard has shed some light on what services might look like over the next few years as the council faces cuts of £69m.

He said that early intervention, combined efforts and community involvement were the tools that would keep Kirklees from going completely bankrupt.

He said: “The agenda isn’t really about what the council is going to keep on doing and stop doing, it’s about changing the way the council works altogther. If we don’t change what we’re doing in terms of looking after older people and protecting children then the numbers mean that by 2021 we would be bankrupt because we would be able to afford nothing else than to look after them.”

He said breakfast clubs at schools in disadvantaged areas could give children a better chance at a decent education and that better broadband access would help to connect people to the world. Snow clearance and salt spreading could also by devolved to residents, street by street.

And Coun Sheard said loneliness was a recurring theme with older people and that contributing to the running of a library could help to combat the problem while keeping the service open.

“It could be that some of the things we have to change could open things up to people that weren’t available before,” he said.

“We can provide things if we provide them in a different way. The cuts are too big to say ‘Let’s just salami slice here and cut this bit off here’, we are way past that.

This article was written by James Carney, and published online in the Dewsbury Reporter, 7 October. You can view the entire article here.

Hospital campaigner accuses local Tories of "cheap political trick"

Image via Dewsbury Reporter

Dewsbury councillor and hospital campaigner Karen Rowling, has accused Kirklees Conservative Group of playing a "cheap political trick" over the issue of Dewsbury & District Hospital.

At yesterday's Full Council, the last before the May elections, Cllrs Robert Light (Conservative, Birstall & Birkinshaw) and Cllr David Hall (Conservative, Liversedge & Gomersal) tried to pass a motion supposedly against the huge downgrade proposed for Dewsbury Hospital.

But when an amendment in the name of hospital campaigner Cllr Karen Rowling (Labour, Dewsbury West) was put forward, Conservative leader Cllr Light and his Deputy, Cllr Hall, instructed their councillors to vote against it. The amended motion passed, with the amendment supported by every other group in the council.

Cllr Rowlng said: "It's a shame that these councillors convictions don't stretch far enough to criticise the disastrous polices that their own party are implementing nationally."

"In the wording of their motion Cllrs Light and Hall wanted to put all the blame on Trust management. It's true that the Trust has suffered from bad management, for a number of years. But to completely omit a mention of the disastrous affect that government policy is having on our NHS is disingenuous in the extreme. It's playing politics."

"My amendment made two modest changes; against mass privatisation of our NHS, and against Clause 119 of the Care Bill, which allows politicians in Westminster to shut hospitals without public consultation. Cllrs Light and Hall immediately instructed all of the Tory councillors to vote down the amendment."
"So can we conclude from this that every Tory councillor in Kirklees agrees with privatisation and is against public consultation?"

"Cllrs Light and Hall, and also Cllr Bolt, have all made noises in the last few weeks as though they are against the massive downgrade of our hospital. But yesterday we learnt that it's all talk. They have used the last Full Council before an election to cast themselves in a caring light, but the reality is there is no substance to what they say. It's a cheap political trick."

"I have been fighting these plans for over two years, alongside many colleagues on the council. I don't remember these three out on the campaign trail."

"The changes being proposed at Dewsbury put peoples lives at risk, and this is what the local Tory party are doing. Local people deserve much, much better."

 

Dewsbury Hospital - How can 33,000 local people be wrong?

Following the heavily flawed consultation process carried out by the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust last year the full picture relating to the downgrading of services at Dewsbury & District Hospital is now much clearer. The Trust has been tasked with presenting the horrific Tory cuts to our services with a positive spin. Here is their vision of a “vibrant” hospital at Dewsbury:

• Severely downgraded Accident & Emergency (40% less capacity) • Severely downgraded Maternity Unit (expectant mothers, if you need a Consultant then pack your bags and go to Pinderfields) • Complete closure of our Children’s Ward • Sell-off of numerous Hospital buildings • A 69% reduction in total beds

If the plans go ahead it will mean 250 out of 360 beds removed from our hospital by 2017, with Pinderfields’ bed numbers boosted by only 70 to cover the shortfall. This is a 69% cut in bed numbers at Dewsbury Hospital – these are the Trust’s figures, not ours.

Over the past two years your Labour team has been at the forefront of the battle to save our local services, with our Save Dewsbury Hospital campaign.

Kirklees Labour's Cllr Cathy Scott, a founder member of the campaign, said: “The true scale of the cuts has been hidden at every point in this shambolic consultation. Lengthy and expensive material was produced with no mention of this dramatic reduction to services. It’s quite clear the impact this will have on Dewsbury – it will cost lives.”

Last October, the Wakefield and Kirklees Joint Health Scrutiny Committee took the decision to refer the Trust’s plans to the Secretary of State, who will review the plans. The cross-party Committee said it was not convinced that the proposals were in the “best interests” of local people.

Remarkably, with almost 33,000 signatures on our petition to save services, Dewsbury’s part-time MP Simon Reevell openly supports the Trust’s plans. Sadly, Mr Reevell has put politics before people. He has even gone so far as to lobby the Health Secretary, asking him to impose the huge cuts to our hospital without hesitation.

Scrutiny Committee member Cllr Eric Firth said: “A judgement by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is expected in late March, we will keep local residents updated.”

Reports in the local media have revealed just a glimpse of the crisis that our local NHS services have been plunged into by the Tory government.

In December a local man asked a paramedic why an emergency ambulance had taken so long. The paramedic replied: “Why don’t you ask your MP?”

Cllr Karen Rowling said: “Our sources within the Trust and our Hospital all say the same thing; staff are being stretched to breaking point and morale is at rock bottom.”

In January a Freedom of Information request from your Labour team revealed that last year the Trust was forced to spend £2.3million on highly paid, temporary A&E locums, a 50% increase since 2010. This is symptomatic of a management crisis. This has been brought about by radical Tory re-organisations, arguably designed to lay the foundations for mass privatisation of our NHS.

Cathy said: “We all want to save money in public services, but this gross waste has been brought about by Tory cuts and bureaucratic meddling. The same work could be done by permanent staff at a fraction of the cost.”

The figures also show that our local A&E departments were the fifth busiest in the country in January. With waiting times rocketing up past FOUR HOURS David Cameron and his Dewsbury MP Simon Reevell still believe that Dewsbury Hospital should see a beds reduction of 69%.


Related Articles:
Cllr Simon Alvy: Campaigning to protect Dewsbury District Hospital
Dewsbury and District Hospital to lose 250 beds
Health bosses approve radical plans for Dewsbury and District Hospital



 

Door knocking in Dewsbury East - 8th March

Cllr Cathy Scott

On Saturday, 8th March at 10.30am, your local Labour team will be out door knocking in Dewsbury East ward.

Labour parliamentary candidate Paula Sherriff and Kirklees Labour's Cllr Cathy Scott, will be leading the way.

Meet outside Chickenley Community Centre, WF12 8QT
We would appreciate as much help as possible, so if you're available get yourself along.  

We are also looking for help with telephone canvassing, so get in touch if you want to help out.

Thanks
Cathy 

Think Smart Recycle Shop officially open

Cllr Cathy Scott, Kirklees Cabinet Member, officially opened the Think Smart Recycle Shop in New Street, Huddersfield today.

Fusion Housing are taking over the Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing office to sell household items to raise money for the Think Smart Recycle Scheme which gives furniture and other items to tenants in need.

"In these financially testing times for many people and families, I hope this venture is able to help many of those in need," commented Cllr Scott.

 

Sad day as Supreme Court rules Clayton Fields will be lost to developers

Protestors lost a long-running battle to preserve the land off Halifax Road in the Supreme Court last week, which means developers Paddico will now be able to build homes there.

In a statement, Clayton Fields Action Group says: “The decision was heart-breaking for the local population. Over the years, this beautiful section of land has been a haven for people from the densely populated surrounding areas of Birkby and Edgerton.

“A tragically rare green space, it is one of the very few accessible and safe areas in which children and families can come together to enjoy their leisure.

“We are only now just realising how much of an impact changes we make to the land have on our immediate situation. For example, every tiny additional piece of ground that is concreted over adds to the weight of the flooding issue. Clayton Fields Village Green will be sorely missed and the simple fact is that it cannot be replaced. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.

“There is very strong feeling amongst the people of the locality that Kirklees Council should object to any development in this conservation area. At the very least, it must insist that a large section of this land be preserved as a wild parkland. Clayton Fields Action Group, and very large numbers of local people, stand ready to assist the council with the vital preservation of this area in any way they can.”

Related Articles:
D-day looms for Clayton Fields decision after 17-year fight

Kirklees Cabinet agrees to Council Tax Freeze

A real terms cut in council tax has been agreed by the Kirklees Cabinet at its meeting of February 4.

The proposal will now go to the budget meeting of the Full Council on Wednesday February 19 for a decision.

Council Leader Cllr Mehboob Khan, said: “Freezing council tax is not an ideal step as it equates to a loss in income, however the council is mindful that the recession is hitting local households hard and that this freeze will help alleviate the pressure in the short term.

“Local people have experienced price rises across all aspects of daily life including food, fuel and other costs and we are doing all we can to help them through this period of financial squeeze.  

“Despite taking this action we will still be in a position to prioritise funding in coming years on health and social care, apprentices, jobs and the economy which are absolutely essential to the future of the area and the wellbeing of its residents.”

The budget report outlines required savings of £129 million a year from 2010 to 2017. More than £62 million has already been identified, and the report to Cabinet proposed how a further £21 million could be saved in 2014/15.

The budget proposals have been the subject of a six week consultation in which 10,000 residents made their views known.

Cllr Khan added: “The future is going to be tough and we have already used resources to balance the cuts this year whilst trying to plan services for the next three years. The results of the recent consultation have been useful to show what people would like to see protected and we will do what we can during this period of severe financial constraints.”  

The freeze will affect the Kirklees Council part of the council tax bill – the Police Commissioner and West Yorkshire Fire Authority have yet to formally determine their position.

Bite the Ballot

Whatever your political leaning, to exist as a strong democracy we need as many people to get out and register to vote as possible; then use that vote when the time comes!

Kirklees Council Electoral Services are running an event on Wednesday, 5th February throughout Kirklees to encourage you to do exactly this.

As part of their work around engagement and maximising electoral registration, they have organised to support the campaign 'Bite the Ballot'. Staff will be in various locations around Kirklees throughout that day.

The locations and times are as follows:

• Outside Huddersfield Bus Station from 8.30am to 4.30pm – mobile youth hub vehicle provided by the youth service.

• Outside Huddersfield University from 8.30am to 4.30pm - mobile youth hub vehicle provided again by the youth service and supported by the student union and some of the political students.

A mobile library bus will be stopping at the following locations:

• Dewsbury market place from 8.30 to 9.30

• Batley market square from 9.45 to 10.45

• Wheelwright College from 11.00 to 1.00pm

• Cleckheaton Town Hall from 3.00pm to 4.30pm

 And also Birstall Lics from 8.30am to 5.00pm.

Eric Pickles takes the biscuit...well, all of them it seems!!

Image via Order of Truth

The Sunday Times reports that spending on biscuits, sandwiches, tea and coffee by the communities department increased to a total of nearly £60,000 last year. The paper says Eric Pickles' department has reported a "biscuit bill" of £57,026 for the first nine months of 2013, compared with £13,420 in the whole of 2012

What a surprise. Eric Pickles cuts Kirklees budget by 129 million pounds and affects the poorest and most vulnerable and he is stuffing his face on biscuits at the tax payers expense, leaving us to have to set up food banks so people can eat.

He must have an amazing constitution to be able to stomach that!

 

Lib-Dem Priorities

Kirklees Lib-Dem Group confused!

At the Kirklees Council meeting of 15 January, the Lib-Dems took the option to debate a motion on Fracking over that of the LDF (Local Development Framework).

Despite issuing press releases about the importance of their proposal to Council on the LDF, the Lib-Dems combined with their coalition partners, the Conservatives, to stop the council debating the issue.

Cllr David Sheard, Deputy Leader, commented: "It is hard to understand the move Kath Pinnock, Lib-Dem leader, took to vote to continue the debate on Fracking, leading to the council running out of time to debate the LDF, an issue she and her group had so vehemently suggested was of great importance."

It was not clear whether Cllr Pinnock realised, as the potential debate approached, that she and her Lib-Dem colleagues had been complicit in agreeing the original LDF submission in the first place, as the reason for sticking with the debate on Fracking. 

 

Kirklees Council Leader, Cllr Mehboob Khan: Moving on...



As many people in Kirklees will now be aware, I will be stepping down as Leader of Kirklees Council. The Labour group, as the largest party in the council, will elect a new leader during that time.

I will stay on as a Greenhead Ward, Labour Councillor until the local elections in May 2014.

I feel the time is now right to move on as I have had a fantastic time as leader of a large council in a time of immense change for local government.

My new post in London will be an exciting challenge, working with council leaders, the Mayor of London and Westminster.

But I have no doubt that my successor, once that person is in place, will have a strong platform to build from and lead Kirklees through its most difficult financial challenges in its history.

While this has been a very difficult decision for me personally, my new role is an exciting challenge at the right time. You can only do such a high pressure role as council leader for so long while being as effective as possible, and I am confident that whoever my successor is, they will be able to take the council through the new challenges it is facing.

However, until I stand down, it is business as usual for all of us, with the most important decision on the next budget being taken next month.

It has been a privilege to work on behalf of the citizens of Kirklees over the last few years.

Related Article:
"Mehboob has dedicated his life to serving the community where he was born" - Cllr David Sparks, LGA Chair

Cllr Graham Turner: Cost of Living Crisis Campaign

I, along with thousands of Labour Party members will be out on the streets this Saturday to highlight the cost of living crisis affecting hard working family's caused by the governments current failed economic policy.

Come and see us in Dewsbury Town centre from 9 30am onwards - Saturday, 11 January 2013

Pictures from this national campaign will appear here next week.