Since June 2001 I have been privileged to represent the new electoral division of St Bees & Egremont on Cumbria County Council. I have played a full part in Labour’s robust opposition to the joint administration of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, holding shadow portfolios for Cumbria Contract Services, Social Services and presently Education. As a member of Cumbria’s Health and Well being Scrutiny Committee, I am committed to a new hospital in Copeland with an Accident & Emergency Department and an Intensive Therapy Unit.
I am an active member of the Egremont & District Labour Party and a member of the political education committee that publishes the monthly newspaper, Egremont Today. For over 20 years I have led Beckermet Scout Group, which provides an exciting programme of educational and physical activity to some forty young people. As chair of governors at Wyndham School, I am committed to seeing the school emerge from special measures at the earliest opportunity. In 2001 I brokered a rescue package to save Egremont Pool from closure and I am delighted this important community facility continues to flourish under Trust management. I am a director of Egremont & District Credit Union, promoting saving and providing loans to people at affordable rates. I am a director and vice-chair of Whitehaven Citizens’ Advice Bureau, which through its team of dedicated volunteers provides invaluable guidance on financial, personal and legal matters. I am a director and vice-chair of the Egremont Regeneration Company, which is about to embark on an exciting range of development projects based on the Market Towns Initiatives scheme. I firmly believe that service to individuals and to community causes is at the very core of public life.
The last four years in the County Council have been disastrous. The administration’s ‘Invest to Save and Improve’ programme was a flop. Rather than securing private investment and improved services as they had hoped, the programme failed to deliver on most of its objectives, whilst wasting £3M on consultants’ fees. The overall performance of the County Council plummeted to ‘weak’, narrowly avoiding Government intervention. Children’s Services received a zero star rating, being adjudged as not providing a consistent and reliable safeguard for children in care. The administration introduced home care charging for the house-bound and elderly and cut funding for roads’ maintenance by 25% over four years.
Labour recognizes there is a lot to do to turn things around. Our manifesto for the County Council election explains how we will set about it. Your vote can make it happen. I look forward to a Labour controlled County Council working in partnership with Copeland’s vibrant new Member of Parliament, Jamie Reed in an unprecedented third term of this Labour Government.
On 5 May; vote Reed, vote Southward for a brighter future.