Category Archives: They work for us

MPs’ 11% pay rise – all in it together? NHS worker Jonathan Hepworth suggests better uses for £4.6m

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Jonathan Hepworth contacted UCV Plain Speaker with strong criticisms of the MP’s 11% pay rise, to come into effect after the 2015 General Election.

This is what Jonathan thinks:

I am writing to express my disgust at the announcement that MPs are to get a pay rise of 11%.  I work in commissioning specialist mental health services and I can tell you that in all sectors, NHS, independent and voluntary, all have made significant cuts and efficiencies. Health managers, clinicians and support staff are all acutely aware of the need to optimise limited and reducing resources, whilst tasked at the same time to improve on quality and to manage the increasing levels of regulation.
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Why did Craig Whittaker MP dodge today’s vote on repeal of Bedroom Tax?

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Dr Eoin Clarke has tweeted a list of MPs who voted against the Labour motion to repeal the Bedroom Tax today. Although our MP Craig Whittaker voted in favour of the Bedroom Tax when it was first introduced, this time he’s not on the list.

Is the list wrong? Or did Mr Whittaker do a runner like Ian Duncan Smith, the minister responsible for the Bedroom Tax? Despite being an avowed Euro-sceptic, IDS took himself off to a meeting in Paris, avoiding the debate and the vote.

Where was Mr Whittaker? I tweeted him to find out. Update 14th Nov: Mr Whittaker has not replied – but another, full list of how all MPs voted (or didn’t vote) has come to light, with our MP among those who didn’t vote.
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Craig Whittaker MP: no human rights-abusing regimes attended arms fair

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Craig Whittaker MP denies that the UK government invited human rights-abusing regimes to London to shop for weapons at the Defence & Security Equipment International arms fair, held in September.

This is despite the fact that nine invited delegations are on the Foreign Office list of countries with the most serious wide-ranging human rights concerns  – Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. 14 others are recognised as authoritarian regimes, such as Bahrain.
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Craig Whittaker MP: “no one has to struggle to meet their basic needs”

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Craig Whittaker MP writes that,

“The welfare system supports millions of people who are on low incomes or unemployed so no-one has to struggle to meet their basic needs.”

So why is Jobcentre Plus referring claimants to food banks? Which our MP is “pleased” about.
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Public pays £705 for #Calder Valley MP’s energy bills

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A Sunday Mirror report has found that Craig Whittaker MP has claimed £705 of gas and electricity costs, to be paid for by the public.

According to the 2008 Calderdale Private Sector Stock Condition Survey, 24% of his constituents are living in fuel poverty. This means they are at risk of a variety of health problems and even death.
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Bookings for #Hebden Bridge #Picturehouse must conform to #HebdenRoyd Town Council’s Vision Statement

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I totally don’t understand the new Hebden Royd Town Council booking policy for the Hebden Bridge Picturehouse. What do you think?

The policy makes the Town Clerk responsible for deciding whether a booking conforms to Hebden Royd Town Council’s Vision Statement, as well as meeting five other conditions necessary to accept the booking.

If the Town Clerk can’t or won’t make this decision, they are to refer it to the Town Council’s Picture House Committee.
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Council Leader would oppose any fracking in Calderdale

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A Calderdale Green Party survey of Calderdale Councillors’ and MPs’ views on fracking has found that  some Labour and Liberal Democrat Calderdale Councillors are prepared to oppose fracking at both the national and local levels.
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Former DECC secretary Chris Huhne goes from jail to bioenergy company

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In a new spin on the revolving door, former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne has left jail and collected a job worth £100,000 a year with Zilkha Biomass Energy. Zilhka is a US company that ships wood pellets from America to Northern Europe.

Chris Huhne’s new job doesn’t cut much mustard with critics of the bioenergy industry.

Oliver Munnion, Campaigner for Biofuelwatch, said:

“Chris Huhne is being rewarded for his ardent support for the biomass industry during his time as Energy and Climate Change Secretary. He oversaw vast subsidies and other support mechanisms being put in place for bioenergy which have resulted in a rush for biomass that could see the UK’s demand for wood rise to 90 million tonnes a year – nine times the UK’s annual production.
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The Agricultural Wages Board has gone, but a Hebden Royd Councillor fights on for fair farm wages

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Hebden Royd Councillor Jonathan Timbers reports on why the Council wants fair farm wages and a proper career structure for farm workers. 

In a post on the Incredible Edible Mytholm blog, there is a photo of Cllr Tony Hodgins and me, looking deadly earnest. It was taken when we were listening to a talk about the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB), which at the time the Tory-Lib Dem coalition were proposing in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill.

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