New Year Message

We need a year of breakthroughs. Whether it’s Iraq or climate change, the NHS or cutting crime, last year built up a mountain of challenges.

A good year will see a troop withdrawal from Iraq and international action on global warming and the environment. Advancing on “Make Poverty History”, with a trade justice breakthrough or peace in Darfur, would make it a bumper year.

Locally the biggest challenge remains our NHS - the budget crisis and health cuts. Ministers keep making it worse – with interest rate penalties and budget clawbacks. Now they want to switch the huge cost of care from the national NHS budget on to the council’s social services budget by cutting hospital beds for the elderly. 

A key local aim should be to cut crime. Some progress has been made but we need much more. Whether it’s low level anti-social behaviour or more serious, violent crimes, Labour is not managing crime well.