tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37530324291950552512012-01-15T16:57:25.251ZA work in progressAdminnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1481100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-60507471924434905702011-09-01T17:53:00.003+01:002011-09-01T17:53:43.283+01:00

Horsham Labour Party cares passionately about our NHS and we do not wish to stand idly by as the Tory led Coalition Government pushes through a series of changes that could fundamentally alter all that we feel is good about our NHS.   We support 100% the principal that the NHS is free at point of use.   We oppose the increased role of the private sector and are in favour of public

rhammondnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-89039058893157476392011-04-17T22:16:00.001+01:002011-04-19T23:41:48.150+01:00

From talking to local residents it is clear that many feel disappointed with the level of representation offered by our councillors. Too many councillors once elected are never seen again, or move away like the Lib Dem from Horsham Park who lives in Hastings, but still claimed travel expenses when he attended council meetings. The poor level of representation we have received in areas like

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-81684871849744905642011-02-16T23:12:00.038Z2011-02-27T23:36:43.928Z

On Tuesday February 16th Horsham Labour party held a fund-raising quiz in Horsham, which was co-hosted by Hazel Blears MP and Andrew Skudder, our candidate at last year's general election. Party members from Crawley, Horsham, Arundel & South Downs, Worthing, Brighton and Guildford took part, with a team from Crawley narrowly winning the first prize. During the evening Hazel Blears spoke

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-3924654685659753082011-02-05T01:30:00.000Z2011-02-07T01:59:23.770Z

A group of agricultural workers within the Horsham constituency (including Horsham Labour party's chair, David Hide, who works in the agricultural industry)  will be taking part in a national rally and lobby organised by Unite the Union on Wednesday 9th February.  The rally will be calling on the Tory-led government to remove the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board from the Public Bodies

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-749382987223593372011-01-25T01:38:00.000Z2011-01-25T01:38:08.087Z

Below are the full texts of the speeches we made at the planning meeting in objection to the application to build 963 homes in Broadbridge Heath, with only 20% of the proposed development addressing local housing needs. David Hide, Chair of Horsham Labour party said: Horsham Labour party opposes this development due to its failure to deliver affordable housing at the appropriate rate. This

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-38813218751802337422011-01-24T22:00:00.000Z2011-01-25T01:22:28.653Z

At a planning meeting last week the Lib Dem and Tory councillors voted to build nearly 1000 homes on Broadbridge Heath, doubling the size of the village at a stroke.   Horsham Labour party spoke against this application, on the grounds that the plans contain insufficient affordable housing, with just 20% of the development site to be affordable. Our reactions are below. David Hide, Chair of

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-37187797618174356002011-01-12T01:40:00.010Z2011-01-25T01:43:27.988Z

A message from county councillor Chris Oxlade: We've been working hard to fight the massive cuts to the West Sussex Youth Service which the county council is trying to implement. Already the service has had £2 million slashed from its budget, and on the 11th February a further £2million is proposed to be cut. Currently 7 youth centres are at risk across West Sussex, and I've been working

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-39523548497796661182011-01-08T01:23:00.000Z2011-01-08T01:23:40.360Z

This week Duncan Enright won a council byelection for Labour. OK maybe it is only a town council byelection but this was in David Cameron's back yard and he won convincingly with 66% of the vote - four times as many votes as the second-placed Liberal Democrat. If that can happen in Witney then maybe the idea of Labour winning a council seat somewhere in Horsham and getting the chance to hold

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-85605891300605425642011-01-03T01:39:00.000Z2011-01-03T01:39:03.807Z

We would like to wish all our members, and everybody else in Horsham constituency a Happy New Year in 2011.  It is likely to be a good year. Unless you are old. Or looking forward to university.  Or fall ill, drive a car, commute by train, lose your job, want to leave home, or buy anything in shops. Here are a few of the things to look forward to in 2011. Increased rail fares The price of

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-92080745431151331712010-12-25T01:15:00.000Z2010-12-25T01:15:00.255Z

Horsham Labour party would like to wish everybody a merry Christmas and a very happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you all at the polling stations in May!

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-20924936945871126962010-12-24T21:44:00.001Z2010-12-24T21:45:14.665Z

The Labour party is encouraging young people to become members by introducing a special rate of one penny for the first year's membership for anybody under 27.  This is partly in recognition that youn people are one of the groups that will be disproportionately affected by the Tory-led government's cuts in the future. People over 27 are also welcome of course. You can join by following this

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-85659973651903895672010-12-09T01:02:00.046Z2010-12-13T01:14:31.052Z

Following the news reports of a £1.6million gap in Horsham council's finances, the chair of Horsham Labour party wrote a letter to the local papers. The letter states that the Liberal Democrats councillors on Horsham district council fail to provide an effective opposition to the ruling Tory group, with the result that matters affecting the town of Horsham are decided largely by councillors from

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-63398729421517905802010-12-07T00:54:00.011Z2010-12-13T01:01:58.353Z

Rare example of affordable housing within Horsham By David Hide The thing that has clearly come out of the Con-Dem government's spending review is the demonstration of ideological differences displayed by the coalition in respect of housing policy to that of both the previous Labour government and the Labour party here in Horsham. While Horsham Labour party is on record as supporting

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-6637286282676951712010-12-05T00:51:00.004Z2010-12-13T00:53:37.697Z

The snow and ice in Horsham is now beginning to melt but the number one topic mentioned by many residents, was why has the local council yet again failed to grit our pavements and the vast majority of our roads which once more became treacherous to the point that only the brave or foolhardy could venture out to work over the past few days.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-3607494548362192382010-12-04T09:31:00.045Z2010-12-13T01:13:57.141Z

Horsham Labour Party canvassed residents' views about the ongoing saga of the old town hall. We are in favour of retaining the town hall for the community and do not want to see it become yet another restaurant venue, and are appalled by the way our Tory council has handled our community facility. Labour party members spoke with dozens of local residents living close to the train station

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-56173713980509558642010-11-30T22:20:00.000Z2010-11-30T22:20:22.449Z

A couple of new websites have started this week that our members and supporters might find interesting. Both sites contain news and details of campaigning events. UK Uncut Can be found at www.ukuncut.org.uk It bills itself as the 'Big Society Revenue & Customs' and is there to put pressure on those large companies and wealthy individuals who avoid or evade their taxes. Its mission statement is

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-48859869368142784262010-11-25T00:34:00.022Z2010-11-30T00:45:55.383Z

In the local paper last week there were a couple of pages about the increase in student fees, including the opinions of several local politicians, parents and head teachers. One of these opinion pieces was by Morwen Millson, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the county council. This week the County Times printed a piece by Labour's Andrew Skudder which is partly a response to that

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-1506159532661933192010-11-20T23:45:00.028Z2010-11-22T00:05:30.314Z

With the news last week that Bill's Produce have pulled out of the deal with Horsham council to buy the Old Town Hall and turn it into another restaurant, the future of the building is now in the balance again. Public opinion was overwhelmingly in favour of keeping the building as a community resource - a community centre for the centre of the town, and a venue for local performers. Horsham

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-77952534079963929742010-11-18T23:29:00.028Z2010-11-21T23:44:34.438Z

Following the government's decision to raise student fees by up to a factor of three, despite personal pledges to the contrary by the Lib Dem members of the coalition there has been massive outcry, culminating in a demonstration in London. Many parents, students and teachers in Horsham have been variously concerned and angry about this and this week's County Times contains several pages of local

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-52897583016305691592010-11-16T19:59:00.001Z2010-11-18T00:42:14.521Z

Photo by Alltogetherfool By Andrew Skudder Ireland's current economic problems are all over the news at the moment but, unlike most economic experts and the population of Ireland, one person over here thinks the Irish government's strategy is one to be admired and copied.... ...unfortunately that person is the UK's 'Chancer of the Exchequer' George Osborne Two little quotes from the news.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-87240333951393696202010-11-03T20:17:00.054Z2010-11-18T00:40:10.238Z

Last night the North Sussex and East Surrey Trades Council organised a public meeting in Crawley to discuss the government's cuts to public services and discuss how a local anti-cuts coalition can help to prevent cuts.   There were several speakers at the meeting including our candidate in this year's election, Andrew Skudder, who represented Horsham Labour party. The meeting heard from a

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-53481000744536124422010-09-11T10:17:00.040+01:002010-09-14T00:27:25.357+01:00

Horsham Labour party's chair, David Hide, sent a letter to the County Times today about its coverage of the issues relating to affordable housing. The full text is below: Thank you for highlighting once more within the pages of the County Times the pressing need to address the chronic lack of affordable housing within one of the most prosperous districts in the country. Once again it feels

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-59903259215630701072010-09-10T10:29:00.001+01:002010-09-14T00:45:35.570+01:00

David Miliband has written to the County Times to thank Horsham Labour party for nominating him in the party's leadership election, the result of which will be announced this month. The letter, and some comments from Horsham's chair are below: Letter from David Miliband to the County Times: Through the pages of the West Sussex County Times I would like to thank the members of Horsham for

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-23769351122915574772010-08-25T22:31:00.005+01:002010-08-26T01:08:20.755+01:00

This month Linda Hugl and her family visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki to mark the anniversary of the nuclear bombs dropped there.  Linda has now returned and has written an account of her visit. Horsham Labour party is very pleased and proud to have the opportunity to publish such an important article from a leading member of CND who lives and works within Horsham.  It provides an excellent

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-15244273830274239082010-08-09T01:32:00.000+01:002010-08-09T01:32:34.606+01:00

In last week's local paper there was a letter from our Chair, David Hide, criticising the new coalition government. This week there is a response which suggested that David's criticisms of the coalition government were hypocritical because Labour achieved nothing during its thirteen years in government. Carol Hayton, our campaign co-ordinator, has written this reply: In reply to Mr Bishop’s

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-91787529240882230232010-08-07T01:18:00.001+01:002010-08-07T02:27:39.932+01:00

Photo by Errasti Carol Hayton of Horsham Labour party has contributed to an ongoing discussion in the letters page of the Independent about David Cameron's proposals to remove important rights from council and housing association tenants. These proposals are proving to be unpalatable even to Cameron's Lib Dem coalition partners as this story suggests. Carol's letter is reproduced below.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-4793639198084110862010-08-04T00:08:00.000+01:002010-08-04T00:08:25.555+01:00

It has been reported today (BBC News) that David Cameron wants to remove security from council and housing association tenants. This is not a surprise to us: we delivered warnings about this back in March and were accused of scaremongering by Sussex Tories who claimed that there were no such plans. It gives us no pleasure at all to say "we told you so" and we will be fighting against these

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-32762409321261432312010-08-01T23:18:00.057+01:002010-08-03T23:56:46.375+01:00

Part of a recent Lib Dem leaflet Horsham Labour party is the undisputed party of affordable housing and earlier in the year, following considerable pressure from Horsham Labour party, it was agreed to redevelop Bryce Lodge at the top of New Street and build 38 affordable homes. (See 'Bryce Lodge a spot the blot success story' posted on Dec 18th last year) Six months later and the Liberal

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-74274513831895602902010-07-26T00:27:00.003+01:002010-07-28T18:12:39.656+01:00

Linda with husband Ian and daughter Bryony    (click to enlarge) Linda Hugl, who recently re-joined the Labour Party, having previously left following the invasion of Iraq, is soon to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki with her husband and two teenage children. She is attending the ceremonies there as the representative of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament where she has been the Treasurer for 8

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-80908774110119745282010-07-25T14:29:00.030+01:002010-07-26T00:36:45.749+01:00

David Hide, Chair of Horsham Labour party, responds to a letter in this week's County Times in this open letter to Derek Deedman. Councillors escape Con-Dem mixture? Derek Deedman’s letter in last week’s County Times 'Coalition is mixture' only serves to reinforce Horsham Labour party's view that the Lib Dems locally and nationally are acting as a 'fan club' to their more senior partners within

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-12277190309845065912010-07-25T10:06:00.032+01:002010-07-26T00:20:51.706+01:00

Horsham Interfaith Forum have organised a commemoration of the anniversary of the Hiroshima bomb. The event takes place at 7:30am in the Peace Garden, Denne Road Cemetary on August 6th. Everybody is welcome regardless of faith. See below for details   Hiroshima Remembered 6 Aug 7:30am ~ 8:15am Peace Garden, rear of Denne Cemetary, Horsham "Lest we forget" On arrival, stroll or stay still in

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-33527024349739263482010-07-23T23:20:00.001+01:002010-07-24T23:45:41.812+01:00

This week the County Times has the story of last week's county council meeting, which happened too late for last week's deadline. Note that it was one of the remaining Labour county councillors, Chris Oxlade from Crawley, who proposed the postponement of the meeting to allow more time to get better information on the proposed cuts to services. Also in the paper this week was Horsham Labour

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-58359455574533709662010-07-18T23:41:00.015+01:002010-07-19T00:49:26.635+01:00

David Hide, Horsham CLP chair, marching with the agricultural workers Members of Horsham Labour party were at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival today, enjoying the bright and totally unforecasted sunshine. The festival is a celebration of the formation of the trade union movements.  The main event is a parade through the village of unions, branches of political parties and other organisations.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-8467256041735088962010-07-16T00:50:00.041+01:002010-07-23T01:04:17.044+01:00

We have all read in the newspapers about West Sussex county council's plans to cut £2million from the Youth Service budget.  The plans which were presented to a meeting of the Children's and Young Persons Services Select Committee on Wednesday can be seen here (4 on the agenda - do look at the union responses too) A webcast of the meeting can be viewed here. Labour county councillor Chris

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-14390082168765008172010-07-16T00:41:00.000+01:002010-07-16T00:41:50.215+01:00

We have had an update on Tuesday's health meeting, hosted by the North Horsham County Local Committee in an email from West Sussex county council, including agenda items and timings. This is an opportunity for the general public or interested organisations to hear about plans for our health services first-hand from those responsible for them and to ask questions about health services. Details

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-11110674336076848002010-07-13T23:54:00.022+01:002010-07-14T00:10:16.308+01:00

At its meeting this evening, Horsham CLP voted to nominate David Miliband for the party leadership contest. It was an exciting contest as Mr. Miliband had, by far, the most first preferences but narrowly failed to secure an outright majority. When many second and third preferences went to his brother it ended up being a very close finish between the two Milibands. Horsham CLP Chair, David Hide

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-67215968299557326932010-07-10T22:01:00.002+01:002010-07-14T00:13:51.879+01:00

On Tuesday 20th July there will be a leadership hustings hosted by Crawley CLP at the Hawth Studio in Crawley, starting at 7:30pm. Several of the campaigns have already agreed to send representatives and it is hoped that every candidate will be represented on the night. This event is open to all Labour party members from all local parties so members of Horsham CLP may attend. Make sure you

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-87202489196001205782010-07-09T00:38:00.002+01:002010-07-23T00:49:33.394+01:00

Horsham Labour party's chair, David Hide, wrote to the County Times this week about how the effects of the Tory/Lib Dem cuts and how the recent budget heralds the return of the 'nasty party' that we all remember only too well. The letter was printed in yesterday's paper and the full text is reproduced below. During the week when the Con-Dem Coalition Government delivered the most regressive

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-38066677337242009002010-07-08T00:16:00.030+01:002010-07-23T00:38:07.143+01:00

Today's County Times carries a letter from Bruce Milton, the acting branch secretary of the Horsham branch of Unison, responding to comments made by councillor Philip Circus. Mr. Milton points out that, far from being cocooned from the effects of recession, staff at the town hall have already suffered more than most with cutbacks and wage freezes. Horsham Labour party would like to offer its

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-24799385986622909052010-07-07T00:33:00.001+01:002010-07-08T00:56:22.785+01:00

The North Horsham County Local Committee will be hosting an event considering health issues in the North Sussex are on Tuesday 20th July 2010. The event is free and open to all members of the public.  Horsham Labour party has no involvement - we are just publicising it because we think it is an important topic which many of our members and supporters will be interested in. Details below. 2:

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-36702267194224528342010-06-22T01:29:00.020+01:002010-07-08T01:40:34.743+01:00

There is a lot we could say about the Chancer of the Exchequer raising VAT to 20%, but since a picture is worth a thousand words, we can save space by just showing a couple of pictures: Before the election the Tories insisted Labour would raise VAT, with the implication that they wouldn't. The Lib Dems said that the Tories would raise VAT, with the implication that they wouldn't. In both

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-33930201188776417682010-06-12T01:48:00.000+01:002010-06-12T01:48:45.337+01:00

Members of Horsham Labour party will be at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival in Dorset again this year.  We might even have our banner ready and be able to take part in the parade. The festival celebrates the events that led to the formation of the trade union movement in Britain. Crawley Trade Council has organised a coach that will probably have some spare places that Horsham members can occupy.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-46078793122568275442010-06-10T01:01:00.030+01:002010-07-08T01:08:26.516+01:00

By Carol Hayton So will the recent election result and the new style of government herald a bright new dawn for the people of Horsham? Having voted for change as Francis Maude urged them to do on his campaign posters, will residents of the constituency be bowled over by a whirlwind of exciting initiatives that represent empowerment of local communities? Not if the comments from local

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-54538556760356282422010-05-27T23:11:00.074+01:002010-05-28T01:42:42.937+01:00

It is exactly three weeks since the general election.  In those three weeks Horsham Labour party's membership has grown by more than 7.5% and we would like to welcome all the new members who joined the party since the election and during the campaign. We can speculate about the reasons for the surge in membership, but each individual probably has their own reasons.  If you are one of the new

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-31182438318902167302010-05-13T19:12:00.000+01:002010-05-13T19:12:00.060+01:00

It has come to our attention that quite a few people in the Horsham constituency did not receive anything from us during the election campaign. This has come as a great surprise and disappointment to us.  Obviously with such a large area and limited resources we can't physically visit every house in the constituency, so we depend on the Royal Mail's free delivery at general elections to

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-69973027086681823202010-05-12T01:59:00.000+01:002010-05-12T01:59:46.970+01:00

Labour supporters in Horsham have been seduced in the past by the local Liberal Democrats saying to them "lend us your votes".  Many Labour supporters will have done just that, seeing a Lib Dem vote as a way to keep the Tories out, only to now see the Lib Dem leader offered a place in a Tory cabinet.   May we suggest you now take your votes back? During the election campaign we met many Lib Dem

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-26445330385563987522010-05-10T01:31:00.000+01:002010-05-10T01:31:54.262+01:00

By Andrew Skudder Now that the dust has settled and we have all more or less got back to our normal sleep patterns after the marathon count I would like to reflect a little on the election campaign and, most importantly, thank those people who voted Labour in Horsham. It is not just the voters I have to thank: I would also like to pay tribute to the members of Horsham Labour party, especially

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-25611697284978604802010-05-07T07:56:00.000+01:002010-05-07T07:56:04.592+01:00

These are the results in the Horsham constituency after an extremely prolonged count: Conservative  29,447  52.7% Lib Dem17,98732.2% Labour4,1897.5% UKIP2,8395.1% Green5701.0% Christian4690.8% Peace2530.5% Independent870.2% More on this later, but for now we would like to thank everybody who voted for Labour in this very difficult election.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-51490736448271048232010-05-06T01:15:00.000+01:002010-05-05T21:27:05.886+01:00

Today is polling day so don't forget to vote. If you are still at all undecided, here are a few (dozen) reasons to vote for Labour in Horsham, apart from the local reasons we mentioned the other day. Borrowing from Gordon Brown's speech the other day, here are some of Labour's achievements while in power: the minimum wage first enacted in 1997 the shortest NHS waiting times in history three

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-53833009301965689992010-05-05T11:11:00.000+01:002010-05-05T11:11:52.829+01:00

by Andrew Skudder Towards the end of an election campaign, any election campaign, candidates, party workers and activists, and even supporters can start to flag a bit as polling day approaches.  Whether the prospects are good or bad, there are few people involved in elections who do not, at some point, look forward to it all being over so they can get their lives back. It is even tempting to

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-80146995919975917332010-05-05T02:58:00.001+01:002010-05-05T02:59:03.610+01:00

The 2010 general election could be the most important one for decades. There are many reasons to prefer a Labour government to a Tory government and Gordon Brown's speech yesterday re-stated many of those reasons, but we would like to add a few specific local reasons to vote for Labour in Horsham. Because every vote counts After reading the reports in the County Times about how all the

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-64014880900924796152010-05-04T20:20:00.043+01:002010-05-05T01:40:38.450+01:00

Labour's candidate in Horsham, Andrew Skudder, went across to Crawley today to support Chris Oxlade's campaign there, but also to grab the opportunity to meet one of his heroes: the actor Patrick Stewart who was also visiting the town to promote the Labour party. Patrick is probably best known for playing the part of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation on television and in

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-15798138938061085902010-05-03T23:24:00.000+01:002010-05-03T23:24:03.613+01:00

Today, in what is being called the unofficial fourth leaders' debate, Gordon Brown made an impressive speech about the values of the Labour party.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-36614293437708701382010-05-03T23:13:00.001+01:002010-05-03T23:14:16.077+01:00

Labour's latest election broadcast

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-28399626502902009822010-05-02T02:10:00.000+01:002010-05-02T02:10:17.059+01:00

Residents of Horsham who took the time to look at the Liberal Democrats' election leaflet closely will have noticed that their candidate seems a little confused about what his priorities would be if elected. He promises he "will be a strong voice for Worthing West".   Horsham Labour party will continue to concentrate on Horsham if that's OK.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-89215265223333416002010-05-01T02:02:00.004+01:002010-05-02T02:05:14.738+01:00

This website was officially launched one year ago today - so happy birthday to us.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-32240397647673985732010-04-30T15:26:00.001+01:002010-04-30T15:26:43.064+01:00

There were only three hustings events organised for this election campaign.  One was at Crawley Down yesterday and there was a school hustings at Collyer's this afternoon.  The last one is at Tanbridge House school this evening at 7:30pm, organised by Horsham Churches Together. This is your last chance to come along to see and meet the candidates together and ask questions. If the other two

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-15894004606492650532010-04-28T01:51:00.000+01:002010-04-28T01:51:50.802+01:00

Round about now the voters of Horsham who have registered for a postal vote should be gettnig their ballot papers arriving. If you are registered for a postal vote and have not received yours yet, get in touch with the town hall now! If you have received your postal vote and are undecided which way to vote, have a look at our local manifesto, and then take a good look around you.  If you are

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-34400138865815255172010-04-27T00:00:00.000+01:002010-04-27T00:00:45.995+01:00

Last week Horsham district council's development control committee met to decide on the Berkely Homes development. As was reported in the local press this week, the committee voted to grant outline planning permission, subject to a Section 106 agreement.  Our opposition to this decision is already well-documented here and some of our comments were reported in the County Times' reports. Below

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-901683897577954952010-04-26T02:23:00.000+01:002010-04-26T02:23:15.759+01:00

In March 2010 the Ministry of Justice issued guidance about declarations of interest to all parliamentary election candidates in response to a recommendation by the Committee for Standards in Public Life. Producing a declaration is voluntary but the recommendation was that candidates should publish a declaration of their interests and publicise this declaration on their website if they have one

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-34870154192335636762010-04-25T22:14:00.001+01:002010-04-27T00:01:18.266+01:00

Over the weekend David Cameron has been promoting a policy that if a party in government changes its leader then the new Prime Minister must hold an election within six months. He said "it means putting the people in control". We would like to compare and contrast this with two pieces of local news, one old and one new. The old news is that the Conservative group on Horsham district council

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-59695599929100199202010-04-24T15:25:00.017+01:002010-04-25T12:48:42.721+01:00

Horsham Labour party set out its stall in Billingshurst today - literally. We had a street stall where we had some intersting discussions with passers-by, got some more signatures for our petitions on affordable housing and council play schemes, and handed out some literature and posters. After a couple of hours doing that we then delivered leaflets in the village.  Along the way we noticed

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-40812982898751804872010-04-23T20:55:00.002+01:002010-04-24T21:02:42.570+01:00

Horsham Labour party published its local manifesto today. The local manifesto supplements the national manifesto (which can be viewed online here) and explains our own priorities locally on the topics of: Housing Support for families Health The economy The environment The hunting ban Cleaning up politics The full details can be seen here.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-44736081170796068742010-04-21T20:52:00.000+01:002010-04-24T20:55:20.567+01:00

Our Journey is the latest election video from Labour.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-46448670386500511542010-04-19T00:47:00.000+01:002010-04-19T00:47:19.833+01:00

This week's County Times reported on a press release from Horsham council about the Berkely Homes development, which said that an extra £7.25million 'could' be available for affordable housing. Horsham Labour party's chair, David Hide has responded to this in a letter to the editor, explaining why this new development is not as good as it appears at first glance. The full text of his letter is

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-87823368010857624382010-04-18T10:59:00.009+01:002010-04-19T00:08:13.422+01:00

Labour's parliamentary candidate, Andrew Skudder, stepped up our campaign to reinstate the district-wide council play scheme in time for the summer holidays, when he joined fellow Labour party members in Horsham town centre this Saturday, as Labour launched its petition to reinstate the play schemes and to protect youth services. Following on from the Tory council's callous decision to pull

david hidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03380627829623948457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-68432597628302347402010-04-15T00:13:00.002+01:002010-04-19T00:15:00.995+01:00

Today the Labour party launched its new election broadcast, presented by Eddie Izzard. Here it is for anybody who missed it.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-17694808244299667172010-04-13T01:23:00.000+01:002010-04-21T02:00:07.519+01:00

Having received a Liberal Democrat leaflet with one of their now-legendary dodgy bar charts, one of our members wrote to the County Times which was printed last week. The Liberal Democrats are notorious for producing bar charts that will distort scales, use results from different electoral bases or just compare apples with pears to overstate their support.  Chris Conibear wrote this letter to

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-19185315311210230842010-04-12T13:19:00.000+01:002010-04-12T13:19:47.755+01:00

The Labour party launched its election manifesto today in Birmingham. It can be viewed as a summary and film here, or a PDF of the printed document can be downloaded here.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-17752754458716662232010-04-12T01:52:00.000+01:002010-04-12T01:52:11.610+01:00

Andrew Skudder, parliamentary candidate for Horsham, has pledged to do his bit for the British armed forces family. Andrew made the pledge on the Royal British Legion's campaign website, www.timetodoyourbit.org.uk. The website also features the charity's general election manifesto, which sets out priorities for the next government to improve conditions for service personnel and their families,

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-84729617855132819242010-04-12T00:10:00.001+01:002010-04-12T00:12:27.868+01:00

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-26794836545160734492010-04-05T17:37:00.000+01:002010-04-05T17:37:25.403+01:00

Tomorrow is the start of the Easter holidays, when many working parents would have been using Horsham council's play schemes to look after their children while they work - if the council had not decided to scrap the scheme. It is too late now for Easter, but Horsham Labour party are continuing to put pressure on the council to reconsider their decision before the summer holidays. At the full

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-26601970384825373962010-04-03T01:40:00.026+01:002010-04-04T01:49:53.833+01:00

Over at the Unions Together website they are running a poll to find what people think is Labour's best achievement of the decade - the National Minimum Wage doesn't count: that was more than ten years ago now! The choices are: Schools rebuilding programme Winter fuel allowance Low interest rates Decisive action on the financial crisis Reduced waiting times Increased holiday entitlement Free

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-91159804264051064442010-04-01T02:28:00.000+01:002010-04-01T02:28:55.955+01:00

Horsham Labour party would like to offer its congratulations to Councillor Chris Oxlade who was selected to represent Labour in Crawley last night. Welcoming Chris to the list of prospective parliamentary candidates, our own PPC Andrew Skudder said: I have got to know Chris Oxlade quite well over the last couple of years and I know he will be an outstanding candidate for Crawley, and a

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-71111809542926529502010-03-31T02:17:00.000+01:002010-03-31T02:17:12.488+01:00

David Hide, Chair of Horsham Labour party, wrote to the West Sussex County Times last week about the vindication of the party's stance on affordable housing and his personal disappointment at the level of support from Liberal Democrat councillors on this, and on other issues. In his letter, which was printed in the Friday 26th March edition of the newspaper, David says: We would like to thank

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-65535580435004756862010-03-31T00:35:00.021+01:002010-04-04T00:47:02.860+01:00

Horsham Labour party welcomes the country's newest national park on its first day of official designation. We are pleased to see this important area given the protection of national park status so that it can long continue to be enjoyed by walkers, cyclists and horse riders, and wish the new Establishment Team all the best as they prepare for full authority in a year's time.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-57156244631589791362010-03-30T23:53:00.002+01:002010-03-31T01:59:32.808+01:00

By Ray Battersby After being absent from the UK for a month, I would like to respond to those who - in my absence - have commented in the local newspapers on the fact that I referred the cost of the hospital feasibility study to the District Auditor. It was Alexander Pope who, in 1740, said, "To speak his thought is every free man's right - in peace, in war, in council and the fight." He

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-47885441118945100772010-03-27T19:11:00.000Z2010-03-27T19:11:17.778Z

The Labour party announced its five pledges for the next election today. These pledges are: Secure the recovery Raise family living standards Build a high tech economy Protect frontline services Strengthen fairness in communities More information can be found here.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-4633946221015773472010-03-21T20:18:00.001Z2010-03-22T00:39:51.359Z

Horsham Labour party is proud to acknowledge the involvement of Unite the Union within our Labour party and wish our brothers and sisters from Unite, currently involved in industrial action within BA, our support. As constituency Chair I am both a Unite member and Unite delegate to my Labour party, our Secretary Ray Chapman is also a long-standing member of this union as is our parliamentary

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-27497306413024212372010-03-19T18:00:00.062Z2010-03-22T01:34:11.533Z

This week's edition of the County Times contained extensive coverage of the Berkely Homes decision, but it also contained a couple of other related items that support Horsham Labour party's arguments for affordable housing and show why our ongoing campaign is so necessary. The first item was the highly topical news of a new survey published by Shelter. It found that 98% of councils in England are

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-25029926167473179962010-03-16T22:40:00.046Z2010-03-22T01:00:16.858Z

At tonight's meeting, Horsham district council's development control committee voted to defer a decision on the application from Berkely Homes. This is almost entirely due to the efforts of Horsham Labour party, who have campaigned extensively to prevent the council allowing this application to proceed with anything less than the 40 per cent allocation of affordable housing specified in the

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-39715172184955034492010-03-16T20:28:00.033Z2010-03-22T00:39:31.154Z

Horsham district council's development control committee (North) met tonight to make a decision on an application for outline planning permission for land between Horsham and Broadbridge Heath. Having campaigned extensively on the affordable element of this application, and petitioned the council on behalf of hundreds of local residents, members of Horsham Labour party spoke at the meeting.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-76768952647441349952010-03-08T21:17:00.065Z2010-03-09T00:51:21.761Z

Tories plan huge rent increases and reduced rights David Cameron has refused to deny reports that the Conservatives are planning massive changes for tenants living in council or housing association homes. Labour's housing minister has repeatedly challenged Mr. Cameron, demanding that he makes his position clear. But Cameron says nothing. That is the message from a group of organisations,

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-58360536991473902122010-02-27T10:52:00.025Z2010-03-09T01:04:05.762Z

Horsham council decided in the full council meeting on Feb 24th to cease their play schemes in order to save an estimated £52,000.  The budget report also included the transfer of about £400,000 to reserves so the scheme could easily have been saved by reducing the transfer accordingly. The Liberal Democrat leader proposed an amendment to defer the decision in order to study the impact of this

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-44192927428319061382010-02-13T22:39:00.001Z2010-02-14T23:02:05.325Z

Members of Horsham Labour Party met with a cross-party group of councillors and council officers last week to discuss the Council’s response to Horsham Labour Party’s housing petition. This petition called for Horsham District Council to deliver a minimum of 40 per cent affordable housing in the development West of Horsham. This would provide homes for local people, in line with the

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-71941256228513137672010-02-12T23:04:00.053Z2010-02-15T00:23:26.262Z

Horsham Labour Party became aware this week that Horsham council are proposing to cancel several play schemes in the district.  One concerned parent also wrote to the County Times, resulting in a story on page three. The Chair of Horsham Labour, David Hide, was contacted by the County Times and told them: We fully support the ongoing childcare provision provided by the council's subsidised play

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-30221948296726619722010-02-01T23:26:00.002Z2010-02-03T23:35:01.506Z

By Carol Hayton The festivities may have ended over a month ago but thanks to Horsham Council the vestiges of Christmas could be seen through most of January. Their failure to effectively manage the waste collection service through the bank holidays and the bad weather meant that Christmas trees continued to line our streets. Not, alas, dripping with shining baubles and glittering lights but

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-84605428229010053772010-01-15T20:26:00.028Z2010-01-17T20:46:08.411Z

Horsham Labour Party's Chair, David Hide, wrote to the West Sussex County Times in response to comments by various Tories about top-down housing targets. He pointed out the failure of the council to meet its own targets: a failure also picked up by the Audit Commission. The letter was printed today and the full text is below: Tory-run Horsham District Council has failed, once more, to reach

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-74166868682306892412010-01-06T18:01:00.016Z2010-01-12T00:52:02.298Z

By David Hide I was taking a New Year's Day walk with friends in one of the many beautiful areas of countryside within our constituency and talk turned to the Boxing Day hunt and whether or not this was something I might ever consider taking part in. For many reasons the answer is a resounding no. I don't like the perceived or otherwise exclusivity of hunting, I can't move away from the image

david hidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03380627829623948457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-34597600528039143342010-01-04T00:29:00.004Z2010-01-12T00:35:15.596Z

David Hide, Chair of Horsham Labour, wrote to the West Sussex County Times today to highlight Horsham council's failings in the area of affordable housing provision, and draws attention to his letter to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on this topic. The full text of the letter is reproduced below. Dear Letters Editor Tory Council Fail to meet Own, not Government

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-44749364761127499602009-12-29T00:18:00.027Z2010-01-12T00:35:50.691Z

David Hide, Chair of Horsham Labour, wrote today to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, John Denham. This is a follow-up to our request to call in Horsham council's decision on affordable housing allocation in the development West of Horsham. The full text is reproduced below. Dear Secretary of State, Request to Call In the decision by Horsham District Council on the

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-1139968768943169082009-12-26T18:20:00.000Z2009-12-26T18:20:56.572Z

By Andrew Skudder As a parliamentary candidate, I have been receiving lots of emails asking my opinion on the hunting ban, and efforts to repeal the ban.  I am replying to these emails but I thought it might be useful to state my position here as well for the record. As the emails are all identically-worded it looks like they are generated either by the campaign to repeal the ban or the

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-87275864900433946072009-12-22T20:43:00.001Z2009-12-23T00:19:52.286Z

A couple of weeks ago David Cameron spoke about the 'burden of health and safety legislation' and Francis Maude took the opportunity to parrot his leader in his weekly column in the West Sussex County Times. I would like to counter some of the rubbish written and said about health and safety and explain why it is not a burden after all. Is it really such a burden to go about your job knowing

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-34989183841917438672009-12-18T09:06:00.033Z2009-12-21T02:40:16.684Z

Is this the first success of Horsham Labour Party's 'spot the blot' campaign, launched earlier this year?  It is certainly a welcome development. Ray Chapman, secretary of Horsham LP, launched this campaign at the beginning of November and a couple of weeks later he had a couple of responses.  One of them was drawing attention to Bryce Lodge, formerly a residential care home but now a derelict

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-53897498303329352732009-12-18T08:27:00.018Z2009-12-21T02:39:42.670Z

When the chair and secretary of Horsham Labour Party handed in our affordable housing petition to the Horsham council offices, the local paper was there to cover it and the full story is in today's West Sussex County Times. David Hide, chair of Horsham Labour, was quoted in the story as saying (about a forthcoming meeting with housing minister John Healey): When I meet the minister I will alert

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-41959348157138914712009-12-15T22:53:00.003Z2009-12-18T00:23:41.169Z

HLP Chair David Hide and Secretary Ray Chapman delivered a petition to Horsham District Council today containing more than 650 signatures, all demanding that the Council deliver a minimum of 40% affordable housing on the West of Horsham development. The Labour Party delegation handed the petition to Gill Scarfield, Head of Strategic Planning and Performance, complete with a covering letter to

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-70429645756883897002009-12-04T09:39:00.022Z2009-12-07T01:56:02.817Z

Horsham Labour Party member, Ray Battersby, responded to an article by the Tory leader of West Sussex County Council in this letter which was printed in today's West Sussex County Times. Henry Smith's weekly column, once again, is devoid of Couty Council matters - or is it?  He says that the Conservatives will repair the "broken society", "broken economy" and "broken politics". As the county

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-71646524611857145532009-11-27T09:25:00.007Z2009-12-07T01:57:12.247Z

David Hide, Chair of Horsham Labour, has written about the Liberal Democrats' ineffectiveness as an opposition party in this letter which was printed in today's West Sussex County Times. It would appear from your letters page last week that the Liberal Democrats have momentarily stirred from their customary torpor. What a shame that this phase of animation consisted only of a bizarre bout of

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-60371950968970126722009-11-21T20:10:00.003Z2009-11-21T20:23:08.266Z

This afternoon Horsham Labour Party were out in Horsham Town Centre, collecting more signatures for our petition on affordable housing. The petition calls for Horsham District Council to stick to its agreed policy of allocating 40% of new large developments to affordable housing and not to give in to the developers of the new site near Broadbridge Heath who have asked for the affordable element

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753032429195055251.post-71576661458698876632009-11-20T17:37:00.017Z2009-11-22T17:45:13.383Z

The following letter was sent to the West Sussex County Times to raise awareness of two government schemes, Partnerships for Older People and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships. It was printed in today's paper. I Think it is important for your readers to know and understand the various projects which the Labour Government has introduced in recent years. The aim of two of these schemes is

Adminnoreply@blogger.com