Dartford Labour Party

Victory on Roaming Charges

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:12:11 +0000

Labour MEP for the Southeast, Peter Skinner, writes:

“The European Parliament has approved my Committee’s proposals to cut roaming charges.

“From July the cost of making a call will drop from around 30p/min to 24p/min and the cost of sending a text will fall to 7p. Further changes will follow with the cost of making a call set to fall to 12p/min – or less – by 2014. Data roaming costs will also be capped for the first time with 1MB costing 58p.

“The mobile phone companies have been ripping off South East holidaymakers for too long. I want roaming charges scrapped entirely but this is a step in the right direction.”
For more information on this, on building taxes, and on Youth unemployment, go to Peter’s website: http://www.peterskinnermep.eu/

Fabians welcome new speakers

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:47:30 +0000

On Thursday 24 May: Natan Doron, Senior Researcher at the Fabian Society who will be talking on ‘Climate Change and Sustainable Consumption’.
On Thursday 21 June: Jeremy Corbyn MP talking on Foreign Policy.

Both at 8.00 at the Dartford Working Mens Club, Essex Rd, Dartford. All welcome.

Full article here.

NHS: What Next?

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 08:57:58 +0000

The 38Degrees campaign is looking for ideas on where next to take the opposition to dismantling the NHS. They say:
“Although we didn’t stop the changes to our NHS there is still a lot to fight for. Now we need to decide together what our next step should be and how we can work together to protect our NHS. Can you take two minutes now to vote in the poll?”
Take the poll

Portas puff – let’s get real

John Adams — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:07:06 +0000

Dartford residents shouldn’t be too impressed by the big local media fuss a few weeks back after the Tory-run council submitted a last minute bid for so called Portas cash.

To begin with, the Tory proposals are hardly ambitious – they’re seeking just £79,000 to fund a handful of schemes such as buying a few pop-up market stalls or the opening of a ‘drop in’ shop for training and mentoring. Do they really think that such modest measures will really turn around the fortunes of a town where one in five shops are empty? What’s more, such ideas are far from new. The council has been talking about similar measures for years and has even set aside rather more than the £79,000 being sought – over £335,000 in 2010-11, for example. Yet the Tories have done nothing in the nine years since they were elected – expect launch a media blitz on the back of the Portas bid.

Sure, some extra cash can only help Dartford – a town in serious need of regeneration – and we all hope that the bid is successful. But this is a case of far too little and much too late. Dartford deserves better and needs more. In fact, it needs a Labour-run council that will deliver the strategic and joined-up thinking that’s essential to lay the foundations for proper regeneration. And it needs a Labour government that will deliver a sustained economic recovery – essential for retailers in town centres across the UK.

John Adams – Councillor for Stone

Also see our press release on this issue at: http://www.dartfordlabourparty.org.uk/blog/press-releases