Les Bonner

The Labour party has been found by bthe Information Commissioner to have breached privacy rules by making unsolicited automated phone calls to almost half a million people without their consent.

The calls, which featured a recorded message from Coronation Street actress Liz Dawn, were made at about 495,000 people in areas with strong Labour support to encourage them to vote in the local and European elections last June.

Deputy Information Commissioner David Smith said calls of this type can cause “annoyance and disruption” to those receiving them.

He ordered Labour to ensure that no further automated direct marketing calls are made without consent, and warned that failure to comply would be a criminal offence which could lead to prosecution.

The Liberal Democrats will today seek to change the question to offer the choice of a more proportional system - the single transferable vote - instead of AV.They also want to bring forward the last date of the referendum to May next year, and close what they say is a loophole that would allow an incoming Conservative administration to abandon the vote without the need for fresh primary legislation.

Speaking on Sky News earlier today, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said that whilst the proposals are not a true proportional system this move “is a baby step in the right direction.”

However, Chris Huhne said that the alternative vote does not in his view “give people the real choice that I think voters want” namely, supporting the candidate rather than the party.

Chris Huhne ended by saying if the Liberal Democrats own amendments were not passed “we will support the government proposals.”

Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, David Howarth said: it is “unacceptable that Labour’s amendments would make it childishly easy for the next Government to kill a referendum without further legislation”.

David Howarth added:

“By acting purely out of naked self-interest, the Conservative Party has long been a roadblock to electoral reform.”

There was an interesting article published earlier today on Liberal Democrat Voice which readers might find of interest:

Look at a Lib Dem election campaign, whether it’s a sitting MP or target seat challenger, and you’ll invariably find a hard working local campaigner, a local champion, and leaflets full of local stories.

That’s not at all what you see in Conservative literature. Across many seats the Tories have all but given up promoting their local campaigning credentials, or selling their candidate as the best person to be the MP. True, you’ll always find a few token stories, but the vast majority of material hitting doormats promotes Cameron, and Cameron alone.

Most of their firepower pushes the message that we need a Conservative MP in the constituency to ensure Brown is kicked out. Your vote could be the one that propels Cameron into Number 10. David Cameron needs you! Yes, YOU!

Have the Tories accepted they can’t compete with the Lib Dems on the basis of how good the local MP or candidate is, how hard he or she works for local people and how strongly they campaign?

You can read the rest of this post at url http://ldv.org.uk/17877

Liberal Democrat MP for Rochdale, Paul Rowen is supporting this year’s Fuel Poverty Awareness Day which takes place on 12 February; it is a national campaign that aims to highlight the effects of living in a cold home on people’s health.

The country is still in the grip of the most severe winter in over 30 years, and there is still more severe weather forecast. The campaign aims to draw attention to the health problems caused by living in a cold, damp home and urges vulnerable people to keep their heating on until winter ends and temperatures start to warm up.

Government statistics have shown that during the winter of 2008/9, there was a 49% rise in excess winter death across England. In Rochdale, 13.6% of households are living in fuel poverty and National Energy Action estimate that the average number of excess winter deaths in Rochdale over the last 5 years is 60.

Last winter temperatures remained as low as minus 6 degrees well into March, leading to concerns that people may have been risking their health by turning their heating off too early in order to save money on their fuel bills.

Speaking in support of the Fuel Poverty Awareness Day Paul Rowen  said:

“Living in a cold damp home can lead to extremely poor health, especially in those who are vulnerable such as older people, young children whose immune system has not yet fully developed and those with long terms sickness and disabilities.

“It is important that people in Rochdale know that there are schemes in place to help them, and to ensure they are keeping warm and healthy throughout the winter period and for as long as the cold weather lasts. Fuel Poverty Awareness day is about acknowledging the issues, helping people to understand the links between fuel poverty and poor health, and making them aware of the help that is available to ensue they are kept warm and well.

“The most important message is that there is help out there for vulnerable households. I urge everyone who is concerned about their fuel bill to contact their energy supplier or to call the Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99 to access help and advice on staying warm when it is cold without the fear of fuel debt and ill health.”

The National Housing Federation has warned that the number of new homes built in England and Wales in 2009/10 will be the lowest since 1923, (disregarding the war years) which has raised fears that a chronic shortage of housing will leave millions of people trapped in overcrowded and substandard housing for a generation to come.

The National Housing Federation has predicted that house builders will build an estimated 122,700 homes between April 2009 and March 2010, which is 18,000 less than were built in the previous financial year.

This  will be the second successive year that numbers have fallen significantly, after 2008/9 saw only 140,950 homes built, compared to 176,660 the year before.

The number of people on waiting lists has risen to 4.5 million people in England with unemployment and repossessions increasing the demand for affordable housing during the economic downturn, but the supply has not keptup with demand, and for millions of people the prospects of an affordable home are worse than ever.

The National Housing Federation has called on the three major political parties to go make an election pledge to ring-fence spending on housing, similar to their pledges to protect spending on health, education and policing.

The Federation says that unless spending on housing is ring-fenced, the consequences will be dire for millions of families stuck on housing waiting lists.

Over 2.3 million people are living in overcrowded housing in England, and that number is expected to increase considerably in the next five years because of the shortage of affordable homes. Overcrowding is one of the causes of poor health and family breakdown and can also have a damaging impact on children’s education.

NHF chief executive David Orr said:

“With record housing waiting lists and overcrowding reaching epidemic proportions in many places across the country, the need for more affordable housing has never been greater.

“The three main political parties must demonstrate their commitment to helping the millions of Britons in desperate need of an affordable home by pledging to safeguard investment in housing – and giving it the same priority as health, education and policing.”

Commenting on the report, Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister, Sarah Teather said:

“This is the legacy of decades of underinvestment and neglect by consecutive Tory and Labour Governments which today means people who have been hardest hit by the recession are struggling most to access affordable housing.

“The housing shortage is one of the biggest crises facing Britain today and tackling it must be a priority of any future government. That is why Liberal Democrats would bring hundreds of thousands of empty homes back into use, as well as empower local councils to borrow against their assets and finance necessary investment in housing in their area.”

“He has tried to hoodwink the Cabinet, Parliament and the British people in his cover-up,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, Ed Davey.

Commenting on today’s appearance by Jack Straw at the Iraq Inquiry, Edward Davey said:

“Jack Straw has failed yet again to explain or apologise for his actions as Foreign Secretary in the run-up to the Iraq War.

“He showed no contrition for misleading Parliament over the nature of the legal advice. Nor did he show any regret for conspiring to prevent the Cabinet from seeing that advice, in contravention of the Ministerial Code.

“He has tried to hoodwink the Cabinet, Parliament and the British people in his cover-up.

“How can any judge or lawyer, let alone the British people, have confidence in the minister in charge of our legal system when he has apparently shown such reckless disregard for such sensitive matters?

“It is time for Jack Straw to consider his position as Secretary of State for Justice. He has breached the Ministerial Code and his case must now be considered by the Cabinet Secretary.”

“The Liberal Democrats will change the way the NHS works so that money goes further and patients come first,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb.

Commenting on Number 10’s refusal to answer questions about the £63billion PFI bill facing the NHS, Norman Lamb, said:

“Labour’s scandalous mismanagement of the NHS has left many hospitals facing PFI bills they simply cannot afford.
 
“Gordon Brown’s speech contains even more spending commitments but he has yet to explain how on earth he intends to pay for the damage he’s already done to the future of the NHS.
 
“Despite the enormous amounts of money we owe for these hospitals, many of them will never end up in public ownership. Hospitals all over the country are mortgaged to the hilt and there are serious concerns that these repayments will lead to cuts in vital services.
 
“We need a new approach to public services in this country. By setting up an infrastructure bank the Liberal Democrats will ensure that key projects get access to the funding they need to revitalise our economy.
 
“The Liberal Democrats will change the way the NHS works so that money goes further and patients come first.”

“The Liberal Democrats will change the way the NHS works so that money goes further and patients come first,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb.

Commenting on Number 10’s refusal to answer questions about the £63bn PFI bill facing the NHS, Norman Lamb, said:

“Labour’s scandalous mismanagement of the NHS has left many hospitals facing PFI bills they simply cannot afford.
 
“Gordon Brown’s speech contains even more spending commitments but he has yet to explain how on earth he intends to pay for the damage he’s already done to the future of the NHS.
 
“Despite the enormous amounts of money we owe for these hospitals, many of them will never end up in public ownership. Hospitals all over the country are mortgaged to the hilt and there are serious concerns that these repayments will lead to cuts in vital services.
 
“We need a new approach to public services in this country. By setting up an infrastructure bank the Liberal Democrats will ensure that key projects get access to the funding they need to revitalise our economy.
 
“The Liberal Democrats will change the way the NHS works so that money goes further and patients come first.”

“Liam Fox’s brand of neo-con, anti-European thinking puts ideology above the national interest,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey.

Commenting on Liam Fox’s call for the UK to fight alone, without allies, Nick Harvey said:

“These are desperately undiplomatic comments on the eve of a major allied operation in Afghanistan.

“Liam Fox’s brand of neo-con, anti-European thinking puts ideology above the national interest.

“His views on defence look hopelessly unrealistic when he refuses to say where the money will come from. Just like Labour, the Tories’ refusal to consider the renewal of Trident in a future defence review makes a mockery of the whole process.”

“We need to restore immediate control of our borders,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne.

 Commenting on today’s announcement by Alan Johnson on the student visa system, Chris Huhne said:

“The biggest hole in the student visa system is caused by the Tory and Labour abolition of exit checks, which means we do not know if someone has left once their visa runs out.

“We need to restore immediate control of our borders.”