Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP visits Exeter for manifesto launch
The Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work & Pensions, visited Exeter on Monday 8 April to attend the launch of the Labour Party Manifesto for the forthcoming Devon County Council elections, which are due to take place next month on 2 May.
The event, which took place at the Exeter Community Centre in St David's, was hosted by the Rt Hon Ben Bradshaw, MP for Exeter, who told The Exeter Daily: "We have come together today as part of a national process in which the Labour Party is listening not just to Labour Party Members but also to ordinary members of the public on a range of issues to help draw up our manifesto for the next General Election, which we assume will be in 2015 although it could be sooner.
"This event in Exeter today is centred around the challenge of training and jobs for young people, because although we haven't seen as bad an unemployment spike as many people predicted after the banking crash, there has been a worrying and significant rise in youth unemployment and the Government's work programme doesn't seem to be working very well.
"We want to listen to young people and to people who work with young people and unemployment and training and apprenticeships and devise the best possible policy we can to fight the 2015 election."
Considering the Labour Party gaining control in the County Elections would be nothing short of a miracle, The Exeter Daily asked Councillor Richard Westlake, Leader of the Labour Group, what the Labour Party could hope to achieve over the next four years:
"Our clear aim is to use the manifesto that we're launching today to pursue our key priorities, and I think that we'll be looking at clearly emphasizing jobs, low pay and the threat of more privatization within the county structure.
"We will also be pursuing the health and wellbeing agenda to make sure that all vulnerable people within Devon and children but especially adults in Devon do have the high quality of healthcare that we would expect in the next four years."
The Labour Party Manifesto for Devon County Elections 2013 warns of further cuts, reducing funding by at least 28% over four years: 'There would be nothing for highways, libraries, leisure and economic development.' When asked about this Richard said "Yes, it's a very bleak forecast. The actual forecast came from the Tory-controlled LGA, which has produced a graph of doom.
"And effectively what they're saying is that with the cuts we've just had and those that are yet to be imposed over the next couple of years, we'll not be able to provide all the services that we currently do. So what we'll have is education, social services and some highways.
"We believe the worst thing you can do is substantially cut local government, because local government not only provides services but also employment opportunities within our communities.
In an exclusive interview with The Exeter Daily, the Rt Hon Liam Byrne said:
"Labour councils across Britain have shown that the living wage is achievable. If you look at some of the biggest authorities in Britain such as Birmingham, they were able to introduce the living wage on Day One by making changes to the pay and rations at the very top of the organization, so we know it's do-able in the South West.
"The Government's tax and benefit changes mean that on average families are losing now something like £890 per year with cuts to tax credits and child benefit at the same time as a whopping great tax cut worth £2,000 per week is being handed to the nation's millionaires.
"We think that's wrong, actually we think there are practical things that Labour can do in power today to help those at the very bottom.
"Priority number one if we get into power in 2015 is youth unemployment - at the moment we have record numbers of youth unemployment in Great Britain and we have nearly a million people out of work, we have more people overall unemployed than at the last election with figures going up not down. So we need a different economic strategy. We need an economic strategy that is better for jobs, but crucially we need more concerted action to get more young people into work and that is what I'll be talking about this morning."
In a recent column in The Observer, Liam Byrne wrote, "First, people must be better off in work than living on benefits. We would make work pay by reintroducing a 10p tax rate and supporting employers who pay the living wage. Second, we would match rights with responsibilities. Labour would ensure that no adult will be able to be live on the dole for over two years and no young person for over a year. They will be offered a real job with real training, real prospects and real responsibility. This would be paid for by taxing bankers’ bonuses and restricting pension tax relief for the wealthiest. People would have to take this opportunity or lose benefits."
He has also talked of benefit reform which proposes that the longer you are in work and paying National Insurance, the more benefit you would be paid should you lose your job for one reason or another. Liam Byrne said "Right now this is an ambition and over the next year we want to set out the detailed policies that will restore that sense of something for something that a lot of people feel has gone missing.
"Today, a lot of people feel they pay a lot of money in in terms of tax and National Insurance and they don't get much out, particularly when they need it and for those workers in their 50s who are losing jobs - for example there's very little help to retrain and get back into work. There's very little help for working parents. So we want to take a look at what are the practical ways in which working people can get more back out of social security for all the National Insurance they put in."
When questioned whether that would be unfair to the young, Liam said "I don't think so, because we want to make sure that concerted action to help young people into jobs is at the heart of the changes that we want to introduce and that's why the tax on bankers' bonuses is something that we've talked about as line one of a Labour budget."
Meanwhile in Cornwall, Nick Clegg was busy launching the Liberal Democrats' local election campaign by claiming Labour and the Conservatives waste money through "inefficiency and their own vanity projects".
The deputy Prime Minister argued that his party was the only one capable of spreading "the burden of austerity fairly" and helping families.
He urged Lib Dem activists to "work even harder" to ensure success.
Also looking to introduce the Living Wage to all Devon County Council employees, The Green Party is putting up more candidates than ever before across Devon. Its manifesto states that "The Green Party is the only Party that can offer the bold yet desirable solutions to the many social, economic and environmental challenges facing us. Our manifesto is guided by our commitments to social and environmental justice. We believe in equality, a prosperous and resilient local economy and community participation."
Meanwhile the Conservatives' manifesto pledges to "Keep Council Tax down; cut the County’s debt and freeze Councillor’s allowances; Campaign for better funding for our schools; Provide better care for elderly people; Support local businesses to protect local jobs; Create new jobs by attracting new businesses and providing training; Tackle crime and anti-social behaviour; Improve our roads and pavements; Support and promote tourism in Devon; Work to provide more affordable housing for local people and Reduce waste to landfill.
Tell us what you think should be the key issues debated in the run up to the forthcoming County elections at www.theexeterdaily.co.uk
