On 2 April 2009, world leaders from the G20 countries – representing 85% of the world’s output – will meet in London. They will meet against the backdrop of the worst international banking crisis in generations.

The London Summit will take place against the backdrop of exceptionally challenging economic circumstances. But, just as after the Second World War visionary leaders laid the groundwork for 30 years of prosperity and growth, built on international economic cooperation, this crisis is also an opportunity.

The world’s leading economies can come together and lay the foundations not just for a sustainable economic recovery, but also for a genuinely new era of international economic partnership – a global deal, in which all countries have a part to play and all will see the benefits.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown says,
“at the G20 we will be discussing ideas to lead the world from recession to recovery, and I want people to feel not just that they have a stake in those discussions, but that they also have a say”.

So tell us below what you want to say to the G20 world leaders before the summit and we’ll make sure we pass on as many of your comments as possible.

This week, the NHS is celebrating the shortest waits since its records began – something that would have been unimaginable when Labour came to power 12 years ago. Now, for the first time, in every part of the country, nobody has to wait more than 18 weeks for treatment after being referred by their GP, unless they choose to wait longer or there is a good medical reason. Most people wait less than 8 weeks.  Below, Health Secretary Alan Johnson MP, explains the achievement.

I am proud to be a trustee of the Lambeth based, Generation Next Foundation, and was honoured to speak at its launch event earlier this month. The foundation exists to empower urban youth, address the lack of activities for young people outside school and, in so doing, undermine gang culture (I am pictured, left, with its founders, Streatham residents Hamdi and Ludvig Bonin).

Generation Next provides opportunities for young people in fashion design, operating its own fashion label, Belvedere Clothing. This means that those involved get a real insight into the industry alongside a financial resource to further their studies, with designers keeping a percentage of the profit made by their designs. The foundation also operates a film production programme, allowing young people to make documentaries on the subjects which matter to them most and at the same time creating a vehicle for positive change. The foundation’s interactive media website gives students the opportunity to upload their work and share ideas.

While providing young people with skills to pursue their ambitions, the foundation emphasises the importance of instilling responsibility, social consciousness and the idea that anything is possible – with hard work. Its other trustees include Martin Offiah MBE, Britain’s greatest ever Rugby League score tryer, Leo Inhenacho, singer with The Streets, and the noted actor and writer Rikki Beadle-Blair.

Too often our young people are belittled and demonised. Crucially, Generation Next’s approach is constructive, encouraging young people to take ownership of their destiny, make the most of their talents and ensuring that their voices are heard. This is why I believe it offers a powerful symbol of hope for the future.

Check out the Generation Next websites by clicking on the links below:
Generation Next
Spotliet

A new grassroots organisation has recently been launched in our borough to bring together the valuable work being done by tenants and residents’ associations (TRAs). The One Community Network, which has been set up by TRA members themselves, is designed to create partnerships between communities under one umbrella organisation, encouraging interaction between residents, housing providers and those who deliver services locally.

This forum will help associations share best practice and expertise, work together on events and support associations with fewer resources. It will also allow associations to speak with a more unified voice when representing residents on the issues that matter locally.

Tenants and residents’ associations already play a hugely important role, providing a crucial forum for getting involved in improving local services. The One Community Network will enhance this work through increased collaboration, delivering a brighter future for residents across the borough.

Below, Dave McEvoy, Chair of Weir Estate Residents Association and of the One Community network, explains the ideas behind the concept:

Gabriel Huntley

Dear Chris

I have read the profile of me in the latest edition of your “Streatham Brixton & Clapham News” leaflet, which has been distributed to over 40,000 homes in this area.

Aside from the usual jibes against opponents people have come to expect from politicians, I was alarmed to see references to two of my deceased relatives in the leaflet.

My father, whom I lost at the age of 13, is described as a “rich business man and politician” – the anniversary of his death falls next week. He ran a sole trader business and, in the couple of years leading to his death, stood for the governorship of his state in his native Nigeria on an anti-corruption, reformist ticket. I am still immensely proud of what he achieved.

My late grandfather, as you say, “was knighted for his work as a British High Court Judge”. Indeed, he earned a reputation for handing down particularly tough sentences to convicted rapists and also served this country as an intelligence officer during and after the Second World War. I am incredibly proud of him too.

Your references to my late father and grandfather are made in the context of seeking to demonstrate that I come from a “wealthy, privileged family background”. Whatever you seek to achieve by this, I do not think that seeking to involve an opponent’s family in this way is an appropriate campaigning tool.

I have not made reference to any member of your family in any of my material nor would I want to – it is not why I entered politics nor will it help improve the material circumstances of those we wish to serve in this community.

You have been in active politics for at least 20 more years than me but I have been around long enough to know that this kind of thing switches people off from the political process altogether, which is in no one’s interests – surely, whatever one’s political persuasion, we want as many people to engage as possible? People are tired of this politics of the past, which is why I am hoping to do things differently.

In the lead up to the forthcoming general election I would ask you to focus your energies on me, if you must, and not my family.

Yours sincerely,

Chuka

Chuka appeared on BBC 2’s Daily Politics programme on Friday with Tim Montgomerie, the editor of Conservative Party supporters website, ConservativeHome.  The programme was presented by Anita Anand.  You can watch the programme again by clicking here: Daily Politics.

Chuka also appeared on Dotun Adebayo’s BBC Radio London show yesterday with the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Hammersmith, Shaun Bailey, and the Liberal Democrat Candidate for Hackney South, Dave Raval.  To listen to the show again, click here: Dotun Adebayo.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Streatham, and Keith Hill, Labour MP for Streatham, hold the first ever “Streatham Youth Summit” in Parliament for local community groups and agencies working with young people.

The first ever “Streatham Youth Summit” organised by Keith Hill MP, Labour Member of Parliament for Streatham, and Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, took place on 13 March 2009.

The event, hosted by Mr Hill at the House of Commons, was attended by 10 different community groups, senior officers from Lambeth Council’s Youth Service and the Metropolitan Police, all of whom work with young people in the area.

The tragic murders of James Smartt Ford (aged 16) at Streatham ice rink and that of Billy Cox (16) in nearby Clapham in February 2007 sparked a national debate about the state of urban youth and marked the start of a national trend which saw 30 teenage murders in London last year.

Umunna and Hill organised the summit in order to give local groups working with young people the chance to air their concerns, to find out the difficulties they face in running their organisations and to get an overview of the state of youth provision in the constituency of Streatham, which is demographically one of the youngest parliamentary constituencies in the country.

Commenting on the event, Umunna, said:

“I grew up in this area during the 1980s when our school fields were being sold off by Margaret Thatcher and youth clubs were shutting down week on week for want of funding.
“This Labour government is ploughing millions into youth provision so that we can provide more things for our young people to do – Keith and I want to ensure that as much of that money works its way to our local youth groups as possible.”

Mr Hill said:

“I am so proud that we have so many grass roots organisations working with young people in this constituency to raise aspirations and get the very best out of our youth.
“Our young people are bright, dynamic and talented but their energies must be channeled which is why supporting our thriving voluntary sector is absolutely essential.”

The event was addressed by Mr Hill and Mr Umunna, in addition to Cllr Florence Nosegbe, Lambeth Deputy Cabinet Member for Youth, Glen Neil, Project Manager of the Palace Project in Streatham Hill, and Clive Winter, General Manager of the Streatham Youth and Community Trust.

Mr Neil said:

“For a relatively new, small organisation like the Palace, the event gave us an invaluable opportunity to share expertise and knowledge, and network with other groups in the area working with young people.
“For me the key to delivering for young people here is engagement, encouragement, empowerment and enablement, which requires both the groups concerned and the statutory organisations to communicate and work together.”

Mr Winter said:

“We have been working with young people in the locality since 1946.
“The event gave us a chance to set out the issues we face in keeping ourselves going to the politicians, Council officers and the police.
“The main issue for any organisation like ours is the need to secure long term core funding – this is a constant challenge”. 

Better communication between groups working with young people was cited as a necessity by those present. As a result, Mr Hill and Mr Umunna announced they would be setting up a new online “Streatham Youth Network” for those working with young people in the area, which all those in attendance signed up to.

The New Deal for Communities Programme is one of the most important area based initiatives ever launched in England by the Labour government.  It is designed to reduce the gaps between some of the poorest neighbourhoods and the rest of the Country.

In February 1999 the Clapham Park area was selected by a borough-wide strategic partnership to be Lambeth’s New Deal for Communities neighbourhood.  A successful bid led to the award of £56m over a ten-year period, starting in April 2000, which has since transformed the area.

Generation Radio sprang out of the Clapham Park Project and is now the local station for the Clapham Park area, providing shows 24 hours a day, every week of the year.  You can listen to the station online through its website here: www.generationradio.co.uk.

Below, Generation Radio presenter, Ian Henry, who hosts the Love Soul show every Monday at 7pm and also the Weekend Soul shows every Saturday and Sunday at 10am, explains what Generation Radio is all about.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Streatham, has obtained figures showing the numbers of young people going into higher education in Streatham has risen by 81.7% since 1997.

Up against the competition of emerging nations such as India and China, with their huge resources and aspirations, it is essential that the abilities of every person are realised and the skills of local people developed in response to our changing world.

50% of young people say they want to go to university and figures obtained by Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, show that greater numbers of local people are going into higher education than ever before.

The figures released this week by Higher Education Minister, David Lammy MP, show the numbers of young people from the Streatham parliamentary constituency going into UK higher education increased from 300 in 1997/08 to 545 in 2007/08 – a rise of 81.7%.1

Commenting on the figures, Umunna said:

“I was privileged enough to study law at three universities, both here and in France. The skills and knowledge I gained in the process opened up a world of opportunity and equipped me to go onto to become a solicitor.”

“I want as many people as possible in this area to have the chances I had to acquire the knowledge they need to reach for the sky and achieve their full potential.

“It is fantastic that so many who want to enter high education here are now doing so as a result of a decade of extra investment.”

Commenting on the government’s continued investment in Higher Education, Universities Secretary, John Denham MP, said:

” Universities nurture talented students, challenging them to think critically and preparing them for rewarding careers. They unlock the talent and potential of younger and older people alike.”

“Universities are integral to our national culture and a cohesive society. They create a broad community of learners willing to question conventional wisdom and foster progress, while also nurturing the shared values that bind us together.

Students wishing to start university in autumn 2009 had to complete their applications by 15 January and will hear whether they have been successful by the end of this month.

Sure Start exists to ensure that every child is given the best possible start in life. The programme has been crucial in increasing the availability of childcare, improving health and early development and supporting parents and their aspirations.

Sure Start Centres provide early learning provision, activities for young children and family heath services such as postnatal support and advice on nutrition alongside help for parents in finding training and employment. Whilst ten years ago there were no Sure Start Centres locally or nationally, now more than 2.3 million children under five and their families have access to services through nearly 3,000 Centres across England, and by March 2010 every family will have access to a Sure Start Children’s Centre.

In Lambeth there are 25 Sure Start Centres, including 9 across the Streatham constituency:

• Effra Children’s Centre
• Jubilee Children’s Centre
• Maytree Children’s Centre
• Streatham United Reformed Church Children’s Centre
• Streatham Wells Children’s Centre
• Sunnyhill Children’s Centre
• The Weir Link Children’s Centre
• Tree House Children’s Centre at Holmewood Nursery School
• Woodmansterne Children’s Centre

Opposition politicians in Westminster recently announced plans to slash £200m from the Sure Start budget, a cut of almost 20%.  In Lambeth, this would be the equivalent of closing 5 children’s centres, just at a time when families need affordable childcare more than ever. The first years of a child’s life are of crucial importance. The proposed cuts risk leaving families without the support they need and would damage a programme which has made a real difference for so many parents and children, which is why Labour will continue to support and fund our centres.

In the video below, you can watch Childrens Minister, Bev Hughes MP, and Children’s Secretary, Ed Balls MP’s visit to a Sure Start centre in Stockwell in May last year.

Gabriel Huntley