Richard Ryan, Author at Fareham Labour Party

Labour condemns delay to M27 Junction 9 improvements

Fareham Labour Party is bitterly disappointed to learn that the planned improvements to increase capacity at Junction 9 of the M27 have been put ‘On Hold’. Previously announced as starting this spring, the works were later shown as planned to be due to begin in Autumn 2015.

The Highways Agency and Hampshire County Council document said that the junction has been operating beyond capacity at peak periods for a number of years. Workers at the Whiteley estate regularly endure the misery of lengthy delays due to gridlock on the estate as shoppers and commuters struggle to escape onto the neighbouring road network.

Apparently the delay until April 2017 – or perhaps even longer – is due to funding approval. Fareham Labour Party spokesperson Richard Ryan said “local residents will be angry and disappointed by this apparent about turn by Highways England. The recurring gridlock at Whiteley is bad for residents, bad for business and bad for Fareham and it is time that something was done to address it properly”.

“We are sure that residents will want to know from our local MP Suella Fernandes why promises to make improvements along the M27 appear to have evaporated so quickly and what representations will she be making to Highways England to seek to get these planned works reinstated.”

Emergency Services in an Emergency

Fareham Labour Party is to fight cuts in public expenditure brought on by the Conservative Government and Hampshire County Council. Recent announcements look set to decimate the Police and Fire & Rescue Services.

Hampshire police face reductions of up to 1,200 officers and staff jobs over the next five years. The cash reduction could be £40m to £65m on top of the £80m cut implemented from 2010. Tory Treasurery ministers have told the Home Office if faces a 25 to 40 per cent cut reduction in funding. With cuts on this scale policing will drop dramatically leading to fears of an increase in crime.

The Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service is no better off as plans to cope with a £12.2m shortfall are implemented. The service plans to lose more than 200 fire fighters which is bound to the stretch the service even more then now. Numbers of firefighters and vehicles will be reduced in all areas. Locally reductions will mean:

In Fareham – reducing from two fire engines, seven full-time firefighters and 12 on-call fire fighters to one ‘enhanced’ vehicle and one first response vehicle.seven full-time and 13 firefighters on call .
In Portchester – reducing from one fire engine and 12 firefighters on call to one first response vehicle and eight firefighters.

Spokesperson Richard Ryan said “These reduction in services will make people’s lives more dangerous by slower response times both with the police and fire service. Labour is committed to fight these cuts and will do all we can to help maintain these vital frontline services.”

Labour Condemns Latest Hallam Plan

Fareham Labour Party has condemned the latest reported development plan by Hallam for housing on the greenfield site south of Longfield Avenue. The ‘revised’ plan reduces the number of homes on the site from 1,550 to 1,100.

Labour’s spokesperson Richard Ryan said “All this plan does is slightly reduce the number of houses on the site. The plan is still to build on the green strategic gap between Fareham and Stubbington. If and when this plan is put to Fareham’s Planning Committee it should and must be thrown straight out.

Fareham Labour is on record as being opposed to any developments on the strategic gaps in the borough including the one between Fareham and Stubbington. One of the main reasons for Welborne is to protect our few remaining green field sites such as this site. If this proposal were to be approved it would cast doubt on the very reason for Welborne.”

Labour object to proposed plan at Cranleigh Road Portchester

Portchester Branch of Fareham Labour Party has objected to the proposed building of 135 houses on land north of Cranleigh Road Portchester.

In a formal objection Labour said:

The proposed housing is to be built on the existing green strategic gap between Portchester and Fareham. This is contrary to the longstanding policy of Fareham Borough Council and Hampshire County Council which have both declared the strategic gap between the two towns should be preserved. The proposed building would increase the density of residential properties within the already built-up area and would not be in keeping with the street scene.

The proposed development would lead to an unacceptable increase in traffic movement along Cornaway Lane and the residential road of Cranleigh Road. The extra traffic would cause congestion on the Seagull roundabout and cause more congestion on the A27 which already has heavily traffic at peak travel times.

This planning application flies in the face of the publicly stated policy of Fareham Borough Council that says the new development at Welborne should cater for any major greenfield site development within the Borough. Fareham Borough Council produced a list of ‘risks’ to the Borough’s green fields if Welborne did not receive approval. One of the sites in the paper was for the area covered by this application

It is Labour’s opinion that if this development goes ahead then the whole reason for Welborne would be brought into question.

Hospitals fear skills gap

The NHS has lost more than 1,000 matrons and 3,400 other senior nursing staff over the last four years. This has led to warnings that hospitals are lacking vital experience and knowledge.

Despite continued calls to put nursing leaders at the heart of the NHS care, figures obtained by the Labour Party reveal the numbers of senior staff has dropped since 2010. A combination of an ageing workforce and cuts to staffing are behind the serious fall in these figures. Nurses have also warned a pay freeze and increasing job stress is driving them out of the profession.

Fareham Labour Parliamentary Candidate Stuart Rose said “We are committed to achieving 8,000 more doctors, 20,000 more nurses, 5000 more home-care workers and 3,000 more midwives by 2020 if elected in next May’s general election. We’ll fund this by clamping down avoidance and by raising tax on tobacco companies and properties worth more than £2 million.”

Sale of Gillies Car Park

Fareham Borough Council has sold The Gillies public car park to Aldi supermarket in West Street, Fareham.

We have no objection to this sale as it seems to be a very sensible way of helping the expanding demand for car parking at the supermarket. At present the car park is little used and therefore the agreement not only helps the supermarket but also gives the council some much needed extra money.

As this sale has now been agreed we’re sure the residents of Fareham would wish to know how much the council received from Aldi for this fairly large piece of land in the centre of town. We believe the Council has a duty to show the sale is good value for money to the local taxpayer.

Labour has written to Fareham Borough Council asking for the amount of money the council received from this sale to be disclosed.

More cuts to Hampshire’s bus services

Hampshire residents face a further deterioration in bus services following the decision of a recent meeting of Tory controlled Hampshire County Council to impose further cuts to vital bus services across the county. This announcement comes shortly after official statistics confirmed that the county already has some of the highest reliance on the motor car in the whole of the UK. These unwelcome cuts will see most people in Hampshire having to put up with a lower standard of service and ever increasing bus fares.

Fareham Labour is concerned that the council cuts to already sparse bus services have left many residents ‘stranded’ in their homes unable to travel for many periods throughout the week. The cut which will have the greatest effect is the removal of free bus travel between 9.00 and 9.30 am for older residents, who will find it increasingly difficult getting to their GP or hospital appointments whilst many elderly residents on basic pension will be unable to afford the high cost of bus travel

Fareham Labour spokesperson Stuart Rose said “We must ensure that the this vital lifeline for residents is preserved and Hampshire County Council protect these essential bus services against further cuts which could only lead to increased social isolation in our community.”

Concern Over Private Mental Hospital CQC Report

Fareham Labour Party has raised concerns about the Care Quality Commission (CQC) report on Uplands Independent Hospital.

The CQC is calling for more action to be taken to make sure the care home, which looks after mental health patients, is brought up to acceptable standards.

Labour members were horrified to read that the private hospital had failed patients in so many areas of assessment.

We say that improvements must take place immediately to ensure that very vulnerable patients are well looked after and not placed in any danger. We look forward to the next CQC inspection which hopefully will give a green light to the hospital. If the management failings addressed by the CQC are not fully addressed then we believe the very existence of the hospital should be brought into question. Quite simply, the patients deserve better.

Labour calls for Lib Dem Leader Cllr Whittle to resign

Fareham Labour Party has called on Leader of the Lib Dem Group Cllr Paul Whittle to resign from the council after it emerged that he had taken a job in Saudi Arabia.

Labour Spokesperson Richard Ryan said “The idea that Cllr Paul Whittle can be working in Saudi Arabia and remain a Councillor for Fareham East let alone Leader of the Lib Dem Group is frankly absurd. Having a full time job locally and being on the council is difficult enough but to be thousands of miles away is just impossible. Residents rightly want and need councillors who are available at short notice to take up their issues. They do not want to have to wait maybe weeks or even months to be able to speak to their representative face to face. It’s all very well Cllr Whittle saying he is always on the phone or email but that doesn’t help when residents want to show Cllr Whittle problems such as pot holes or grounds maintenance issues.”

We suspect that privately the Lib Dem group is also far from happy. How on earth can you have a leader of a political group who will be unable to respond to local issues instantly. Is Cllr Whittle really going to come over from the middle east for group meetings?

Frankly the only honourable thing Cllr Whittle can do is to resign immediately and let the residents of Fareham East have another councillor who will at least be living and working in the country.

20 Years On

Twenty years ago this summer Tony Blair became leader of the Labour Party and New Labour was born. Three years later Labour was elected and stayed in power for 13 years winning three consecutive elections. On this anniversary it’s a good time to reflect on the achievements of the last Labour Government.

‘New’ Labour introduced a wide range of measures to make our country a better place in which to live. Creating a fairer society ‘for the many not just the few.’ Labour introduced a minimum wage and family tax credits to help the working poor. Sustained growth made possible substantial increases in spending on health and education as well as other public services. In the NHS there were 44,000 more doctors, 89,000 more nurses as well as 100 new hospitals. Waiting times were cut from 18 months to a maximum of 18 weeks. The Sure Start programme was introduced for under-threes with 3,380 children’s centres set up. In education 4,200 more teachers were employed with nearly 4,000 schools built, rebuilt or refurbished. Education standards rose: 80 per cent of 11-year olds reached the expected standard in English and 79 per cent in maths compared with 63 per cent and 62 per cent respectively before Labour came to power in 1997. Free nursery places were provided for all three and four year olds while more young people attended university than ever before.

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown presided over the fastest and longest economic advance for three hundred years. This only ending with the world’s financial crash brought about by the banking collapse in the USA. We should not forget that Gordon Brown saved the country from a banking collapse and led the international fight against global recession. It’s also worth noting that today under the Tory led government debt is higher than when Labour left office in 2010.

Labour has a proud record in government and we look forward to making our case for government in 2015.