Toby Perkins MP

A political earthquake went off  under the Liberal Democrats as Labour swept to power in Chesterfield, winning 34 of the 48 seats, including 23 gains, in the elections to Chesterfield Borough Council on Thursday 5th May.

As the Lib Dems struggled with an unpopular government and local party it was widely expected that they would struggle to hold on to the Council, despite having a large majority from the 2007 elections, but the scale of the defeat surpised even seasoned politicos, as Labour took control with a swing in excess of 15%.

Amongst the 23 seats to switch to Labour on a night of carnage for veteran Lib Dem Councillors were the Holmebrook seat of former Mayor and Mayoress Keith And Glenis Falconer, the Moor seat of former Lib Dem parliamentary candidate and Housing lead member Tony Rogers and the Hollingwood and Inkersall seat of Mayor elect Mick Bagshaw.

The full results were:

Barrow Hill & Whittington (three councillors) Lib Dem Hold SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 14.28%

David Stone – Lib Dem – 898 votes

Barry Bingham – Lib Dem – 865 votes

Paul Christopher Stone – Lib Dem – 807 votes

John Hoar – Labour – 796 votes

Stephanie Hoar – Labour – 789 votes

Stephen Lismore – Labour – 759 votes

Brimington North (two councillors) Labour Hold SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 15.38%

John Burrows – Labour – 886 votes

Terry Gilby – Labour – 822 votes

Gary Bagshaw – Lib Dem – 249 votes

Graham Ryder – Lib Dem – 202 votes

Brimington South (three councillors) LABOUR GAIN – SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 14.12%

Anthony Bellamy – Labour – 1,279 votes

Ian Callan – Labour – 1,244 votes

Julie Lowe – Labour – 1,173 votes

Ruth Galloway – Lib Dem – 820 votes

Peter Galloway – Lib Dem – 776 votes

Joseph Mann – Lib Dem – 724 votes

Brockwell (three councillors) Lib Dem Hold SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 15.15%

Maureen Davenport – Lib Dem – 1,147 votes

Ray Russell – Lib Dem – 1,089 votes

Robert Gibson – Lib Dem – 1,081 votes

Jenna Foster – Labour – 980 votes

Mick Leverton – Labour – 935 votes

Tom Murphy – Labour – 897 votes

Christopher Connolly – Green Party – 327 votes

Frederick Parkinson – Conservatives -254 votes

Dunston (three councillors) LABOUR GAIN – SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 17.51%

Gordon Simmons – Labour – 1,136 votes

Sarah Hollingworth – Labour – 1,134 votes

Mark Rayner – Labour – 1,103 votes

Julie Harrington – Lib Dem – 710 votes

Lee Cooper – Lib Dem – 662 votes

John Barnett – Lib Dem – 608 votes

Hasland (three councillors) LABOUR GAIN – SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 13.03%

Dave Allen – Labour – 1,435 votes

Amanda Serjeant – Labour – 1,195 votes

Andy Slack – Labour – 1,185 votes

Helen Arnold – Lib Dem – 915 votes

Bridget Dunks – Lib Dem – 848 votes

Barbara Butt – Lib Dem – 718 votes

Hollingwood & Inkersall (three councillors) LABOUR GAIN – SWING LIB DEM TO LAB25.24%

Helen Elliot – Labour – 1,440 votes

Barry Dyke – Labour – 1,400 votes

Anthony Hill – Labour – 1,330 votes

Mick Bagshaw – Lib Dem – 868 votes

Paul Mann – Lib Dem – 827 votes

Ruth Perry – Lib Dem – 783 votes

Holmebrook (two councillors) LABOUR GAIN – SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 29.51%

Keith Miles – Labour – 760 votes

Martin Stone – Labour – 755 votes

Keith Falconer – Lib Dem – 581 votes

Glenys Falconer – Lib Dem – 576 votes

Linacre (two councillors) Lib Dem Hold SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 3.83%

Mark Anthony Higginbottom – Lib Dem – 914 votes

Ian Barr – Lib Dem – 832 votes

Helen Blair – Labour – 507 votes

Gavin Balduaf-Good – Labour – 504 votes

Loundsley Green (two councillors) LABOUR GAIN – SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 21.34%

Avis Murphy – Labour – 723 votes

Michael Fanshawe – Labour – 687 votes

Fred Quayle – Lib Dem – 553 votes

Nick Redihough – Lib Dem – 478 votes

Simon Temperton – Conservatives – 115 votes

Lowgates & Woodthorpe (two councillors) – Labour Hold SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 15.79%

Jim McManus – Labour – 863 votes

Vicky Lang – Labour – 838 votes

Stephen Hartley – Lib Dem – 408 votes

Jean Yates – Lib Dem – 368 votes

Middlecroft & Poolsbrook (two councillors) Labour Hold SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 17.47%

Chris Ludlow – Labour – 894 votes

Donald Parsons – Labour – 871 votes

Joan Mann – Lib Dem – 210 votes

Sonia Lloyd-Croydon – Lib Dem – 196 votes

Moor (two councillors) LABOUR GAIN –SWING LIB DEM TO LAB  21.50%

Keith Brown – Labour – 846 votes

Graham King – Labour – 788 votes

Tony Rodgers – Lib Dem – 646 votes

Joanne Favreau – Lib Dem -565 votes

Old Whittington (two councillors) LABOUR GAIN – SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 16.29%  

Neil Rayner – Labour – 701 votes

Jean Innes – Labour – 698 votes

Alan Craw – Lib Dem -538 votes

Stephanie Collins – Lib Dem – 503 votes

Rother (three councillors) Labour Hold Swing 16.41% LIB DEM TO LAB

Stewart Bradford – Labour – 1,134 votes

Jenny Flood – Labour – 1,029 votes

Stuart Brittain – Labour – 1,032 votes

Elizabeth Archer – Lib Dem – 327 votes

Clive Archer – Lib Dem – 299 votes

John Maher – Lib Dem – 290 votes

Linda Rowley – Conservatives – 239 votes

St Helens (two councillors) LABOUR GAIN – SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 26.41% 

Angela Everitt – Labour – 852 votes

Trevor Reynolds – Labour – 784 votes

Keith Lomas – Lib Dem – 541 votes

Roy Pastoll – Lib Dem – 442 votes

St Leonards (three councillors) LABOUR GAIN – 12.28% Swing to Labour

Sharon Blank – Labour – 1,440 votes

Ken Huckle – Labour – 1,239 votes

Nick Stringer – Labour – 1,124 votes

Adrian Mather – Lib Dem – 942 votes

Kieran Harley – Lib Dem – 870 votes

Jean Barr – Lib Dem – 866 votes

Walton (three councillors) Lib Dem hold Swing LIB DEM TO LAB 14.04%

Patrick Morgan – Lib Dem – 1,237 votes

Alexis Diouf – Lib Dem – 1,146 votes

Chris Collard – Lib Dem -  1,190 votes

Richard Foster – Labour – 620 votes

Nigel Saul – Labour – 574 votes

Chris Witham – Labour – 564 votes

Paul Dale – Conservatives – 519 votes

Stuart Bullock – Conservatives – 516 votes

Marcus Linsey – Conservatives – 515 votes

West (three councillors) Lib Dem Hold SWING LIB DEM TO LAB 16.52%

Howard Borrell – Lib Dem – 1,165 votes

Denise Hawksworth – Lib Dem - 1,111 votes

Shirley Niblock – Lib Dem – 1,106 votes

Ray Catt – Labour – 736 votes

John Boult – Conservatives – 730 votes

Elizabeth Newbold – Labour – 719 votes

David Gratton – Conservatives – 650 votes

Dijon Wall – Labour – 636 votes

Patrick Ralph – Green Party – 235 votes

Toby Perkins MP, who joined delighted Councillors and supporters at the count and post count celebrations at the Labour Club, said: ” I am absolutely thrilled with these results. Now we can really see the town go from strength to strength, I am excited that we were able to field such a strong team and I am sure that they will be a tremendous asset to the town. Under John Burrows and Terry Gilby’s leadership they are capable of making a real difference to the future of Chesterfield and Staveley and their local communities.

I wish them well as they set out to handle the pressing financial problems they inherit on Chesterfield Borough Council and the forthcoming government cuts.

This victory was a message to Nick Clegg to stop supporting the Tory cuts, and to start standing up for the policies and values he displayed during the 2010 election. It is also the end of the line for this Lib Dem Council and a message that people are ready to see the town go in a new and exciting direction. “

The expenses claimed over the period1st February to 31st March 2011 were as follows:

Constituency Office costs:

The Chesterfield constituency office cost £1495 per quarter; this includes rent, gas, electric, water, rates and car parking spaces. The payment for Quarter 2 2011 was claimed in this period, although I am still awaiting payment at this moment so it may show in April ’11′s figures.

In addition there was office furniture cost of £516 for meeting table and six chairs in my office.

Finally the rather incognito appearance of the exterior of the office was somewhat enhanced with the addition of an external sign and window signage costing respectively £265.20 & £159.80

Phone Bills

I claim for only 75% of the cost of my mobile phone, this came to £32.28 in November/ December and £33.45 in December/ January, £37.15 in Jan/ Feb and £34.63 in Feb/ March.

Hire of Staveley Hall for surgery £31.00

My surgeries are weekly at my offices in Chesterfield, but once a month, I hold a surgery in Staveley, this bill covers surgeries for January & February.

Travel costs

Train travel from Chesterfield to London

November/ December £479.35 (this includes two journeys for constituency staff to come to London and two journeys for London staff to visit Chesterfield.

January 2011 £155.50

February £300.90 this included one journey for a constituency staff member to visit London

On 1 occasion I drove to London and on this occasion there were costs of:

Petrol £121.20

Usually my wife picks me up and drops me off at the station, until now I haven’t claimed for this journey, but I have this time entered the cost of the six mile journey to and from the station for February – March this totals £24.

If I am very late or very early going to westminster, I get a taxi in Chesterfield. The taxi is cheaper than parking at Chesterfield station, which is now £9 a day (£36 for the four day trip to London).

Taxi Bills – February £16.20

March £5.00

Costs associated with London flat

Council tax – £893.91 (for the year)

Electricity bill £69.98

Water £42.87

Gas £9.42

Rent

February £1430

March  £1430

Food (Food is only claimed for evening meals in the event of parliament sitting past 8.00pm, receipts are provided for any food claimed)

February £45

March £28.15

 Travel within constituency

Mileage attending constituency appointments was:

December – £17.60

January £58.40

February £26

March £19.20

Stationery

December – £145.08

January £352.22 & £14.50

21 February £26.88

7 March £94.59

16 March £187.87 Much of this is for rather expensive printer toners for the parliamentary printers, but will also include all normal stationery eg paper, pens etc.

Specifically toners for the constituency and westminster office respectively were also claimed seperately totalling  £230.88 & £313.72.

I believe that this summarises all the invoices claimed in February and March, if you have any queries with any of these, then contact me and I will be happy to answer your questions.

Charles Smith MBE, aged 90 and a blind veteran of WW2, laid a wreath on behalf of the Chesterfield Labour Party at the Remembrance Day parade in the town on November 11th. He was guided by Councillor John Burrows.
 
Charles has been a member of the Labour Party for 75 years. Despite being born into a predominantly Tory supporting family, he became interested in Socialism in his teenage years and has been working in a voluntary capacity for the party ever since.
 
Charles has carried out many voluntary community service roles, from distributing gas masks before the outbreak of WW2, to working on Patients Forums for the NHS well into his eighties, until his blindness became too much of an obstacle. Throughout his career as a manager for the Dept of Employment, he was constantly an active trade unionist, receiving honorary life membership of the Society of Civil and Public Servants.
 
Recently, during the last Labour Party leadership campaign, Charles had lunch with David Milliband. David later mentioned this during one of his campaign speeches, saying “When Charles Smith told me that he had shaken hands with only one Labour leader George Lansbury, and that he was still fighting for working people today, I knew that nothing could break the spirit of the Labour Party.

Last Saturday Toby Perkins, Labour Member of Parliament for Chesterfield, left his day job behind by taking to the shop floor in a bid to encourage more people to volunteer for Barnardo’s.

The MP rolled up his sleeves and volunteered at the Barnardo’s shop in Chesterfield as part of national Make a Difference Day. The nationwide event is organised by UK volunteering charity, Community Service Volunteers (CSV). It encourages people to get a taster experience of volunteer work.  It is also an ideal opportunity to meet other people in your local area and make a big difference to your local community.   

Mr. Perkins met with customers and other members of staff, discussing the importance of charities in Chesterfield and the fantastic work done by hundreds of volunteers across the town.

Make a Difference Day was on Saturday 30 October 2010, but tens of thousands of would-be volunteers across the UK will be giving up their time between 23 October to 6 November in support of local charities.

After completing his shift at Barnardo’s on Trevorrow Crescent Mr Perkins said:

“I wanted to volunteer at Barnardo’s to find out more about the hard work undertaken by many volunteers in Chesterfield who give up their time for such worthwhile organisations. It was a pleasure to meet the staff and the customers, who together contribute a huge amount to help around 100,000 young children across the UK who often find themselves in incredibly difficult situations with nowhere to turn. These volunteers are community heroes and their hard work is vital to our community and to so many vulnerable people across the UK”.

On Tuesday 19th October at 1pm, Derbyshire County Council will decide at a public meeting whether to allow Cyclamax to build a hazardous waste incinerator on Dunston Road. Labour Member of Parliament for Chesterfield, Toby Perkins, has called on Chesterfield politicians of all parties to unite to help defeat plans to burn thousands of tonnes of hazardous, commercial waste near the heart of Chesterfield.

Mr. Perkins will be joining the campaign group Chesterfield Against Incineration in speaking at the showdown meeting at County Hall, Matlock. The campaign has been fought over three years after the plans were announced to build the incinerator. Serious concerns have been raised about the safety issues related to burning potentially harmful waste in a highly populated area within reach of schools and thousands of homes. The MP has stressed the importance of putting party politics to one side to fight for the good of the entire Chesterfield community.

Mr. Perkins said:-

“After so much hard work and dedication from all involved, the big day is here. The plans could damage health and hit jobs with local firms threatening to leave the area if the plans are approved. I am calling on everyone in Chesterfield to unite behind the same cause. I don’t know of a single Labour, Tory or Lib Dem councilor in Chesterfield and surrounding areas who is in favour of the Dunston Incinerator plans. It is vitally important that they realize now is the time to act to defeat this blueprint. It will require the broad support of everyone if we are to be successful in standing up for the people of Chesterfield”.

Chesterfield Community and District Transport, a locally based charity which delivers bus services for hundreds of elderly and disabled members of the community, has warned that a government decision to axe vital grants could lead to its closure. Local Member of Parliament, Toby Perkins, is writing to the Coalition to demand that charities such as this retain their grants so that vital services reaching the most vulnerable citizens often in rural areas can continue.

The Bus Service Operator Grant, worth around £70K to the charity based on New Street, near Queen’s Park, is needed to provide buses capable of assisting people requiring wheelchair access. The charity is also reliant on grants for petrol and training for drivers. In the last 12 months Chesterfield Community Transport has made over 180,000 passenger journeys and hopes to deliver a service to over 20,000 people in the Chesterfield area this year. In his letter to the Department of Transport, Mr. Perkins warned that taking away the much needed funding would mean dozens of people, many disabled and with mental health issues, would  become isolated and left unable to afford regular transport services to Chesterfield and other towns for appointments.

Chesterfield MP, Mr. Perkins said:-

“Chesterfield Community Transport is the lifeblood for many elderly and disabled members of our community, and provides an outstanding service in areas without regular bus services. Without the Bus Service Operator Grant the charity would be hit hard, and those who rely on the work of its hard working staff and volunteers would suffer”.

Patrick Dawson, Chief Executive of the charity said:-

“We had an excellent meeting with Toby Perkins who showed genuine concern. It’s very encouraging to see that our new MP is truly behind us.”

Toby Perkins, Labour Member of Parliament for Chesterfield, has congratulated A-Level students for achieving the best ever results nationally. However, Mr. Perkins has warned that the Coalition Government is undertaking one of the biggest and most dangerous gambles with the lives of young adults in living memory. The Tory and Lib Dem coalition has reduced the number of extra university places, cut the Future Jobs Fund, and has refused to renew the Young Person’s Guarantee.

The situation facing school leavers, those looking for places at university and graduates was always going to be tough but the policies of the government will exacerbate youth unemployment and future prosperity. The decision to make these cuts this year could result in a ‘lost generation’, and will hit the poorest in society. 

Mr. Perkins said:-

“This government has taken an axe to the life prospects of this year’s school leavers that will damage their prospects for years to come. By cutting university places and the Young Person’s Jobs Guarantee this government will start too many young people on to the wrong track from the outset. In congratulating our school leavers on the record results, I also recognize the difficulties they will face. Any young people who want to join our campaign against the cuts to their futures should contact my office”.

Following widespread opposition and public protest from the community in the Dunston and Moor Areas, Chesterfield Borough Council’s decision to close seven of the Borough’s twelve community rooms was referred to the Council’s Scrutiny Panel for review.  

At its meeting last week the Scrutiny Board recommended that two of the community rooms originally earmarked for closure, those at Monkwood Road and Wimborne Crescent, should be kept open and the use of these rooms by tenants and the community monitored over the next twelve months. 

Graham King, spokesperson for Dunston and Moor Residents and Tenants Association said, “ as the public demonstrations we held in front of these two community rooms last month showed, the community is very angry that the Council’s Cabinet decided to include two of the best used community rooms in their closure and conversion programme in the first place. Nobody can seriously believe that the only possible way that the Council can provide additional bungalows is by closing two of the best used community rooms while other community rooms that are little used are to be kept open! It just does not make sense. We therefore welcome the Scrutiny Panel’s recommendation and urge the Cabinet to accept it ”. 

He went on to say, “ Of course, the Council should have identified all the community groups that use all of the community rooms and monitored the level of use of each room carefully in the first place i.e. before the Cabinet made its decision! They should also have identified and consulted all the affected community groups properly before making the decision”.

Members of the Association are, however, worried about reports that there are planned proposals to increase the rental on the community rooms from the current  £5.50 plus VAT per hour (or 50% of this in the case of bona fide community groups) to a minimum charge of £20 for up to three hours of hire! 

Mr King said, “ I sincerely hope that the Cabinet does not entertain this idea. If implemented it would make hiring of the rooms uneconomic for most, if not all, community groups.  There can be few such groups that ever hold meetings that last for three hours anyway! Imposing a rental of this nature would make the cost of hiring the rooms prohibitive and therefore make the results of the monitoring exercise recommended by the Scrutiny Panel a foregone conclusion. We welcome the Scrutiny Panel’s recommendation but if the Council were to introduce a higher scale of charging at the same time it would make a mockery of any monitoring exercise not to mention causing outrage among the community of user groups.” 

Member of Parliament Toby Perkins MP, who spoke at two demonstrations outside the affected Community Rooms against their closure, welcomed the news about the Scrutiny Board’s recommendations by saying:   

“I am pleased that the Scrutiny Board recognised the strength of the argument put forward by the community.” 
 
However proposals aired by Council Housing officers during the Scrutiny Board meeting were viewed less positively by Mr Perkins. He added:   

“I hope that there isn’t a plan to pretend to be reviewing the situation, whilst introducing charges that will actually depress demand for the premises rather than increase it. We want a fair review period and a real attempt made by the Council to increase the take up of these community facilities over the twelve month period.”