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I have been your MP for nearly 13 years. Whether I continue to have the privilege to serve the people of Watford will be down to people like you, the readers of My News. The next few weeks will be especially busy for all politicians. For me it is not just about whether I win or lose and the impact that will have on me, my family and of course my staff. If I am not re-elected, my staff are unemployed too. It is about more than that because it is about the kind of town, country and world in which we live. That's why I went into politics in the first place - to make a difference to our community. Like you, I want the best schools, the safest streets and the best chances for my children as they grow up. It's why I joined the Labour Party and it's why I want to continue to help create a better society and represent the views of Watford people. This election is not like the last. I know that many people in 2005 were angry about the war in Iraq. Some still are. I understand that. At the last election people knew they could afford to give the Labour Gov-ernment a kicking and punish them by reducing their majority in parliament. So some people voted for smaller parties. In Watford some voted for the Liberal Democrats. But most knew that they would still have a Labour Government and they were not likely to get the Tories into power. This time it is different and as I go around the town talking to people, voters know that at this election they have a really important choice to make. Either they want a Labour Government and a Labour MP here in Watford or they want the Tories back in No.10. Voting Liberal Democrat will simply deliver a Tory Government. If you want to keep a Labour Government then you have to vote for it and for me. Having a Labour MP in Watford as part of a Labour Government has been good for our town. I have been able to represent your views at the heart of government. In my role as Justice Minister, the views of Watford people on anti social behaviour are at the forefront of my mind when I am making deci-sions. I have helped thousands of people with their problems over the 13 years - housing, education, benefits, pensions, health service and much more. If you think about it maybe I have helped you or someone you know. By backing Labour poli-cies I have helped deliver huge sums of money to our schools and hospital. When I think back to 13 years ago, I remember the schools in Watford with basic classrooms, no computer centres and inadequate sports provi-sion. I am proud of what we have delivered. I have always wanted to see more from our local hospital too. That's why I have fought for the redevelopment of Watford General so it can provide better care in first class facilities. So you won't be surprised to hear why I am angry that the Conservatives are putting this at risk by threatening to close it by moving services to Hemel Hempstead. So on election day, the big choice rests with you. Can you afford a Tory Government? Can you afford to risk our fragile economic recovery here in Watford? Are you confident that the NHS is safe in Tory hands? I am not and that's why I am standing up for the people of Watford. With your support I am ready to serve again. |
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As a mum you think you know the dangers that kids face. Risks such as traffic, falling down stairs and the usual obvious household dangers. But it was not until I held an event with Micro-soft a couple of weeks ago that I realised how much more I need to know. Microsoft contacted all MPs to tell them about some promotional work they are doing to help parents understand the risks faced by children using the internet unsupervised. It seemed a good idea to ask them to come and talk to my constituents so I arranged two meet-ings for parents in Watford. We held the first in February with another due on March 9. Parents were briefed on the range of ways which children can now access the internet – mobile phones, computers at home and at friends, game stations – and the variety of sites that kids now use. It seems that the idea we can restrict access to particular sites through paren-tal controls is no longer the answer. Kids are remarkably sharp when it comes to finding a way to get to the sites you want them not to. So the message of the evening was to let parents know the types of sites that kids are using and the risks they face. If we understand what kids have access to then we can help them to minimise those risks by being aware of the information they give out on social networking sites. Just as we all know how to teach kids the survival skills for crossing the road because we won‟t always be there to hold their hands, the new territory of this technology requires similar survival skills. We all know that kids can be cruel to each other. They have often not developed the social skills to understand the impact of what they say and do. So the most worrying of the presentation was how bullying has shifted from the playground to other places such as text messages and the inter-net. Parents were shown a video about a boy who faced taunting and ridicule wherever he turned – messages to his phone, pictures posted on the internet and e-mails. But by taking action to block bullies from con-tact and by getting help through others he was able to cope with the problems. If you want more information on the presenta-tion by Microsoft then contact my office on 0207 2194910 or my website www.claire-ward.org.uk. No one can doubt that we must be due a gen-eral election. Leaflets and campaign material are flowing through our front doors while newspa-pers are full of the latest policy announcements from each of the parties. Although you may be a little weary of it al-ready and there are still weeks more to come, it is actually a very important activity. Here in Watford there has been a real row following my leaflets which have included the views of the Conservative MP for Hemel Hempstead for Mike Penning. I believe his comments as a shadow Health Minister put the future of our new Watford hos-pital at risk. I have no issue with an MP repre-senting the best interests of their constituents. It‟s what we should all do. But if you are also representing the views of your party nationally then what you say can have an impact. How we all vote at the next elec-tion is personal choice. But just like our kids having access to the internet, being informed of all the risks and con-sequences is the best way to keep us from dan-ger. |
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People often ask how do I manage to juggle being Watford MP, Justice Minister and a mum of two little children. Well a lot of organisation, good support and some luck. But I love all three roles and being Justice Minister gives me chance to develop some of the issues that people in Watford raise with me. Recently I went to Nottingham to visit the Gal-leries of Justice to take part in a „You be the Judge‟ event designed to get people talking about sentencing. I probably do not need to encourage people to talk about the sentences criminals re-ceive – it is often the topic for pubs, workplaces and over dinner tables. It is interesting to note public perceptions on the sentences handed out by judges and the real-ity. We often read about heinous crimes but are we always clear exactly what the sentence means? If someone receives an IPP with a tariff of 8 years are you clear how long they will be in prison? If not, you are not alone as many people are unaware that Indeterminate sentences for Public Protection (IPP) allow a judge to set a minimum number of years that someone must stay in prison and they will only be released after an independent Parole Board has considered if they are safe to be released. Even if released they will be subject to close monitoring and restrictions. The purpose of the event was to let young peo-ple consider a typical case that would come be-fore a magistrate‟s court, as if they were a jury, and decide what the sentence should be. The perception is that the magistrates or judges hand out soft sentences, but these events often show that when faced with the details of a case the public actually reach the same sentence or one more lenient than the judges. Sentencing is often confusing – probably be-cause English criminal law is equally complex. It is something that I am keen that everyone in-volved in the justice system should try to make clearer. The only way that we, the public, can be sure that justice is being done in our names is if we can see evidence of it. That is why the Com-munity Payback teams of criminals sentenced to carry out physical work in their fluorescent jack-ets are an important part of justice being seen to be done. We all need to feel confident in the jus-tice system. Crime is falling – in Watford it is down by more than 4% in an already relatively safe county. But we should not be complacent. When I meet residents groups and constituents at my advice surgery I am aware that whatever statis-tics say, if you are unfortunate enough to be a victim of crime you want support and justice. So my other big event was to help launch the National Victims Service. Working with Victim Support this new service will mean that each victim will receive an assessment of their needs on a 1-2-1 basis. Having spoken to many victims and their fami-lies both in Watford and beyond over recent months, this extended and more tailored service is what they want to see. It may not be the great-est news story but it is the sort of thing that a government should do to provide help for those who need it most. |
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For many of my constituents 2009 was a difficult year of uncertainty and challenge caused by the global recession. It seems that the first few days of 2010 have been a challenge of a rather different but no less hazardous kind. Many have had to battle through the snow and ice to get to work, avoiding the growing rubbish outside most of our homes as it piled high wait-ing for the recycling and bin trucks to find safe passage on our barely gritted roads and foot-paths. As I write, with the ice slowly melting outside and hope that more reasonable weather will return, attention focuses on the economy. Can we continue to weather the economic and political storms? In Watford, unemployment has not risen as high as it did in the last recession and remains lower than the national average. The number of home repossessions has also been a tiny fraction of those that took place in the recessions of the 1980‟s and 1990‟s. Whilst some people have undoubtedly had a tough time in the last few months, many have managed to keep their businesses going thanks to extra help such as the deferrement schemes for paying tax and additional business support services brought in by the government. We all know that the coming years will mean that we have to start to spend the money more carefully than we have in the past in order to reduce the national deficit. But the key to our sustained recovery is not just what we spend but how we spend it. Both locally and nationally we will need to make sure that public money is invested for the long term. That is why I have continued to campaign and lobby my colleagues in government that we need to have our redeveloped hospital in Watford. Some of my political opponents have suggested that we should have a freeze on any new hospital building programmes. That would not only be a disaster for our econ-omy but a tragedy for us in Watford if that were to happen. We have all waited long enough for a new hospital. Over the years I have visited Watford hospital on many occasions, not least to give birth to my children in its maternity wing. Despite new blocks such as the Accident and Emergency Unit and the improvement of some wards, there is no doubt in my mind that we need and deserve something better. Our NHS is too important to all of us to be a casualty of the recession. It is clear that the next few months will be a fierce political battle at local and national level. Most readers will be fed up of seeing political leaflets and party political leaders by the time the election finally comes along. But here in Watford, what really matters is whether we have a hospital we have faith in, schools we are confident our kids will get a good education in and the opportunity to build a bet-ter town and country to live in. As always my new year resolution will be to work even harder |
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Another busy month has passed and the great thing about this column is that it gives me a chance to pick out the best bits and look forward to the month ahead. Well, the big event in the Parliamentary calen-dar was the opening of the new session with the Queen‟s Speech. For those not hooked on the ceremonial splen-dour, there is still plenty of meat on the pro-gramme that the government has set out for the coming months. Last year of course, I had the privilege of being the captive held hostage in Buckingham Palace while the Queen visited Parliament. This year I took the chance to take part in the procession from the House of Commons into the House of Lords to hear the speech at first hand. Despite what the gloom-mongers may say in the media there is in fact some really important pieces of legislation for Parliament to debate. More importantly, getting some of this into law will make a real difference to the lives of many people in Watford and across the country. The big issue is the economy and how to make sure we continue the recovery from recession. New legislation is needed to control the banks and especially the bonuses paid to bankers. It is clear that it is more regulation of the banking sector and not less that is required. Taken together with tough measures to reduce the government borrowing, the economy is a strong feature in this programme. But so too is the need for continued investment in our public services and in our future. I believe very strongly that although we have to get the deficit down, we cannot afford to push the coun-try back into recession just as we seem to be getting out of it. So we need to continue to invest in the skills of young people to get them back to work and the new Digital Economy Bill will promote invest-ment in modern technology. Over the years many of my constituents have talked to me about the problems of getting old and having to sell their homes to pay for their care. I know it is a real worry for them and their families. So the new Social Care Bill should be widely welcomed. It will provide for free personal care in their own homes for those with the highest needs. From next October more than 275,000 of those with the greatest needs will be protected for good from charges and top-up fees for care in their own homes. In due course we should have a na-tional Care Service. There is so much more in the Queen‟s Speech that I don‟t have space to mention – control of cowboy clampers; new guarantees for parents and pupils to know how schools are performing; new parenting orders for those whose children ignore ASBOs; bringing into UK law a ban on the production and use of cluster bombs; more support and a fairer deal for consumers faced with high energy prices. Check out my website for more information on these and more www.claire-ward.org.uk. So there will be plenty to keep me busy in Parliament and in Watford in the coming months. For this month I shall also be preparing for Christmas. With two young children, Christmas is such an exciting time and I am making sure that I enjoy it as much as they do. Whatever your faith, can I wish you a Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year. |
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