News from the Leader of the LGA Labour Group: 19 April 2017

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19 April 2017

Cllr Nick Forbes

News from the Leader of the LGA Labour Group

Cllr Nick Forbes
Leader of the LGA Labour Group

Visit our website lgalabour.local.gov.uk
Follow us on Twitter @LGA_Labour
Like our Facebook page www.facebook.com/LGALabourGroup 

Head of the LGA Labour Group office

The LGA is looking for a senior professional adviser to head up our Labour Group Office. You will work in a high-pressure environment, advising and supporting the Labour group leader, planning and overseeing the delivery of support to councillors and managing the office. More information and how to apply can be found here.

LGA Labour Annual Report 2017

Out on the campaign trail? Send us your best photos and they may appear in the Labour Group Annual Report. They need to be high resolution and you’ll need to tell us who is in the photo and give confirmation that everyone pictured is happy for us to use it. Please send them to anthie.zachariou@local.gov.uk.

News from Local Labour

Newcastle City Council backs Sunderland's UK City of Culture 2021 bid

Hammersmith & Fulham residents will be the first in London to drive electric cars for free after H&F Council Leader, Cllr Stephen Cowan, negotiated residents a year’s free membership of its new electric car club, Bluecity

Ground-breaking horticultural apprenticeship to blossom thanks to Oldham Council and Oldham College

Plans for new road in Leicester city centre backed as £7million scheme moves forward

As councils struggle with cuts, Preston City Council has adapted a pioneering grassroots approach from America to tackling inequality and keeping profits local

Liverpool City Council looks to sail ahead with new cruise terminal plans

New health service launched to help Southampton residents control their lifestyle

Leeds City Council teams up with M&S to back ‘MetalMatters’ campaign

Tower Hamlets Council launches Workpath service to help residents find employment

Designated as a scheme of ‘national significance,’ the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) on the South Tyneside/Sunderland border is set to play a key role in transforming the fortunes of the region, and indeed the UK (Page 30)

Former vacant office space in Corby town centre has been transformed into new flats, bringing life back into the dormant space in Cardigan House

West Midlands mayoral candidate, Siôn Simon, seeks to tell a different Labour story

National news

May to seek snap General Election for 8 June

A Guardian editorial says the re-engineering of how local government is funded is one of the most important but least discussed questions in a Whitehall dominated by Brexit

Interviews with two of the candidates bidding to become the first mayor of Greater Manchester (£)

Labour to promise unpaid carers 17% allowance increase

New Schools in England are cutting back on teachers and teaching assistants (TAs) because of financial constraints, a survey for the Sutton Trust suggests from Wales

Poorest pupils face bigger cuts per head under funding formula (£)

Don’t believe the hype – grammar schools won’t increase social mobility, argues Fiona Millar

Pupils with special needs are at risk of being turned away by mainstream schools due to real term cuts in school budgets

Ministers spent five times the going rate on sites for four new free schools in London, the Evening Standard reveals today. Official figures obtained under Freedom of Information show that £120 million was splurged on just four old buildings to be turned into new schools

Lancashire residents have lost a High Court legal challenge seeking to overturn a decision by the Communities Secretary Sajid Javid to approve fracking in the county

News from Wales

Tributes have been paid to Cllr Keith Reynolds, Leader of Caerphilly Council, who has passed away

Cardiff Council partners with Gardners Partners for WEEE Recycling Drive

News from the Labour Party

Jeremy Corbyn’s response to the Prime Minister’s call for a General Election 

Labour will use £200 billion government purchasing power to upgrade our economy, says Jeremey Corbyn

A Labour government would force all private companies who take government contracts to recognise trade unions and offer their employees full collective bargaining, Jeremy Corbyn has announced

Jeremy Corbyn’s speech to the Federation of Small Businesses

John McDonnell and Debbie Abrahams launch Labours Pensioners’ Pledge Card

Tory failure on living standards sees real earnings fall by £1,200

Labour will make corporate tax returns public

‘Month after month the Conservatives are missing key targets for cancer, ambulance response times and A&E waiting times’ - Jonathan Ashworth

Labour will protect the high street by ending damaging bank closures 

Grammar schools will do nothing to help the overwhelming majority of working families across the country’ - Angela Rayner

Housing, Local Government and Transport policy commission consultation

The Labour party has published eight consultation documents, including on Housing, Local Government and Transport and they want to hear from as many councillors as possible.

The consultation is open until Wednesday 31 May 2017. All the submissions they receive will go to the appropriate policy commission who will consider your ideas before rewriting the documents ahead of a summer meeting of the National Policy Forum on the weekend of the 1 and 2 July 2017.

The consultation documents can be found at www.policyforum.labour.org.uk 

The best and easiest way to send in your ideas and join the discussion is via our online home of policy making: www.policyforum.labour.org.uk.

The website also includes details of your local NPF representatives and your elected officials who are there to represent you in the Agenda 2020 process.

News from the LGA

Chewing gum: councils highlight clear-up costs

LGA responds to education announcement on selective schools  

LGA responds to latest delayed discharges figures  

LGA responds to TPA report on senior council staff pay  

LGA responds to Independent Age report on care homes  

Opposition Watch

UKIP will contest just 48 per cent of council seats in May's local elections - even less than the Greens

Former Tory, then UKIP, now Independent MP, Douglas Carswell says Ukip should 'disband'

UKIP councillor who drives tankers for a living denies being three times over the drink-drive limit.

Tory election spending: MP admitted to police some claims were wrong 

'Chaos' as hundreds of people queue for hours in 20C heat for new recycling bins.

Labour just won a Town council election by default because Ukip filled out a form wrongly 

A Tory police and crime commissioner could face charges over election expenses.

External organisations

Co-operative Party Local Government Conference
‘Not waiting for Whitehall’

  • Where: IET Austin Court, Central Birmingham
  • When: Saturday 24 June, 9:30am-5pm
  • Cost: £10 including lunch and drinks

The conference will hear bring together key voices in Local Government to discuss key issues such as housing and education.

Currently confirmed speakers include:

  • Jim McMahon MP, (Shadow Minister Communities and Local Government and former Leader of Oldham Council)
  • Sue Jeffery (Labour & Co-op Metro Mayor Candidate Tees Valley and Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council)
  • Rt Hon John Healey MP (Shadow Housing Minister) 

With more to follow in the weeks ahead.

As you know we have been busy working to develop and promote innovative community wealth models, fair tax campaigns and co-operative development through the year.

We want to hear from you, gather your views and experiences so we continue to strengthen our work and support you as Councillors and co-operators.

Join us for the day in June and help us shape our next twelve months of work supporting you.

‘Winning again: Understanding what voters want from Labour’:
Grimond Room, Portcullis House, 8.30-9.45am, 25 April 2017

The Smith Institute would like to invite you to discussion on ‘Winning again: Understanding what voters want from Labour’. The event will kick off a series of Smith Institute policy to politics seminars, with a focus on what matters to voters and what voters want from Labour? We will hear from Deborah Mattinson, founding partner of BritainThinks and Nick Pecorelli, associate director of The Campaign Company. After the presentations we will have a Q&A session chaired by John Healey MP.

Please register now

By-elections

There were no by-elections on 13 April 2017

There are two by-elections taking place on 20 April 2017:

Harrow LB, Kenton East
Cheshire West & Chester UA, Blacon