To mark President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office tomorrow, we have posted a video below recorded on the day of his inaurguration at Lambeth College.  Here students explain what Obama’s presidency means to them, having heard Chuka, the Guardian’s Polly Toynbee and others address them.

Last week’s Budget prioritised supporting employment, families and the housing market and the government’s commitment to tackle climate change. Its emphasis was on helping people through these difficult times and taking steps to build for our future, growing our way out of recession rather than cutting our way out.

One of the most important elements of the Chancellor’s speech was the promise that our young people will not be disregarded given the risks of long-term unemployment. While in the Thatcherite 1980s a generation became trapped out of work, this week’s Budget guaranteed that everyone under the age of 25 who has been out of work for 12 months will be offered a job or a place in training. Families will also be given extra help, with a significant increase in tax credits per child. Across Streatham, this will benefit 13,740 families and 23,900 under-16s. Opportunities for tax-free savings through ISAs will be extended as the annual investment limit rises to £10,200 next year.

Budget 2009 will also reassure homeowners and buyers. To meet demand for housing and make affordable homes available for those taking their first step up on the housing ladder, the chancellor pledged a £600m funding package for the building of new homes. Additionally, this will help create jobs and boost the construction industry. The Stamp Duty holiday for homes worth under £175,000 has been extended until the end of the year to help new buyers.

This was the world’s first Carbon Budget, as required by the Climate Change Act. Accordingly, we saw large invesment in renewable energy, with a programme of £5bn funding for wind and solar energy. Low-carbon industries will benefit from £1.4bn of support, while £375m was allocated to increase energy and resource efficiency in businesses, public buildings and households over the next two years. These measures will lay the foundations of Britain’s low-carbon economy, enabling us to meet our ambitious carbon emissions targets.

The focus of the Budget reflects the need to help people and build for the future right now, rather than cutting back when people need support most.

Gabriel Huntley

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Streatham, has welcomed the government’s priorities in this week’s Budget.

In the 1980s, a generation of young people suffered the risk of long-term unemployment – we must ensure that this doesn’t happen again. That’s why the government has guaranteed that everyone under the age of 25 who has been out of work for 12 months will be offered a job or a place in training in this budget. Over 2,000 young people have already benefitted from similar measures in the Streatham constituency since 1997.

There was a boost for families too, with an increase in the value of tax credits per child. Across Streatham, this will benefit 13,740 families and 23,900 under-16s. Opportunities for tax-free savings through ISAs will be extended as the annual investment limit rises to £10,200 next year.

Budget 2009 also focussed on the needs of homeowners and buyers. In order to meet demand for housing and to make affordable homes available for those taking their first step up on the housing ladder, the chancellor has pledged a £600m funding package for the building of new homes. This will also help create jobs and boost the construction industry.

The Stamp Duty holiday for homes worth under £175,000 has been extended until the end of the year to help new buyers. At present there are over 80 properties on the market under £175,000 in the Streatham area.

This week’s Budget was the world’s first Carbon Budget, as required by the Climate Change Act. £1.4bn of targetted support was pledged for Britain’s low-carbon industries, alongside a £5bn investment programme in renewable energy, particularly wind turbines and solar power.

Commenting on how the budget will help local people, Mr Umunna said:

“This week’s Budget reflects the need to help people and build for the future right now, rather than cutting back when people need support most.

“We know that if we don’t act now, it will cost us all more in the long run, which is why, for example, we have increased tax credits for over 13,000 families in this area and for over 4000 pensioners.

“The extension of the stamp duty holiday on properties under £175,000 may not mean much to the super rich, but to first time buyers on normal incomes eying up the 80 odd properties on the market at that price here, this will be massively helpful.

“We will also be introducing a new 50% top rate of tax next year for the top 1% of earners to help pay for additional support for others – it is right that those who can afford it, pay their fair share to help those who cannot.

“We have the confidence to invest in the recovery which is surely better than talking Streatham down.”

Tessa Jowell, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, and Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Streatham, promote free discount vouchers for home security products as part of a government package of support to help the public prevent burglary and keep crime down.

On 17 April 2007, Tessa Jowell, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, and Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Streatham, visited B&Q West Norwood to promote free government advice packs for people concerned about becoming victims of burglary.

The pack provides simple and practical advice on what local people can do to prevent burglary and includes discount vouchers for home security products from B&Q and Focus.

The initiative is part of a £20 million package of practical measures to keep crime down. Other measures include:

• Intensified police operations around the country to turn the tables on repeat burglars, with burglary a top priority for the police nationally. This will be backed by £3 million funding in targeted areas, to step up the monitoring and management of burglars on release from prison.
• A new £6 million Safer Homes fund to pay for local handy-people to visit up to 45,000 homes of people who are less likely to have good home security, such as older people and people on low incomes, and install security devices such as window locks making those houses more secure.
• New advice from insurers on what home security measures householders can install to get the best deal from the insurance market.

Local residents can obtain the free advice pack by calling 0800 456 1213. The pack includes the following:

• advice leaflets on preventing burglary and distraction burglary;
• a printed version of the online personalised home security self-assessment from the Home Office website;
• a ‘before you leave the house’ security checklist to put by the front door;
• a guide to Neighbourhood Watch and the benefits of setting up a scheme;
• advice for tenants on home security – their responsibilities and the landlord’s responsibilities;
• a copy of the Policing Pledge; and
• discount vouchers for home security devices at B&Q stores.

Commenting on their visit, Umunna and Jowell said:

“Burglary has more than halved in the last decade and it important we keep it that way.

“The public are our best weapon in fighting crime and, working together, we can stop those criminals who think they can take advantage in these tough economic times.”

Bret Phipps, General Manager of the West Norwood branch of B&Q said:

“B&Q is committed to making people feel safer in their own homes. We offer sensible precautions that needn’t be expensive – bolts, padlocks and timer switches are available from £2.

“We are delighted to support the govenment’s new resource pack. This pack will provide money off vouchers for B&Q’s 1000 home security products, enabling people to feel safer in their homes, ensuing greater piece of mind.”

Anyone who is concerned about burglary can also contact their local neighbourhood police team for information on crime prevention by visiting www.direct.gov.uk/policingpledge and using the postcode search facility to find their contact details.

Jowell and Umunna were accompanied by the Deputy Leader of Lambeth Council, Cllr Jackie Meldrum.

Chuka recently spoke to Tessa Jowell MP, Minister for the Olympics and Member of Parliament for the neighbouring constituency of Dulwich and West Norwood, on how the 2012 Olympics will benefit people in Streatham, Clapham, Balham, Tulse Hill and Brixton.  You can watch the video below:

( Due to a minor fault there is a slight time delay between the sound and the visual on this video)

Chuka’s letter on the Third Runway at Heathrow published today in the Streatham Guardian is reproduced below.

Readers will note the legal challenge launched against the decision to approve the third runway at Heathrow by the 2M Group of London local authorities including Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark and Wandsworth Councils.

The Labour government has a good record on the environment. Our CO2 emissions fell by 10.8 million tonnes last year and our greenhouse gas emissions were 66 million tonnes lower than in 1997.

Last October we made sure Britain leads the world in ambition on targets to reduce carbon emissions by introducing the Climate Change Bill. The Bill will make us the first country in the world to put carbon reduction targets into law, with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to 80 per cent less than 1990 levels.

Given these targets, I share the view of many Labour colleagues that a third runway would quickly be made redundant by our own policies – I cannot not see the logic in going through with the project given the targets we are introducing (the Mayor of London’s proposal of an airport in the Thames estuary is, likewise, equally unappealing). For this and a number of other reasons, I wholeheartedly support this cross party initiative by the 2M Group.

Chuka Umunna
Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham

Chuka is now on Twitter!

You can follow his tweets at @ChukaUmunna.

Last week the government announced a package of cash incentives to promote low-carbon road transport and make green vehicles more affordable.

Up to £5,000 of assistance will be available for motorists who buy electric or hybrid vehicles. This is part of a £250m plan to promote low carbon transport, including investment in the infrastructure needed to support electric vehicles such as local charging points. The announcement reflects the improvements we have seen in electric and hybrid car technology, with a new generation of vehicles coming onto the market soon with lower charging times and able to travel longer distances than their predecessors. The government has already committed over £150m to support the research and development of low-carbon vehicles.

Around 35% of our carbon emissions come from domestic transport, and over half of this amount is caused by motor cars. Reducing the environmental impact of roads is therefore crucial in tackling climate change and for the UK to meet its target of reducing emissions by 26% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. Chuka welcomed the announcement:
“It is important to back up our bold commitments on climate change with action. Offering motorists financial assistance will give low-carbon transport a kick start and help us create a more sustainable society.”

Gabriel Huntley

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Streatham, welcomes the use of automatically operated trains on Thameslink but continues opposition to the proposal to sever Streatham and other Wimbledon Loop stations from the rest of the Thameslink line.

Thameslink, the cross-London rail route which serves Streatham and Tulse Hill is to receive an upgrade allowing the use of automatically-operated trains as part of its £5.5bn investment programme. This innovation will be a first for the UK rail network, with the new trains being driven under computer control, the first time such technology has been implemented on a commuter mainline anywhere in the world.

Automatic train control increases the consistency of train timings by reducing the time needed for acceleration and braking at stations. The new system, which will initially be implemented on the line’s busiest central section, will mean Thameslink can run 30 trains an hour from 2015, as close as two minutes apart. Similar technology has already improved frequencies on the Docklands Light Railway and some London Underground lines, but has not yet been used on the overground network. The trains will still have drivers, and will retain manual controls for emergencies.

This announcement follows the proposal by Network Rail that all trains on the Thameslink line serving Streatham and Tulse Hill will terminate at Blackfriars from 2015. Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, who has campaigned against the proposal, stressed the need to ensure that improvements are shared equally across the network:

“I welcome the possibility for increased train frequency on the Thameslink route. However, in order to bring benefits to rail users, this must be matched by a commitment to maintain the services currently available from Streatham and Tulse Hill Stations.”

Mr Umunna has written to Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon against the proposal to terminate trains at Blackfriars, outlining the importance of the line’s links to the City, King’s Cross and Luton Airport for passengers locally. The letter also takes issue with Network Rail’s failure to properly consult rail users on the changes. As part of the campaign, hundreds of passengers signed a petition opposing the changes and many joined the Save Our South West London Thameslink Services” Facebook Group established by Umunna.

Chuka has spoken in opposition to a 3rd runway at Heathrow as a supporter of the anti-expansion 2M group.

In a letter to the Streatham Guardian, Chuka argued that Labour’s commitment to the environment is not compatible with the proposed expansion of Heathrow airport:

“A third runway would quickly be made redundant by our own policies – I cannot not see the logic in going through with the project”.

The 2M Group is an alliance of local authorities concerned at the environmental impact of Heathrow expansion on their communities. Its membership comprises over 20 London Boroughs including Streatham’s local authotiy, Lambeth.

2M took its name from the 2 million residents of the areas originally represented by the campaign, but it now represents a combined population of 5 million people. It is not anti-Heathrow, but argues that the Government and the aviation industry overstate the economic benefits of aviation and fail to measure the full environmental costs.

You can find out more about the campaign and what it’s doing here.