Craig Whittaker MP: no human rights-abusing regimes attended arms fair

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”

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

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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Council Leader would oppose any fracking in Calderdale

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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The Agricultural Wages Board has gone, but a Hebden Royd Councillor fights on for fair farm wages

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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“I can assure you there will be no privatisation of the NHS under this government…” Craig Whittaker MP

Craig Whittaker has refused to sign Early Day Motion 1188. EDM 1188 asks  for the annullment of the ‘new’ regulations (SI 2013/500) under Section 75 of the Health and Social Care Act – the ones that provide a stealth route to privatising the NHS. The advice of David Lock, a Queen’s Counsel employed by campaigning organisation 38 Degrees, is that the new regulations (the National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No. 2) Regulations 2013),

“are likely to have the effect of both permitting and promoting the transfer of NHS services to private sector.”

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Forget the Green Deal – demand an Energy Bill Revolution

The Energy Bill Revolution campaign is urging the government to use the money it gets from carbon taxes to make our homes super-energy efficient – driving down our energy bills forever. And also reducing household carbon emissions and the need for energy.

If you haven’t already signed the Energy Bill Revolution petition, you can do it here.
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Join the Stop Government Snooping petition hand-in to Craig Whittaker on Friday 29th

On Friday the 29th, Shirley, a local 38 Degrees member, has arranged to hand the  Stop Government Snooping petition in to our MP, Craig Whittaker.

Energy Royd, as an online community of content creators, contributors and readers, has a direct interest in protecting  internet privacy.

The petition hand-in is taking place at 1st Floor, Spring Villa at 16 Church Lane, Huddersfield, HD6 1AT. Everyone is invited to  join Shirley on Friday at 3.30pm, to get ready to meet Craig Whittaker at 3.45pm.  A strong turnout will show him that many people in Calderdale oppose the government’s plans to spy on who we email, text and call.

The Petition says:


Dear David Cameron,

Respect our privacy. Stop the internet and phone snooping plan.

  • Don’t spy on our e-mail, phone and internet use
  • Keep your election promise to “reverse the rise of the surveillance state”
  • This is Britain, not China or Iran. We don’t want the government spying on our every move

Why the petition?

The government has set out its new plans for the year ahead in the Queen’s Speech. They want new powers to invade our privacy. 
They plan to collect and keep information on all of us about who we call, text and email, and which websites we visit. And they won’t need a warrant or reason.

38 Degrees says:

“Our civil liberties have taken a battering in recent years from politicians of all backgrounds. Now it’s time to for us to push back.” 

You can sign the petition here. So far over 184,000 people have signed. 38 degrees is hoping for 200,000 by the hand-in time.

What is 38 Degrees?

This is how 38 Degrees describes itself:

“38 Degrees is the angle at which an avalanche happens. In the UK, 38 Degrees will enable people to act together, to create an avalanche for change.”

 

Ask Craig Whittaker to sign Early Day Motion 47, calling for Energy Bill Revolution

Please email  craig.whittaker.mp@parliament.uk and ask him to sign Early Day Motion 47. This calls for Parliament to pass the Energy Bill Revolution proposal for the UK government to use the revenue from carbon taxes to pay for insulating people’s homes. Over the next 15 years, the government will raise about £4billion/year from the two main carbon taxes – the European Emissions Trading Scheme and the Carbon Floor Price.
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