Jubilee Street Parties - Book Yours Now!

06/03/2012
Reading Borough Council Press Release

Reading residents are being invited to apply to the Council if they want to hold a street party to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee or the London 2012 Olympic Games this summer, and the good news is that in Reading it won't cost you a penny to close your street to traffic.

Application packs are being sent out to people who have already enquired about having a street party during this time.  We are hoping that even more streets take part than last year, when Reading saw 16 Street Parties take place across the Borough to celebrate the Royal Wedding in April.

International Women's Day #IWD - This Government Has Been A Disaster For Working Women

To me International Women's Day is a celebration of all we achieved and a reminder about how much more we have to achieve for women all over the world.  We should strive for better rights for women, better safety, education, healthcare and equality. When I hear about the cuts being brought about by the Tory/Lib Dem coalition Government  I really do wonder if they have lost sight of this.

My female friends, who are mothers like me, are facing some tough choices like food vs fuel and giving up work because childcare is no longer affordable.

Here is a Reading & District Labour Party press release by Women's Officr and candidate in Park, Rachael Chrisp: 

“This Government has been a disaster for working women” – Rachael Chrisp

Reading Labour Party Women’s Officer, and Park candidate, Rachael Chrisp has labelled the Tory-led Government “a disaster for working women” in a message issued to mark International Women’s Day.

Ms Chrisp points out that one of the first cuts George Osborne made was in help with paying for childcare, and goes on: “And then Mr Osborne froze Child Benefit, made women work longer before reaching pension age, and cut Tax Credits – 450 working women in Reading will lose £75 a week as from April 1^st because they are working less than 24 hours a week. And those that want to work longer hours are often being frustrated because the Government is offering big retailers the chance to use people on ‘work experience’ instead, people pushed into putting in the hours without getting the pay.

“Mr Cameron promised that this would be the most family-friendly government ever,” she says, “but as with so much else he promised it has been anything but.  The truth is that working women who did not cause the banking crisis are being made to pay for it.  There are twenty-two male millionaires in the Cabinet and only 49 women among 305 Tory MPs, so perhaps that’s hardly a surprise.”

Can't make it to the rally but I still want to #SaveOurNHS

At 6 pm today a rally is taking place in London, urging the government to drop the harmful Health & Social Care Bill.  I can't make it into London but I do want to add my support.  I have already signed the petition to Drop The Bill, regularly Tweet to #SaveOurNHS and recently shared how the #NHSSavedMyLife.  Please do something if you can. You can watch it live here.

Here are some facts from False Economy (the full factsheet can be seen here)

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside....

English Tourism Week is 10-18 March 2012.

I have always loved going on holiday in England.  It's a beautiful and diverse country.  From the white sands of Northumberland that whipped my legs to the family favourite of Swanage. There is so much to see!  Castles, Romans villas, beautiful countryside, Blue Flag beaches, stately homes, Iron Age hill forts and so much more.

I've been to the Caribbean, Spain, Gibraltar and the Canary Islands but you really can't beat a good English seaside holiday.

Guest post: So Whats Reading Young Labour all about?

Founded in 2010, Reading Young Labour was set up to be the youth wing of the Reading Labour party taking in all people under the age of 31 in the two CLPs. We aim to promote young people and their interests in the party and council while also representing Labour to young people in the wider electorate. We also set clear aims, to be a strong voice of young people in the labour movement, to be a campaigning machine that engages with the public in new and effective ways and to promote young people to officer roles and elected office. We do this alongside Reading Labour Students but they include students in Reading who normally live outside the CLPs. Ian Stevens is the current chair of RYL, Will Cross is Vice-Chair and I’m the newly elected secretary.

As young people in the party we use Young Labour to engage with people like us who have a passion for the labour movement and who look to the party to promote our views and interests. To a young person, agendas, AMMs, ECs and minutes can all sound a bit scary, Young Labour is there to ease young people into the party and support them. Rather than formal meetings we have informal socials and occasional discussions which have no minutes or agendas to provide a relaxed atmosphere where young people can talk about Labour and other issues.