Crewe Works Apprentices Visit Labour Party Conference

“We’re very proud of our apprentices”, said David Williams Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Crewe and Nantwich, “I want to see more local businesses investing in apprenticeship training.”

Speaking at Labour Party Annual Conference in Brighton David Williams continued, “An apprenticeship is one of the best ways to start your working life. I was a Rolls Royce apprentice in Crewe and I want to see many more young people have the same opportunities that I did.”

Chris Steele and Rob King both made the trip down to Brighton at the invitation of David Williams. They had a brief meeting with the Prime Minister and then met Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper, before going on the conference stage for a debate on jobs and training. Rob and Chris are both electrical engineering apprentices, in their second year, at Bombardier in Crewe.

David Williams concluded, “We cannot afford to lose another generation to unemployment or jobs without training. Many of my school friends left school in the 1980s recession and went straight on the dole. The only provision for them was YTS, a dead-end scheme with no training, prospects or hope.

“That is totally wrong and we must make sure the current generation of school leavers are looked after. So I was really pleased that the Government introduced the September Guarantee, ensuring that all this year’s school leavers had a place in an apprenticeship, sixth-form or further education college. It’s a historic commitment that no previous government has ever made.”

Pictured (left-right): Chris Steele, David Williams, Yvette Cooper, Rob King.

Malbank Sixth Form

I'm just back from Malbank Sixth Form College, where we had a good wide-ranging political debate. One of the big questions was how we get young people involved in politics. The 30 students in the room are all keen and interested in politics, but they were concerned that a lot of their mates aren't.

I don't think you can force people to get involved, but we have to make sure they know that by engaging in politics they will be listened to and can make a real difference. I'm not in the Labour Party because I 100% agree with everything the Labour Party does. But I know that fundamentally the Labour Party reflects my believes in a fair society for all people and equality of opportunity to get on life.

So I urge people, young and old, to consider which political party best suits their fundamental beliefs and that they get involved to make sure that party listens to their issues and concerns.

It is only when we come together with a common purpose that we make a real difference.

David Williams backs one town council for Crewe

“Crewe needs one town council”, said David Williams Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Crewe and Nantwich, “we now have an opportunity to sort out the Town’s gross under-representation.”

David continued, “The people of Crewe are telling me that the Town needs a strong voice in the new Cheshire East and they want their views to be heard. I very much share their view. Crewe has suffered more than most Cheshire towns from last year’s local government reorganisation and we now have the chance to put it right.

“If this unjust situation is allowed to continue, Crewe and its residents will suffer. For the sake of jobs, inward investment and public services Crewe needs a voice.”

David Williams concluded with a challenge to the Member of Parliament, “This is not a time for party politics, this is a time to stand up for the people of Crewe.

“I hope all who share an aspiration for a thriving and prosperous Crewe will join the One Town – One Voice campaign, giving a clear message to Cheshire East Council.”

Response to the Cheshire East Council Questionnaire as part of the Crewe Community Governance Review from David Williams - Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Crewe and Nantwich

Background
I welcome the opportunity to respond to the Crewe Community Governance Review following the submission of a petition for a town council signed by over 10% of Crewe’s electorate.

I am an ardent supporter of the establishment of a town council and have been since the Voice For Crewe Campaign was launched.

I am proud to have been an active participant in the campaign, which is supported by Labour, Liberal Democrat and politically independent people. I was responsible for the collection of approximately one-quarter of the signatures on the petition.

I have personally spoken to around 1,000 voters in Crewe about the town council proposal, mainly by visiting to people at their home, on stalls in the town centre and at the Carnival and at various meetings with Crewe residents.

This background means that I am well qualified to comment on the governance of Crewe and that the views expressed in my response are representative of a large proportion of the people of Crewe.

One Town Council for Crewe
Crewe needs one town council to provide a strong voice in the new Cheshire East Authority. When the former Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council (C&NBC) was abolished, the relationship of Crewe Town with its council fundamentally changed. In C&NBC, Crewe provided 36 of the 57 councillors. In Cheshire East, the town has only 12 of the 81 councillors.

This local government reorganisation has left a democratic deficit in Crewe, which Cheshire East Council now has the opportunity and duty to rectify. By comparison, other towns in Cheshire East are much better represented than Crewe:

Town (Population) (Councillors)
Nantwich (13,880) (15)
Congleton (25,750) (26)
Knutsford (19,607) (18)
Middlewich (13,390) (15)
Sandbach (17,630) (24)

A crucial part of democratic systems is the link between voters and their elected representatives. The towns listed above have the balance about right, which means Crewe’s 50,000 residents are grossly under represented with a mere 12 councillors.

Opposition to a town council for Crewe
In all the conversations I have had with Crewe people very few opposed the idea of a town council for Crewe. I cannot accurately quantify the opposition I experienced, but I would estimate that less than 20% refused to sign the petition and many of those simply were not interested in local government arrangements and had no view.

I can however very accurately quantify the number of people who suggested that there should be more than one parish council for Crewe. Nobody told me that they wanted Crewe carved up.

Therefore I was amazed to see a proposal for four parish councils in Cheshire East Council’s consultation paper. More than 10% of Crewe voters called for one town council. Cheshire East Council should tell us how many Crewe voters signed a petition for the four parish option. If it was less than 10%, they should explain why different thresholds applied to the two proposals.

The mysterious addition of this four parish option has merely served to confuse the consultation and the way that the ballot questions are worded confuses further. I have spoken to many Crewe residents who are absolutely committed to one town council for Crewe, yet were unsure about how to vote to support their view.

There are serious questions about the arrangements of the consultation that will cast a shadow over its validity and impartiality, which may lead to referrals to the Local Government Ombudsman, the Audit Commission or even a Judicial Review.

Cost of a town council
I was amazed to see this question raised in a consultation about the governance of Crewe. This is a question that will be answered by voters at the election of councillors to serve on the new Town Council.

Under current arrangements the residents of Crewe have practically no say in the level of the parish precept that on levied on them. There is virtually no democratic accountability for the £1.93 they currently pay or for the way that money is spent.

I was also shocked at the biased way in which the costs were presented in the consultation document. There was no mention of the 6 parishes in Cheshire East that levy a zero parish precept. There was no mention of the 39 parishes in Cheshire East that levy a precept lower than Knutsford. Yet the document highlights 17 examples of parish councils, two-thirds of which are not in Cheshire East, half of them are not even in Cheshire and two the parishes are over 100 miles away. What was the motivation for selecting these examples?

Again I state: There are serious questions about the arrangements of the consultation that will cast a shadow over its validity and impartiality, which may lead to referrals to the Local Government Ombudsman, the Audit Commission or even a Judicial Review.

Conclusion
Crewe needs one town council. That is the overwhelming response I have received from extensive discussions with residents of Crewe. They are telling me that the Town needs a strong voice in the new Cheshire East and they want their views to be heard. Crewe people want what many other towns in Cheshire East have.

I very much share their view. Crewe is currently grossly under-represented compared to other towns in Cheshire East. Crewe has suffered more than most Cheshire towns from last year’s local government reorganisation and we now have an opportunity to rectify it. To give Crewe the voice it deserves.

If this unjust situation is allowed to continue, Crewe and its residents will suffer. Crewe has a long history of dealing well with dramatically changing circumstances. The current democratic deficit weakens the Town’s ability to fight back. For the sake of jobs, inward investment and public services Crewe needs a voice.

This is not a time for party politics, this is a time to stand up for the people of Crewe and I hope all who share an aspiration in a thriving and prosperous Crewe will join the One Town – One Voice campaign.

David Williams
Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate
for Crewe and Nantwich

David Williams celebrates Sure Start Week

David Williams, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Crewe and Nantwich has welcomed National Sure Start Week. The week runs from 14 – 18 September.

David Williams said, “I’m pleased to be backing Sure Start Children’s Centres Week which is promoting the universal services on offer for families across Crewe and Nantwich including childcare, healthcare, parenting advice, family support and opportunities to get back into work or training.

“Before the Labour government was elected there were no Children’s Centres but I’m delighted that there are now twelve across Cheshire East, offering services to children under five and their families.

“By the end of next year there are expected to be a further eight Children’s Centres, a total of twenty open across Cheshire East . This will meet Labour’s manifesto target of 3,500 Children’s Centres open by 2010 and every one of them will soon be linked to a named health visitor.

“And 12,280 children and their families in Cheshire East are now benefitting from the offer of free childcare for three and four year olds and from this month we are rolling out this offer to two year olds, starting with the most disadvantaged families.”

David Williams added, “Parents in Crewe and Nantwich regularly tell me how much they value their local Sure Start centre and the real help they offer with childcare, healthcare and other services for their children. So I want to thank all the Sure Start staff and volunteers who have helped to make them such a success.

“Unfortunately the Tories want to cut the Sure Start budget by £200 million per year. This is the equivalent of one of the five Children’s Centres in Crewe and Nantwich having to close their doors, just at the time when local families need them most. The Labour Government will keep investing in Sure Start because the early years of a child’s life are so important. I don’t want to put that at risk by letting the Conservatives cut Sure Start.”

In their ‘Helping new families’ policy document published on 15 March 2008, the Conservatives committed to cutting “£200 million per year…from Children’s Centres” to spend elsewhere. This would mean cutting 19.5% from Sure Start budgets – the equivalent of one in five Children’s Centres being forced to close.

When asked specifically about Sure Start, the Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said “I’m not protecting” the Sure Start budget from cuts.

Nick Robinson: Are you protecting Sure Start?

George Osborne: I'm not protecting other areas. I'm not going to go into specific details of individual programmes but I've made a positive decision and this is part of the choice that David Cameron and the modern Conservatives have made to protect health spending, to protect international development spending because we think those are important commitments for the kind of society we want (interruption)."
Nick Robinson and George Osborne, BBC News, 30 June 2009

The five Crewe and Nantwich Children’s Centres are:
Crewe Rural Children's Centre
Monks Coppenhall Children's Centre
Pebble Brook Children's Centre
Underwood West Children's Centre
Nantwich Children's Centre

One Town - One Voice - Love Crewe

The campaign to stop the Tories breaking up Crewe into four separate parish councils was launched at Crewe Carnival this weekend.

We had a really good response from the people of Crewe, who shared our amazement that the four parish option had been invented by Tory controlled Cheshire East Council.

I was delighted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ray Stafford (pictured). This is a truly cross-party effort to save Crewe.

Earlier this year, nearly 4000 people signed a mass petition to give Crewe a strong voice in Cheshire East. The Tories responded by saying they want to break up the town into 4 individual parishes. Crewe has been swallowed up by Cheshire East, now they are not listening to us.

You can help stop this nonsense. You will receive a consultation form, please vote:

1. YES TO A COUNCIL FOR CREWE

and

A. YES TO ONE TOWN COUNCIL.

Let us know you back the campaign by joining our Facebook Group called:
Crewe - One Town - One Voice