David Crausby

David Crausby MP
Annual Report 2006

There is no doubt that 2006 was a difficult year for the Government and particularly the leadership. The media frenzy over a possible departure date for Tony Blair has overshadowed a lot of the good work that continues to be done such as increasing the level of the national minimum wage, introducing free off-peak travel for pensioners and the disabled, and the huge ongoing investment in education and the NHS. For my own part I have continued to represent the interests of my constituents locally and nationally to the best of my ability.

In Westminster it has been a very busy year for the Defence Select Committee, of which I am vice-chairman. We recently published a report on the future of Britain's nuclear deterrent and we will be looking at the future of NATO and the UK deployment in Afghanistan amongst other issues. Iraq is still the issue which dominates the news and debates amongst policy-makers in the UK and the US. My own view has not changed since I voted against sending troops to Iraq in 2003.

As Chair of the Amicus Group of Labour MPs I've supported a number of the union's national campaigns including calling for a dedicated Government minister to oversee Britain's manufacturing base and highlighting the threat to the UK economy from firms outsourcing their work away from the UK, often to call-centres in India, with over 10,000 jobs being lost since 2003. I believe that Labour's link with the trades unions is absolutely vital and I will make the case strongly in any debate over future funding of political parties.

You can keep up-to-date with information on Early Day Motions that I have sponsored and supported, Parliamentary questions I have asked, speeches I have made and press releases I have published, on my website:

/EN/MPWebsites/David+Crausby

In Bolton my constituency office continues to deal with a large amount of casework, including immigration, benefits, housing, the Child Support Agency and local authority matters. I'm pleased to report that we've been quite successful in getting compensation for people in relation to Tax Credits. I was also lobbied strongly on Climate Change by Friends of the Earth and I have supported Early Day Motion 178 calling for year-on-year cuts to CO2 emissions.

In addition to my monthly advice surgeries at the Town Hall I went out and about in every ward over the summer to meet local residents as part of my 'Meet Your MP' campaign. It was a great way to keep in touch with voters and to talk about the issues that are important to them. Many thanks to those members who volunteered to come out delivering leaflets and knocking on doors.

Finally I would like to thank members and those organisations affiliated to the Constituency Labour Party in giving me their full backing during the re-selection process. I'm very grateful to be given the opportunity to continue to represent Bolton North East and I will work hard towards securing a fourth-term Labour Government.