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A version of this article first appeared in the Burnley Express on 7/05/08
Last week was dominated by the campaigning for the local elections held on May 1st. Our teams were out all over the constituency, as I am sure all the other political parties were as well. We ran spirited campaigns across the borough and although I was disappointed that we lost some good councillors, we kept some seats as well and gave the others a run for their money in many areas. And its clear that we have some excellent local activists working day in day out for their communities so even if they aren’t yet on the council, its only a matter of time. Thank you to everyone who took the time to speak to us.
After the results were counted on Friday morning, I spent the rest of the weekend with my family resting my tired legs from all the campaigning, before playing my part leading the traditional May Day parade behind the band that marches through the town centre on the first bank holiday Monday of May. Its my favourite day of the year and we were luckier with the weather this year than we have been in recent years.
On the speakers’ platform this year as well as myself, were the Pendle MP, Gordon Prentice who spoke alongside a speaker from the national Fairtrade Foundation who congratulated the town on its recent achievement of Fair trade status, pointing out how our individual actions in purchasing Fairtrade tea and coffee can have an enormous impact on the lives of the poorest in the world. We also heard from the Pendle councillor, Tim Ormerod, who updated us on some of the excellent work that the co-operative movement is undertaking, both locally and around the world.
In my speech I discussed the political environment that we are facing at the moment. If you cast your mind back to 1997 and the promises Labour made when we took office, they have been way surpassed. Employment is high and rising, people are living longer, healthier lives, crime is substantially down. Inflation remains historically low as do interest rates. But people are now worried about new things: fuel prices, food prices, the state of the housing market and our challenge in government is to provide the reassurance that people need in the uncertainty provided by the US subprime crisis.
So – after the obligatory rides on the Towneley funfair for my daughter - it was back down to London on Monday evening to face my first day at the Treasury since returning from four months maternity leave.
It was great to be back and to catch up with the teams that have been working hard during my absence. First up was the finance bill that enters its committee stage in parliament this week, having had contentious debates on the 10p rate of tax in the main house of commons. On that, the government has promised to bring forward a package of help shortly for the two groups of people who did not benefit from the wider changes that were proposed in the last budget, namely some 60-64 year olds and some employees who, whether through their young age or family circumstances could not access the raised level of tax credits.
In the meantime, the other provisions of the finance bill, that seeks to put the budget into law, are being debated and will take up the bulk of my time between now and early July.
But I’m back in the constituency this weekend with a number of workplace visits as well as my usual surgery in Padiham on Friday, followed by an essential visit to the Clarets Trust beer festival, so I hope to see you there.
Click here for details of how to contact Kitty
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