Dear all
Thank you to the webmaster for allowing a dedicated area for the extremely important coming general election. With the increased number of homes connecting to the internet I feel this is a good opportunity to tell you what has happened in the area and what I will continue to do if elected again.
Labour locally have made a real difference to the area
In terms of Health, Lewisham Hospital now has an extra 261 Nurses and Doctors and with the creation of the new clinical block means another 419 new beds upon completion in 2006.
The continued investment in the NHS facilities and staff will continue to grow under Labour unlike the proposed £35billion cuts promised by the Tories
Local schools in the borough have seen 179 extra teachers and more children than ever passing GCSEs. This is good progress but there is still so much more to do and we will continue to provide investment into local schools and improving the results further.
Unemployment has almost halved in Lewisham since 1997, I will do all I can to work with partners to ensure this figure continues to fall, and the best possible opportunities are presented to people seeking work. Employment is at all-time high and we will continue to increase this number.
The £200 winter fuel payment, the Pension Credit, the freedom pass providing free travel for the over 60s on trains, tubes, trams and busses, £200 off Council tax bills and free TV licences for the over 75s are all signs of our commitment to eradicating poverty amongst pensioners and ensuring that they share in the growing wealth of the nation..
Lewisham West is a thriving area, continued investment in its public services are a priority. After detailed discussions and agreement with Labour-controlled Lewisham Council the long-awaited redevelopment of Sainbury’s in Forest Hill is underway and the consultation on the future of the Forest Hill Pools will mean the voice of local residents like you will help shape leisure facilities in the west of the borough for many years to come.
Having campaigned for some 30 years for the extension of the East London Line through Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill and Sydenham to West Croydon, I am delighted that both the funding and a timetable for the building work has now been agreed. This will be a great boost to the area both economically and socially.
Please feel free to contact my office in Forest Hill on 020 8699 2001 or send me your contact details and I’ll be more than happy to respond.
Britain forward not back.
Labour in Lewisham West and beyond
council tax reduction for pensioners
Sorry for being a cynic, but, I find the £200 council tax reduction as a "poverty reducing action" rather pathetic. Not because £200 is not enough, I think it is a very good figure - more so because it is for ONE YEAR ONLY.
Not surprisingly - an election year. I really feel this is a cynical short term vote winning strategy and insults your supporters intelligence.
Not surprisingly - an election year. I really feel this is a cynical short term vote winning strategy and insults your supporters intelligence.
Dave,
The freedom pass, VAT at 5% on fuel, the winter fuel allowance, free TV licence for over 75's cant all be gimmics, surely?
I'm not an old person, i'm only in my 20's but speaking with my Gran who is in her 80's, she has more support now than ever before. Surely all these things add up? I too hope that longer term reductions in council tax are provided to older people.
Are you in the age bracket to be provided with these benefits?
The freedom pass, VAT at 5% on fuel, the winter fuel allowance, free TV licence for over 75's cant all be gimmics, surely?
I'm not an old person, i'm only in my 20's but speaking with my Gran who is in her 80's, she has more support now than ever before. Surely all these things add up? I too hope that longer term reductions in council tax are provided to older people.
Are you in the age bracket to be provided with these benefits?
pensioner benifits
heh, no, not quite... just a few years off yet. [40 something to go ]
I take no issue with "permanent benifits", it's the 1 year only special offer (sounds like carpet-right in penge) that really riles me - how much would your vote cost - if you were offered cash this year?, or were offered cash every year?
Are the pensions going to increase by the RPI and then an extra £200 next year? I think not.
[ to answer my own question, my vote would cost just the small price of a local MP who actually promises realistic and potentially achievable goals, then delivers a resonable number of them. ]
I take no issue with "permanent benifits", it's the 1 year only special offer (sounds like carpet-right in penge) that really riles me - how much would your vote cost - if you were offered cash this year?, or were offered cash every year?
Are the pensions going to increase by the RPI and then an extra £200 next year? I think not.
[ to answer my own question, my vote would cost just the small price of a local MP who actually promises realistic and potentially achievable goals, then delivers a resonable number of them. ]
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Muddy Waters
- Posts: 137
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 17:05
Bearing in mind this is SYDENHAM Town's web-site I note our Jim does not have much to say about the hoped for regeneration in Sydenham.
What about the zebra crossing and joke roundabout?
A new Sydenham Station (to cope with the increased passenger traffic with the arrival of the East London Line in 2010 brought about, in part, by local pressure over the years ( credit to our Jim here), transport interchanges, improved pedestrian footfall - surely something a representative of local residents should be supporting?
Any comments, Jim?
(And, as all your fellow candidates must be reading this Hustings site, have they any comments to make about very local matters?)
What about the zebra crossing and joke roundabout?
A new Sydenham Station (to cope with the increased passenger traffic with the arrival of the East London Line in 2010 brought about, in part, by local pressure over the years ( credit to our Jim here), transport interchanges, improved pedestrian footfall - surely something a representative of local residents should be supporting?
Any comments, Jim?
(And, as all your fellow candidates must be reading this Hustings site, have they any comments to make about very local matters?)
Dave,
Apologies for asking if you were the 'silver surfer' type age bracket
The economy is in its best shape for decades, interest rates 6%, employment rates at the highest level for years so only continuing this trend will benefit pensioners and other groups. People are living longer and require further help and assistance, the NHS, pensions and financial support for the less well off. This is a point the Government are taking onboard and I have every faith in the current leadership to continue to deliver.
I think Jim had it correct in his post, there has been a great deal of progress but still so much to do. I'm sorry to refer back to Forest Hill, but the arrival of the long awaited new Sainsburys has already had a postive result on the area. There are two new shops opening up on Dartmouth Road as we speak. There are no empty shops on London road. Many people from Sydenham travel to Forest Hill sainsburys because they cannot stand the size of the 'Savacentre' and the Morrisons/Safeway/Somerfield ill stocked for certain products. I shop on a regular basis in Sydenham, the banks, Superdrug and Slatters/The Cake Store are just some of the reasons why. So I think we are very interlinked as towns! Hope your not going to stone me on here for being from Forest Hillshire Muddy waters
Apologies for asking if you were the 'silver surfer' type age bracket
The economy is in its best shape for decades, interest rates 6%, employment rates at the highest level for years so only continuing this trend will benefit pensioners and other groups. People are living longer and require further help and assistance, the NHS, pensions and financial support for the less well off. This is a point the Government are taking onboard and I have every faith in the current leadership to continue to deliver.
I think Jim had it correct in his post, there has been a great deal of progress but still so much to do. I'm sorry to refer back to Forest Hill, but the arrival of the long awaited new Sainsburys has already had a postive result on the area. There are two new shops opening up on Dartmouth Road as we speak. There are no empty shops on London road. Many people from Sydenham travel to Forest Hill sainsburys because they cannot stand the size of the 'Savacentre' and the Morrisons/Safeway/Somerfield ill stocked for certain products. I shop on a regular basis in Sydenham, the banks, Superdrug and Slatters/The Cake Store are just some of the reasons why. So I think we are very interlinked as towns! Hope your not going to stone me on here for being from Forest Hillshire Muddy waters
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Muddy Waters
- Posts: 137
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 17:05
Sydenham residents are very neighbourly, Adam, we stopped stoning FH grockels in the middle ages.
FH is improving, but it is desperately in need of a new station, too.
We need to know that anyone wanting to be Member of Parliament representing both communities is fully behind, indeed positively pushing for, new stations for the hard pressed commuters whose vote they are courting.
So Jim, and any other candidate for the seat of Lewisham West, where do you stand - do you undertake to work hard to promote new stations at Forest Hill and Sydenham and the regenerated environment around the new stations? You are asking us for your vote and if elected you will be our representative for the next 4/5 years
Jim's slogan appears to be "Look forward not back". I am looking forward; 4/5 years is a long time and much could and should be achieved.
FH is improving, but it is desperately in need of a new station, too.
We need to know that anyone wanting to be Member of Parliament representing both communities is fully behind, indeed positively pushing for, new stations for the hard pressed commuters whose vote they are courting.
So Jim, and any other candidate for the seat of Lewisham West, where do you stand - do you undertake to work hard to promote new stations at Forest Hill and Sydenham and the regenerated environment around the new stations? You are asking us for your vote and if elected you will be our representative for the next 4/5 years
Jim's slogan appears to be "Look forward not back". I am looking forward; 4/5 years is a long time and much could and should be achieved.
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Muddy Waters
- Posts: 137
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 17:05
Re: Labour in Lewisham West and beyond
The government does not own ANY money. It is OUR money it got from taxing us.Jim Dowd wrote:The £200 winter fuel payment, the Pension Credit, the freedom pass providing free travel for the over 60s on trains, tubes, trams and busses, £200 off Council tax bills and free TV licences for the over 75s are all signs of our commitment to eradicating poverty amongst pensioners and ensuring that they share in the growing wealth of the nation..
Hasn't Labour been continually accusing Conservatives of reducing tax and increasing spending by cutting out Labour form-filling beaurocracy. Yet Labour think they can spend, spend, spend on us without tax, tax, taxing us and wants to increase beaurocratic waste too!
We can spend our OWN money. What Labour do is tax us heavily, waste the money on beaurocratic politicians and give whats left back to us with a "generous" smile on their faces. How about just letting us keep our money from the start?
Labour just seem to pour the money in and it goes to all the private firms, such as cleaning contractors, which caused all those deaths by unclean hospitals! The Tories, couls save simply by cutting out all the beaurocratic waste and stop doing money deals with private firms. That would save billions of OUR tax money! We need proper organization and dedicated staff, not money pouring into the NHS bosses pockets!Jim Dowd wrote:The continued investment in the NHS facilities and staff will continue to grow under Labour unlike the proposed £35billion cuts promised by the Tories
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Muddy Waters
- Posts: 137
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 17:05
Now that anti-eu has been given the big "E" - well done, Admin - shall we have another go at trying to see whether any of the candidates who want to represent the residents of Forest Hill and Sydenham are going to put time and effort in the next 4/5 years into backing station improvements in both town centres?
Dear Rebecca,
Many thanks for raising your question in regard to local police.
Since 1997 there are now an extra 67 police officers in Lewisham alone, and Met wide that figure exceeds 3,400 and growing. Police numbers in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) now exceed 30,000 which is a record high and will continue to grow under a Labour government.
The community support officers are a new edition to the police family and Sydenham has a group of committed PCSO's pounding the beat daily. I have been out 'on the beat' with the Sydenham safer neighbourhood team and seen first hand the sterling work carried out, much to the praise of the local community.
If reelected I vow to continue working with the MPS and Lewisham Council to ensure more police officers and PCSO's are present on the Streets locally.
When Michael Howard was Home Secretary in 1997, he broke his promise to increase the number of police by cutting them by 1,132. Now the Tory plan is to cut £35 billion, at least, from public spending which would mean massive cuts to the struggle against crime.
Jim Dowd
Many thanks for raising your question in regard to local police.
Since 1997 there are now an extra 67 police officers in Lewisham alone, and Met wide that figure exceeds 3,400 and growing. Police numbers in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) now exceed 30,000 which is a record high and will continue to grow under a Labour government.
The community support officers are a new edition to the police family and Sydenham has a group of committed PCSO's pounding the beat daily. I have been out 'on the beat' with the Sydenham safer neighbourhood team and seen first hand the sterling work carried out, much to the praise of the local community.
If reelected I vow to continue working with the MPS and Lewisham Council to ensure more police officers and PCSO's are present on the Streets locally.
When Michael Howard was Home Secretary in 1997, he broke his promise to increase the number of police by cutting them by 1,132. Now the Tory plan is to cut £35 billion, at least, from public spending which would mean massive cuts to the struggle against crime.
Jim Dowd