Andrew Stunnell MP visits Ealing

We were lucky to have Liberal Democrat MP, Andrew Stunnell at our 2013 AGM.

Andrew Stunnell MP

In his address, he spoke about a number of areas of local and national government including:

• How Labour, in government, allowed a reduction in affordable or rented housing to occur. The Liberal Democrats in the coalition government have so far increased the number of affordable and social housing!
• When the coalition government was being negotiated, the Labour party team appeared very disorganised and had not made preparations. Andrew Stunnell sadly got none of the limelight he deserved. I see him as a fifth Beatle.
• In government we have raised the tax threshold, so many people who were paying tax are now not doing so. In addition, many millions of those paying some tax before now pay a lot less.
• We introduced the Lib Dem idea of a Pupil premium which has added many millions to schools in Ealing so those most in need children will get a better outcome.
• The coaltion re-linking the basic state pension to earnings to give pensioners a fairer deal.
• 'Right to Buy' has been altered so that affordable homes will need to be built for each home bought.
• In summary Andrew stated. "To deliver a fairer society, we need a stronger economy."

Councillor Gary Malcolm

I then went on to talk about how the Ealing Liberal Democrats, aims to stop the Council continuing their closures of day centres, which is affecting many vulnerable and disabled residents. Ealing Council has turned down millions of pounds of money from the coalition government which could have been used to stop these cuts. People talk of the 'nasty tories' but in Ealing many are saying that it is Labour who are being nasty.

Liberal Democrats believe that recycling should be free so that residents are not turned off from doing the right thing. Increasing recycling rates is about persuasion and targeting effort to those who are more likely to want to recycle.

Clearly Labour-run Ealing Council has managed so badly in trying to get its waste contractor to do the job they are paid to do (about £20 million a year). I think my dad would do a better job than Enterprise. They continue, week after week, to let thousands of residents down by missing collections and leaving litter to fly around in the wind.

A Liberal Democrat Council would be as firm as hell again contractors like this. We pay them money, if they do the job. If they fail they get no money. Simple.

I went on to talk about the recent bad news about Ealing Hospital and the other local hopsitals in the area. Clearly if a hospital does not have proper A&E and maternity wards then the are not what people I know would call a hospital.

Andrew Stunnell MP with Gary Busuttil (right)

Jon Ball, the Liberal Democrat Ealing Central & Acton parliamentary candidate is right when he said we welcomes the stay of execution for the A&E departments at Ealing and Charing Cross that Jeremy Hunt has announced, following the huge campaign from local residents and politicians.

However, in addition to the disappointment about the downgrades at Central Middlesex and Hammersmith, this announcement raises more questions than it answers.

Jeremy Hunt needs to spell out what the 'changes to the services' he mentioned in his statement are and the length of his commitment that the A&E departments will remain open before there will be any champagne corks popping in Ealing.

Only a stay of execution for the A&E departments at Ealing and Charing Cross hospitals?

Earlier today the Secretary of state for Health, Jeremy Hunt, made an announcement about the changes in provision at many local hospitals including Ealing, Charing Cross, Central Middlesex and Hammersmith.

Central Middlesex and Hammersmith will no longer have A&E services. Ealing and Charing Cross hospitals would remain open but the A&E wards would stay in the short term with changes to the 'size and shape' of services. There is a period of time where the current arrangements are to be reviewed but the details of this review were not mentioned.

Jon Ball (right) unimpressed with Jeremy Hunt

Councillor Jon Ball, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate, said earlier: “I welcome the stay of execution for the A&E departments at Ealing and Charing Cross that Jeremy Hunt has announced today following a huge campaign from local residents and politicians of all parties. However, in addition to the disappointment about the downgrades at Central Middlesex and Hammersmith, this announcement raises more questions than it answers."

Jon Ball added: "Jeremy Hunt needs to spell out what the 'changes to the services' he mentioned in his statement are and the length of his commitment that the A&E departments will remain open before there will be any champagne corks popping in Ealing."

To me, the announcement may appear good but beneath the water potentially lies a shark waiting to attack us. For example with no maternity unit and a growing birth rate it means that people will be travelling further not just to give birth but to visit family and friends.

We also do not know what might happen after this future review. It could mean that they are closed or stay in a form that is not an A&E that any of us would recognise.

It was great for the campaign to be supported by so many tens of thousands of residents who either signed the petition or attended rallies. I said a long time ago that it would have been sensible for the Council, the Secretary of State, doctors and patients' respresentatives to all sit down and discuss things. What we have not is more uncertainty and tax payers money not being spent on providing for our health service.

This campaign needs to go on...

Mayor of London clearly does not want to help out part-time workers

At the Mayor’s Question Time last week, he refused to further consider the merits of a travelcard for part-time workers. This would allow many workers to have more flexibility in their jobs and for many to take up part time work when currently this is not possible due to Boris's high fare increases.

Following questioning from Caroline Pidgeon, the Mayor, who is also the chair of Transport for London, gave a clear cut reply that he had ruled out any further consideration of the proposal.  His stance led to criticisms even from Conservative Assembly Members.

The Mayor's statement that he will not consider further introducing a travel card to cover part-time workers is deeply disappointing.

Caroline Pidgeon working to improve London's transport

Already 900,000 people in London work part-time and the figure is rapidly increasing.

Daily caps on Oyster simply don't provide the same good deal for the many people who need to get to an office three days a week.  Ultimately the whole travel card system is centred around the old fashioned idea of everyone working a five day week in an office environment.  That simply isn't the real working experience anymore for many people.

The Mayor, as chair of Transport for London, should stop making excuses and instead ensure that people who work part-time or regularly work from home are given a fair deal.

How Lib Dems in government are helping Ealing

Since the formation of the Coalition a number of policies have led to improvements for those living in Ealing.

The Liberal Democrat part of the coalition government has had an impact by ensuring fairness whilst turning around the economy from what we were left in 2010.

To help redress some of the inequalities in our society the Liberal Democrat idea of a Pupil Premium was introduced. This gives schools extra money if pupils’ families are most in need of assistance. For the 2013/14 year, Ealing benefits by £12.4 million. This will give our local schools a great chance to provide additional educational services for those who are most in need. The Southfield Primary School gained about £145,000 and this was welcomed.

Speaking at a rally about local hospitals

Many residents I have spoken to in Acton have said the last couple of years have been difficult with the state of the economy, but they welcome the raising of the tax threshold so that thousands of residents in Ealing no longer have to pay income tax. This Liberal Democrat policy (from our 2010 manifesto) is something we are very proud of.

This policy puts cash directly into working people's pockets, and benefits all lower income people.

In Acton and Southall we have seen the proliferation of betting shops. Fellow Liberal Democrat Councillor Jon Ball spoke about this problem at the Liberal Democrat Conference in Glasgow recently. He has called for changes in the law to allow the numbers of new betting shops to be better controlled and is hopeful that the coalition government will now legislate to give Councils like Ealing these powers.

Since 2010, over a million people have started apprenticeships, with thousands created in Ealing alone. Not everyone wishes to pursue a university education and so the positive work on increasing apprenticeships since 2010 needs to be continued.

Apprenticeships for those under 25 has given work experience and improves their prospects of getting a job. There will help our younger members of society in Ealing develop their potential.

Although we have fewer MP’s than the Conservatives at Westminster, we are pursuing our liberal beliefs and are able to curb some of the more extreme conservative ideas. It is not easy in a coalition, but it does demonstrate that coalition governments can work and bring real benefits to our area.

Let's keep fighting to keep our local hospitals intact

Today during the wind and the heavy rain Liberal Democrat councillors and supporters spent time at the rally opposite Ealing Hospital.

I made a short speech, as those in attendance covered themselves with umbrellas. I talked about the fact that despite Ealing Council losing the court case recently the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, will make a key decision on the Independant Panel's report which he received a couple of weeks ago.

A rain sodden speech

I see our position using a footballing analogy. We are one nil down at half time but we have time (next week) to score not just an equaliser but a couple of goals to win 2-1 and save Ealing from having our hospitals downgraded.

We all hope that Jeremy Hunt makes the right decision for Ealing, Acton. Chiswick and the surrounding area. We need our hospitals to have maternity units as well as A&E's! If patients travel further to hospital then quite simply more people will die.

We have a growing community as people live longer and locally birth rates have increased over the past few years.

At the rally it was good to see lots of campaigners from all parties but good to speak to those who travelled from Acton and Chiswick (Councillor Andrew Steed and Gary Busuttil) as well as Nigel Bakhai the Lib Dem health spokesperson, who has spent the last 18 months with others standing up for the residents of Hanwell and the wider Ealing area.

Jon Ball (right) and other Lib Dems at the rally

Jon Ball, the Lib Dem parliamentary canididate for Ealing Central & Acton, was present with the Liberal Democrat banner, showing that we are firmly against these mad plans to downgrade our hospitals.

Whatever decision is taken next week we will continue to fight for a better local health service.

Ealing residents should not be treated like a problem by Ealing Council

Over the past couple of months my Council colleagues and I, have noticed a large increase in the number of vulnerable residents calling to ask for help with matters that relate to services which Ealing Council provide.

Activities such as renewing parking permits and buying visitors’ vouchers, for some, have become impossible. If they go to Ealing Town Hall they are turned away. If they phone up they are not given assistance. When they write they do not get a letter or a call from Ealing Council.

Many elderly or vulnerable residents do not find it easy to access the Council’s internet forms to gain the services they are entitled to. It has come to something when I have to print out forms for residents when Ealing Council would not send them to residents! Ealing Council should be providing a better and more accessible service to these residents.

Three years ago Ealing Liberal Democrats persuaded Ealing Council to adopt a Customer Care Charter so their residents can get a better service. Since then, the number of residents reporting customer service problems has increased massively. Last night, one resident recounted an example of where an Ealing Council member of staff hung up the phone.

The Council assumes everyone can do everything on line! Clearly this is not the case. The Council has paid lip service to their own charter. By giving vulnerable residents a ‘bad deal’ they are being treated with no respect.

By all means encourage residents to use additional on line methods but we should not be stopping methods, whether they be face-to-face or via the telephone, which many residents need from the Council.
In the run up to the local elections which take place in 2014 the Liberal Democrats will continue to press Ealing Council to make improvements for residents including:

• Answering telephone calls more quickly. Currently many people hang up due to the long wait
• Ensuring that services offered to vulnerable residents are not reduced further
• When residents call Ealing Council they are offered help and advice instead of being told they must use an internet based services

Sadly we have seen Labour-run Ealing Council shut many and about to close more day centres. This will have a negative effect on many vulnerable, whether they are elderly or disabled.

Liberal Democrats will not treat the vulnerable as a difficulty. They have every right to a good customer service from Ealing Council and a Liberal Democrat run Ealing Council will provide a good customer experience for them.

Write-up of the Southfield Ward Forum meeting (11th Sept)

At today's meeting in the Carlton Road Day Centre a number of important local matters were discussed including the Piccadilly Line at Turnham Green consultation and a range of items funded by the ward forum's budget.

I chaired the meeting alongside Liberal Democrat councillors Andrew Steed and Harvey Rose. First of all I indicated that residents who wanted Piccadilly line tubes to stop at Turnham Green should fill in the two minute consultation which can be found here.

Also the police have a ward wide AGM that takes place on 25th September at the Carlton Road Day centre from 6.30pm. At the meeting you will have a chance to see the police showing a Taser gun (used to essentially stun people the police are after). Come along to hear the latest crime figures for our part of Chiswick and Acton and a chance to ask the local police team questions.

Following a site visit I announced a number of improvements that will be made to the railway bridge from Chiswick to South Acton. These should make the area safer, as it currently is not very inviting for residents to go between Chiswick and South Acton.

These include new lights in Acton and Chiswick around the bridge, paint which will brighten the area across the bridge, the trimming of trees so that people can see across the bridge seeing the other side of the bridge, the domed mirror has been repaired, police on both sides of the bridge to patrol more often!

Later we agreed to spend some of the ward funds on the following items:

• Yellow lines on Multiway to ensure that emergency vehicles can gain access (currently ambulances are stopped by parked vehicles)
• Street signage for Evershed Walk, W4
• New lighting for Fishers Lane
• Landscape improvements for the Southfield Recreation Grounds to encourage dog owners to walk around the areas where the children at Southfield Primary School play each week.
• Install two new items of gym equipment on Southfield Rec (Triple pull ups & Sit up benches)
• Wildflower seeding on the triangle area adjacent to the 94 bus terminus, Acton Green to make the area look prettier
• Agreement of works to convert the Larden Road area into a 20 mph scheme
• Two additional bins for Acton Green to reduce the litter

If you have any ideas about how to improve the Southfield area of Chiswick let me know via email at: southfield@ealinglibdems.org.uk