The Pegswood Division Liberal Democrats For residents living in PEGSWOOD, HEBRON, LONGHIRST, ULGHAM, STOBSWOOD, TRITLINGTON & WEST CHEVINGTON e e - - October 2018 Focus Focus LIBERAL DEMOCRATS locally . . . . Keeping in touch on national matters which have a significant local impact FAKE NEWS on Education Funding At a time of fake news, imposter news sites and referendum lies, trust in politics has never been more important. Now, a Conservative government has been caught making potentially misleading claims about education funding. It is the fifth time in the last twelve months that the Statistics Authority has written to the Department for Education with concerns about how data is presented. The latest claim is that the Government is spending record amounts on school funding and the UK was the "third highest spender on education in the world". But, this figure includes money spent by parents on private school fees and by students on university tuition fees. Now Sir David Norgrove, head of the UK Statistics Authority, has written to the Department to raise "serious concerns about the Department for Education's presentation and use of statistics". Trust matters in politics and all government departments have a responsibility to uphold that trust. That’s why the Secretary of State for Education is being asked:- 1. To stop the distortion of education funding statistics. 2. To publish a transparent breakdown of the calculations behind the claim. 3. To take steps to uphold the principles and practices defined in the statutory code of practice for statistics. Universal Credit Shambles Next month the Government begins the rollout of Universal Credit in our area. Based on experiences elsewhere, this is likely to cause major hardship for many families in Pegswood division The original idea behind Universal Credit was to simplify the benefits system for its users and to make it easier to transition from benefits to work. The principle had widespread support but the execution by the present government has been disastrous. In 2015, as soon as the Conservatives were no longer constrained by the coalition with the Lib Dems, George Osborne slashed billions per year from the Budget for this benefit. The result has been widespread hardship in the areas which have already changed where the Citizens Advice Bureau reports a huge increase in personal debt, rent arrears and use of food banks. Liberal Democrats have repeatedly called for the rollout to new areas to be stopped until the fundamental flaws in the system are fixed and proper funding is restored. Even ex-Conservative Prime Minister Sir John Major has said the current plan is rushed and underfunded. The government has just announced that they will further slow down roll out to all claimants, but no one should yet have confidence that they intend to fix the fundamental problems.
Transcript
The Pegswood Division
Liberal Democrats
For residents living in PEGSWOOD, HEBRON, LONGHIRST, ULGHAM, STOBSWOOD, TRITLINGTON & WEST CHEVINGTON
ee-- October
2018
FocusFocus
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS locally . . . . Keeping in touch on
national matters which have a significant local impact
FAKE NEWS on Education Funding At a time of fake news, imposter news sites and
referendum lies, trust in politics has never been more
important. Now, a Conservative government has been
caught making potentially misleading claims about
education funding.
It is the fifth time in the last twelve months
that the Statistics Authority has written to the
Department for Education with concerns about
how data is presented.
The latest claim is that the Government is spending
record amounts on school funding and the UK was
the "third highest spender on education in the world".
But, this figure includes money spent by
parents on private school fees and by
students on university tuition fees.
Now Sir David Norgrove, head of the UK Statistics
Authority, has written to the Department to raise
"serious concerns about the Department for
Education's presentation and use of statistics".
Trust matters in politics and all government departments
have a responsibility to uphold that trust. That’s why the
Secretary of State for Education is being asked:-
1. To stop the distortion of education funding
statistics.
2. To publish a transparent breakdown of the
calculations behind the claim.
3. To take steps to uphold the principles and
practices defined in the statutory code of
practice for statistics.
Universal Credit Shambles Next month the Government begins the rollout of
Universal Credit in our area. Based on experiences
elsewhere, this is likely to cause major hardship
for many families in Pegswood division
The original idea behind Universal Credit was to
simplify the benefits system for its users and to
make it easier to transition from benefits to work.
The principle had widespread support but the
execution by the present government has been
disastrous.
In 2015, as soon as the Conservatives were no
longer constrained by the coalition with the Lib
Dems, George Osborne slashed billions per year
from the Budget for this benefit. The result has
been widespread hardship in the areas which
have already changed where the Citizens Advice
Bureau reports a huge increase in personal debt,
rent arrears and use of food banks.
Liberal Democrats have repeatedly called for
the rollout to new areas to be stopped until the
fundamental flaws in the system are fixed and
proper funding is restored. Even ex-Conservative
Prime Minister Sir John Major has said the current
plan is rushed and underfunded. The government
has just announced that they will further slow
down roll out to all claimants, but no one should
yet have confidence that they intend to fix the
fundamental problems.
Secure and Affordable Homes
Nationally, 100,000 too few homes have been built every
year for the past twenty years. The result is rising house prices,
homelessness and one in five households living in the private
rented sector homes in poor condition where tenure can be
insecure.
The Government has spent too much on pursuing subsidies
for owner occupation at the expense of building social homes
for rent.
Young people face grave difficulties in raising the deposit to
buy a home, which frequently remains too expensive. Too
many people in work on the living wage cannot afford to live
reasonably close to where they work. They are being forced to
spend more than a third of their income on housing costs and
too many people are forced to sleep rough or to depend on
temporary accommodation, because they cannot find a
permanent place to call home.
In the south east of Northumberland we are deluged with new
building of relatively expensive homes, while younger local
people have difficulty in finding any house they can afford to
buy or rent.
Recent announcements by the Government do not go nearly
far enough or come soon enough to address this housing crisis.
The Liberal Democrats want local authorities to build homes for
rent for the first time in a generation, and to charge full Council
Tax on second homes and empty homes.
CLIMATE Cruise or Control?
A new UN report says we must act now
to prevent catastrophic climate change.
We cannot cruise complacently towards
the cliff edge, and must control our
actions. This means major governmental
commitments worldwide plus efforts by
communities and individuals.
People may believe they should let our
leaders sort it out. However, people
power can change how governments and
major corporations act, and small-scale
efforts by multiple individuals have a
cumulative effect.
The government shows no political will to
act decisively, despite evidence available
prior to the UN report; flash floods,
extreme storms and forest fires, including
on Saddleworth Moor.
The government demonstrates a lack of
interest, taking us in the wrong direction
by:
1. Rejecting the Swansea Bay tidal
lagoon power plant project,
despite the huge potential for
tidal energy we have as an
island. This must be
reconsidered.
2. Ceasing feed-in-tariffs (FiT)
on solar panels in April 2019.
These encouraged thousands to
become energy generators and
must be continued or replaced.
3. Considering cutting support for
electric vehicles.
4. Given the go-ahead to fracking
for carbon rich shale gas.
Lib Dem policy includes increasing
research and development in 4 low-
carbon technologies: tidal power, carbon
capture and storage, energy storage and
ultra-low emission vehicles. We would
double renewable electricity by 2020,
decarbonising the power sector by 2030,
leading to a zero carbon Britain by 2050.
We would also plant 750,000 trees a
year.
Electoral Fairness
Lib Dems have always believed that the only way to have fair
elections is to scrap the unfair First past the Post system, which
is a betrayal of our democracy. We would introduce Proportional
Representation, which, at a stroke, would improve our politics
and encourage more people to vote, as their vote would count,
and count equally. The share of seats any party gets should
reflect the share of votes given to them by the electorate.
A cross party campaign, Make Votes Matter, is now working
towards this objective.
We also urge the UK government to lower the voting age to
16. Legislation in Scotland in 2015 allowed 16 and 17-year-olds
to vote, and we all witnessed the enthusiasm and energy young
people brought to the debate. Now, the Welsh Assembly
supports similar plans for young Welsh people. So what about
England? We allow 16-year-olds to pay tax or serve in the army,
so why not allow them to have their voices hear?
Lib Dems demand better for young people across the UK.
BREXIT - Demand for a 'People's Vote' increases
Brexit, as we now know, is not the straightforward process that we were told repeatedly it would be prior to
the referendum. Whichever way you voted there is no doubt that we are all much better informed now of the
process and implications of leaving the EU.
The obvious lies (that red bus!) have been exposed - Brexit will cost us money not save it.
The intractable problem of the Irish border is now apparent - there is still no solution to the promised
‘frictionless border’ putting at risk the Good Friday agreement.
Many businesses including all the major car makers (INCLUDING NISSAN!) are going public with their
concerns about the implications of leaving the single market and customs union. They are not doing this
for any political purposes - they are simply telling it as it is!
We are certainly not going to be able to ‘have our cake and eat it’!
At the end of negotiations there will be a decision in parliament on any agreement reached, which is looking
increasingly likely to be voted down, leading to a potentially calamitous 'no deal' hard brexit. Liberal Democrats
believe the British people should have the final say in a People's Vote with the option of staying in the EU on
the ballot paper.
We continue to believe that there is no deal as good for the UK outside the EU as the one it already has as a
member.
The important thing to remember is that Brexit is not inevitable and the Lib Dems are the only
party committed to allowing the British people a say on the final deal.
For more information about the Lib Dem policy visit www.libdems.org.uk/europe
For more information about the cross party (it's not just us!) People's Vote campaign visit www.peoples-vote.uk/
