A New Kind of Politics

I want to be an MP to change things for the better for our country and Newcastle North. I’m not a professional politician – I’m a young mum currently making a career as an employment lawyer. I was as astonished and upset about MPs abuses of the expenses system as everyone else outside Westminster. My values mean that you can trust me to claim only what is necessary to do the job of being your MP effectively. I’m also part of the generation that has grown up with the internet, and I want to use e-mail, Facebook and blogging to allow people to get in touch with me, and discuss issues more easily. I’ll still be available in person at surgeries for people who prefer face to face meetings to on-line communication.

Expenses

My starting point is that I believe that an MP should put herself wholeheartedly at the service of their constituency. I want to be the MP for Newcastle North because I went to school here, live here and care about people here – not to get what I can out of the system.

Parliament is now reforming itself, and there is still some debate to be had about the final rules. But my own principles will guide me, and I can guarantee that:

· My main home will continue to be in the constituency

· I will claim for unavoidable expenses incurred in being your MP, and not seek to “maximise my allowances”

· I will be transparent about what I am claiming for and what I am spending allowances

Being Approachable and available to constituents

I want to use new technology to add to the traditional ways of letting people get in touch with their MP.

I have grown up with the internet, and I want to use its potential to help people get in touch with me – not only with personal difficulties, but also to contribute to policy debates.

I will have a Facebook page and I will reply to e-mails as quickly as possible. I will set up discussion forums on issues affecting the constituency and contribute to groups constituents set up. This will help people in work or who do not like going to meetings to keep in touch with me. I will still hold surgeries and attend relevant public meetings on issues of importance to our city.

I will also set up a blog so that people know what I have been doing. As your MP, I will work for you, so you have a right to know how I am doing this.

But the internet is not for everyone, and I will have regular surgeries in the different parts of the Newcastle North constituency so that people can meet me face to face to discuss issues or problems.

A New Politics

The Labour government introduced the Freedom of Information Act and has given local councils more freedoms and flexibilities to act on behalf of residents. It’s also created new opportunities for residents to get involved – for example to become members of NHS Foundation Trusts, and improved information for residents through getting services on line (through www.direct.gov.uk).

I agree that more modernisation is needed and I support calls for a referendum on a move to a new fairer voting system.

And I support initiatives to educate young people about how our democracy works, such as youth councils, and I see part of an MPs role as connecting with the voters of the future so that they understand what an MP does and how government works.

Families

I will stand up for the needs of children and young people, and I will actively support proposals that benefit older people.

Young people need to be given the education and experience needed to manage the transition to adulthood successfully. We need to keep them safe, while helping them become responsible and active in our community.

I want to remove unnecessary barriers that isolate some older people from the community around them, and make sure that all care and support for older people is of a high standard, with people given the personal attention and dignity that they deserve.

Children and Young People

The Labour government has made a huge investment into our children and young people. Labour has funded new school buildings, more teachers and teaching assistants, Surestart and new play areas across the country and in this constituency.

Children are our future, and Labour has pledged to protect schools’ funding in the years ahead. Labour introduced the Education Maintenance Allowance to help teenagers from poor backgrounds to stay in education and get the qualifications demanded by employers today. Labour is offering a guarantee of a school, college or work experience place for every 16 and 17 year old, and extending eligibility for free-school meals to all households with an income of less than £16,190 per year. Child Benefit is also increasing by 1.5% in April 2010. Labour is introducing school report cards to give parents all the information they need when choosing a school for their son or daughter, and paid internships so that young people can take the opportunities to get a foot on the career ladder whatever their parents’ income.

I’ll be campaigning to preserve these gains for young people against the cuts being suggested by the Liberal Democrats and Tories. I want to see more investment in Surestart and the roll out of free nursery care for 2 year olds. I want to see continued investment in books, buildings, computers and teaching staff for our schools and Newcastle College. I want to work with our city’s universities to encourage young people from all parts of Newcastle North to see these as institutions they can aspire to attend. I want to see the government giving more money to councils for youth work and facilities such as playgrounds, skate parks and computers in libraries. I want more community activities that bring young and older people together and more positive publicity for young people’s achievements.

Older People

Labour has made a real difference to older people’s lives by cutting crime, creating the minimum income guarantee for pensioners, investing in the National Health Service, introducing free bus passes and outlawing age – discrimination. Older people receiving social care have been given more control and choice over their care arrangements through personal budgets.

I support Labour’s commitments to doing more – spending on the NHS is to be protected, pensions are to rise by 2.5% in April 2010 despite the lower level of inflation, and in future we will restore the link between earnings growth and the state pension.
Labour has introduced the Personal Care at Home Bill. I support this measure that will help around 400,000 people nationwide with care needs, offering for the first time free personal care at home for those with the highest needs, regardless of means.
As your MP, I’ll fight for the proposed National Care Service, and make sure it can meet the needs of elderly people in Newcastle North. I’ll stand up for the importance of dignity and respect in health and social care, and make sure that there are high minimum standards for carers and health workers to meet. I’ll support a greater voice for older people and their families in identifying and eradicating substandard care.

I also want older people to live free from fear of crime and anti-social behaviour, and I’ll support moves to protect the strength of the police force, but also encourage communities to come together to promote inter-generational activities that bring young and older people together.

I’ll also push for over 50s to have access to retraining so that those who have been hit by early retirement in the recession have the opportunity to contribute again in the economic upturn.

Work and Economy

I want to make sure the government does the right things to encourage the creation of more and better jobs in Newcastle – and to make sure that people are paid well, treated fairly and that work is family friendly.

Developing our Economy and creating jobs

The Labour government has really helped Newcastle’s economy to diversify and improve over the last 13 years.

Labour saved Northern Rock, protecting many of the jobs there, and giving it the chance to start again.

Labour improved schools, giving young people the qualifications they need to make their way in the future. Labour has also backed apprenticeships and advanced apprenticeships, and with our Future Jobs Fund we’re giving young people affected by the recession a chance to show what they can do, so that they can get into long term employment as the economy picks up.

Labour is investing in the low carbon economy of the future – making sure that this region leads the development of new industries such as electric car manufacture and renewable energy.

Labour introduced the minimum wage and tax credits, to make sure that everyone gets a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. By introducing the right to ask for family-friendly working patterns, we’ve helped support people who want to work, and look after their children. Labour understands this is about fathers as well as mothers – that’s why this government brought in Paternity Leave as well as extending Maternity Leave.

I will fight for more investment for our region in the industries of the future. I will make sure we keep investing in training for young people, and for older people already in the workforce. I will push for the right balance between workplace learning and college or university based courses. I’ll make the case in Westminster and Whitehall for more high quality civil service jobs to be moved to our area.

I’ll be a passionate advocate of moving to a lower carbon, green economy and putting the North East at the forefront of the opportunities arising from that. That means making sure that we help people invest in making their own homes and transport greener, and I want our own plumbers, roofers, glaziers and central heating engineers to have the chance to benefit from this work. I’ll put pressure onto Newcastle Council too to make sure that the new Science City development benefits local companies and local workers, and provides opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovation. I’ll also work with Tyneside’s other MPs to make sure the whole Tyne riverside from Walker to North Shields develops as a major manufacturing site for wind turbines and other renewable energy projects – and I’ll campaign for good public transport to get Newcastle North’s workers to these new job opportunities. I’ll also back High Speed Rail, and campaign for this to come to Newcastle as early as possible so that we can connect to London, Birmingham, Manchester and the world in a sustainable way.

A Fair Workplace

Labour has done a lot to make sure that people are treated fairly at work.

I’ll support further measures to give people the right to belong to a trade union if they want to, without being victimised at work.

I support the new Equalities Bill which means that you have the right to be treated as an individual and employed, paid or promoted according to your abilities regardless of your gender, ethnicity or a disability

I’ll support more openness on pay – if companies or organisations are paying men more than women, or vice versa, we should know about it and be able to challenge it.

I also support openness on fat cat salaries, and I welcome this government’s new rules that will make councils and government bodies disclose the salaries of high-earning public sector workers.

And I want our tax system to be fair. Work should always pay more than being on benefits, and I support our Prime Minister’s pledge to make that happen. I will support plans to clamp down on tax avoidance by the rich and by companies who benefit from our country’s transport, police and justice system but who seek to avoid their obligations to pay for their share.

A family friendly workplace

This country and this city need to make the most of everyone’s talents. Flexibility at work is good for both employees and employers.

I know that some companies worry about whether they can afford family friendly policies, so I’ll make sure that government legislation creates a level playing field so that good employers are not undercut by bad ones.

As a working mum myself, I know that children need lots of contact with their parents, but also that work is vital to bring in the wages that buy the things that children need.

So I’ll support moves to encourage flexible working that will help parents who have taking time out of work to care for babies and toddlers to get back into work as their children get older. I’ll call for an extension of Sure Start and Extended Schools that provide care for the whole of the working day. I’ll fight to protect tax credits that provide vital support for parents and that help make work financially worthwhile. This is the kind of front-line, people focussed public spending that I will fight to protect, even as savings are made from public sector bureaucracy and waste.

For those facing the challenges of depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses, I support moves to give people easy and quick access to new and practical therapies. I want people to be able to get help quickly and get back to their normal work and family life as quickly as possible.

Communities

I want Newcastle North to be a great place to live, and I want the government to make it easy for everyone to play their part in achieving this. Our communities need good modern and accessible parks, leisure centres, shops, libraries and cultural facilities, and I’ll work for legislation and funding to make sure these happen. Good communities also need to be safe communities and I want to see continued funding for front-line policing and action to prevent and tackle anti-social behaviour.

Environment and Climate Change

The Labour government has been good for the environment at a local, national and international level. Under Labour, recycling rates have shot up, and, through the National Lottery, our Victorian parks, like Jesmond Dene are receiving makeovers. Drinking water is cleaner and better than ever. Labour has committed £300m to investment in the Metro, and has now made the North East the leading region for the development of electric powered cars.

Labour has introduced laws that will ensure that the UK reduces its CO2 emissions from 1990 levels by 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. We work effectively with our neighbours in the European Union because we know that climate change can’t be tackled by one country alone. That’s why I was proud to see Gordon Brown and Ed Milliband leading the search for a long term global deal on climate change at Copenhagen, and as your MP I’ll be at the forefront of efforts to keep global warming to 2°C because I want my children, and their children to live in habitable world. I’ll support continued spending on Warm Front so that people in Newcastle North can insulate their houses, save money on heating and make their own personal contribution to reducing global warming. I want local traders to have the opportunity to carry out this work too.

Community Facilities

Labour has invested in community infrastructure that had been left to decay under the Conservatives. Newcastle North has new schools and libraries, better parks and the constituency is now linked by Metro to Sunderland. The new Surestart centres in the constituency have made a real difference – not just to children but to the communities around them.

I know that the years ahead are going to be difficult for public services, but I’m determined that government must give councils and schools enough money to maintain the new facilities in good condition. I’ll make sure that the planned £600m investment in updating the Metro goes ahead and put pressure on the council to use the powers the government has given it to improve bus services. I’ll also campaign to maintain community facilities like GP surgeries, community centres and pubs.

Policing

Policing has been a huge success story in Newcastle over the last decade. Labour has invested in more front line police officers and community support officers, and created new powers like ASBOs. These have reduced crime, and started to make real inroads into anti social behaviour and fear of crime. I want anyone living in Newcastle North to feel safe in their homes, and safe on the streets at any time of day or night.

That’s why I support maintaining funding for front-line policing, and our government’s requirement for the Police to hold regular meetings with the community and to publish online crime maps. I also back Labour’s plans to reduce bureaucracy and form filling in the police, and our plans to make community punishments more visible so that we can all see offenders paying back their dues to society. And I support continued efforts to get drug addicts into treatment to help reduce drug related crime, and education and enforcement to keep drugs off our streets.