Issued
by: Keith Reed Davey promoted in new Lib.Dem. Treasury Team Local MP "delighted" at new appointment & "ready for the battle" The new Liberal Democrat leader,
Charles Kennedy, has announced his new shadow cabinet,
and promoted Kingston and Surbiton’s MP, Edward
Davey, within the party’s Treasury team. "This is the job I requested, so naturally I’m delighted to be promoted in the Treasury team. "The Treasury is always at the centre of political debate. Sitting on the Finance Bill Committee gives an MP the best possible chance to analyse the Government’s tax policies. Already this Parliament, we have been able to expose some serious policy mistakes by Gordon Brown, from the tax hike he imposed on some of the country’s poorest pensioners, to the extra bureaucracy he’s created for small businesses. "With Labour mimicking failed Conservative policies of police cuts and under-investment in the health service, it gives me the ideal position in Parliament to reveal the Government’s failings and illustrate the Liberal Democrats’ positive alternative. "The recent party conferences have set the battleground for the next election, with the Conservatives becoming even more right wing and extreme, and the Labour party failing to deliver on its election promises. So I’m looking forward to getting stuck into this new role." With Parliament going back this week (Tuesday 19th October), Mr. Davey will be in action on day one, speaking in a debate on a Treasury Select Committee Report on the National Office for Statistics. He will be using this first opportunity to expose the derisory increase of 75p in the basic pension planned for next year. (see separate release). Mr. Davey will argue that the process of uprating the pension needs to be changed to make sure pensioners are not penalised. ENDS |
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Issued
by: Edward Davey "SWT train drivers must end industrial action" - Davey Davey finds out reason for recent train cancellations & news of lower prices in 2000 Local MP, Edward Davey, has backed SWT and ASLEF in their joint management & union opposition to unofficial action by a few train drivers. This action has caused disruptive train cancellations in recent weeks. At his quarterly meeting with top managers from South West Trains last week, Mr. Davey raised constituents’ concerns about a recent increase in the frequency of train cancellations and delays. To his surprise, he was told the cause was an outbreak of unofficial industrial action by a small number of train drivers which had received no publicity. Commenting on this revelation, Edward Davey said: "It’s outrageous for a few train drivers to disrupt services for so many people like this. "As a commuter myself, I made it clear to SWT how disruptive these delays were and urged them to resolve the dispute as quickly as possible. But I gave SWT and ASLEF my full backing in fighting this illegal action. "My message to drivers engaged in this disruption is simple: you are damaging the railway industry and the public. Don’t let this drag on for weeks. End it now." During the rest of his meeting with SWT executives, Mr. Davey raised issues ranging from local rail safety to the level of train fares, and from individual constituent’s concerns to his Safer Stations Initiative. Mr. Davey received good news that commuter train fares will fall next year by an average of 3.7%, with the average of all suburban fares rising below inflation and by only 0.6%,. This fall is, however, due to poor performance during the last twelve months, and is a penalty cap, imposed by the regulator. Mr. Davey said: "Lower fares are welcome news for the commuter, but I bet they’d prefer more reliable services. "This penalty on South West Trains is a real incentive for them to improve their performance, and I’m sure they know they must. I only hope the drivers taking industrial action have got the message too. "Commuter train reductions stand in stark contrast to Labour’s outrageous increases in tube and bus fares, of 7% and 43% respectively, announced last Thursday. If tube and bus prices were based on the performance of London’s public transport under Labour, they wouldn’t be rising, they’d be plummeting!" ENDS |
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Issued
by: Edward Davey "Gutter politics" brings progress on flood protection measures! Davey to receive full report on Thames Water’s actions on every incident in a strategic monitoring process following this summer’s floods Edward Davey has welcomed progress by Thames Water on tackling the aftermath of last summer’s floods, but has urged much faster measures for the worst affected, especially those still homeless due to flood damage of their properties. At a meeting at the Hogsmill Sewage Treatment plant last Monday, Mr. Davey reviewed progress made by the special team set up by Thames Water after his first encounter three weeks ago. He was shown special pump devices to be fitted to homes affected by sewage flooding in the central Kingston area. He raised a number of individual cases and was promised a full, written report on the actions taken by Thames Water on every flooding incident reported to them, after the team has completed their work in four weeks’ time. Mr. Davey also attended a public meeting for the most severely hit residents which he had asked Thames Water to organise. Held in the church hall of St.John’s, Kingston last Tuesday, local residents heard about Thames Water’s plans for new flood protection measures, including the installation of the pumps for certain properties where appropriate. Residents were then able to cross-question Thames Water and Edward Davey also. Speaking after the meeting, Mr. Davey said: "Thames Water are at last pulling out the stops. But I remain extremely concerned about a number of individual constituents who are still homeless after the floods of this summer. "The special action team set up by Thames is making real progress, and I’m grateful for their team’s hard work. Thames have never before set up such a task force, so we know they’re taking Kingston seriously. "Yet it’s been distressing how long people have waited - and are still waiting - for action to implement new flood protection measures. I won’t be happy till I’ve seen the full report in a month’s time - and till its recommendations have been fully implemented and tested. "One resident has asked me to put all the background research my office has done on this issue on my website, at www.edwarddavey.co.uk. That should happen within the next two weeks – and I’ll also be writing to send the information to all those who’ve been in contact with me about this. "This whole affair has made me quite an expert on drains and sewers. But I don’t think it’s what the papers mean by "gutter politics"! Ends |
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