Chuka Umunna, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Streatham, has signed up to The Royal British Legion’s manifesto, having recently met with representatives from the organisation.

The manifesto sets out priorities for the next government to improve conditions for members of the British Armed Forces past and present. It encourages MPs and parliamentary candidates to support service personnel and their families, the bereaved, veterans and dependants.

It includes measures to improve standards of single and family accomodation, tackle poverty among veterans and provide legal advice and counselling to bereaved Armed Forces families.

Mr Umunna will be attending a memorial service and laying a wreath with veterans and community groups at the Streatham War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday (November 8th).

The Royal British Legion, which was founded in the wake of World War One, is best known for its annual Poppy Appeal which raises money for veterans.

Commenting on The Royal British Legion’s manifesto, Mr Umunna said:

“Our armed forces deserve the best support possible. The Royal British Legion plays an important role in highlighting the needs of our armed forces and their families.”

“I am wholeheartedly behind their manifesto for helping the servicemen and women of both today and yesterday. I urge everyone to support the Poppy Appeal and find out more about the manifesto online at www.timetodoourbit.org.uk”

Mayor Boris Johnson recently announced a range of fare hikes for next year.

Pay as you go Oyster bus fares are rising by 20p to £1.20 and the cost of a weekly bus pass will be £16.60, £2.80 higher than the current price. On average, bus fares are going up by 12.7% and tube fares will increase by 3.9%.

Chuka is joining former Mayor Ken Livingstone in urging people to protest against the rises by emailing Boris Johnson at mayor {at} london.gov(.)uk.

Chuka said: “It is completely unacceptable for Boris to levy increases of up to 20% in the middle of a recession.

“Boris’ excuses are red herrings – these increases could have been avoided by abandoning his plans to subsidise well off polluters at the expense of the rest of us.

Last year Johnson decided to scrap the £25 congestion charge for London’s most polluting vehicles and Chuka is calling him to reverse this decision rather than hitting hard working people with fare hikes.

A coalition of community groups led by the Scout Association has succeeded in campaigning against new water company charges which would have seen their running costs soar.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn recently announced that the government will prevent water suppliers from putting in place the new rules, under which community organisations and churches would have been charged on the same basis as commercial premises.

Chuka strongly backed the campaign against the ‘Rain Tax’. At the Labour Party conference last month he attended attended a youth forum event organised by the Scouts Association to discuss their concerns and applaud the huge contribution scouts make to local communities. More than 5,000 youngsters belong to scout groups in South London.

Earlier this month Chuka attended the premiere screening of the film Minority Report, which focuses on challenging stereotypes associated with young black men.

The event was held in London’s City Hall, and after the screening a panel including Chuka discussed the film. Chuka features in the film, alongside actor David Harewood, broadcaster Henry Bonsu and musicians the Mitchell Brothers.

Minority Report has been produced by the Generation Next Foundation to coincide with Black History Month. It looks at the representation of black men in the media and ways of addressing negative stereotypes.

The foundation, of which Chuka is a trustee, empowers young people by providing opportunities to develop skills in fashion, journalism and film production. It was set up by Streatham brothers Hamdi and Ludvig Bonin to increase opportunities for personal development outside school and college.

To watch the film, follow this link.

This week, I launched a campaign with local people to get Tesco to guarantee Streatham Ice Rink stays open whilst the Streatham Hub scheme is developed in the south of this parliamentary constituency. You can read about the scheme here: the Streatham Hub.

At a meeting held earlier this month to update local residents on the scheme, I was concerned when Tesco representatives refused to guarantee that our ice skating provision would continue without interruption.

Tesco owns the ice rink site and under deveopment proposals agreed with Lambeth Council two years ago the company promised that the current ice rink would stay open while a new one was built.

However, the retail giant is citing the credit crunch as a reason for submitting revised proposals a few weeks ago. It is currently in talks with the Council, with an announcement due in December.

It is essential that Streatham does not lose access to ice – the ice rink hosts the Streatham Redskins ice hockey team and numerous school groups. It is also currently being used by skaters aiming to compete in next year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Tesco has the financial resources to stick to its original pledge and ensure that Streatham keeps skating while the Hub site is developed. You may have seen that earlier this year the retailer announced record breaking sales of more than £1bn a week and annual profits of more than £3bn, despite the impact of the global downturn.

To put pressure on Tesco to keep to its promises on the continuity of our ice provision, please sign the petition calling on them to keep Streatham Ice Rink open – the petition can be signed online here: Keep Streatham Skating! petition

A related ‘Keep Streatham Skating!’ Facebook group has also been set up which you can join too: Keep Streatham Skating! on Facebook

Tesco say they take into account the interests of local communities, in addition to their desire to return a huge profit, when making decisions. If they genuinely care for this community as they claim, they must ensure the continuity of our ice rink provision here in Streatham.

We need lots of local residents to sign the petition to send a clear message to Tesco – they need to know how strongly we, the prospective customers of the new Tesco supermarket they want to build as part of the Hub scheme, feel about this issue.

A campaign against new rules which would have dramatically increased the water bills of Scout halls, community buildings and churches has succeeded.

This week Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment, announced proposals which will ensure water companies offer fair drainage charges for community and voluntary groups.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Streatham strongly backed the Scout Association campaign for the change and took part in a youth forum to discuss their concerns at the recent Labour Party conference in Brighton.

Scout groups and other community organisations had been threatened with increased charges for drainage, which would have seen their bills multiply into thousands of pounds. This followed the announcement of new rules meaning that such buildings would be charged on the same basis as commercial premises. The government’s proposals to prevent this ‘Rain Tax’ will form part of the Floods and Water Bill.

As well as the Scout Association, the campaign against the ‘Rain Tax’ was backed by faith groups and sport organisations, who have also been calling for a change in the rules laid down by Ofwat, the government body which regulates the water industry.

In South London, over 5,000 young people belong to Scout groups and benefit from the range of activities they offer.

Commenting on the success of the Rain Tax campaign, Chuka Umunna said:

“The government has made the right decision by backing community and voluntary groups, ensuring that their drainage bills are reasonable and affordable from now on.”

“The increased charges would have been a disaster for Scout groups, which do so much important work for youngsters across South London. I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet and talk with Scouts recently and hear about the positive impact their involvement has on their lives.”

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Streatham, and local campaigners and have started a campaign to get Tesco to guarantee Streatham Ice Rink stays open whilst the Streatham Hub scheme is developed.

A new ice rink complex is to be built as part of the Streatham Hub scheme in the south of Streatham. Under proposals agreed with Lambeth Council in 2007, Tesco – which owns the Streatham Ice Rink site – promised that the existing ice rink would not close until the new complex is opened.

The retail giant has just submitted revised proposals for the Hub scheme citing the ‘credit crunch’ as the reason and is currently in talks with Lambeth council about its new proposals. An announcement on the result of the talks is due in early December 2009.

A public meeting was held recently to update local residents on the progress of the Hub scheme (8 October 2009). However, when asked at the meeting, Tesco refused to give a guarantee that Streatham’s ice skating provision would continue without interruption whilst the scheme is developed under the new plans.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, said:

“Our ice rink is one of the only permanent ice skating facilities in London and is a vital resource for the local community. As well as being home to Streatham Redskins who compete in the English National Ice Hockey League, it is also used by school groups and by skaters who hope to compete in next year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

“It is therefore vital that there is continuity of our ice skating provision in Streatham whilst the Streatham Hub scheme is developed.”

Campaigners argue that Tescos can afford to keep to its original pledge to keep the ice rink open whilst the scheme is developed, pointing to the retailer’s announcement this year of record breaking sales of more than £1bn a week and annual profits of more than £3bn despite the impact of the global downturn.

Campaigners are seeking to pressurise Tescos to keep to its promises on the continuity of ice provision by encouraging local people – prospective customers of the new Tesco store to be built as part of the scheme – to sign an online petition calling on Tesco to keep Streatham Ice Rink open. The petition can be signed online at http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/keep-streatham-skating.html. A related ‘Keep Streatham Skating!’ Facebook group has also been set up.

Campaigners are urging as many local people as possible to sign the petition and join the Facebook group by 22 November 2009, after which the petition will be sent to the Chief Executive of Tesco, Sir Terry Leahy.

Commenting further on the launch of the campaign, Umunna said:

“There is real depth of feeling about this issue locally- the community is urging Tesco not to renege on the promise it made.

“Tesco has the financial resources to ensure that Streatham keeps skating while the Hub site is developed and, no doubt, local people will reward it handsomely with their custom when Tesco’s new supermarket opens.

“We need as many people as possible to sign the petition to send a stong message to the retailer.”

Cllr John Kazantzis, who represents Streatham South ward, said:

“I have been involved in the various campaigns related to our ice rink from the start. My then 6 year old daughter was in the local paper holding a Save our Ice Rink banner outside Tesco – she is now 14 and the future of the rink is still not secure.”

The petition has also attracted support from skaters all over the country.

A petition signatory from Cheshire, Carl Wilson, wrote:

“When I’m in London I skate at Streatham. The area really needs the uninterrupted continuation of an ice rink. It’s not just about ice skating as a sport but about the community.”

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Streatham, condemns Mayor Boris Johnson’s fare hikes for Londoners in the middle of a recession.

Last week Conservative Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced that London’s bus fares would rise by an average of 12.7% from January 2010 while tube fares would rise by an average of 3.9%.

Single tube trips in zone one will increase by 20p to £1.80 and Oyster pay-as-you-go fares on buses will rise by 20p to £1.20. The cost of a seven-day bus pass would rise by £2.80 to £16.60.

Johnson has cited the recession and the policies of former Mayor Ken Livingstone as the reasons for the fare increases.

Commenting on the fare hikes, Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham said:

“It is completely unacceptable for Boris to levy increases of up to 20% in the middle of a recession.

“Boris’ excuses are red herrings – these increases could have been avoided by abandoning his plans to subsidise well off polluters at the expense of the rest of us.

“Boris should reverse his decision to scrap the £25 charge on mass polluting gas guzzlers, like Chelsea tractors, and he should retain the western extension of the congestion charge zone, instead of walloping hard working people in Streatham and the rest of London with these fare hikes.”

Umunna, Livingstone and others are urging local people to register their
anger at the rises by emailing the Mayor at mayor {at} london.gov(.)uk.

This week Minster for Transport – and MP for neighbouring Tooting – Sadiq Khan announced new powers for councils in London to prevent road works overrunning and causing disruption.

Councils will be allowed to co-ordinate street work to minimise delays, and stiffer fines will be introduced for companies failing to complete works on time. The new system will require companies to get a permit in advance and pay fines of up to £5,000 if the terms are broken.

Road works are necessary from time to time, but it is important that the inconvenience to businesses, residents and the travelling public are is minimised. The action the government is taking will ensure that road works cause as little congestion as possible.

Sadiq Khan said: “Everyone understands that road works can be necessary but the disruption being caused, and the constant inconvenience to the travelling public, is way beyond what is acceptable.

“I have spent a lot of time visiting sites around the country, and the impact on traffic is chaotic. Road works are stopping buses from running on time, harming local economies because of increased congestion and blocking routes to shops and commercial premises.”

Users of local hospitals including St George’s and King’s College Hospital are to benefit from free parking after the government said that it would abolish charges for inpatients and their visitors.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham has just announced that patients will be given a free parking permit for the duration of their stay in hospital to pass on to visiting friends and families, for whom parking costs can currently rack up.

It currently costs up to £2.50 per hour to park at King’s College Hospital during peak times an £2 per hour at St George’s Hospital.

The phasing out of the charges will take place over three years, and could save patients and their families up to £2 million a year. It will be funded by year-on-year savings in back office NHS costs.

King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill has benefited from government investment, with the brand new 750-room Golden Jubilee Wing, costing £60 million, being opened in 2003. St George’s Hospital in Tooting opened its award-winning new Atkinson Morley Wing in the same year after government capital investment of £50 million.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Streatham commented:

“The last thing patients in hospital and their loved ones should have to worry about is paying for a parking ticket.

“Friends and family should be able to visit patients in hospital without repeatedly paying parking fees to do so.”