Happy new year!
We all begin 2024 with hope and optimism for the year ahead, and the chance for change.
Looking back on the turbulent year that was 2023, many of you across Blaydon, and indeed the whole country, suffered at the hands of decisions made by the Tory government.
Strikes took place across our public services as the Tories played hardball with our doctors, nurses and other vital service providers.
The Conservatives’ flip-flopping on housing and rail targets has left our industries unable to plan for the long-term, while the Prime Minister’s reckless abandonment of netzero policies demonstrated the Conservatives’ inability to think seriously about our country’s future.
This disastrous 2023 record merely adds to previous years of neglect from a government more interested in chasing headlines than governing. A new year offers us hope that, quite simply, things really can only get better.
As the General Election year kicks off, the question people must ask themselves is: are you and your family better off after 14 years of a Conservative Government?
When voters go to the polls later this year, there is the opportunity to buy into hope – there is an opportunity to give Britain its future back with a vote for Labour.
While 2023 saw more chaos from the Tories, Labour continued to lead the way. By earning key seats in by-elections, we’ve shown that with Keir Starmer’s leadership, Labour has changed. We are back in the service of working people, and most importantly, can offer real solutions to the challenges our country faces.
So in 2024, Labour will continue to take our offer to people across the north east and the whole country. An offer that will spark a decade of national renewal. An offer to rebuild our economy, with a better deal for working people.
We will scrap tax loopholes that Rishi Sunak refuses to, such as the ‘non-dom’ status, and re-invest that money into our NHS and our schools. We will rebuild our high streets by reforming business rates, tackling the scourge of anti-social behaviour, and putting power back into the hands of communities – giving life back to the beating heart of our town and cities.
Our mission in government will be to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 – to create good jobs in every part of the country, making everyone, not just a few, better off.
We will take back our streets, putting 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the beat to halve serious violent crime and raise confidence in the criminal justice system to its highest levels within a decade. We will get our health service back on its feet by building an NHS fit for the future: one that is there when people need it, with fewer lives lost to the biggest killers, in a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer.
Labour will also switch on Great British Energy to make clean energy cheap and secure, so that the British public never again face spiralling energy bills. This will also create new jobs and investment in every region.
We will break down the barriers to opportunity for every child, at every stage and shatter the class ceiling. This means reforms to childcare and early years support so that children have the best start in life. Because we know our area is ambitious for the next generation, and Labour is too.
This year we will also get to vote for the first ever North East Mayor.
Labour’s candidate Kim McGuinness is ready to drive the change our area needs. As Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim has invested in young people, backed youth services and funded Community Hubs.
As Mayor, she will work to secure good homes for all, whether you rent or own, as well as skilled, wellpaid jobs backed by strong trade unions. She will fight for public transport that is safe, reliable and affordable – and under greater public control.
In 2024, change is the choice on offer. That change is a reinvigorated Labour Party – back in the service of working people and ready to give Britain its future back.