My good friend Dawn Butler, Member of Parliament for Brent South, has written a piece on the Guardian’s website today - “Turning the tide of teenage crime”- which I would recommend to anyone who cares about youth issues. In her piece, Dawn says:

“I believe crime will only get better if the community, and our society, gets stronger. There are still a multitude of problems in society that can beat the hope and aspiration out of the young – all the negative publicity, the labels, celebrity culture. Sometimes it seems that technology has replaced simple conversation. Today’s young people need adult interaction – without this we can’t prepare them for the transition from childhood to adulthood.”
I could not have put it better myself.

Dawn (pictured with US Sen. Barack Obama) is the Labour Party’s Vice Chair for Youth. Writing in the Guardian myself in November 2007 - “Labour’s lost love” - I said of Dawn:
“There has been much talk of politicians lacking authenticity and - automaton-like - being unable to talk in a way that connects with the person on the street. Step forward Dawn Butler, one of Labour’s two black female MPs, who won many plaudits for doing precisely the opposite when given the chance to second the Queen’s speech in the Commons the other week.”
Her article today provides further evidence of this.

Dawn has set up a fantastic website – My Life My Say (www.mylifemysay.co.uk) – for young people, where young people can make their contribution on the big issues of the day and find out how to register to vote.

Last year alone, the London Ambulance Service responded to over 1.2 million emergency calls, saving countless lives across London due to their diligence and quick response.  The service, which is made up of 70 ambulance stations, covers a huge 620 square miles of London making the residents of Streatham very fortunate to have one on their doorstep.

Just two years ago there were nearly 9000 people in serious or life treating conditions in Lambeth who made the call to the London Ambulance Service. It was this need that led to a £1.1 million new ambulance station being opened in Streatham in 2006.  As Keith Hill (below), MP for Streatham, said on its opening:
“Despite facing increasing 999 demand, they continue to show enthusiasm and professionalism. This new station is a credit to the NHS”.

With the need for a quick response the London Ambulance Service is at the forefront of vehicle technology. London has utilised transport units, varying from motorcycles to fully equipped helicopters, to answer emergency calls.  Streatham has continued this trend with top of the range ambulances and fast response vehicles on hand to help save lives in Lambeth.

The heroics of the London Ambulance Service have led to a new fly on the wall documentary that follows ambulance crews as they respond to real life emergencies across South London.  You can follow their progress in a six part series on Thursdays from 10.40pm on ITV starting this week.

Jack Clark

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, and others call for a windfall tax on energy companies to help people with dramatic rises in energy bills.

The average annual spend on domestic energy per household has now breached £1,200. Since 2000, consumers in Streatham and beyond have faced gas price rises of 100% and electricity price rises of 61%. At the same time, the main energy providers have seen their profits rise from £557 million in 2003 to over £3 billion now.

In an article on The Guardian newspaper’s website on 7 August 2008, Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, wrote:

“Shell, BP and Centrica (which owns British Gas) reportedly made £1,000 every second of the day for the first six months of this year. To put this in context, what BP presently makes in profit every month is roughly equivalent to what my local council, Lambeth, spends on running local services every year.”

Every 10% increase in energy prices leads to an extra 400,000 people joining the 2.5 million already living in fuel poverty in Britain today. In the piece, Umunna wrote:

“People living in communities like mine in Streatham, containing some of the most deprived wards in the country, are struggling to cope in the face of these price hikes - they are being clobbered.”

In addition, there is a lack of investment in securing renewable energy to help Britain become energy independent and more carbon neutral. By 2020 the UK wants 15% of all energy to be from renewable sources - this is currently only 2%.

Umunna has therefore called on the government to levy a windfall tax on the energy companies. Commenting on the move today, Umunna said:

“I am in the business of politics because I want to build a fairer, more equal, democratic and sustainable world for people here - I think this necessitates, amongst other things, government intervention where appropriate, which is I am calling for this measure.”

“The point is not to punish the energy companies – the winners in this situation - for their unearned fruits, or even that the increase in global fuel prices is their fault; the point is that those fruits should be spread more widely to relieve the burden on the many residents in Streatham, Brixton, Clapham, Tulse Hill and beyond who, faced with these huge price rises, are the loosers here.”

“Revenues from this tax should, in the short term, be ring-fenced to immediately help those struggling with rising fuel bills and to ensure every home is insulated and energy efficient to the highest standards; long term, the proceeds could also be invested in renewable energy production.”

Umunna is a signatory to a statement published in The Guardian on 6 August 2008 calling on the government to introduce such a windfall tax. The number of signatories continues to increase and includes fellow London Labour politicians, Jon Cruddas MP, the former Labour deputy leadership candidate, Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and former deputy mayor of London, Nicky Gavron AM.

Umunna’s call for the windfall tax has won support from local residents. Charlene Smith, a resident of Streatham Hill, said: “It’s affecting my family because it’s adding to the rise in prices with inflation. Companies with lots of money can help. It’s a good idea to give some back to people.”

Janet Chambers, a resident of Clapham Common, said: “I think the companies who make mega profits should be part of helping people who are struggling.”

Keith Lillis, another resident of Streatham Hill, said: “Shareholders and managing directors need to be prepared to see some of their extra profits come back to people who need it. A windfall tax is a good thing if this happens.”

Members of the public can join the campaign for a windfall tax on the energy companies by adding their name to the statement in support of the measure on Umunna’s website: www.streathamlabour.org.uk.

The average annual spend on domestic energy per household has now breached £1,200. Since 2000, consumers in Streatham and beyond have faced gas price rises of 100% and electricity price rises of 61%. At the same time, the main energy providers have seen their profits rise from £557 million in 2003 to over £3 billion now.

In an article on the Guardian newspaper’s website on 7 August 2008, Chuka wrote:
“Shell, BP and Centrica (which owns British Gas) reportedly made £1,000 every second of the day for the first six months of this year. To put this in context, what BP presently makes in profit every month is roughly equivalent to what my local council, Lambeth, spends on running local services every year.”

Every 10% increase in energy prices leads to an extra 400,000 people joining the 2.5 million already living in fuel poverty in Britain today. Chuka pointed out that people living in communities like Streatham, containing some of the most deprived wards in the country, “are being clobbered.”

So Chuka has called on the government to levy a windfall tax on the energy companies to help ordinary people. Commenting on why he supports this measure, he said,
“I am in the business of politics because I want to build a fairer, more equal, democratic and sustainable world for people here - I think this necessitates, amongst other things, government intervention where appropriate, which is I am calling for this measure.”
“The point is not to punish the energy companies – the winners in this situation - for their unearned fruits, or even that the increase in global fuel prices is their fault; the point is that those fruits should be spread more widely to relieve the burden on the many residents in Streatham, Brixton, Clapham, Tulse Hill and beyond who, faced with these huge price rises, are the loosers here.”

Chuka has said the windfall tax, in the short term, should be ring-fenced to immediately help those struggling with rising fuel bills and to ensure every home is insulated and energy efficient to the highest standards; in the long term, he thinks proceeds could also be invested in renewable energy production. If you agree with Chuka, you can join the campaign for a windfall tax on the energy companies by signing up by here (scroll down to the bottom).

Above, five local residents of Streatham say what they think about the proposal.

Jamie Audsley

…this is the number of workers in London who stand to benefit from the National Minimum Wage (NMW) this year, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last month.

When the NMW came into being, wages of as little as £1.20 an hour were common and legal - that’s just £1.38 an hour in today’s prices!

I remember the Conservative Party and others strongly opposing the introduction of this measure. They said the NMW would cost the country 2 million jobs – in fact an extra 2.3 million jobs have actually been created since then.

To date nearly one million low paid employees, two thirds of them women, have benefited from the NMW and more continue to do so.  I know what a difference it makes because I regularly deal with NMW issues in my work as an employment lawyer. 

Presently the NMW rates are as follows:
Workers aged 22 and over - £5.52 per hour
Workers aged 18-21 - £4.60 per hour
Workers aged 16-17 - £3.40 per hour

From 1 October 2008 the NMW rates will increase as follows:
Workers aged 22 and over - £5.73 per hour
Workers aged 18-21 - £4.77 per hour
Workers aged 16-17 - £3.53 per hour

Labour is building on this and has recently announced that it intends to change the current NMW rules on tipping, to ensure that in future tips will be additional to the NWM. When we go to a restaurant or to have our hair cut in Streatham, Balham, Brixton, Clapham or Tulse Hill, and we leave a tip, we expect it to go to the staff member in addition to their pay, not to be processed through the payroll to make up the NMW – dealing with this is a matter of fairness and common sense in my view which is why we are taking action to outlaw this practice.

For more information on the NMW, click here.