Amber Valley Labour Group
  • Home Page
  • News feed 2021
    • Colin Bailey
    • Suqie Banwait
    • Ben Bellamy
    • Marlene Bennett
    • Steve Bower
    • Joel Bryan
    • Amina Burslem
    • Celia Cox
    • Kieran Hill
    • Tony Holmes
    • Paul Jones
    • Paul Lobley BEM
    • John McCabe
    • Maurice Neville
    • Katie Simpson
    • Paul Smith / Stephen Marshall-Clarke
    • Keith Venables
    • Paul Wardle
    • Janet Ward
    • Chris Emmas-Williams
    • Mick Wilson
  • Join the Labour Party
  • Contact us
  • Archive
    • Cllr Paul Jones
    • Home Archive
    • Amber Valley Seats
    • Archive Home Page
    • News Feed 2019 >
      • Heanor and Loscoe
      • ALFRETON & SWANWICK
      • Amber Valley
      • BELPER & DUFFIELD
      • Heage and Ambergate
      • CODNOR & WAINGROVES
      • DERBYSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
      • IRONVILLE
      • Somercotes
      • LANGLEY MILL & ALDERCAR
      • RIPLEY
      • SOMERCOTES
      • Kilburn, Denby & Holbrook
  • Links
Picture
Picture

Picture
Picture
TORIES LACK LOCAL SUPPORT FOR BY ELECTION

By elections only local candidate- Labour’s David Farrelly

The by election following the retirement of long standing Labour Councillor Maurice Gent has exposed the lack of depth of the local Tory Party and indeed the other parties .

Only the Labour Candidate David Farrelly, actually lives in the Ward. the other candidates come from .Oakerthorpe,Morley  and Idridgehay.

DATE APRIL 26, 2014


Picture
LONG SERVING COUNCILLOR TO STAND DOWN DUE TO ILL HEALTH

Maurice Gent ,long standing Heage Councillor who is standing down

It is with regret that we have to announce that Maurice Gent is standing down as a Borough Councillor due to poor health. Maurice who has been the longest serving Borough Councillor having been first elected in 1973.He was the Council’s Mayor from 1999-2000. The last Labour Mayor of the Authority.He was made a Freeman of the Borough when he lost his seat in 2000, after 27 years of continued representation on the Council .He was re elected to the Council in 2011.

Labour group leader Cllr Paul Jones said’ The loss of an experienced Councillor like Maurice is a blow to the group but I completely support Maurice ‘s reasons for standing down. He have been proud representative for Heage and Ambergate on the Council  and helped to shape its direction as Deputy leader to both Ian Cox and Geoff Carlisle . he will be sadly missed’

DATE APRIL 24, 2014

Picture
FORMER AMBER VALLEY TORY MAYOR DEFECTS TO UKIP

Cllr Alan King has jumped ship from the Tories to UKIP

Following de-selection  by his local Party former Borough Council Mayor Alan King will stand as the UKIP candidate in Swanwick on May 22nd.Cllr King is not the first Tory Borough Councillor to join a far right party. In 2007 Alan Warner stood down as Tory Councillor for Denby, Kilburn and Holbrook and joined the BNP. he was host for the ‘infamous’ national BNP red ,White and Blue Festival

DATEAPRIL 24, 2014


KILBURN, DENBY AND HOLBROOK

Local Parish Councillor John Banks is seeking election to this eat, which he has  stood as Labour’s candidate on a number of occasions

DATE APRIL 18, 2014
Picture
IRONVILLE & RIDDINGS

Popular local Councillor Paul Smith is seeking re election to this seat

DATE APRIL 18, 2014


Picture
CODNOR & WAINGROVE

Councillor Isobel Harry is standing again for this seat which she won last year at a by election following the sad death of George Parkes

DATE APRIL 18, 2014


TORIES REFUSE TO DEFEND THEIR SEATS AT MAY ELECTION

Amber valley Tories are defending only 7 of the 15 seats up for election in May. yet only 2 of the Tories is defending their seat.

The Tories standing down are Liz Bowley( deputy leade), Kevin Parkinson(Deputy Cabinet member),Jim Anderson( Chair of Planning),Joyce Gemmell9 Former Mayor) and Alan King ( Former mayor and Chair of Licensing Board )
Picture
LABOUR CANVASSING IN RIPLEY

MP Emma Reynolds, Amber valley PPC Kevin Gillott and party activists campaigning in Ripley.


DATE APRIL 2, 2014

Picture









More activity in Ripley from the labour campaign team



Picture
LABOUR CANVASSING IN HEANOR

Labour activists in Heanor -out in all weathers

DATE MARCH 30, 2014

Picture
TORY DEPUTY LEADER TO STAND DOWN

Deputy Leader of Amber valley  Liz Bowley who is stepping down in May

It is clear that a significant number of Tories have lost faith in the leadership of Tory leader Stuart Bradford. Amongst them is his deputy leader, Liz Bowley, who is refusing to defend her Ripley seat in May.


TORIES SUPPORT LABOUR MOTION RE HOSPITAL CLOSURE CLAUSE

AMBER VALLEY LABOUR GROUP -PRESS RELEASE
 
Amber Valley Borough Council ,at its meeting on Monday, voted unanimously to support a Labour motion requesting that the 3 Conservative MPs, who cover Amber valley, vote against Clause 119 of the Care Bill, which would allow the Secretary of State  to close  a Hospital anywhere in the Country, if the local Trust was in financial difficulty without the need to consult the local community.

Cllr Paul Jones, who proposed the motion to the Council meeting  said ‘ Opposition to this clause has wide support within the medical profession and a petition with over 150,000 signatures is being presented  to the Conservative/Liberal Government asking for the clause to be removed.’

He went on to say ‘ As Chairman of the No to Closing Heanor Hospital  campaign group I know, only too well, the impact of a Hospital Closure  can have on a community and this clause, if passed, will allow the Secretary of State to close any Hospital without any proper consultation or consideration for the feeling of local people. I thought the Government believed in localism, apparently not.’

He finished by saying  ‘ If this clause is supported then no Hospital in Derbyshire is safe. According to the proposal the decision to close a hospital could be made within 40 days regardless of how well it is performing ‘

Labour controlled Heanor and Loscoe Town Council have also written to Nigel Mills asking him to support the campaign

Notes to Editor

The motion to Council  ,proposed by Labour Group leadre, Cllr Paul Jones was as follows

‘ This Council write to all three MPs covering Amber Valley requesting that they support the campaign to withdraw Chapter 4 Clause 119 of the Care Bill ( the ‘hospital closure clause’) that will make it possible to close hospitals without proper consultation.’

The MPs who cover Amber Valley are  Nigel Mills, Pauline Latham and Patrick McLoughlin

Heanor and Loscoe Town Council’s letter   to Nigel Mills states

‘Heanor and Loscoe Town Council ask you to support the campaign to withdraw Chapter 4 and clause 119 of the Care Bill ( the ‘hospital closure clause’) that will make it possible to close viable hospitals without proper consultation.

We believe the Clause will allow the Government to close or downgrade any hospital in the Country, with barely any consultation of local people,if the Trust is in financial difficulties nearby. They will be able to appoint an administrator to one Trust who will be able to take decisions to fast-track the closure of hospitals in another area-no matter how successful or popular those hospitals are-using the ‘unsuitable provider’ legislation that was designed only for insolvent Trusts. If it becomes law this Clause means that ‘no’ hospital will be safe no matter how successful.

Given the recent public outcry about the closure of heanor Memorial Hospital and your support for this campaign . We would hope you share our anxiety. When the Hospital is re opened , in whatever form , there could still be a threat to it with this Clause’

The British Medical Association said Clause 119 would allow the Health Secretary to ‘ force changes through the back door’ and the Royal Colleague of Physicians warned ‘ handing powers to special administrators to make decisions about neighbouring truts is cause for concern’

Writing in the British Medical Journal ,Professor Allyson Pollock says that the clause will ”undermine equal access to care in England’ and removes ‘ checks and balances designed to ensure that changes are in the interests of the communities affected’

Former Minister , Paul Burstow, proposed an amendment that would require overview and scrutiny committees of local Authorities to be consulted  but this was not accepted by the Government.

Andy Burnham , Shadow Health Secretary called it ” an affront to democracy’ which ‘ paves the way for a new round of financially driven hospital closures’ and which ‘ should send a shiver through every community’

According to monitor the number of NHS Foundation Trusts in financial trouble has risen from 21 to 39.

 DATE MARCH 4, 2014

MP OPENS SHOP WHICH HAS NOT GOT PLANNING PERMISSION

AMBER VALLEY LABOUR GROUP -PRESS RELEASE 
 
Amber Valley MP Nigel Mills proudly opened a new tattoo studio on Cromford Road Langley Mill on behalf of the landlord,Tory Borough Councillor Alex Stevenson  in early January 2014. This was well reported in the local press along with a photograph of the occasion. What the press coverage failed to pick up was that the business did not have planning permission. A fact which came to light at the latest meeting of the Amber Valley Planning Board, in February, when a retrospective planning application was made for the premises to become a tattoo studio.

This raises a couple of issue1 The report at the planning meeting did not state that this was a retrospective application. Why ?2 The Landlord of the building, Cllr Alex Stevenson, voted in December 2012 with the rest of the Council expressing concern about the number of retrospective planning applications.Why does he vote one way in the Council Chamber and do something else outside ?
3 Why does the Amber Valley MP Nigel Mills support busineses which do not have planning permission ? Does this not give out the wrong message or was it just a good photo opprtunity ?
Labour Group Leader Cllr Paul Jones said ‘ I am disappointed in these 2 Tory politicians in being involved in premises opening or changing tits use without planning permission. There is a planning process for a very good reason to protect the public. Politicians  are not above this and this is an example of why politicians are held in such poor esteem by the public I think they should both apologise for their involvement in this.

Note to EditorA copy of the minute covering the motion about retrospective planning application at the Full Council meeting on 12 December 2012 and a list of members who attended that meeting

Minutes of the Full Council Meeting Date & Time: Wednesday, 12 December 2012 at 7.00pm

Place: The Council Chamber, Town Hall, Ripley

Present: Councillor J Nelson (Mayor) and Councillor A S Ward (Deputy Mayor)

Councillors: B R Aistrop, J Anderson, P J Arnold, E A Bowley, S J Bradford, C N Bull, K Buttery, A G Cox, J A Cox, L D Cox, G G Dolman, C Emmas-Williams, G B Gee, J E A Gemmell, M B Gent, B Gration, E Hamilton, S A Hayes, P Hill, T Holmes, B Janes, P Jones, S B Joynes, A F King, B J Lyttle, P Makin, J McCabe, J R Moon, J Orton, G H Parkes, K L Parkinson, M E Robertson, C J M Short, P J Smith, A G Stevenson, D H Taylor, V Thorpe, M Tomlinson, J A Walker, R A Walker and M Wilson

MOTIONS UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 12

3

The following amended Motion was proposed by Councillor P Jones and seconded by Councillor B Moon:-

“This Council expresses its concern over the use of retrospective planning applications by writing to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and its local MPs expressing these concerns and requesting that the Government consider allowing local Planning Authorities to charge an additional administration fee for retrospective planning applications as a way of discouraging such applications.”

Upon being put to the vote, the Motion was CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

DATE MARCH 1, 2014

LABOUR MOTION TO FULL COUNCIL

The Labour group will be submitting the following motion to the next Full Council meeting of Amber Valley.

This Council write to all three MPs covering Amber Valley requesting that they support the campaign to withdraw Chapter 4 Clause 119 of the Care Bill ( the ‘hospital closure clause’) that will make it possible to close hospitals without proper consultation.’

 DATE FEBRUARY 28, 2014

Picture
DERBYSHIRE LABOUR SUPPORTING FOODBANKS

Derbyshire Labour group publicly donating food to local foodbanks at its recent Council meeting .Something not supported by Derbyshire Tories including Amber Valley Tories who sit on both Councils

DATE FEBRUARY 17, 2014


LABOUR CHOOSE LOCAL CANDIDATE FOR BY ELECTION

Labour of chosen Heanor County Councillor Celia Cox as its candidate for the Heanor West By election.

Celia , who was the Borough Councillor , for this seat from 1995-2008 is the only candidate for the election who actually lives in Heanor.

Group leader Paul Jones said ‘ I am very pleased that Celia is the Labour candidate.The lack of local candidates from the opposition is a worry. Why should anyone vote for a candidate who does not even know the area.  After all,  Councillors are the voice for their community . How can you be that if you don’t  live there. One of the candidates is from as far away a Crich ‘

DATE FEBRUARY 15, 2014


HUNDREDS TURN OUT O SUPPORT THEIR LOCAL HOSPITAL

Three to four  Hundred plus residents of Heanor turned out last night to the public meeting about the future of the Hospital. So many turned up they had to move the venue from the Town Hall to the local Church.

Local  Labour Councillor and Chair of No to Closing Heanor Hospital Cllr Paul Jones said’ I am very proud of my local community tonight by turning out in such great numbers they gave a resounding message to the  ‘powers that be’ that they will not get away with closing the hospital without a fight ‘

Anyone wishing to pass their thoughts onto the health authorities can contact them on 01332 868677 or email enquiries@southernderbyshireccg.nhs.uk

The meeting was held in good nature and  both sides listened to each others points.There was a commitment by the health organisations that they would listen to the views of the local population about what they wanted, that health facilities would continue to be provided on the site but the suggestion that this would not include any beds was not received very well and that a further meeting would be held ina view months with options for the site.

DATE JANUARY 31, 2014

Picture

HEANOR EAST BY ELECTION

Today is the Heanor East by election caused by the resignation of Cllr Phil Hill due to work commitments .

Do Not forget to Vote and send a message to Tory leader Sturat Bradford

NO to building on Greenbelt

No to closing Heanor Fire Station

No to closing Heanor Hospital

His Council His Government His Fault

DATE JANUARY 30, 2014

LABOUR RETAIN HEANOR EAST -COMFORTABLY

Picture
Despite the poor weather and the public meeting about Heanor Hospital Labour retained the seat of Heanor East with a comfortable majority

Group leader Paul Jones with successful candidate Sheila Oakes and County Councillor Celia Cox after the vote

As is becoming common recently more people voted by post that actually turned out to the polling station

DATE JANUARY 31, 2014


Picture
SUPPORTING CONCERNS OVER CLOSURE OF HEANOR HOSPITAL

Heanor Councillor Paul Jones with Parliamentary candidate kevin Gillott outside Heanor Memorial Hospital

Heanor Labour Borough Councillor and Chairman of the “No to Closing Heanor Hospital Group”, Councillor Paul Jones, along with Kevin Gillott, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Amber Valley, took up the issue of the future of Heanor Memorial Hospital with Southern Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (SDCCG) in a series of meeting last week.

Stories about the future of the hospital have been circulating since asbestos was found there last year forcing its closure and hospital authorities have organised a public meeting on Thursday 30th January 2014 at Heanor Town Hall between 7.30pm and 9pm to listen to local residents.

Following the meetings, Councillor Jones said “It’s reassuring that health chiefs are talking to local community representatives about this issue because the future of the hospital is important to all of us. By making it clear that they have no plans to permanently close the site and that they want to listen to the views of local people they contradicted some of the scare stories that are being circulated about the hospitals future. But just as we’ve seen Tory budget cuts put Heanor Fire Station at risk, I am worried that further cuts to NHS spending could change things and threaten plans to reopen the hospital. This is a facility which is valued by the local community and withdrawal of health services from the site is not an option  ”

Also commenting on the meeting, Kevin said “Closing the hospital and selling the site off isn’t an option. As unwelcome as the discovery of asbestos is, I’m pleased that rather than talking about permanent closure the SDCCG see the current situation as an opportunity to talk to the local community about modernising the hospital and about the services people want in Heanor. I’ll certainly be campaigning to make sure that happens, Heanor deserves the very best, and I’d urge people to express their views about what they want to see happen next.”

DATE JANUARY 27, 2014


COUNCIL DEPUTY LEADER TO STAND DOWN
Ripley Tory and Council Deputy leader told a meeting last week that she will not be standing to re-election in May.

This would explain why Cllr Bowley has cancelled an number of meetings recently especially in Heanor and Ripley where her chairmanship of the local regeneration Boards have been called into question. A case of duck and run I assume .She has obviously given up trying to defend Tory Amber valley policies

DATE JANUARY 23, 2014
Picture











LEADING TORY COUNCILLOR TO STAND DOWN

 
Former County Council Cabinet member and current deputy Cabinet member at Amber Valley Kevin Parkinson is to stand down at this May’s Council elections. Cllr Parkinson ,one of the more articulate of the Tory Councillors , wants to find something more challenging. We would have thought being a member of Cllr Bradford’s inner circle would have been a challenge for anyone.


Picture
WELL KNOWN LOCAL COUNCILLOR DIES

We are sad to announce the death of popular  Borough and Town Councilor  Bob Janes, after a long illness.

Bob was a very well respected local Councillor. A former Heanor County Councillor from 1997-2009, a Town Councillor since 1991 as well as a former Mayor of the Town  and a Borough Councillor since 2012.

Labour Group leader Paul Jones said . ‘ Bob was not only a colleague but a personnel friend. he will be sadly missed not only by his political colleagues but by the Town for which he cared so much. Our thoughts are with jenny at this difficult time’

DATE DECEMBER 18, 2013


Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

TOP

Amber Valley Labour Group 2021