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NEWS

A MESSAGE FROM THE NORTH DEVON YOUTH LABOUR

7/9/2017

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Blake Ladley is the North Devon Youth leader, and he has a lot to say! Every issue will highlight issues raised and give ideas of how to get more involved.

It is time for Young People to show that we were not tricked into voting for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.

When the clock struck ten on June 8th 2017 few of us had predicted what would unfold over the next twelve hours. The exit poll suggested a hung parliament with Theresa May’s Conservative Party losing their parliamentary majority handing Labour a swing of the vote not seen since Clement Atlee’s Labour in 1945.

Whilst there were many reasons as to why Labour’s vote increased, one took particular interest: expanding the electorate. Labour had managed to benefit from a forty-point lead against the Conservatives from the ages of eighteen totwenty-four. A study by YouGov suggesting that the age at which a voter is more likely to voted Conservative than Labour had increased from 34 at the beginning of the campaign to 47 by the end of the election, this being driven by the 23.4% turnout increase from voters aged 18 to 24.

Whilst the fallout of this extraordinary result began to take place with tabloids such as The Daily Mail (who had supported Theresa May in her quest to ‘crush the saboteurs’) struggled to twist this embarrassment into some sort of positive; The discussions behind closed doors of Conservative supporting tabloids began to figure out just how they would spin the Labour vote to make it seem illegitimate.

Firstly, began the attempt to claim electoral fraud with reports that some students had voted twice, once in their universities constituency and then in their home constituency. After it had been revealed that less than 1,000 cases of double voting were being investigated the reports subsided.

Then, on an episode of The Andrew Marr Show, John McDonnell talked of ‘reviewing’ some of Labour’s goals they had set out during the election including wiping student debt; this finally allowing the media spin on the young to really begin. The claims then spread of the young being ‘misguided’ by Labour on a so-called ‘promise’ that did not even feature in the manifesto; to Dan Hodges even calling Labour voters ‘mugs’ in his Daily Mail article.

Whilst this student debt spin has now come and gone what has not disappeared is the view of some that young people cannot make rational political
decisions. Whether this be due to a lack of life experience or following the crowd as was argued in the 2017 General Election.

What the young really need to do now is prove, to those who hold that view, that we can make rational political decisions and hold well-educated positions. The only way to do this is to get out and canvass for local council by-elections, take part in our local Labour Party and help to take part in any political events nearby.

After attending some events it is surprising how many people really do want to discuss the issues that our country faces daily and for the young this is a crucial chance to prove to those who doubted us after the election that we truly can argue our beliefs in a
public forum.

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SLEEP IS ONLY THE BEGINNING...

7/9/2017

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Donate to the bus shelter
Rosie Godfrey interviewed Kizzy Lovell from North Devon Bus Shelter/Survival Bags Home & Away.

What is the Bus Shelter project/Bus Shelter North Devon?

The Bus Shelter North Devon project has been taken on by a small non profit making charitable group called Survival Bags-Home and Away who have been working with the homeless locally for a few years.
The voluntary group were contacted by a gentleman who had seen the first Bus Shelter project in the Isle of Wight and wanted to donate a bus for our area to be worked on. He knew our group worked 'on the ground' with the homeless and felt we were the right people for the project.
We contacted Bus Shelter UK and got on board!
We have just received the double decker bus and it is now parked up on land where we can start the conversion to a bus with sleeping pods for about 14 homeless, a shower, toilet ,kitchen and a seating area.

Why is there a need for this project locally?

We have some great organisations in the area helping to house the homeless, but there are a small number of people who find it more difficult to adjust to moving straight into a room with four walls around them. We hope that by providing a small personal sleeping pod, alongside a family type of support system, we can support the people who will take a while longer to adjust, as well as provide shelter to those who do not want to leave the street, on very cold and wet winter nights.

The tagline for North Devon Bus Shelter is 'Sleep is only the beginning'. Why?

Sleep is so important - we recently supported a man who was homeless but trying to hold down a job, He was unable to sleep properly and at risk of losing his job because he was tired, not eating properly and was not in a fit state to work... but our bus will also provide the other bit that is missing for these men (and occasionally women who will be kept safe in sleeping pods downstairs)... a family atmosphere of belonging.
We already have a close connection with those on the very outskirts of life. They connect to us as people who actually care about them and who go out of our way to support them. The bus will be a point of contact where the men can come and get help with benefit forms, access counselling, have people to go to appointments with and generally care. They will have a kitchen so can eat together, cook and socialise. We are the only 'family' many of these men have had in many years.

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Donate to the bus shelter
Where did the bus come from?

The bus was donated to us. The donor found the bus and arranged for it to get to us, with the help of a local bus driver.

How can people 'Get On Board'?

People can look at our fb pages @Survival Bags-Home and Away and @Bus Shelter North Devon for the most up to date information about the bus, can message us through messenger or through our website

www.survivalbags-homeandaway.org

We need people to 'get on board' in a number of ways.
As well as helping in a practical 'hands on' sense, we need supporters like businesses to get themselves advertised on the back of the bus by donating £50+ to our project, we need other business' and craftsmen to help fitting and with supplies of wood, lighting fixtures , a cooker and wood stove, bathroom fittings and many many more items, all listed on the fb and website pages, and they will go onto the back of the bus too as supporters.

We also need financial help to continue to feed, clothe and provide assistance to the homeless whilst the bus is being worked on. We currently do this from a little premises in Bear Street, Barnstaple, which is open to the homeless 7 days a week from 3-6pm, until the bus is up and running, when many of the services we provide from here will be moved to the bus, freeing up the premises to continue providing more space for increased free counselling services, energy debt management and making up survival bags for other groups of people in need. 



As we move into autumn and winter, we will post updates on how the project is progressing.
Donate to the bus shelter
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Video coverage of Billy Bragg at NDCLP Campaign launch

20/4/2017

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See the coverage of NDCLP's County Council election campaign launch at the Saunton Road Studios with Billy Bragg, Amy Newton and Jim Jones here.
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County Council Election Campaign launched

3/3/2017

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North Devon Labour Party is fielding a full slate of 8 candidates in the County Council Elections to be held on 4th May.
Launching Labour’s campaign, local party Chair, Mark Cann said “These elections are an opportunity to send a clear message from North Devon that we reject the economics of austerity.  Government policies have seen our public services cut, our Health and Social Care services starved of resources and now under threat and our local schools left underfunded and now facing even more cuts.
“As Labour Councillors, our main priorities will be to defend our local health and hospital services and to campaign for increased investment in education and fair funding for our pupils. Low pay is a major issue here and we will campaign for the real Living Wage while promoting enterprise and the creation of sustainable jobs.
“Labour believes in a different approach based on public investment in our local communities and so allow them to thrive and see that those who the state has left behind in recent years are listened to and have their needs addressed.”

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NHS Campaign Day

21/1/2017

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​Great turnout from local members at the National Campaign Day for the NHS and Social Care in Barnstaple this morning - 1000 leaflets given out and over 200 signatures on the petition #CarefortheNHS

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Labour's Rail Fares campaign

31/12/2016

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On Tuesday 3 January, rail passengers in North Devon will face another rise in rail fare prices. For many it will be their first day back at work and whilst their journey is costing them more every year, wages aren’t rising at the same rate.  Since the Tories came to power, rail fares generally have rocketed by 27 percent.
To draw public attention to these rises and to put forward Labour’s alternative plan for the railways, we will be campaigning outside Barnstaple Rail station on Tuesday 3rd January 2017.
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Read more on Labour's plans,  follow this link http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php/rail


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Supporting Syrian Refugees

15/12/2016

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This the text of the Open letter we have sent to Cllr Des Brailey - Leader of North Devon Council - after the Council deferred a decision to take in 4 Syrian refugee families as part the Government's resttlement scheme. We've received no response as yet!

Dear Cllr Brailey

Re: Syrian Refugee and Vulnerable Children's Resettlement Scheme

The North Devon Constituency Labour Party notes that at North Devon Council Executive Committee on 7th November 2016 it was decided to defer the recommendation in the Officers Report to support the Government Syrian Refugee and Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme. The minutes of the meeting indicate the decision was based on the need for “the Council to obtain assurances as to the resources available to satisfy the local needs and duties”.

In relation to your decision to defer the recommendation to assist four families under the Governments’ Resettlement scheme, what exact further clarification are you seeking from our MP Peter Heaton-Jones and/or the Government? The details of the scheme seem quite clear from the Governments Guidance. The report of your own officers dealt with the requirements and that most risks from entering the scheme would be mitigated and would not be detrimental to the Councils’ wider housing and financial responsibilities. Indeed, the funding provided by Government to cover costs of the scheme suggests there would be a neutral if not beneficial impact from participation.

We would also ask why NDC has not agreed to join in when the majority of other District Councils and Devon County Council have already taken the lead on this? Indeed, it has already been agreed to resettle around 29 families under the scheme in Devon. Is it really beyond the moral and social responsibility of NDC to take just 4 more families? Local public opinion, as shown by the support in Torrington for the young refugees there, is in our view, on the side of action which shows some common humanity towards these victims of war.

We call on NDC to reconsider its decision and act with more empathy and sympathy for families from Syria who have already faced trauma and violence. It should not be beyond your compassion, especially at this time of year, to show more charity to our fellow human beings from the Middle East.

Yours sincerely

Mark Cann

Chair of North Devon Labour Party
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I Daniel Blake - Campaigning against ESA cuts

27/11/2016

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North Devon Labour activists joined forces with director Ken Loach for the I, Daniel Blake day to campaign against the “appalling” cuts to Employment Support Allowance (ESA). Local Labour members campaigned outside Ilfracombe’s Embassy cinema as Ken Loach’s acclaimed film was shown in North Devon for the first-time last Friday. They distributed leaflets encouraging the public to contact their MP and chancellor Philip Hammond urging an end to the brutal cuts The Government are planning on cutting ESA meaning that sick and disabled recipients will lose £29 a week.
North Devon Labour Party Chair Mark Cann said  
“At film screenings all across the UK, Labour are demanding that the Government scrap these appalling cuts to the most vulnerable in our society at the Autumn Statement.”
 “How can it be right, especially when we know people are already struggling – to strip £1,500 a year from sick and disabled people?
“This comes at the time when here in North Devon, we are seeing appalling levels of Child Poverty and more and more people becoming reliant on foodbanks. “Every way you look the most disadvantaged in society are being targeted by these callous policies.”
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Ken Loach echoed these sentiments, saying: “Go to the food banks, Mr Hammond, have the guts to face the people you treat with such conscious cruelty. If you don’t know the suffering you cause you are not competent to be in Government. If you do know, you are not fit for the job.”
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SOHS March - Barnstaple 22 October

23/10/2016

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Local Labour Party members joined the many thousands from across the community for the SOHS march in Barnstaple yesterday. - sending a powerful message to the Government that we will not stand for cuts to our excellent local hospital services!

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North Devon Labour Party Sees Rise in Membership Since the Referendum 

6/7/2016

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On the 23rd of June the UK held a referendum to find out if  the population would like to remain or leave the European Union. 51.9% of votes cast were for Leave. In the South West people voting for leave was higher at 52.6% and in North Devon 57% of voters wanted to leave EU.

Since then there has been huge political upheaval with many leaders that were so vocal in the campaign deciding to shirk their responsibilities and leaving their posts. One person that remains in their position is the Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn and this may well be the reason that the Labour Party is seeing its membership grow so rapidly since the referendum. 

In North Devon we have welcomed 75 new members bringing our total up to 475, and increase of 18%. This may not sound a lot, but it is if you compare this to the Liberal Democrats who, in 2015, had 455 members in the whole of Devon and were the incumbent party until the general election.
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Many of our members have said that they joined the party as a result of Jeremy Corbyn becoming the leader of the party. At our last meeting on the 2nd of June a statement of support for the existing leadership was agreed and sent to the party. Since then a poll conducted after the referendum, within our close members Facebook group of 119 members, showed continued support with 90% of the 40 people who responded saying "We should support Jeremy Corbyn".

It has also been reported in the North Devon Journal that the NDCLP are "unanimously" behind the Labour leader. The report also included this statement by our Vice Chair Mark Cann. 
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Our next meeting will be on the 12th of July at the Castle Centre in Barnstaple. At the meeting we are hoping to affirm our support for Jeremy Corbyn once more when we will find out the results of further polling of North Devon members. 
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