Monday 9 February, 4pm – Culture Portfolio meeting
6pm – Labour Group campaigning
Saturday 14 February, 11am – Labour campaigning in East Ipswich
Labour fund raising evening
Not many meetings this week, but plenty of casework to catch up with. I would have hoped to be able to spend more time campaigning as we get closer to May but one consequence of this coalition Government is that more people are approaching me to help sort out issued that are often caused by actions of this callous Government so add that to all the casework generated by a failing Tory County Council and it is less time ‘hard pounding’ and more time on the phone or sending out emails.
Tories closing Ipswich Children’s Centres but still Dan Poulter remains silent and Ben Gummer continues to make excuses whilst living in a land of self-denial. This week we find out that the Tories had not even asked Ipswich Borough Council if the Reg Driver Centre (one of the replacement locations for the Quayside Children’s Centres) was even available for hire and if it was, how much it would cost. Just another example of how badly thought out the plan to close these much used facilities is.
Ben Gummer made a big deal of the fact that many of the parents lived closer to Reg Driver than Quayside, so what is he going to say now that we find the Reg Driver Centre may not be available?
Showing posts with label Children's Centre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Children's Centre. Show all posts
Sunday, 8 February 2015
Sunday, 25 January 2015
My week ahead, 26 January - 1 February 2015
Monday 26 January, 4pm – Culture portfolio meeting
6pm – Labour Group meeting
Wednesday 28 January, 6pm – Ipswich Borough Full Council meeting
Thursday 29 January, 6pm –Ipswich Borough Council Scrutiny meeting
Saturday 31 January, 10am – Labour campaigning in North East Ipswich
Sunday 1 February, 11am – Labour campaigning in South East Ipswich
Busy week ahead and I also hope to get over to the County Council to support the parents who will be letting the Tory County Council know how angry and let down they feel after the Tories have ignored their own consultation and decided to close a number of Children’s Centres in Suffolk including two in Ipswich.
Now if your only news source was our local Tory MP or one of the few remaining Tory councillors you may be surprised to hear that our children’s centres are closing as they have decided not to mention it! Eventually when asked via twitter a few Tories have answered, one to deny the centres were even closing!
The Tory leader tweeted that it was just still a plan and nothing had happened yet, well what has happened is the Tories have put off the decision once and we can’t see them doing so again.
They are going to shut two Children’s Centres in Ipswich; some local blogs have attempted to pass the closures off as mergers (showing their true blue colours as they seem towish yo act as apologists for our Tory MP).Even saying that some of the new buildings they will be using are closer to the users than the Centre due to be closed. Try explaining that to parents on Whitton Estate who are now expected to travel down Norwich Road, cross at one of the busiest junctions in Ipswich to visit their ‘new merged’ centre in Chevalier Street (one of the worst streets in Ipswich when it comes to air pollution)
Now our Tory MP, Ben Gummer has not tweeted about the closures (mergers?) or used his blog to tell us his thoughts – now he often ignores bad news but he has always seemed quite keen on Children’s Centres – he even at the last General Election ambushed a Labour Minister after Labour said centres would close under the Tories (which we now see is true) and recently in a blog, Ben Gummer declared that “Everyone must get great childcare – not just the well-off”.
So his silence on the subject is disappointing, he even had the opportunity to explain to Ipswich residents why he thinks the centres should close via his weekly column in the local paper, instead we received a lecture on urban planning.
From all his promises of putting party loyalty behind him and just doing what is best for Ipswich residents he has shown with this issue that he is like many MPs in Westminster, happy to take credit for anything good and hiding when the news is not so bright.
So far this year he has failed to tell us via his column, website, blog or tweets what he thinks are the reasons for poor inspection reports at two of our academy schools and now the closure of Children’s Centres.
So expect his columns over the next 101 days to cover subjects such as the town centre, empty shops and trains then he will move onto the town centre, empty shops and trains and he will finish with the town centre, empty shops and trains.
Mr Gummer, your Government aided and abetted by a Tory County Council are failing our children – get your head out of the sand!
6pm – Labour Group meeting
Wednesday 28 January, 6pm – Ipswich Borough Full Council meeting
Thursday 29 January, 6pm –Ipswich Borough Council Scrutiny meeting
Saturday 31 January, 10am – Labour campaigning in North East Ipswich
Sunday 1 February, 11am – Labour campaigning in South East Ipswich
Busy week ahead and I also hope to get over to the County Council to support the parents who will be letting the Tory County Council know how angry and let down they feel after the Tories have ignored their own consultation and decided to close a number of Children’s Centres in Suffolk including two in Ipswich.
Now if your only news source was our local Tory MP or one of the few remaining Tory councillors you may be surprised to hear that our children’s centres are closing as they have decided not to mention it! Eventually when asked via twitter a few Tories have answered, one to deny the centres were even closing!
The Tory leader tweeted that it was just still a plan and nothing had happened yet, well what has happened is the Tories have put off the decision once and we can’t see them doing so again.
They are going to shut two Children’s Centres in Ipswich; some local blogs have attempted to pass the closures off as mergers (showing their true blue colours as they seem towish yo act as apologists for our Tory MP).Even saying that some of the new buildings they will be using are closer to the users than the Centre due to be closed. Try explaining that to parents on Whitton Estate who are now expected to travel down Norwich Road, cross at one of the busiest junctions in Ipswich to visit their ‘new merged’ centre in Chevalier Street (one of the worst streets in Ipswich when it comes to air pollution)
Now our Tory MP, Ben Gummer has not tweeted about the closures (mergers?) or used his blog to tell us his thoughts – now he often ignores bad news but he has always seemed quite keen on Children’s Centres – he even at the last General Election ambushed a Labour Minister after Labour said centres would close under the Tories (which we now see is true) and recently in a blog, Ben Gummer declared that “Everyone must get great childcare – not just the well-off”.
So his silence on the subject is disappointing, he even had the opportunity to explain to Ipswich residents why he thinks the centres should close via his weekly column in the local paper, instead we received a lecture on urban planning.
From all his promises of putting party loyalty behind him and just doing what is best for Ipswich residents he has shown with this issue that he is like many MPs in Westminster, happy to take credit for anything good and hiding when the news is not so bright.
So far this year he has failed to tell us via his column, website, blog or tweets what he thinks are the reasons for poor inspection reports at two of our academy schools and now the closure of Children’s Centres.
So expect his columns over the next 101 days to cover subjects such as the town centre, empty shops and trains then he will move onto the town centre, empty shops and trains and he will finish with the town centre, empty shops and trains.
Mr Gummer, your Government aided and abetted by a Tory County Council are failing our children – get your head out of the sand!
Wednesday, 15 October 2014
More reasons why we need a Labour Government
Tory councilor comments "I have a number of mentally damaged individuals, who to be quite frank aren’t worth the Minimum Wage,"
We then have a Tory Minister stating that the Tory councillor is raising good point!!
Whilst here in Suffolk we have a Tory councilor light heartedly stating that a current Children's Centre (under threat of Tory closure) would make a nice wine bar!!
We then have a Tory Minister stating that the Tory councillor is raising good point!!
Whilst here in Suffolk we have a Tory councilor light heartedly stating that a current Children's Centre (under threat of Tory closure) would make a nice wine bar!!
Sunday, 12 October 2014
My week ahead, 13 - 19 October 2014
Monday – 13 October, 2pm - Campaigning on road safety in Rushmere Ward
6pm – Labour Group campaigning, South West Ipswich
Wednesday – 15 October, 2pm – Visit to youth activities at Copleston School
Thursday – 16 October, 10am – Labour campaigning, South East Ipswich
6pm – Scrutiny meeting
Saturday – 18 October, 10am - Labour campaigning, South East Ipswich
Sunday - 19 October, 11am - Labour campaigning, North West Ipswich
The results in Clacton and Manchester has lead many locally as well as nationally to focus on UKIP – Some on our side have even suggested that we mimic UKIP with a more anti immigration stance but I do not believe that is the way ahead – like Yvette Cooper we do not need to mimic them (leave that to the Tories) we need to fight them.
The UKIP support of most Tory policies at Suffolk County Council just highlights that UKIP are just the far right wing of the Tory Party. We need to show voters in Ipswich that they have supported the majority of Tory actions both on education and health.
We must also continue to fight the Tories and here in Ipswich (and Suffolk ) one area where the Tories have let down residents is the way they have handled education – their only project ‘Raising the Bar’ is a total failure and this week we have had the embarrassing (for Tory run Suffolk) state of affairs of Primary School Head teachers writing to the county to inform them they have no confidence in the Tory run education system – and the response from the Tories?
Almost total silence, no comments from the Tory Cabinet in Suffolk, a few anti teacher comment from local MPs and in Ipswich the Tory leader took to twitter to highlight issues in Dorset and Devon!!!
'Heads in the sand' attitude by the Tories, and at the same time as the letter from Head Teachers, Labour County Councillor, Mandy Gaylard was organising a pram push from Quayside Children’s centre to the Chatterbox Children’s centre, the Tories are planning to close a children’s cenre but are dressing it up as a merger. It took us 45 minutes to walk between the tow and we had to cross a umber of roads including the busy Foxhall Rd and it included a steep hill! The question I would like to ask has any Tory attempted to walk between the two – maybe Ben Gummer should push his own new baby in a pram between the two centres – he would then see how stupid the Tory plan is!
Sunday, 5 October 2014
My week ahead, 6 - 12 October 2014
Monday – 6 October, 4pm – Culture Portfolio briefing
6pm – Labour Group campaigning, South West Ipswich
Thursday – 9 October, 10am – Labour campaigning, South East Ipswich
6pm – Area Committee Chairs meeting
Friday – 10 October, 10am – Pram Push – from Quayside to Chatterbox Children’s Centre
Saturday – 11 October, 10am - Labour campaigning, North East Ipswich
The usual mix of meeting and campaigning but also i have my first organised ‘Pram Push’ where I will join parents of the Quayside and Chatterbox Children’s Centres as they push their prams between the two centres. I am sure there are many ‘Pram Push’ events all over the country, often to raise much needed funds or to support some other charity. But this ‘Pram Push’ is to highlight the distance between the two locations as the Tory run County Council look to merge both centres and has been organised by parents and Mandy Gaylard the hard working County Councillor for the Waterfront area.
Now we all understand that the County Council needs to save money as they face further funding cuts from their fellow Tories at Westminster but what sticks in the throat about this cut/saving is that in 2010, Mr Gummer pulled a schoolboy type protest prank when he and fellow young Tory activists (where are they now??) ambushed Harriet Harman as she visited Ipswich. He was unhappy as nationally Labour were telling voters that the Tories would close Children’s Centres and as we have seen all over the country we have been proven right. Here in Ipswich we have already had one closure, but somehow Mr Gummer has dressed this up as not a closure but just the re-location of services from a purpose built Children’s Centre to a small room in a library.
Not sure parents are going to fall for the line’ this is not a closure, just a merger’ this time – but then again his paternity leave must be nearly over now or he could even bring his own pram along and see how difficult it is to push a/his pram from the Waterfront to the top of Foxhall Rd (hills included)
6pm – Labour Group campaigning, South West Ipswich
Thursday – 9 October, 10am – Labour campaigning, South East Ipswich
6pm – Area Committee Chairs meeting
Friday – 10 October, 10am – Pram Push – from Quayside to Chatterbox Children’s Centre
Saturday – 11 October, 10am - Labour campaigning, North East Ipswich
The usual mix of meeting and campaigning but also i have my first organised ‘Pram Push’ where I will join parents of the Quayside and Chatterbox Children’s Centres as they push their prams between the two centres. I am sure there are many ‘Pram Push’ events all over the country, often to raise much needed funds or to support some other charity. But this ‘Pram Push’ is to highlight the distance between the two locations as the Tory run County Council look to merge both centres and has been organised by parents and Mandy Gaylard the hard working County Councillor for the Waterfront area.
Now we all understand that the County Council needs to save money as they face further funding cuts from their fellow Tories at Westminster but what sticks in the throat about this cut/saving is that in 2010, Mr Gummer pulled a schoolboy type protest prank when he and fellow young Tory activists (where are they now??) ambushed Harriet Harman as she visited Ipswich. He was unhappy as nationally Labour were telling voters that the Tories would close Children’s Centres and as we have seen all over the country we have been proven right. Here in Ipswich we have already had one closure, but somehow Mr Gummer has dressed this up as not a closure but just the re-location of services from a purpose built Children’s Centre to a small room in a library.
Not sure parents are going to fall for the line’ this is not a closure, just a merger’ this time – but then again his paternity leave must be nearly over now or he could even bring his own pram along and see how difficult it is to push a/his pram from the Waterfront to the top of Foxhall Rd (hills included)
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Where are the posters now, Ben?
As Tory run Suffolk County Council are about to close a Children’s Centre on Felixstowe Road, just wondered if Ben Gummer still had his posters from 2010 around?
“The Ormiston Children’s Centre is being closed by the Tories so that is yet another broken promise from this discredited government.”
“The Ormiston Children’s Centre is being closed by the Tories so that is yet another broken promise from this discredited government.”
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