Leicester East Politics

Let's Support Our Communities in Leicester East

2010-04-20T09:20:00.006+01:00

Travel around the constituency and you will see closed down shops and empty office space. You will travel on what can only be described as terrible roads and pavements, despite the many pot holes that have been filled recently.

Talk to business owners and they will tell you how hard they are working, but are getting little if any support from their banks. Red tape and bureacracy has gone too far and they are inundated with restrictions and papers to fill out that do nothing to help their business grow.

You'll be concenred about the increase in crime in the area, particularly burglary. You may wonder what the future will be for the area and for your children.

It's time for change in Leicester East.

Go round the constituency and you will also spot golden nuggets of community work going on that transform the lives of the people living there. In Thurncourt, you will find an excellent lunch club in Thurnby Lodge Community Centre on Tuesdays; in St Matthews you will find a Somali Community Centre founded and developed by the local community, offering skills based learning, sport for children and a Job Club. In Belgrave, Harrison Rd Sikh Temple was funded entirely by the local community and recently rebuilt, offering worship and community facilities to the area.

This is the kind of thing we need so much more of in Leicester East. We need to help people to form groups to make the best of their community. To work together, to take control and to take pride in what they achieve.

It's time for Big Society and small government.

It's time for change in Leicester East.

Time for Change in Leicester East

2010-04-12T07:49:00.002+01:00

We had a great time canvassing on Belgrave Rd on Saturday with Dominic Grieve, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice. Lots of support for the Conservatives. It really is Time for Change in Leicester East.

Canvassing Door to Door

2010-03-21T11:44:00.002Z

Canvassing Door to Door

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Canvassing in Thurncourt Ward

2010-03-21T11:42:00.002Z

Canvassing in Thurncourt Ward

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Faith Question Time

2010-03-17T19:00:00.002Z

Thank you to all the people who attended the Faith Question Time last Sunday at Leicester Cathedral. Questions ranged from asylum claims to the NHS and MP expenses.

The next hustings event I am to attend is at Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre on Sunday 21 March at 4.30pm where candidates from all parties and I believe all Leicester city constituencies are to attend.

Litter Pick by St Philips Church Evington, Come Along

2010-02-16T17:20:00.002Z

Litter pick helps clean-up community

A COMMUNITY will join forces in a litter pick to help clean up the streets in an area of Leicester.

Volunteers from across Evington will be getting stuck in as part of the national Big Tidy Up campaign, which is being organised by the Leicester Inter-Faith Youth Hub and Leicester City Council street wardens.

The litter pick takes place on Saturday, February 20, from 10am to 12.30pm, setting off from St Philips Church in Evington Lane, and visiting side-roads up to St Stephens Road.

As well as removing litter, participants will be giving out information packs to local residents, with details of recycling and waste collection services available.

Those taking part include local youngsters, residents, faith leaders, police and local councillors, and a ‘thank you’ lunch for all participants will be served at 1pm.

There will also be fundraising for anti-malaria charity Malaria No More, for items such as bed nets to protect against mosquitoes.

To book a place on the litter pick, contact Raheema Caratella at the St Philips Centre on 0116 273 3459 or 07742 040929.

Inequality Gap Increases Under Labour

2010-01-27T08:38:00.002Z

Responding to a damning report from the National Equality Panel, which shows that inequality under Labour has risen to its highest level since World War II, Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, Theresa May said:
“It is truly shocking that after 13 years of a Labour Government, inequality has grown to the highest levels seen since the Second World War.
“It is unbelievable that Labour thinks it can claim to be the party of aspiration when its failure to tackle the causes of poverty have let down so many lives.
“We cannot go on like this. We need a change from Labour’s failed one-dimensional approach to tackling poverty and inequality. Conservatives will tackle the causes of poverty and inequality not just the symptoms through radical policies to address educational failure, family breakdown and worklessness.”

On Wednesday 27th January 2010 The National Equality Panel published 'An Anatomy of Economic Inquality in the UK'. The report revealed:

Income inequality and povertyThe highest level of inequality since World War Two. 'Increasing inequality after 2004-05 meant that by 2007-08 it had reached its highest level in the years covered. We do not have figures before 1961 on this besis, but comparison with measures based on tax records suggests that this is the highest levels of income inequality since soon after the Second World War (Main report p39).
Income Inequality Amongst the Highest of OECD Countries. Income inequality is higher in the UK than most OECD countries including New Zealand, Ireland, Japan, Spain, Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands and the OECD average. The UK is placed 7th in the OECD for income inequality only behind Mexico, Turkey, Portugal the United States, Poland and Italy (Main report p53).
Poverty Rates Amongst the Highest in Europe. In 2006 the UK has an overall poverty rate of 19 per cent, compared to an average of 16 per cent across the 15 longest standing EU members. Only Italy, Spain and Greece had higher overall poverty rates (Main report p54).
Earnings grew, but only for company bosses. 'For all employees, real earnings were roughly static between 2003 and 2008 (at about 106 per cent of 1999 levels). But between 1999 and 2007 the real earnings of the CEOs of the top 100 companies more than doubled (reaching £2.4 million a year)' (Main report p42).
Social background
Differences in wealth between occupational social classes are 'very large indeed'. Average incomes for men in higher managerial or professional households is £578 per week, more than double that of men from routine occupation households of £268 per week. Differences in the total wealth of households were even larger. Median net wealth for households in routine occupations is £74,000, but for those in professional and managerial households, it is more than £450,000 (Main Report p210).
Education
Inequalities impact on child’s development. Children entering primary school in 2005-6 whose mothers had degrees were assessed [as] 6 months ahead of those who had no qualifications above Grade D at GCSE. In addition, every extra £100 per month in income when children were small was associated with a difference equivalent to a month’s development. (Summary p22). There was a gap equivalent to a year’s development between those with no parent in paid work and those with two parents working and eight months between those whose parents were in poverty and those who were not (Main Report p336).
Poor Children Less Likely to Go to University Despite Achieving Good results. Young people with GCSE results above the national median who have been on Free School Meals are less likely to go on to higher education than others with the same results. (Summary p25)
Young people
The Position of Young People Has Declined Under Labour. The position of young people (aged under 25) in the labour market and in equivalent net income has declined both over the longer-term and in the last decade, for some because of longer periods in education, but not for others (Summary p14).
Social mobility
Social Mobility Low by International Standards. Rates of intergenerational mobility in terms of incomes are low in international terms, and in terms of occupation are below the international average for men and at the bottom of the range for women (Summary p25). It matters more in Britain who your parents are than in many other countries (Main report p330).
Social Mobility Stalled Under Labour. There is no evidence that rates of relative occupational mobility have changed at all since the early 1970s (Main report p324).
Gender pay gapPay Gap Remains Stubbornly Large. Women are paid 21% less than men in terms of median hourly pay for all employees and 13% less for those working full-time. (Summary p11).
Male graduates overtake female graduates. Within four years of graduation, nearly twice as many men have earnings over £30,000 as women (Main report p388).
Ethnic minorities
Ethnic Minorities Still Far Less Likely to be in Employment. Nearly all minority ethnic groups are less likely to be in paid employment than White British men and women. 44% of Pakistani and 49% of Bangladeshi women are economically inactive compared to 20% or fewer of other groups. (p16)
DisabilityDisabled people twice as likely to have no or low qualifications. Nearly half of those reporting both ‘work-limiting’ and are classified as disabled in terms of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) have no or only low qualifications, twice the proportion of those who are not disabled. Their paid employment rates are less than half of those of people who are not disabled. (p19)
Inequalities in income have increased for disabled people. According to official definitions, working age adults who are ‘DDA-disabled’ have a medium equivalent net income that is 30% lower than that for other working age adults. This is a considerable fall relative to the national median since the late 1990s. (p20)
Conservative ApproachThe Report by the National Equality Panel highlighted key areas of policy that could make a real difference to Labour’s failed record on tackling inequality. The Conservative Party has already introduced a range of policy measures that encompass many of the NEP’s suggestions including early intervention, improving educational attainments of poorer children and new measures to tackle youth unemployment and the persistent gender pay gap.
Conservatives will tackle the root causes of poverty and equality, not just the symptoms. Our approach will take into account the importance of families, communities and incentives to work. We will take effective action by:
Supporting families – We will support families and end the couple penalty in the tax credits system.
Welfare reform – Work is the best route out of poverty. Under Conservative’s plans to Get Britain Working no one will be left behind in a life of benefit dependency. We will replace Labour’s complicated and bureaucratic employment programmes with The Work Programme, a single progamme of back to work support for everyone on out-of-work benefits, including the 2.6 million people on Incapacity Benefits currently ignored by Labour. We will also create 400,000 new apprenticeships and training opportunities over two years to tackle youth unemployment and prevent a generation being written off by the recession.
School reform - Our proposals to reform education include weighting school funding towards children from the poorest backgrounds through a pupil premium and ensuring that extra funds follow those pupils to the school that educates them.
A rehabilitation revolution - We will fundamentally reform the prison service to end the devastating cycle of re-offending, which at present destroys lives, splits up families, and weakens communities. We will do this in three ways: by making the people who run prisons accountable for reducing their inmates re-offending; by bringing the prison and probation services together; and by ensuring that the market in offender management and rehabilitation services is fully opened up.
Health visitors - A Conservative Government will provide a universal health visiting service to all parents. We will radically increase the number of health visitors so that every family can count on the proper, professional support they need, with money set aside for proper training and extra help for families in the most deprived areas.
Sure Start - we will take Sure Start back to its original purpose of early intervention, increase its focus on the neediest families and better involve organisations with a track record in supporting families.

Conservative Manifesto, Chapter Two. Education

2010-01-19T15:18:00.004Z

This is literally chocker block with great ideas on improving education in schools in Leicester. That means better and more focused education for the children of Leicester, better qualifications and a maximising of the potential of every child.

Here's the link to the Conservative Manifesto Chapter on Education.

The main points for Leicester East in my opinion:-

* Technical Academies in the 12 biggest cities (that includes Leicester) will be set up. That means that pupils will be able to get ecuation, training and qualifications that will help them into industry.

* Any good education provider will be able to set up a new Academy School, available to all who live in that area. Have you been to Samworth Academy in Leicester South? I have. It's a fantastic school.

* Academy Schools will be established in the poorest and most deprived areas of the country. As Leicester East does have parts of it that are deprived and amongst the poorest in the country, I will be fighting to get the first of these schools here.

* There will be a pupil premium - a weighting of school funding towards children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Money will follow the pupil and the additional weighting will encourage schools to focus on children from poorer areas.

These points, coupled with the higher qualification requirement for teachers I think will improve the performance and status of the profession. Teachers recruited in this way under the new scheme will be sent to city schools.

Why Does Labour Want to Kill the Local?

2010-01-19T14:31:00.004Z

Announced today by the Labour Government and reported just about everywhere, but in a comprehensive article in the Times here.

Will this stop binge drinking? No is I think the resounding answer.

The new rules, following on from the Licensing Act of 2003, will still let people buy as much as they like from supermarkets. They will just drink it at home with their friends first, before going out later for a few more. This could potentially cause noise and nuisance twice over to their neighbours as people leave home drunk, as well as returning worse for wear.

It will also mean that less money is spent in pubs and the already dwindling number will decline still further. This will leave only the large pubs and "night out" type of pubs with enough trade, so concentrating the people into a smaller number of establishments, causing disturbance to local residents and a concentration of drinkers in one place at one time.

As the main reason for drawing up the Licensing Act, it was claimed, was to create a cafe culture and stagger (no pun intended) the closing times of pubs, it will have dramatically failed. Meanwhile as people are still getting drunk whether at home, on their way to the drinking establishment, or at the place, I cannot see how this will help the NHS with cases of drunkenness in the A&E departments, or the cost to the tax payer for dealing with it.

What is wrong with the idea of a tax based on the price per unit of alcohol? Surely that will mean that if it's more alcoholic, it will cost more and unless you are a recent Lotto winner, there is a finite amount each person can afford.

These comments are not from a teetotaller. They are just the comments of a person who likes pubs and the community spirit (again no pun intended) they can bring to an area, whether in a leafy village, or a city street. OK, ban the dentists chair, but why ban all happy hour events? If you can buy a trolley load of spirits in a supermarket and drink it where you like, why not let a happy hour continue on a Friday night in a licensed premises where their licence depends on the duty of care taken to their customers, who all remain on a regulated premises? Crazy.

Save the Great British Pub.

Time for Change in the NHS

2010-01-10T15:48:00.007Z

This week saw the launch of the Conservative Party Draft Manifesto on the NHS. Chapter One of the manifesto commitments to be made by Conservatives to the country. But what was the impact for Leicester East?

Many people living in Leicester East are employed by the NHS, either in the prestigious Leicester General Hospital, or other parts of the health network across the constituency and city. I think we would all recognise that all staff: nurses, doctors, research and management staff are working hard in the health sector in Leicester. What they are working so hard on however, may not always be to the direct benefit of the patient. They know it and we know it. It must be hugely frustrating to be a professional in the NHS, knowing what is required to deliver excellent service and patient care, but ham strung by the target driven maze that is the current set up. Time for change.

What does the draft manifesto offer? Choice is foremost. Targets will be scrapped and instead information will become easily accessible to all patients on the performance of hospitals in various areas of treatment. People will vote with their feet to get the best care and the funding for that care will follow them. Institutions will have to perform in order to attract patients and by perform, I mean excellent treatment, not hitting a target that has little or no impact on the actual patient and their health.

People will be treated with respect. We will end embarrassing and degrading mixed wards in hospitals and increase the number of single rooms. Hospitals will not receive full payment for a patient who contracts an avoidable infection in hospital.

On a high street level, newly qualified dentists will be tied in to the NHS for 5 years after qualification, so helping to increase the amount of NHS dental care available near to home.

The Disability Living Allowance will be maintained and medical and social funding will be merged into a single budget that combines health and social care funding. Mountains of paperwork will be saved as a result. People will be able get access to funding when they need it.

A personal favourite of mine, the elderly will no longer have to sell their home and use the funds to pay for their care should they need to move in to a residential home. By paying a one off insurance premium of £8,000 at the time of their retirement, the elderly will have the security of knowing they can move into a care home at some time in the future if they need to, but can leave their family home to their families on their death.

Northern Rock: Good for the people?

2010-01-02T09:49:00.002Z

As Radio 4 informed me yesterday morning, Northern Rock has been split (by the Government who owns it) into two companies as of 1 Jan 2010. There's now a "good" company and a "bad" company apparently, the good being Northern Rock PLC and the bad being Northern Rock Asset Management. The reason for this split was given as providing a good and sustainable company (PLC) that can move forward as a bank for the future.

OK, so what you may ask. What about the people who now have a mortgage with Northern Rock Asset Management? Should there not be concern for these people that their mortgage and possibly their credit history will look immediately bad as a result? Many, many people have been effected by the economic downturn, people who were not expecting to lose their jobs, or for their own company to fold. This bank took their business in the first place. Surely it's wrong to stigmatise them in this way?

Once again this Government is thinking of the central approach and not of the individuals it swallows up in its decisions.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2009-12-24T09:41:00.003Z

Just a short note to wish everyone in Leicester East a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. J

No Green Flags for Leicester

2009-12-09T09:46:00.004Z

The Audit Commission has launched a new website this morning. It shows how the government, local government, police, health and education are doing in your area. To aid the reader, it has devised a flag system to show where an area is doing well - this would get a green flag; and where an area is doing less well - a red flag. The measurement is based on the achievement against targets and goals devised in that area by the relevant organisations, not in comparison to other areas. Therefore, if an area gets a green flag in health for example, they are achieving what they set out to achieve. Conversely, if they get a red flag, they are not achieving the goals they set for themselves.

Leicester receives no green flags.

Leicester receives two red flags - which indicate significant concerns action needed, in crime levels and improving life expectancy.

Crime Prevention Help this Sunday

2009-12-08T11:16:00.003Z

This is a cut and paste from an email I have received from the City Neighbourhood Watch Team. It's worth copying in full as it offers a useful service in Leicester East this Sunday:-

From: Roy Rudham (Chief Executive)
Sent: December 8, 2009

Free screws on offer to reduce number plate thefts in Leicester

Police are making life more difficult for number plate thieves in
Leicester.

Neighbourhood officers for Belgrave and St Marks have a supply of
special clutch-head screws which they are offering to motorists for
free. The screws can be fitted as a replacement to number plate screws,
which car dealerships fit as standard, and are much harder to remove.

This Sunday (December 13) motorists filling up their cars at Sainsbury's
petrol station on Belgrave Road will be able to meet with their local
officers, get vehicle crime prevention advice and pick up a set of
clutch head screws which they can take away and fit to their number
plates. Officers will be at the petrol station between 11am and 1pm.

PCSO Gemma Birt, who has organised the event, said: “Replacing standard
screws with clutch-head screws is a good way to reduce the risk of your
number plates being stolen.

“The theft of a number plate can be a huge inconvenience to a motorist.
However, once the number plates are stolen, they can also be used to
disguise stolen vehicles, conceal the identity of vehicles used in
criminal activity such as the theft of petrol from forecourts or ram
raiding, and evade fines for traffic offences such as speeding and
illegal parking.

"I would advise motorists to report any theft of number plates to the
police immediately so that we can investigate the incident and identify
any offences committed by vehicles bearing the stolen number plates.

“If you are near Sainsbury's on Belgrave Road on Sunday please stop by
to meet with local officers and receive your free clutch head screws.”

Police Community Support Officers will also be available to offer other
crime prevention advice or to discuss any policing concerns you may
have.

For more information call PCSO 6563 Gemma Birt at Keyham Lane Police
Station on 0116 222 2222, follow the instructions to leave a message for
an officer and when prompted key in the officer’s identification number
6563.

Issued on 08/12/09 at 10:07

Regards

Roy

Dominic Grieve MP comes to Leicester East

2009-12-03T20:36:00.005Z

Would you like to meet the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Grieve MP? Would you like to put questions to him, or to the 3 Conservative Candidates for the Leicester seats: Leicester East, Jane Hunt; Leicester West, Celia Harvey; Leicester South, Ross Grant? Then please feel free to join us at a Public Meeting to be held on Thursday 10th December, starting at 5.30pm in the Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre on Rothley St, Leicester.

Whether you always vote Conservative, or you never have in your life, all are welcome. We are keen to hear your views on what needs to be done to help Leicester and your community.

Places are limited to the size of the room, so please contact office@leicesterconservatives.com , or call 07969 075071 to book your place.

Thanks and hope to see you there.

Queens Speech in Leicester East

2009-11-18T13:28:00.003Z

If you blinked at around 11.30 this morning, you probably missed the Queens Speech today. I've listened to the speech twice now and there really was very little in it. However, I wanted to write about what was in it for Leicester East, so here goes.

There will be legislation to halve the deficit. I really don't understand this. Why does it need legislation to act on the deficit? Wouldn't it be better to just get on with it? This type of activity does not require a law in my opinion, it requires measures and policy...and a change of Government.

There will be guarantees to raise educational standards. I had thought this was Mr Blair's number one priority quite a number of years ago now and yet standards in schools are still discussed in disappointed tones. There is still very much to do and how will legislating a guarantee help the teachers, governors and parents in Leicester?

Legislation to make sure parents take responsibility for their own children. This is worth a closer look when the detail emerges. There is already legislation in place, regarding truancy in schools for example, but authorities are often hesitant to enforce it. I am hoping that this refers more to dealing with incidents such as the Pilkington case. Given that terrible tragedy was in our county, we should welcome any proposals that will prevent a reccurrence.

There will be a high speed rail link between London and Scotland. Unfortunately, I understand it does not touch Leicester, but instead goes almost in a loop around the city, going to both Birmingham and Nottingham. If this remains, I think it could be disastrous for this city, it's transport links and it's sustainability for the future.

To give everyone a fair chance in life and narrow the gap between rich and poor. The only way this gap seems to be narrowing at the moment is by making everyone poorer to a lesser or greater degree. What we need to do is to widen the opportunity to get on in life to absolutely everyone who wishes to do so.

Agency workers on equal rights with other employees. Aren't they classed as casual workers, who do have very similar rights to permanent employees now? Agency workers may have a different view on this from me of course, but I would think that people work for an agency either because they like the flexibility it gives them, or because they need money while looking for a permanent job. Employers take on agency staff usually to help meet demand on a short term basis. By restricting this flexibility of approach on either side, it could prevent employers from offering short term jobs. I would suggest that now is not the time to think about restricting opportunity of employment for any person, or indeed the potential of opportunity for growth of a business.

Finally, to abolish child poverty by 2020. This has been talked about since 1999. It was a 20 year plan and we're half way there...in terms of timescale. However, in Leicester East there are 25,285 children. 6,600, or 26% are in workless families; and 15,610, or 62% are in low income families (figures from Child Poverty Action website). We need to act now.

ASDA Thurmaston to Improve Exit

2009-11-11T09:12:00.003Z

If you have ever sat in the traffic jam that is the Asda car park in Thurmaston as I have, you will be pleased with this news.

Asda have written to me to say that they are hoping to build an extension to the front of the store. Disabled places will be moved, but the same number of spaces will be re-sited. They propose to improve the exit road by widening it to make two lanes. They are currently talking to Leicestershire County Council about their plans.

Between Thursday 12th November and Saturday 14th November there will be information available in store about these changes if you want to have a look. It's a shame it's not a longer period, but hopefully if this is of interest to you, you will be able to visit in that timescale.

Small Retailers in Leicester East - Please Note Deadline 6 November

2009-10-28T08:57:00.003Z

Small retailers in Leicester are being offered a grant to help them reduce crime. The deadline for this grant has been extended, so take advantage now if you can. The new deadline is 6 November 2009.

Qualifications in Leicester East Lowest of the County

2009-10-23T20:35:00.003+01:00

The University College Union (UCU) have produced a report, "Location, Location, Location". This shows that 25.09% of people in Leicester East have no qualifications, which puts the area 611th out of 628 constituencies across the country. The report also states that only 15.72% of people in Leicester East have a degree or equivalent, which puts the area at 593 out of 628 constituencies, UK wide.

It might be argued that as Leicester East does not contain a university, it may be that young people go to university, gain their degree and then do not return to the area. However, that would have to be the case in many constituencies around the country for this to be the reason for the discrepancy.

Is it a failing education system? Possibly. The point about no qualifications at all for 1 in 4 of people in Leicester East is of deep concern. Good education and the qualifications that come from this are the key to social mobility. Anybody applying for jobs at the moment, (and there are plenty of them) would tell you that Maths and English at GCSE are the basic requirement of almost any job out there. No qualifications equals poorly paid people, or people stuck on benefits and that's bad for them, their families and the local economy.

Before the Labour win of 1997, Tony Blair made a famous speech stating that "education, education, education" would be his main priority. It's been over 12 years. I think this now needs to be delivered in Leicester East.

Jane Hunt for Leicester East

2009-10-16T12:18:00.002+01:00

Jane Hunt for Leicester East

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Jobs for Leicester East

2009-10-16T09:06:00.000+01:00

The unemployment rates for September have recently been published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and they show some disappointing statistics for Leicester East.

Of the city total of 13,108 claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), 3883 people are claiming JSA in Leicester East. That's 110 more people than last month and 1341 more than this time last year.

Meanwhile, the Leicester Mercury has reported that the Government has announced that 1000 jobs will be created for the 18 to 24 year olds throughout Leicestershire. These will be jobs for 6 months, usually on the minimum wage, part time and in roles mainly in the local councils. There are 7720 people aged 18 to 24 unemployed in Leicestershire currently.

What we need are more apprenticeships in this area. Good levels of training within businesses that help young people get off the unemployment register, get properly skilled for a trade or profession, and get sustainable employment out of it - or start their own business. Taking young people off JSA will be great for their confidence short term, but we all know that councils are short of money. These are unlikely to turn into long term jobs.

Grab the chance if you can, but don't stop looking.

Diwali Lights

2009-10-03T10:13:00.000+01:00

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Diwali-organisers-angry-changes-lighting-times/article-1387219-detail/article.html

It's a shame that the Diwali lights are not going to be on as much as they normally are this year. I can understand that a car crash a month ago may have caused a problem that cannot be dealt with in time, but why delay the daily switch on until 6pm? That means that the majority of people who work in the city during the day and travel home down Melton Rd, as I have done on and off over many years, will not get to see the lights in their full glory.

Aside from the religious aspect of this festival for a great number of the people across the city, this also creates a fantastic amount of tourism to the area. Leicester is known for its' cultural diversity and people travel for miles to come and see the lights. In times of recession, as now, I am sure the shop owners in the area would appreciate the business. Let's keep those lights on.

As for the Big Switch Off being run at the same time as the Festival of Light, how about Leicester recognises the diversity of the city and decides to be careful with their use of electricity at all other times of the year instead.

2018 Football Bid

2009-09-29T17:30:00.000+01:00

Back the Leicester bid to host the 2018 World Cup Football.

Tigers Host Ethnic Minority Business Conference 14 October

2009-09-29T10:00:00.000+01:00

http://www.creme-dmu.org.uk/

The 13th Annual Ethnic Minority Business Conference will take place on Wednesday 14 October 2009 at the Leicester Tigers Rugby Ground in Leicester. Hosted by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) at De Montfort University, the Conference will provide a platform for the presentation of cutting-edge research and policy initiatives on ethnic minority entrepreneurship.

City Council Core Strategy Consultation Paper

2009-09-26T17:20:00.005+01:00

If you live in Leicester East, particularly Hamilton, it's worth reading this document. It is the consultation paper on the Core Strategy for growth in the city. It offers a number of options (page 26) and recommends that the Hamilton option is taken up.

Consultation ends 30 October 2009.

Letter to the Editor, Leicester Mercury

2009-09-26T17:02:00.000+01:00

Dear Sir,

I write regarding Keith Vaz's comments on education at Fullhurst being assisted by the Head and teachers from Rushey Mead.

It is clear that Fullhurst needs support and has needed it for some time. Whether this is achieved by using resources from Rushey Mead is a matter for the Head, the Governors and most importantly the pupils and parents of that community. Rushey Mead is an outstanding school, doubtless achieved by the hard work of all concerned. Has the local community been consulted?

Meanwhile, the Fullhurst pupils are being let down by this council. It is all very well bringing in measures now to help. However, what will it do to help the pupils it has already failed in this area? What will the council do to help other failing schools in Leicester, now they have used up their gem?

This is not the time for the Labour Member of Parliament and the Labour Council to spend arguing. This is time for action.

The Conservatives would allow educational charities, not for profit trusts, co-operatives and groups of parents to both support and set up schools in the state sector, diverting the equivalent funding directly to the organisation. That way, the failing school would get the help it needs. Other schools in the area are receiving something similar, why not Fullhurst too?

As for the example Mr Vaz uses of our Prime Minister helping out Rwanda a couple of days a week. I think they would be better off without the help of Mr Brown, as would we.

You Couldn't Make It Up!

2009-09-26T15:56:00.000+01:00

While out canvassing in Evington today, I met a resident who owns a recruitment agency in Leicester. He told me that he recently had need to recruit 5 industrial members of staff for a client and he needed them for the next day.

Being situated near to the JobCentre he went in (passing by many people in the reception area who were looking for a job) and he asked the staff if he could be given details of registered people he could recruit that day. Also could he offer the jobs out to the people in the reception area right now. He was told to go back to his office and process the paperwork online, posting the job advert as usual. Why was this? He tells me he was told that otherwise it would not be fair to those not immediately available to work!

Needless to say, he wasn't able to help his client in time and 5 people did not leave the dole queue that day.

Ask yourself this question: should the Job Centre be there to help people get a job, or are they there to do the paperwork? I'll leave you to decide.