March 26 2010: Watch the full Time lapse video of protest shows massive scale, 4 hours compressed into 23 mins.

This video by Paul Hanes captures the true scale of the March 26 protest. Filmed over four hours and compressed into 23 minutes it shows the whole demonstration.

Estimates vary between 100 to over 500,000. Watch the video and decide how many attended the peaceful protest.

Coalition of Resistance

You can’t trust the Tories : Forests sale ’15% within four years’ says Spelman

Sales of 15% of England’s public forests will go ahead within the next four years, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said today.

Within weeks of the cancellation of the sham consultation, Spelman announces 15% of the public forest will be sold off.

You can’t Trust the Tories. Over 530,000+ have signed the Petition yet the Tories ignore public opinion. The only way to stop the Tories is at the Ballot Box in May.

Forest Sale within four years/

You can Sign the Petition here http://38degrees Petition/

LibDems Sell out: Who would believe the LibDems would support the Tories in selling our Forests.

Tories will always be Tories but they can’t sell off our Forests without the support of the Lib Dems

Timelapse video of March for the Alternative

Wyre Forest Labour on the March

Wyre Forest Labour members on the March

Wyre Forest Labour members joined the March for the Alternative against Tory led ConDem Job losses and Cuts. Barry McFarland said: “The day was peaceful and well ordered. I didn’t see any riot police or trouble of any kind. The crowd were good natured . We got as far as Trafalgar Square, again no trouble, lots of laughs and good conversation.”

A Police perspective of the peaceful TUC march and rally on Saturday 26th

Thousands Join March against the Cuts in London

Photo Tom Wills http://bit.ly/e9qwKt

Greetings to members of Wyre Forest Labour, the Community Union and Unison marching in London protesting against Condem cuts to Jobs and Services. There is an Alternative.

Tens of Thousands protest peacefully, yet predictably, BBC News 24 concentrate on small group of idiots clashing with police off Oxford Street away from the main March.

Wyre Forest Labour proud to join the Community Union and Unison on the TUC march Saturday 26th March.

All those attending the march : Have a safe day in London.

MET TUC information leaflet TUC march and rally on Saturday 26th

TUC march and rally on Saturday 26th: FAQ’s

Can’t join the march – You can still get involved

Osborne included the word ‘education’ just once and ‘young people’ only twice in Budget speech. Tory priorities are clear says Tom King Wyre Forest Labour

With complete disregard for the consequences, this Tory-led Government scrapped Educational Maintenance Allowance. Now, with youth unemployment at the highest levels since records began, they have yet to set out their plans for supporting sixth formers from low income households. At present there is no package of financial support in place ready for the start of the next academic year in September. The Government originally set itself an “early spring deadline” but it looks more likely that Simon Hughes will unveil their plans in June. This will give just three months for the new system to be implemented and for students to apply for support. By June many students will have decided to drop out, unable to afford to stay in education without being sure of what financial assistance will be available. One thing that we can be certain of is that the budget for the new system will be dramatically less than that of EMA, possibly less than one fifth of the current funds.

The Government axed EMA despite evidence from the widely respected Institute of Fiscal Studies saying that the £560m cost was “completely offset” by its benefits to the economy. Other research by the IFS shows that since the introduction of EMA, attainment at A Level has risen by between 5 and 7 per cent amongst recipients and that stay-on rates are now up to 69%. Given that the cost of one young person not in education, employment or training (NEET) is an average of £56,000 over a lifetime,

EMA only needs to ensure that 10,000 students stay on in education to cover its cost. Axing EMA is not a tough choice – it’s a stupid one.

When the vote on EMA was taken early this year, Wyre Forest MP, Mark Garnier, voted with the Government to scrap the weekly payment. He did this in spite of being a governor of Kidderminster College, many of whose students will be hit hard by his actions. This reeks of hypocrisy especially considering he also voted to hike tuition fees to a maximum of £9,000. Young people across Wyre Forest are feeling the brunt of the reckless approach this Government is taking and Mark Garnier is content to ride roughshod over the hopes and aspirations of students in his constituency.

Tom King Wyre Forest Young Labour.

Opinion is polarised on Horsefair supermarket development plan says Howard Martin, Wyre Forest Labour

Howard Martin Working Hard for Wyre Forest

Howard Martin is Labour Spokesperson for Broadwaters

The Churchfield’s Redevelopment, Horsefair, Kiddermnster

Much has appeared in the press recently about the Asda plan to build a supermarket and opinion is polarising on whether or not it is a “good idea.” More worryingly, however, are some of the appalling comments made against the Horesfair in general and local residents in particular.

So…. to put into perspective these issues I offer the following overview.

WFDC has been producing a “Churchfields Masterplan” for some time now which involves planning a mixed development of housing and small industrial units starting roughly where Duke House is and ending by Waterside Grange and the canal. There would be access road improvements, sustainable job opportunities and mixed housing. The plans are advanced.

Alternatively, Bellfield Homes and Asda are working in association to produce a joint proposal to put homes and a supermarket of 80000 sq ft (40000 sq ft retail space) plus 400 parking spaces, into the same area. This also involves reworking the local roads to handle the volume of additional traffic also closing completely, Blackwell Street from the Horsefair to the ring road island to through traffic.

This final move is why local traders are so worried, since they believe it is passing traffic which reminds people of their existence and which is fundamental to their survival. Little, by way of regeneration, would be achieved, if Asda’s arrival ultimately closed all the other shops in the area through reduced “foot fall” and visibility and left a street of empty, boarded up, premises.

Furthermore, the suggested road configuration is unlikely to handle the volume of traffic and lead to serious heavy congestion on the ring road, Stourbridge Road, Radford Avenue and surrounding area.

Asda’s decision to target Kidderminster for development is not unwelcome, however. Whether or not the area can support another supermarket is for Asda’s commercial judgement but the general view is that other, town centre (inside the ring road) locations are better suited and would draw more shoppers into the town benefitting the whole area. The proposed location will have the opposite affect and may well reduce footfall in the town centre to the detriment of existing shops.

What however is sad to see is some of the judgemental prejudice and emotive comments made on the Shuttle web site, not on the Asda plan in general but about the Horsefair and its residents in particular. Sadly, much is nasty, right wing, rhetoric which has no place in a free, all embracing, society. Please read for your selves the depths of nastiness to which some of the comments stoop.

Howard Martin (21/3/2011)

Kidderminster Shuttle Traders’ worries over Asda Plan

Wyre Forest Labour to join TUC March for the Alternative to Tory Cuts on 26th March

Wyre Forest Labour will be joining the Community Union and Unison on the TUC march against the cuts on Saturday 26th March in London.

Tory led ConDems scrap NHS Targets and increase waiting times says Jenny Knowles, Wyre Forest Labour

It is nearly a year since the Conservative and Liberal Democrats formed a coalition government.

The government through the media is continually reminding us at every opportunity that the cuts to Public Services are essential to deal with the deficit.

One of the first things to be axed by the government were the waiting time targets of 18 weeks for hospital patients needing elective surgery. The majority of these patients will be elderly who are waiting for hip, knee, eye operations etc that can make a huge difference to their quality of life. Wyre Forest district has the highest percentage of people over 65 years in Worcestershire.

Doing away with waiting time targets will mean patients having to wait 1 or 2 years or longer. Labour introduced waiting time targets for elective surgery over 10 years ago, targets were being met and waiting lists reduced.

The restructuring of the NHS is creating uncertainty. If patients need an operation then they want to know how long they have to wait before they have it.

The ending of these targets are a detrimental decision for many thousands of patients! We need to ensure the NHS remains a National service and that Kidderminster Hospital is a beacon of expertise in elected procedures

Jenny Knowles Wyre Forest Labour

Youth Employment has reached a 17 year high says Tom King, Wyre Forest Labour

Youth unemployment has risen to another record high with 30,000 added to the jobless list, bringing the total to 974,000. Under this Tory-led Government more than 1 in 5 16-24 year olds are out of work and rather than take action to tackle this problem, they have scrapped the Future Jobs Fund, axed Education Maintenance Allowance and cut career advice services. In the election campaign they acted as if they cared about youth unemployment, in Government they have dealt arrogantly with the futures of Britain’s young people and consigned another generation to the scrap heap.

Tom King Wyre Forest Labour

Tory Localism Fundamental Flaw Number Four – Jamie Shaw, Wyre Forest Labour

Tory Localism sees no need for strategic thinking. At the moment, there is copious media coverage of this failing in their plans for the NHS. However, sticking to the Localism agenda, I will focus on Forward Planning. By this term I mean the process by which new development of the built environment is zoned through the allocation of land, in a timescale of up-to-twenty years.

Localism sees no need for a regional, or even county-wide, perspective. Every council, be it a Birmingham or a Wyre Forest, is free to plan its own developments, irrespective of the wider picture, hence the Tories’ abolition of the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy. Among the policies discarded is that which sought to regenerate housing supply within the Black Country. Its aim was to stem the outward flow of population, creating more sustainable communities in which people would live and work, and relieving pressure on the surrounding shire counties. Now, alas, without the mechanism to co-operate, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, South Staffordshire, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Wyre Forest etc, etc, will be more likely to take an insular view, required to look no further than their own immediate circumstances.

Repeat the Housing scenario over the whole field of Forward Planning, including, for example, Industry & Commerce, Transport and Retail, and the fourth fundamental flaw of Tory Localism becomes clear; no coherent long-term strategy for planning the future.

Jamie Shaw, Wyre Forest Labour

Tory Localism Fundamental Flaw Number Three – Jamie Shaw, Wyre Forest Labour

Tory Localism Fundamental Flaws One & Two – Jamie Shaw, Wyre Forest Labour

Where is the phantom £500,000 Savings generated by the £11.5 million Tory Towers folly? says Vi Higgs, Wyre Forest Labour

Two recent debates at Council and one examination by a Scrutiny committee have not managed to identify how Wyre Forest District Council will make the claimed £500,000 year-on-year savings from its move to new offices
.
Nevertheless, I told myself I would be prepared to believe our Conservative leaders, if I could find evidence in their budgets for future years. I reasoned that, if the building is to be occupied in June 2012, there should be an extra £500,000, the savings, available for expenditure on services from the financial year 2013/14 onwards.

I consulted the budget projections for 2013/14 and 2014/15, as presented to Council on 23rd February : nowhere is there an indication of service improvements it could fund; nowhere is there the restoration of a presently-unaffordable deleted post; indeed, nowhere is this £500,000 saving even identified.

I am forced to the conclusion that this is a phantom £500,000, quoted as a feeble justification for a £11.5m folly.

Vi Higgs Wyre Forest Labour.

Kidderminster Shuttle Tories claim new HQ will benefit Community

80% say No to Wyre Forest ‘Tory Towers’

Labour response to District Council Cabinet Letter on 10.5Mill new offices.

Wyre Forest ‘Tory Towers’ projected savings plan is based on flawed evidence says Barry McFarland

‘Tory Towers’ Press Release from Wyre Forest Labour Party.

Wyre Forest Lib Dem Councillors quit party over Coalition Cuts

Helen and Peter Dyke who have 30 years service between them have quit the Lib Dems.

Helen Dyke said they had both been unhappy with the coalition from the start but that it was the pace and severity of cuts that had most upset them.

Mrs Dyke was one of 91 Lib Dem Cllrs who recently wrote to The Times protesting about the scale of the cuts.

Helen & Peter Dyke will continue to serve as Independents.

There is widespread dissatisfaction among local Lib Dem Activists across the Country. The scale and severity of Tory Cuts can only be implemented with the support of the 57 Lib Dem MP’s in Parliament.

Kidderminster Shuttle: Lib Dem Councillors Quit

Paul Gittins reports on Riverside North, Bewdley

Paul Gittins at Riverside Meadow, Bewdley

Following several complaints from Nothwood Lane residents about vehicles racing around the Meadows at the end of Riverside North, Bewdley I am very pleased that the District Council following my request have installed a gate near the entrance to the meadow to restrict access. Wooden bollards have also been installed to prevent obstructive parking.

Paul Gittins
Bewdley Town Councillor.

First they came for our Forests, now they’re after our Blood – Sign the Petition says Tom King Wyre Forest Labour

It has been only weeks since the Government backed down on plans to sell off our forests in the face of public outrage, but the Tory led ConDems already have their sights on their next target for flogging off to big business. The National Blood Service.

The plans to privatise the blood service have already prompted backlash from NHS staff and unions who fear donors will be put off if they feel companies will make a profit from their donations. Owen Granfield, of the union Unite, said:

“People will be shocked to learn the Department of Health is considering letting the private sector profit from blood. It is blood money.”

The sell-off of the National Blood Service shows clearly the right-wing ideology which drives this Government’s decision-making. To many the idea of big business profiting from their blood donations is appalling. Contrary to the thinking of this Government, not everything has a price. When I’ve donated blood, the hall full of immensely generous people doing their bit to help others is an uplifting sight. This Government seems detached from the generosity of these donors, only understanding the language of pounds and pence.

Just like with the forests we can force this Government to back down. We need to send a clear message that we don’t want a health service that puts profits before people and we don’t want the privatisation of our NHS.

Stop Blood Money sign up to protect the National Blood Service from privatisation

Tom King Wyre Forest Young Labour

Tories will always be Tories but they can’t drain the lifeblood out of the NHS without the support of the LibDems

Post Offices at Risk as Tory led ConDems move payment of Pensions to Newsagents & Petrol Stations via Citybank

Before the General Election PPC for Wyre Forest, Mark Garnier opposed the tender process for the Post Office Card Account (POCA) to transfer payment of Pensions and Benefits away from the Post office.

Mark Garnier said:

“When the Post Office Card Account (POCA) was introduced, 4.3 million people took it up – a figure far higher than expected, and a figure that represents the number of people across the country who find it hard to open a bank account. These people are, by their nature, vulnerable and include 2.3 million pensioners and people who live in deprived urban areas. Importantly, they all have less access to transport.

It is possible that a bank may win the tender for the distribution of pensions and benefits but for a rural pensioner, that could mean disaster. Just 4% of rural areas have a bank, whereas 60% have a post office. How is a rural pensioner without a car expected to get into the local town to pick up their pension after their local post office has closed?”

The Business and Enterprise Select Committee concludes that a further 3,000 post office branches could close across the country as a direct result of losing the contract for POCA.”

Now in Government the Tory led ConDem Coalition have awarded the contract to bailed-out American Citibank who will sub-contract payments to Newsagents and petrol Stations.

Campaigners warn the move could see rural customers travelling miles to collect their money, forcing around 300,000 elderly, disabled and unemployed recipients to use new pick-up points.

Payment of Pensions and Benefits is a lifeline for many rural post offices and loss of the contract may mean the difference between staying open or closure. Post offices provide a vital service to the community and many elderly pensioners have difficulty coping with new payment methods.

The Tories were vocal about Post Offices when Labour were in power – So where are the local Tories and Mark Garnier MP for Wyre Forest now…….

Barry McFarland Wyre Forest Labour

Post Office loses deal to pay out pensions

Pensioners lose support as newsagents will pay pension

Mark Garnier PPC for Wyre Forest www.markgarnier.co.uk : Removing Post Office Card Account (POCA) a disaster for Pensioners

Lib Dems take 6th place and lose deposit in Barnsley Central By-election

Labour won the Barnsley Central by-election last night with the Liberal Democrats pushed from 2nd at the General Election into sixth place.

Labour’s Dan Jarvis won more than 60 per cent of the Vote. It is a humiliating result for the Lib-Dems who’s 57 MP’s are propping up the discredited ConDem Coalition.

Results

Dan Jarvis (Lab) 14,724 (60.80%, +13.53%)
Jane Collins (UKIP) 2,953 (12.19%, +7.53%)
James Hockney (C) 1,999 (8.25%, -9.01%)
Enis Dalton (BNP) 1,463 (6.04%, -2.90%)
Tony Devoy (Ind) 1,266 (5.23%, +3.58%)
Dominic Carman (LD) 1,012 (4.18%, -13.10%)
Kevin Riddiough (Eng Dem) 544 (2.25%)
Howling Laud Hope (Loony) 198 (0.82%)
Michael Val Davies (Ind) 60 (0.25%)

‘Big Society’ is a cover for Cuts says Nigel Knowles, Wyre Forest Labour

Worcester County Council Tories are pursuing a wreckless policy at County Hall.

A total of £40 million will be cut from this year’s budget and another £30 million during the following three years.

Bus services will be cut as well as children’s services.

Council leader Adrian Hardman announced on TV that “library services will be reviewed.”

Local government has to be all about quality of services provided.

At national level, the Liberal Democrats are part of the Conservative-led coalition that is reponsible for this awful state of affairs.

A naive letter to The Times signed by local Lib Dems merely underlines their impotence.

The trade unions and the Labour Party will strongly oppose council cuts.

It is not good enough for the Tories to talk about a ‘Big Society’. Volunteers, charities and community groups already do wonderful work in our communities.

To take away paid jobs and services will undermine the ethos of public service.

Let government control and properly tax the banks, not create unemployment.

We have nearly one million young people out of work. That’s Coalition Government policy in action.

Nigel Knowles Wyre Forest Labour

Kidderminster Shuttle – Not good enough to talk about ‘Big Society’

Wyre Forest MP Mark Garnier ‘Volunteers’ for Navy as MOD makes 11000 armed forces redundant

Mark Garnier MP is to enlist in the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme at a time of massive defence cuts which will see 11,000 redundancies including those currently serving in Afganistan once they finish their tour of duty.

Is this another example of the Tory Big ideological Society where volunteers fill the gap to front line services? At least Mark Garnier may get to see at first hand the effects of the scrapping of aircraft carriers and Harrier jump jets.

View from Westminster Kidderminster Shuttle 3 March 2011

UK to make 11,000 of its armed forces redundant