David Crausby

2007 gave us a new Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party as Gordon Brown replaced Tony Blair. Jon Cruddas, supported by Unite and winning the nomination from Bolton North East CLP, ran a strong campaign for deputy leadership of the Labour Party, which was eventually won by Harriet Harman, and did a lot better than many people expected.
Gordon Brown had a good start as Prime Minister during the summer but the 'election that never was' put us on the back foot. Labour's standing in the opinion polls suffered as a result but I'm not convinced that the Tories are as resurgent in Bolton as they might appear to be in other parts of the country. However, Bolton North East is still a marginal seat and there is no doubt that the Tories are targeting us and putting more and more resources into campaigning here. We need to fight them and remind ourselves and the voters why we need a Labour Government. We have ten years' achievements to be proud of, including the National Minimum Wage, saving the NHS after years of Tory neglect, huge investment in education and support for families, and a strong economy with more jobs and low inflation.
At Westminster, I have campaigned for the link between state pensions and earnings to be introduced sooner than the government's target of 2012. We have done a lot for pensioners already, with free off-peak travel, the winter fuel allowance, the minimum income guarantee and help with their council tax bills. But the basic state pension is still the key issue. It is vitally important to restore the link between earnings and pensions in order to ensure that pensioner incomes do not fall behind increases in earnings and the cost of living which would lead to increased poverty amongst some pensioners.
I co-sponsored a Bill to bring palliative and supportive care into mainstream NHS delivery which would ensure equal access to care for all NHS patients that would be funded as a core service across the country. It would also help give patients greater choice to be cared for at home where practicable, instead of in hospital. It's really important that real choice and personalised care is provided to all people facing the end of their lives.
I've also been highlighting unjustified rises in energy prices. I'm very concerned that low income families and pensioners are suffering most, while other families are also struggling to meet the unnecessarily high cost of gas and electricity bills. The Government has worked very hard in this area through the introduction of the winter fuel payment, for example, and it is would be a disgrace if people were to slip back into fuel poverty - defined as spending 10% of their income on fuel bills - simply because of the sheer greed of the energy companies. In my view, the Government needs to look seriously into whether energy markets are being adequately regulated. Companies should have a duty to their customers, not just their shareholders.
The Defence Select Committee has had another busy year. Now that Parliament has endorsed the decision to retain and renew the Trident nuclear deterrent, it is up to the Government to deliver the programme on time and to cost. The Committee plans to monitor closely the MoD's stewardship of the programme.
Support for Armed Services personnel was also high on the Committee's agenda. Ensuring that the Government provides decent housing, health care and education for our Forces families has been an important part of our work over the past year.
Scrutiny of the Government's policies in Iraq and Afghanistan continued. It is my view that British troops are bearing an unfair burden in Afghanistan and that our NATO allies could be doing a lot more. The British Government needs to persuade other NATO countries to increase their troop contributions. We should not have to face this fight against the Taliban alone.
In Iraq, whilst it makes no sense to name a firm date for full withdrawal, it is sensible for us to progressively reduce our forces with the firm intention of handing over to the Iraqis. If we do not make it clear to the Iraqi Government that they must soon deal with their own security, they will never be ready to run their own affairs. It will be interesting to see what the result of the US Presidential election later this year has on American policy in Iraq and the region, which remains dangerously unstable.
As Chair of the Amicus Unite Group of Labour MPs (formerly the Amicus Group) I've supported a number of the union's national campaigns including calling for legislation to ensure equal treatment for agency and temporary workers. I was also pleased to welcome the launch of a new £14m national academy to raise manufacturing skills. The new academy is one of a series set up by Government across sectors of industry. It will deliver courses designed for the first time by industry for industry, training 40,000 students a year by 2012.
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. In addition to my monthly advice surgeries at the Town Hall I have met constituents at street surgeries and coffee mornings, which have been very successful.
Finally I would like to thank members and those organisations affiliated to the Constituency Labour Party in giving me their full backing during the past year. 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.