Yesterday a special meeting of Labour Party Members gathered at Burslem’s School of Art. Labour MPs Joan Walley and Tristram Hunt were in attendance along with the Leader of the Council, Mohammed Pervez. Caroline Flint, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government was the guest speaker.
Joan Walley spoke of the need to unify the party and to move forward demonstrating a united party. Mohammed Pervez talked up the positive aspects of what Stoke-on-Trent Council had been able to do despite being weakened by the coalition. He pointed out that the Children’s Centres had all been saved despite having to suffer cuts, BSF and Cobridge Health Centres were other Labour Initiatives he urged members to remind voters about. Pervez urged members not to be complacent, and to campaign hard to prove that Labour was the right party for Stoke-on-Trent. Members were then invited to ask Ms Flint questions.
Party members touched on localism the cuts to the local Police Force and the closure of local Police Stations. Flint talked about the differences in Labours’ promised 12% cuts in comparison to the Coalition’s 20%. She remarked about Police inspectors in her own constituency of Don Valley being brought forward to deal with backroom functions such as complaints, as the force was stretched ever thinner. Commenting on “ a whole generation of Police officers who are being let go”; Flint painted an ominous future for policing in Britain. She denied that Labour was “scaremongering” on this topic describing the issue of cuts to the police as something “very real and very precious to people’s sense of safety in their communities”, and that it was “absolutely right” that Labour holds the Government to account.
Former Mayor, Mark Meredith asked about the Impact of localism within the Labour movement. Flint responded by saying that Labour had some very good examples of local councils where they had looked at ways of involving the community and that getting them involved was “a good Idea”. She reminded party members that the Labour Party was founded on ideas such as cooperatives and community groups. She drew a distinction between the localism of Labour and David Cameron’s “Big Society” stating that “ People are being told, if you don’t take this services over, then it’s gone”, quoting local libraries and swimming pools as examples. When responding to a question about the cuts in Education and the NHS, Ms Flint reminded the audience that not every child was born with the advantage that some have, particularly those at the top of the government.
She finished off the meeting by stating that Labour’s policies, whether based on Education, NHS or safer communities were about fairness at the end of the day and that what the coalition was doing at the moment was “completely unfair”.
I managed to catch up with Ms Flint and ask her a couple of questions relating to Labour in Stoke. * The video interview is the Property of Mike of Pits and Pots. It may or may not be restored based on whether it still exists. The Pits n Pots site has been defunct for several years now. (updated Jan 2024).
