Colin Swindell
Labour Prospective Parliamentary
Candidate for the Derbyshire Dales
Labour Prospective Parliamentary
Candidate for the Derbyshire Dales
Over the coming weeks and months I will putting forward my views on local and national issues affecting constituents across the Derbyshire Dales.
I invite Labour Party members, supporters and members of the public to add any comments they may have on the issues being discussed.
To add a comment, please click here.
I look forward to hearing your views!
Thank you for visiting my discussions page!
Total Politics Magazine Feature (Added Wednesday 30th October 2008)
I am pleased to see today that my interview with the Total Politics Magazine has bee published in the November 2008 edition - issue 5.
Along with other young candidates from the three major political parties I was interviewed about my experiences as one of the country's youngest Prospective Parliamentary Candidates.
In the interview I was questioned on a number of topics, including how I was perceived by the electorate as a young candidate, what my ambitions in politics were and what social and financial implications I had come across so far as a young candidate.
Obviously not all of my interview could be published, but I was pleased to see that they talked about my initial goal to become a representative for my home constituency, the Derbyshire Dales, and not simply to become a career politician jumping to the next available and winnable seat.
The article also picked-up on my concern with striking a delicate balance between toeing the party line and putting constituency issues first.
You can read the article by clicking here.
To add a comment, please click here
_________________________________________________
Labour Keeping the Price of Petrol Down (Added Friday 24th October 2008)
When oil hit $140 a barrel and prices at the pump reached as high as £1.30 a litre in July 2008, David Cameron and the Conservative Party were quick to attack the government over its apparent lack of action.
In an attempt to win cheap headlines David Cameron and George Osborne championed their policy of introducing a 'Fuel Price Stabilizer'. The Tories claimed that this mechanism would see duty on fuel decrease as the price of petrol rose and duty increase as petrol prices dropped.
Now with fuel below £1.00 a litre and as low as 97p in some places, David Cameron's 'Fuel Price Stabilizer' policy has backfired.
If David Cameron's policy on fuel prices was implemented today, prices at the pump would be on average 5p higher, pushing fuel back over the £1.00 mark.
The Tories 'Fuel Price Stabilizer' was nothing but a quick fix solution for a short-term popularity gain!
Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling were willing to make long-term solutions at the risk of short-term unpopularity; freezing the 2p fuel duty rise, increasing North Sea oil production, flying to Jeddah to talk to oil producers to discuss rising prices and demanding price reductions at the pumps in-line with the drop in oil prices.
It is the LABOUR PARTY who are serious about making the difficult decision for the long term benefit.
NO GIMMICKS! JUST REAL SOLUTIONS TO REAL PROBLEMS!
David Cameron can do the slick PR, but can he make the right long-term decisions on the real issues?
To add a comment, please click here
Comment (1)
As an ex oily person (Shell), I couldn’t understand the logic of the Cameron/Osborne ploy. Oil pricing is
complicated to say the least and it takes weeks before any increase/decrease finds its way to the petrol
pumps.
To run such a scheme would have meant employing an army of administrators – this from a party claiming to
plan the reduction of Whitehall bureaucrats.
Brian Spencer
_________________________________________________
The National Minimum Wage
It is ten years now since Labour passed the Minimum Wage Act.
The national minimum wage has arguably been one the greatest successes of this Labour Government in the last ten years.
It is staggering that when I talk to the ordinary person in the street they forget what life was like before Labour implemented the minimum wage. Even more amazing is that the majority of youngsters I talk to about politics believe that the policy was passed by a Tory government!
The minimum wage is a life changing initiative which was created by Labour! We should be proud of this and champion it as a Labour Party achievement!
Remember this?
Before a Labour government an hourly wage of £1.20 (the equivalent of £1.38 in today's prices) for an adult was acceptable across the Derbyshire Dales and Britain. WITHOUT A MINIMUM WAGE a forty hour week would see the ordinary person earn £55.20 at today's prices.
Today, thanks to a minimum wage, an adult earns a minimum £220.80 at a minimum hourly rate of £5.25!
Just imagine trying to survive on £55.20 a week today! With rising fuel, food and commodity prices, we should be thankful we have a national minimum wage to help people get by week on week during these tough times.
THE LABOUR PARTY CREATED AND VOTED FOR THE MINIMUM WAGE.
THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY VOTED AGAINST THE MINUMUM WAGE.
DAVID CAMERON CAMPAIGNED AND VOTED AGAINST THE MINIMUM WAGE.
WEST DERBYSHIRE MP, PATRICK MCLOUGHLIN, VOTED AGAINST THE MINIMUM WAGE.
I am proud of this achievement and you should be too!
To add a comment, please click here
I am pleased to see today that my interview with the Total Politics Magazine has bee published in the November 2008 edition - issue 5.
Along with other young candidates from the three major political parties I was interviewed about my experiences as one of the country's youngest Prospective Parliamentary Candidates.
In the interview I was questioned on a number of topics, including how I was perceived by the electorate as a young candidate, what my ambitions in politics were and what social and financial implications I had come across so far as a young candidate.
Obviously not all of my interview could be published, but I was pleased to see that they talked about my initial goal to become a representative for my home constituency, the Derbyshire Dales, and not simply to become a career politician jumping to the next available and winnable seat.
The article also picked-up on my concern with striking a delicate balance between toeing the party line and putting constituency issues first.
You can read the article by clicking here.
To add a comment, please click here
_________________________________________________
Labour Keeping the Price of Petrol Down (Added Friday 24th October 2008)
When oil hit $140 a barrel and prices at the pump reached as high as £1.30 a litre in July 2008, David Cameron and the Conservative Party were quick to attack the government over its apparent lack of action.
In an attempt to win cheap headlines David Cameron and George Osborne championed their policy of introducing a 'Fuel Price Stabilizer'. The Tories claimed that this mechanism would see duty on fuel decrease as the price of petrol rose and duty increase as petrol prices dropped.
Now with fuel below £1.00 a litre and as low as 97p in some places, David Cameron's 'Fuel Price Stabilizer' policy has backfired.
If David Cameron's policy on fuel prices was implemented today, prices at the pump would be on average 5p higher, pushing fuel back over the £1.00 mark.
The Tories 'Fuel Price Stabilizer' was nothing but a quick fix solution for a short-term popularity gain!
Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling were willing to make long-term solutions at the risk of short-term unpopularity; freezing the 2p fuel duty rise, increasing North Sea oil production, flying to Jeddah to talk to oil producers to discuss rising prices and demanding price reductions at the pumps in-line with the drop in oil prices.
It is the LABOUR PARTY who are serious about making the difficult decision for the long term benefit.
NO GIMMICKS! JUST REAL SOLUTIONS TO REAL PROBLEMS!
David Cameron can do the slick PR, but can he make the right long-term decisions on the real issues?
To add a comment, please click here
Comment (1)
As an ex oily person (Shell), I couldn’t understand the logic of the Cameron/Osborne ploy. Oil pricing is
complicated to say the least and it takes weeks before any increase/decrease finds its way to the petrol
pumps.
To run such a scheme would have meant employing an army of administrators – this from a party claiming to
plan the reduction of Whitehall bureaucrats.
Brian Spencer
_________________________________________________
The National Minimum Wage
It is ten years now since Labour passed the Minimum Wage Act.
The national minimum wage has arguably been one the greatest successes of this Labour Government in the last ten years.
It is staggering that when I talk to the ordinary person in the street they forget what life was like before Labour implemented the minimum wage. Even more amazing is that the majority of youngsters I talk to about politics believe that the policy was passed by a Tory government!
The minimum wage is a life changing initiative which was created by Labour! We should be proud of this and champion it as a Labour Party achievement!
Remember this?
Before a Labour government an hourly wage of £1.20 (the equivalent of £1.38 in today's prices) for an adult was acceptable across the Derbyshire Dales and Britain. WITHOUT A MINIMUM WAGE a forty hour week would see the ordinary person earn £55.20 at today's prices.
Today, thanks to a minimum wage, an adult earns a minimum £220.80 at a minimum hourly rate of £5.25!
Just imagine trying to survive on £55.20 a week today! With rising fuel, food and commodity prices, we should be thankful we have a national minimum wage to help people get by week on week during these tough times.
THE LABOUR PARTY CREATED AND VOTED FOR THE MINIMUM WAGE.
THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY VOTED AGAINST THE MINUMUM WAGE.
DAVID CAMERON CAMPAIGNED AND VOTED AGAINST THE MINIMUM WAGE.
WEST DERBYSHIRE MP, PATRICK MCLOUGHLIN, VOTED AGAINST THE MINIMUM WAGE.
I am proud of this achievement and you should be too!
To add a comment, please click here
Please click here to return to the main Derbyshire Dales CLP website
Promoted and produced by Colin Swindell on behalf of the Derbyshire Dales Constituency Labour Party,
available at End Cottage, Well Street, Elton, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 2BY
Promoted and produced by Colin Swindell on behalf of the Derbyshire Dales Constituency Labour Party,
available at End Cottage, Well Street, Elton, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 2BY