News from the Leader of the LGA Labour Group: 16 May 2017

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16 May 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 www.local.gov.uk/lga-labour
Follow us on Twitter @LGA_Labour
Like our Facebook page www.facebook.com/LGALabourGroup 

Internal Elections and Appointment Process

We have postponed our Internal Elections and Appointments process until after the General Election. We will begin all processes immediately after the General Election. Please email anthie.zachariou@local.gov.uk if you have any questions.

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

Birmingham City Council has issued 'Brummie Bond' to build homes

Bristol Council-Owned Waste Company Launches Commercial Services

Hammersmith & Fulham Council fund improvement of Lyric Square ahead of 2017 Summer Celebrations 

Councillor Warren Morgan has published a list of one hundred positive achievements of Labour-led Brighton and Hove Council

School improvements, action on empty homes and road routes: Sunderland's city leaders make plans for the future

Council funded theatre opens after 10-year absence in Chester

Haymarket Theatre plans unveiled as £3 million Leicester City Council investment is set to start

New Tottenham Stadium to hold 61,559 after Haringey Council approve capacity increase

Demolition of the Grosvenor block signals the transformation of Sheffield’s city centre

Bolton patients moving back home as part of £3.6 million council funded project

Slough Council cracks down on unused and derelict homes

Councillor Alice Perry’s NEC Report

National news

NHS cyber-attack: Bosses fear further infections from ransomware

Funding shortfall 'threatens support for vulnerable children'

7 out of 10 children with mental health problems are treated outside home area

UK industrial output shrinks for a third month in a row

Bank of England warns of consumer spending squeeze 

Number of foreign tech job applications down 50% since EU referendum vote 

Young professionals resist London’s lure and head north for jobs (£) 

NHS faces 'ticking time bomb', doctors warn 

Hospital 'long-waiters' show sharp rise  

Care boss calls for new rules to keep elderly couples together (£) 

Care staff 'may not get minimum wage' leaked report claim 

HIV life expectancy 'near normal' thanks to new drugs 

Parents should be offered 'childcare passport' 

Pothole damage to cars soars

Punters lose billions in fixed‑odds betting frenzy (£)

News from Wales

Cllr Huw Thomas is elected new Leader of Cardiff Council

Cllr Debbie Wilcox discusses the new £38 million investment for Newport foundry to make new technology behind 5G

News from the Labour Party

Jeremy Corbyn’s speech at Labour’s campaign launch

Jeremy Corbyn’s speech at the Royal College of Nursing Annual Conference

Jeremy Corbyn’s speech at Chatham House

Jeremy Corbyn: ‘Labour will transform education for the many not the few

‘The Tories’ failed economic plan is holding Britain back’ - John McDonnell

John McDonnell’s speech at Fire Brigades Union conference

Under Theresa May and the Tories we’ve seen seven years of failure on housing - John Healey

Working people £2,300 worse off under Theresa May’s watered down National Living Wage

Labour will protect state pension as Tories fail to commit to Triple Lock

Labour calls for action over NHS cyber-attack

New figures show that Theresa May is failing millions of NHS patients - Jonathan Ashworth

Labour to end NHS car park charges

Labour launches National Education Service

‘Desperate Tories re-announce energy bill plan with no proper detail or commitment to help working people’ – Rebecca Long-Bailey

Labour to strengthen legal protections for LGBT community

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

In light of the General Election, we’ve been working hard on your behalf with the Labour policy team who are drafting the manifesto. We have written to them, to set out the key policy pledges that we want the manifesto to commit to. We have also published a briefing that sets out the key commitments we want adopted in order to help all parts of local government better support our communities and deliver on the challenges facing the nation. If you have any key figures from the Party in your patch hopefully you'll be able to restate our lines in your discussions with them.


Councils face £2 billion funding gap to support vulnerable children by 2020

LGA political balance confirmed

Opposition Watch

20 promises the Tories have broken since being elected two years ago

No charges over 2015 Conservative battle bus cases

Theresa May has said she won't rule out a hike in National Insurance after the General Election

Claims emerge of splits at the highest levels of the Tory government between Theresa May and Philip Hammond

Theresa May confirms that she wants to bring back fox hunting

Tory MP 'told schoolgirl to "f*** off back to Scotland" when she said she'd vote for independence

Conservative councillor suspended after 'gypsies' tweet during Eurovision Song Contest

Paul Nuttall stands by UKIP MEP who called Islam a death cult

Paul Nuttall has said that Jeremy Corbyn would surrender the Falklands...to Australia

UKIP's Clacton candidate dropped in 'shambolic' move

UKIP leader criticised for disclosing confidential Hillsborough meeting

Council bosses have apologised after voters in Plymouth were mistakenly sent the wrong polling cards for the General Election.

External organisations

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

  • Where: IET Austin Court, Central Birmingham
  • When: Saturday 24 June, 9:30-17:00
  • 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)
  • Cllr Sue Jeffery (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.

By-elections

By-elections

There were no by-elections on 11 May 2017. 

There are 2 by-elections taking place on 18 May 2017:

Richmondshire DC, Reeth & Arkengarthdale

Enfield LB, Enfield Lock