Reading leads the way on apprenticeships - but are Labour up to the job?

Fantastic news announced earlier this week by Reading Borough Council that the percentage rise in the number of 16 to 18 year olds recruited in Reading over the last six months is the highest in south-east England.

The official press release continues:

"In the period July 2010 to January 2011 – the most up to date figures available – a total of 310 16 to 18 year olds began an apprenticeship in Reading . This is up from 155 for the same period in 2009/10.

The impressive figures equate to a 100% rise in apprenticeships starts, almost twice as much as Brighton and Hove on 52 % who lie second in the south-east 'league table' of improvements.

The sharp rise in 2010/11 mirrors improvements made in the previous year when Reading had the 5th highest rise in the South-East and is an indicator of the sustained efforts made in Reading to drive up the number of apprenticeships on offer across the town for youngsters leaving school or college.

The number of apprenticeships recruited in Reading for all age groups – which include 16-18 year olds, 19 to 24 year olds and 25-plus – totals 686. This represents a 83% year on year increase and puts Reading second in the south east.

The latest figures are a major boost for the effectiveness of partnership work between Reading Borough Council and a range of public and private sector organisations that have been working together over the past year to increase the number of apprenticeships available to Reading people...

On February 10 this year Reading launched its 100 in 100 campaign, which aimed to recruit 100 apprentices within 100 days. The 100 in 100 campaign is a partnership initiative involving, the National Apprenticeship Service, Reading UK CIC, Reading Borough Council and nine Training Providers delivering apprenticeships within Reading .

As of the end of May, 166 pledges had been made by employers to start apprenticeships. Of these 78 had actually started. "

As I said at Cabinet yesterday, our positive legacy at local level speaks for itself.

Improving life chances for all young people was a key priority for us - and in particular for my fantastic colleague Kirsten Bayes who cares passionately about this issue.

These statistics show that while we were in office we massively increased and enhanced vocational opportunities for young people in Reading.

We did this by being more proactive in relation to the involving the private sector and increased the number of apprenticeships available within the Council.

At national level the Coalition Government is investing in thousands of new vocational training places.

But we recognise that with a highly competitive jobs market there is always more we can do and should do to support young people.

I sincerely hope the new administration builds on where we left off.

However, given Labour councillors have only pledged to 'monitor progress' in relation to apprenticeships I am doubtful they posses either the imagination or the drive needed to take this important area forward.

Reading West Business Hustings

Earlier this week I attended a business hustings organised by the Thames Valley Federation of Small Business. Karen and Nicky from the FSB who both live locally put a lot of effort into planning and organising the event and it showed. I found the meeting very interesting and useful both to gauge local opinion and what matters most to local business people and also to listen to the other candidates responses on some key issues. I was looking forward to meeting the UKIP candidate but sadly he didn't attend. A wide range of issues were raised on the night by local business people and members of the community including parking problems for businesses on Oxford Road, procurement, and tackling youth unemployment. As a councillor for an edge of Town Centre ward in Reading I have a lot of experience of dealing with parking problems and it is definitely one of the major issues for residents and businesses right aross the Town. It's not an easy problem to solve but in my opinion the Council needs to do a lot more to listen to and support small businesses to help ensure our local shopping areas thrive. Recently in Tilehurst Lib Dem councillors prevented the Labour adminstration making a big mistake on parking charges which could have hit local business hard. The Labour adminstration failed to listen to local businesses in Tilehurst Triangle when it mattered.
Getting action to reduce youth unemployment and support young people is a big priority for me personally as a young Reading politician and I've campaigned on it for some time now. The impact of the recession on young people in particular continues to come up a lot on the doorstep - it is clearly a concern for many people in the community from business-owners to families and young people themselves. It was raised at the Denefield School hustings a few weeks back by a teacher and another teacher raised it again at the hustings this week. Last summer a long time before I was selected as a PPC I was alarmed by rising youth unemployment in Reading and the fact that neither of the two Reading MPs seemed to be taking it seriously. I got the Council to organise a special summit on the issue - one of the most poignant events I attended last year with some heartbreaking accounts from young people out of work for months. This event resulted in greater attention being paid to the issue and more practical help being provided to young people. I didn't stop there though and I raised it nationally too. I was concerned at that time that as a Party we weren't doing enough in policy terms to plan to provide real support to youngsters so last autumn I backed an emergency motion at our party conference calling for urgent action to expand opportunities for young people hit by the recession which was voted through as party policy. This is the beauty of being a member of a truly democratic party where the leadership listens to party members...because party members make the policy! I'm really pleased that Nick Clegg has made supporting young people in these difficult times one of his top priorities and put it at the heart of our manifesto and the election campaign.

Before I attended the hustings I spoke to a local business owner from Tilehurst to find out what her number one issue was at the moment and she said without hesitation "everyone (me included!) is really fed up with banks not lending" and this turned out to be one of the main issues raised by audience members at the hustings. Business people were understandably angry with the failure of banks to lend to small businesses - something that Nick Clegg and Vince Cable pledged to sort out last week in their radical plan to reform the banks. I think it is right that banks should be required to meet targets for lending to small businesses given many of them have been underwritten to the tune of millions by the UK taxpayer. Vince Cable is right that so-called Casino-style banking should be separated from high-street banking. The economy and the recession dominated the questions. In addition, unsurprisingly perhaps, issues related to expenses and trust/public confidence came up - symptomatic of the widespread anger on the doorstep towards Westminster politicians and the political system in the campaign. Anyway, it was a lively debate and I was particularly pleased to see people of all ages in attendance - including a large number of young people. Check out short video clip here (courtesy of the Evening Post).

Campaign Update

Sorry for the lack of updates - things have been really busy on the campaign trail. Last week I managed to squeeze in loads of different campaign-related thing and still fit in plenty of time to do my ward casework in Redlands. Here's just a brief summary of some of the things I got up to in Reading West last week.

Hustings at Denefield School

On Thursday I went to Denefield to attend a special hustings. This was my first hustings so far and it was great that it was held in a school. I have been campaigning for years to give young people more of a voice in Reading politics - representing thousands of students as a councillor. We need more meaningful ways to engage and listen to young people and as one girl pointed out we should visit schools all the time (not just at election time!) The event was set up by Josh Harsant - Deputy Head Boy of Denefield and hyper-active Member of Reading Youth Parliament. Josh is leading the campaign to give young people a voice in Reading and I think he is doing a great job. I first got really interested in politics when I studied AS Level Politics so it was great to speak to 6th Formers about the issues that mattered to them in the coming election. Judging by the questions that were posed by students and teachers at Denefield School - tuition fees, jobs, training and affordable housing are key concerns for many young people at the moment. The Reading Evening Post covered the event. I've been delighted to have some young people joining me on the campaign trail - knocking on doors, delivering leaflets etc This is how I got involved in 2005 and I am keen to inspire people to get involved in politics at a grassroots level. The average age of our politicians needs to come down!

Funeral of Corporal Richard Green

On Tuesday I joined local people outside Reading Minster to mourn the loss and remember the life of Corporal Richard Green from Tilehurst who was killed in action in Afghanistan. It was a very moving event.

Backing the Power 2010 Pledge

On Saturday I popped down to the Town Centre to show my support for the national campaign for political reform - and sign the Power 2010 pledge. Hundreds of thousands of people across the UK of all political persuasions have already backed this campaign - please join them. Speaking people online and on the doorstep disillusionment and feelings of disenfranchisement with our political system is widespread. This should worry everyone who cares about the state of our representative democracy in this country. As Nick Clegg said at PMQs last week - this Parliament will go down in history as one of the most corrupt ever and radical reform is needed now to restore trust and legitimacy to our democracy.This has always been there but talking to people just now I am finding that confidence in our democracy is at an all time low. People I have spoken to feel don't feel politicians listen to them and they don't believe what politicians say because so many promises have been broken by successive Tory and Labour governments .There is also huge anger about the way many MPs abused the expenses system which has damaged trust in all politicians. I understand why people are angry and I think it is important to demonstrate to people through my record of action that I am in politics for the right reasons - to help people and make Reading a better place. I work hard and I am not in it for the money! I am pleased that the Power 2010 campaign contains a call to bring in a fairer voting system. One of the reasons I am a Lib Dem is our party's strong commitment to electoral reform - every vote should count. At the last election only 1 in 5 registered voters voted for Labour and we have a government which does not enjoy majority support in the country. This is wrong and it is one of the reasons people often give me when they say they are not voting. It should not be about whether or not you live in a marginal constituency or a 'safe' seat. When it comes to political reform Labour and the Conservatives want to keep the status quo - only the Lib Dems are prepared to change our politics. Only the Lib Dems would give people the right to recall (sack) their MPs - for example.

Meeting residents across the constituency - listening to their concerns

I do my best to make myself as accessible as possible to residents in Reading West constituency and in my ward of Redlands. I think it's important to be visible so people know where to find me and to help people make their minds up about who they want to be their next MP. This is why I use blogs, Twitter and Facebook. I am featured in a new guide to social media as part of a national initiative called '21st Century Councillor' which was published last week. Sadly lots of politicians locally and nationally just don't get social media and for some reason my use of it gets right up their noses - I can't think why. But then I don't use social media for their benefit - I do it to communicate with ordinary people. A lot of politicians would like to keep things as they are in Reading with the same old people running the place. I don't. I also use more traditional forms of communication - writing to people, going round to see people in their homes, chatting to them on the phone etc in my campaigning. I use every type of medium to try to reach out to people and show them I am there for them. Everywhere I go in South and West Reading in the campaign I am finding widespread dissatisfaction with the Labour government and Labour council in Reading. If I was a Labour politician in Reading I would be really worried. That said, I am not finding much love for the Conservatives either. Plenty of people tell me they can't tell the difference between the two parties. People are not convinced by the glossy leaflets flooding through the door from Labour or the Conservatives in the area (many are going straight in the recycling bin!) and they are keen to listen to what the Lib Dems have to say. They say they would like to give the Lib Dems a chance. Many people I have spoken to have not met a politician like me and they say they welcome my 'hands on ' approach. I try to make time to go and see people face to face. I am keen to listen to them and in many cases they tell me I am the only one who has bothered to take their concerns seriously. This is a pity. It was the same when I first got elected as a councillor and people told me I was the only councillor ever to have returned their call (!) I'm delighted to say everywhere I go I am finding people keen to support our campaign and to get involved, which is great.

So what issues are coming up on the doorstep or in my inbox? Well, like it or not the residents I speak to day in day out are frequently raising housing matters- overcrowding is a huge issue with people as is frustration from residents who have been stuck on RBC's council housing waiting lists for months. Labour's service charges are still very unpopular with council tenants I have spoken to. I spoke to a woman last week who lost her home after her buy-to-let landlord couldn't keep up repayments on his mortgage. She had a really tough time and felt she got little or no support from Reading Borough Council or the current Labour MP. I became aware of this issue last year and I campaigned for help and support to be given to people who were affected - the only politician in Reading to do this. Long waits for routine operations is another issue people are raising with me. People contacting me are waiting more than 18 weeks (as promised by Labour) and they are often in a lot of pain. Norman Lamb, Lib Dem Healthspokesperson revealed last week that the number of NHS Managers rose 12% last year compared to nurses only by 2% - this balance seems wrong. Despite what some local Labour politicians are saying many people are continuing to report problems to me connected with the recession - youth unemployment being one of them. They tell me their teenagers are leaving school and not getting the support they need. Anyway, that's all I've got time for now. Catch you soon!

Not over yet: recession continues to make life difficult for many

Recently a number of commentators and pundits have declared the recession is over. However, the publication today of the latest figures relating to the number of people in Reading claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), by the independent Office for National Statistics. suggest that for many local people the 'economic downturn', 'credit crunch', or whatever you care to call it continues to bite.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit - specifically JSA, rose in Reading in January: from 3,970 i(n December 2009) to 4,190. This is not good news and should serve as a warning to those who think that the impact of Gordon Brown's recession is no longer being felt here, as well as a reminder that more work still needs to be done to support those affected. The claimant count as a proportion of the working age population across the South East in January was 3.6% - but in Reading it climbed to 4.3%.
Nationally, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit is the highest since Labour came to power. This is hardly a great endorsement of Labour's stewardship of the UK economy and Gordon Brown's famous pledge to "end boom and bust". And as many have observed - it is young people who are bearing the brunt of the recession.
What continues to concern me, is the fact that the largest group of people claiming JSA in Reading are aged between 20 to 24. Today's figures put this at 730 individuals.
Being out of work for any period of time can have a very damaging impact on individuals and for young people in particular. Another cause for concern in Reading is the increase in the number of people who have been out of work for over a year (claiming JSA): this has increased from 585 (Dec 09) to 640. This is a concern not least because all the evidence shows that the longer someone is out of work the harder it is them to get back into the labour market.
Nationally, whilst overall unemployment is down, the South East saw the biggest rise in unemployment during this period. - up by 12,000.
This evening at a meeting of the Corporate, Community and External Affairs Scrutiny Panel which I am a member, we heard that the number of young people not in education, education, employment or training (known as NEET) in Reading has fallen from a high of around 13.9% of 16-18 year olds (September 2009) to 6.1%. This is something I have been concerned about for some time. The decline in the number of NEETs is very welcome news and testament to the hard work that many local agencies including RBC and Connexions Berkshire have put in.
We must continue to actively support our young people in Reading to ensure they don't get left behind. The news that a number of 20 to 24 year olds are struggling to find work in Reading should be a concern for us all. At the CCEA meeting I requested that the Council as part of it's work to reduce the impact of the credit crunch locally investigates ways to support this group more effectively.
Whilst some commentators may have decided the recession is over we must not turn our back on young people in our own backyard, many of whom are still struggling. I will continue to campaign to raise the profile of the problem of youth unemployment and do my best to get action taken locally to help those affected.

Lib Dems: Proud of our Town

This evening my Lib Dem colleagues and I on Reading Borough Council spoke out against Labour's latest bid to get Reading city status.

I've attached the speech I gave below:

"When I first hard about Labour's latest bid to go for city status I wanted to find out what local people thought about this, so I asked them.

This is just a handful of the comments I received:

"i'm not sure that Reading become a city will make a lot of difference to its residents"

"What would it bring us except more pubs & clubs like the last attempts?"

"Reading is tiny, not really a city at all. What benefits would it bring?!"

"What is the benefit of city status? Other than presumably higher council tax!"

and my personal favourite:

"if I wished to live in a city I would have stayed in London."

A couple of people told me they supported the idea, but they were outnumbered by the deeply sceptical.

What's in it for us? They said.

What's wrong with being a town?

Is bigger, necessarily better?

These are the key questions people are asking.

This Council should be about serving the people: not serving ourselves.

Improving the lot of people who live in our town should be our top priority: not selling the town's soul to the highest bidder.

Can the Leader of the Council please explain to me and the people of Reading:

What problems or challenges do we currently face that would be solved by Reading becoming a city?

In this Borough the boundaries we share with our neighbours have always been a source of conflict.

What good will re-opening these old wounds do?

This bid says more about the Reading Labour Party than it does about the needs of the people we are meant to serve.

It is redolent of the era of John Howarth: endless vanity projects that Labour in Reading have tried and failed to foist on local people.

Without asking local people what they actually want.

Such as:

- The failed One Way IDR
- And recent abortive attempts to build a politicians palace in place of the old civic

Thanks to the mismanagement of the nation's finances Gordon Brown has left this town and its people saddled with a mountain of debt.

We are facing perhaps the tighest budget round in this Council's history.

We are asking officers to do more, with less.

I think local people would like the the officers of this Council to focus on tackling the real problems of thousands of people in Reading are facing today:

1. We have just come out of a period of some of the most severe weather this town has ever experienced.
2. There are currently just under 4,000 people out of work - the majoity of whom are aged between 20 and 24;
3. There are around 5,000 people currently trying to access social housing;
4. Thousands of children are growing up in real poverty under our very noses their lives blighted by poor housing and poor health;
5. And we need as a Council to care for a fast-growing ageing population - the demands of which are placing a huge strain on our finances.

I am happy to admit that for the Lib Dem Group these and many other important issues take priority over bidding for city status.

Because we put local people first.

Local businesses may have been judged by a London-based thinktank to have 'weathered' this recession

But this has not been without pain: job losses, businesses going under.

- Do Reading businesses genuinely have £60,000 lying around just to throw at another bid which is doomed to fail or where there is no guarantee of success?

- Surely that money could be better spent, or invested in things that would really benefit local people?"

The Tories on Reading Borough Council are backing Labour's bid.

Predictably, they are both accusing us of "doing the Town down".

They could not be more wrong.

As Lib Dems we are proud to stand up for what we believe in: proud to speak up for local people and proud to campaign for action on local issues.

Yes, we are fiercely localist: we listen to the local people that elected us and ask them what they think the priorities should be.

I feel strongly that at times like this when many people are in the town are struggling the Council must focus on it's core business: supporting local people.

And as we climb out of recession, we really cannot afford to waste Council time and resources on yet another Labour vanity project.

Labour's plans to help young people are a drop in the ocean

Well, lo and behold after Nick Clegg outlined ambitious plans to help young people badly hit by the recession Labour ministers have been shamed into coming up with more cash to tackle youth unemployment.

But the proposals set out by Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper today constitute a drop in the ocean - and will go nowhere near helping all young people affected.

And they won't help all young people right now. And they are unlikely to reach many young people in West Reading who are out of work.

• Labour ministers promise that their package will help 470,000 unemployed young people 'over the next 15 months'
• But as I pointed out yesterday the government's own figures published last week revealed that there are currently approaching 1 million youngsters out of work
• Dig deeper into the details of Labour's plan and only 100,000 youngsters would be set to benefit immediately
• Labour's Future Jobs Fund will only create a possible 16,000 apprenticeship places (UK wide)
• But the Future Jobs Fund is no panacea. As I revealed on my Redlands blog last July the number of jobs this was set create across the South East region last year was predicted to be less than 5,000!

Yvette Cooper said today that each young person would be given their own named Jobcentre Plus personal adviser. I'm sure this will have young people jumping for joy. This won't provide young people with hope it's designed to get them more used to the idea of being long-term unemployed. Is this the message we should be sending young people?

As Ms Cooper acknowledges in her own press release thousands of young people have been unemployed for 6 months or longer - school leavers and graduates.

Why did Labour leave young people to languish on benefits for all this time before announcing today's long-overdue 'Guarantee'?

Contrast these plans with the proposals that Nick Clegg outlined last week which include:

Investing £900 million pounds which would:

• Go towards supporting ALL young people into training or paid work just 90 days or 3 months after they have been looking for work
• Guarantee the creation of thousands of extra higher education and training course places
• Fund a commitment to pay young people on an internship or training course £55 per week

It's clear for all to see: the Lib Dem proposals will help more young people into work, skills and training more quickly.

Young people in West Reading - let down by Labour

The latest official unemployment statistics were published earlier this week.

It is good to see the number of people out of work has fallen by approximately 7,000 - however the number of people currently out of the work is still far too high - at over 2.4 million.

This is Gordon Brown's real legacy.

The number of young people not in education, employment, skills or training (NEETs) has also fallen - this is a real credit to all the people and organisations in Reading who are working to support young people in the area.

But I am still concerned about young people who despite all the strategies and initiatives adopted by Reading Borough Council and Connexions Berkshire continue to struggling.

One young person struggling alone in Reading is one too many, in my view. We cannot afford both as a society and as an economy to overlook any young person.

Young people like Nathan - a young man from Dee Park estate who has been trying to find employment in Reading for months and who was interviewed by BBC South on Friday.

I was asked what the Lib Dems would do - you can see the piece here:


I'm delighted local and national media are finally picking up on this issue and joining the campaign for action.

Unemployment peaked in Reading last October and seeing the impact for myself on people living in my ward spurred me on to campaign on this issue.

I visited Reading Job Centre Plus in October and spoke to staff. At that time 1,000 people were coming through the doors every day and they were looking at ways of expanding to cope with demand.

Before Labour Ministers start slapping themselves on the back I think it's important to point out some pretty bleak facts that these figures conceal:

• There are currently over 8 million people currently classed by government as 'economically inactive'
• The employment rate is at its lowest rate since 1996-7 (the number of vacancies has fallen)
• There are currently an estimated 927,000 16-24 year olds out of work in the UK (down fro 943,000)

So what's the picture like here in Reading? (figures quoted available on the NOMIS website)

• There are currently just under 4,000 people claiming Job Seekers Allowance
• 40% of people currently claiming JSA live in West Reading: in Whitley (395), Battle (360), Norcot (350) and Minster (320)
• The majority of JSA claimants in Reading are in the 20-24 age group (690 people)
• There are currently 330 young people aged between 17-19 out of work and claiming benefit -

Yet more evidence, as I wrote earlier this week, that despite rising wealth and standards of living in some parts of town, Reading continues to be a very divided place economically.

It's a place where many people have not benefitted from years of a Labour government or a Labour Council.

And to an extent our assumptions are based on the official statistics. But we know that there are more examples of 'hidden jobless'.

This interesting article which appeared in the The Independent earlier this week has more about the rise in 'hidden jobless' including the big rise in the number of people being forced into part-time work due to a shortage of full-time roles.

This recession is having a disproportionate impact on young people and in particular young black people. Research carried out by the Institute of Public Policy Research and published in The Guardian this week revealed that 1 in 2 black youngsters (48%) aged between 16-24 are currently out of work.

This is a shocking statistic and a damning indictment of 13 years of a Labour government. Labour ministers like Harriet Harman and David Lammy claim that equality matters to the Labour Party but young black kids growing up under a Labour government have not found themselves better off or with an equal chance of success in British society today.

Nick Clegg has described the plight of young black people struggling in the recession as 'completey unacceptable' an this week he pledged that a Lib Dem government would work to dramatcally increase opportunity for young people of all races currently out of work.

You can find out more about Nick's plans to help young people in my post earlier this week.

I am committed to providing a strong voice for people all colours, races and faiths who have been let down by Labour in this recession.

If you have been badly affected, or you know someone who has I would love to hear from you.

Please get in touch.

Nick Clegg gets it on youth unemployment (and social media)

This is entirely my view and I couldn't hope to speak for others but I couldn't be happier with the way the national Lib Dem campaign is going at the minute and with the direction taken by Nick Clegg and his team over the past two weeks.

Since I was selected as a PPC for Reading West on 8 January Nick has outlined two key pledges firstly - action to reduce the number of empty homes, and secondly, today, plans to throw a much-needed life line to young people.

Anyone who knows me will know these are two of the issues that mean the most to me in my campaigning - probably in my top 5!

In parts of Reading - notably Whitley the number of youngsters who are not in work or education is a real cause for concern and Labour locally and nationally have run out of ideas of how to tackle this. If I was a family member affected by this I would be really angry.

Last October I forced local politicians to engage on this issue: I got Reading Borough Council to hold a special summit meeting on how we can better support local youngsters.

I wrote to RBC again this week calling for a follow up meeting to ensure that this issue does not slip off the agenda and I gave an interview to BBC South on the subject.


I wrote to Nick last summer calling for urgent action after seeing the figures on youth unemployment in Reading.

And because I felt so passionately about this issue last September I overcame my nerves and spoke at Lib Dem Federal Conference to ensure that the Lib Dems had a policy on this issue:

You can check out my speech here:




Nick will be launching the Lib Dem policy to help support young people badly affected by the recession at 4pm today.

He will be talking directly to young people using social media - what else?

Earlier today he said:

"Facebook, YouTube and Twitter play as an important role as TV or newspapers in young people's lives. Politicians can't ignore new or social media if they want to connect with the next generation of voters"

At last, a UK Party Leader who actually gets it!! I will continue blogging and tweeting even more fervently now (not that I needed any encouragement).

I have been using social media as part of my campaigning in Reading for the past couple of years. I am keen to get children and young people involved in a scrutiny review I am leading on children's health - we can't expect that they will want to come to council meetings (especially when very few adults do!)



On the subject of YouTube, check out this video that Nick and his team have produced:



Nick Clegg will be holding an online question time at 4.30pm today.

You can find full details of the event and how to submit a question here. You can submit a question via Twitter - @Nick_Clegg #asknick.

Reading - Tale of Two 'Cities'

You may have seen a report published today which was widely trailed in the national and local media over the past 24 hours (produced by the thinktank Centre for Cities) in which Reading was listed as somewhere with 'the right ingredients to succeed after the recession has passed'.

I was not in the least surprised to see Reading listed as one of '5 big hitters'.

This is not the first time this thinktank has singled out Reading for praise.

Reading has a dynamic local economy and a resilient workforce.

Reading has many of the ingredients needed to be very successful: it has a mobile and highly-skilled workforce, good transport links and excellent universities in easy reach.

It's not difficult to understand why many blue-chip companies have set up business here.

We should be proud of Reading's progress to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the UK.

However, what concerns me is the evidence I see all around me which shows that not everyone who lives in Reading is able to share in and benefit from this success.

Inequality - linked to both health and wealth is a major issue in Reading and where you are born in Reading still has a big impact on how well you are likely to do in life and how healthy you and your family are likely to be.

This situation is not unique to Reading - but it's important to stress that Reading is not immune to problems faced elsewhere linked to recession.

And the gap between those who are well-off and worst-off is getting wider - as the recent Comprehensive Area Assessment of Reading (published before Christmas) confirmed.

This isn't just about statistics.

This is about whole families and neighbourhoods being blighted by poverty -including poor housing and bad health - just metres away from other communities with access to good housing and good schools.

In a town which generates as much wealth and success as Reading this is not acceptable, in my view. This is a damning indictment of years of Labour rule in Reading.

A Labour-run Council and a Labour government has not resulted in a fairer Reading.

I have campaigned extensively in recent years to highlight the disparity that exists between different neighbourhoods in Reading - and to get the Labour-run Council to take long overdue action.

My campaigning has resulted in more support for deprived neighbourhoods in Reading through the Thriving Neighbourhoods scheme and the creation of a 'Decent Neighbourhoods Fund' - to improve the quality of life for residents living on estates in Reading.

I have championed the needs of young people - because I think they have been let down badly by the Labour government and the Labour administration of Reading Borough Council.

I have highlighted the fact that what Labour has done nationally has been too little too late.

In Reading, the number of youngsters between 16-19 who are currently without a job, skills or training (NEETs) is regularly higher than any other towns in our region.

It has been this way for years because of Labour's complacent attitude.

Labour politicians have failed to get the best out of our schools and teachers - leaving some children ill-equipped for the modern workforce.

Recently the figure has come down to around 6% but it had been stuck at around 8% for the past few years - higher than anywhere else in the South East.

The Council has been forced to chase government targets around reducing headline 'NEET' figures rather than doing what is needed locally to support local people.

But 16-19 year olds are not the only group facing difficulties.

Let's also not forget too those 20-somethings graduating from Reading University or other local universities and wanting to live and work in the Reading area.

Many of these youngsters live in my ward in Redlands.

They are graduating with the highest debts of any graduates ever - chasing a dwindling number of vacancies.

The last set of Job Seekers Allowance figures I saw for Reading showed that the majority of JSA claimants are aged between 20 and 24.

Last Summer I reported that the number of young people who were unemployed was set to reach one million - a figure not seen for decades.

The graduates I speak to feel badly let down by this Labour government and its promises of a pot of gold at the end of the educational rainbow.

We cannot risk the creation of another "lost generation" of young people.

Being out of work is not only bad for the pocket, bad for the economy - it's bad for the health and well-being of our young people.

I have actively campaigned for action both locally and nationally for action to help support our young people in Reading.

This is because I am not prepared to accept the status quo and neither should local people.

If people want things to change they need to vote for change. Not more of the same from Labour.

Nick Clegg outlined the Lib Dem plan for a 'life boat' for Britain's young people including plans for more paid internships, fully-funded adult apprenticeships and a '90 day promise' (whereby young people would be offered work, training education or an internship after 3 months out of work).

Nothing I've heard from the Tories nationally or locally suggest that they would do anything differently to help make Reading a fairer, more equal place.

Last October I raised concerns about the plight of young people and got the Labour-run Council in Reading to hold a special summit on how we might better support young people.

This event was a real eye-opener for me: the young people who attended told heart-breaking stories about months of hopeless job-hunting, forced to spend their time handing out CVs in the Town centre.

There is no reference to any of these problems in the Centre for Cities report published today.

We must not turn a blind eye to real poverty on our own doorstep.

Months into the recession the economic indicators may be getting better but talking to young people and their families I know many hundreds of young people still face incredibly tough times trying to get onto the first rung of the career ladder and out of poverty.

They are our future and our future prosperity as a community and an economy depends on their prosperity.

With this in mind I wrote to RBC's Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council, Cllr Jo Lovelock today asking them if a follow-up meeting could be held focussing specifically on supporting young people through the recession.

We need to be absolutely sure that the Council, Connexions and local businesses are working together as effectively as they can to ensure no young person is left behind.

We also need to demonstrate to young people that we are 100% behind them.

Getting started

Hello, welcome to my new online campaign diary.

I was selected to be the Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Reading West last Friday and it feels like I haven't really stopped since.

Although I already have a blog which I write with my lovely ward colleagues Cllr Glenn Goodall and Cllr Kirsten Bayes, I wanted to have a space where I could post updates from the campaign trail as we get closer to the General Election.

I also wanted to give people living in West Reading and West Berkshire a way of finding out more about our local and national Lib Dem campaigns, and what I stand for.

I'm not promising I will always have time to post updates - but I'll try and post them when I can
in between campaigning, working and grabbing time to relax with friends and family.

A bit about me: I've lived in Reading since 2003 but I was born and raised in North London (and as a result I support Arsenal!)

I studied English Literature and Politics at the University of Edinburgh and like many people I came to Reading originally for work.

I love living in Reading (although I don't love commuting to work in London). When I'm not campaigning I love going to the cinema although I don't go as often as I would like. The last film I saw was Nowhere Boy (about John Lennon) although the last film I loved was the excellent Avatar in 3D.

I got elected as a councillor on Reading Borough Council in 2006 and I've spent most of my time since then campaigning and getting things done for local people.

I speak on housing issues on behalf of the Lib Dems on Reading Borough Council and I also Chair a scrutiny panel which covers housing, health and community care. Details of my campaigning in these areas over on my ward blog.

I care passionately about better housing for all and have spent the last few years campaigning for cleaner, greener, safer - and healthier neighbourhoods here in Reading.

These are bread and butter issues that are all about helping to improve the quality of life of ordinary people.

I feel honoured to be chosen as the Lib Dem candidate and I pledge to throw my energy into campaigning for a better quality of life for everyone living in Reading West.

With the retirement of Martin Salter - a popular, hard-working local MP a vacancy has arisen for a new local champion - someone to who is unfraid to speak out for local people and get things done.

I would like to thank everyone who has been in touch to wish me luck and to offer their support.

There will be plenty to do between now and the elections.

Would you like to get involved in the campaign to elect a new local champion for Reading West?

Whatever your skill or interest we'd love to hear from you. Please visit our campaign website and leave us your details.

The friendly team behind the Lib Dem campaign in West Reading is made up of local people of all ages.

It doesn't matter if you haven't been involved in a politics before - now is a great time to get involved with so many issues that need action, and very important elections only months away in Reading.

Back to this week and I've been very busy since I was selected.

The recent freezing weather has made a lot of people's lives very difficult in Reading - particularly the elderly and those on low incomes - and I have been doing my bit to support them and keep them informed.

Yesterday I succeeded in getting the Council to extend a public consultation about introducing unfair service charges for Council tenants. These charges won't now be introduced now until April.

So far this week I've been interviewed by the Reading Chronicle, Get Reading and the Newbury Weekly News about my selection.

There was a nice article and editorial in the hard copy edition Get Reading today (which made up for the unflattering picture of me they printed on the website earlier in the week!)

Oh well, you have to get used to that kind of thing in local politics - especially in Reading.

I have been regularly tweeting about my activities both as a councillor and Reading West PPC since I was selected on Friday. You can follow me here.

Twitter divides opinion but I love it and would encourage everyone to try it before they dismiss it.

Last week TV presenter Anne Diamond interviewed me on her BBC Radio Berkshire lunchtime show about the way I use social media tools to engage. You can listen to our chat here.

I also heard today that I've been shortlisted for a national award for my online campaigning.

I was delighted to see our Party Leader announce he will be taking part in an online public question time on Twitter on 20 January where he will be asking young people what issues they face. I have actively supported the Youth Cabinet and championed issues affecting children and young people in Reading.

On Monday evening I was interviewed by Phil Kennedy on BBC Radio Berkshire about my selection and Nick Clegg's speech this week on fairness.

I was delighted to hear Nick pledging to put fairness at the heart of our manifesto.

As I said in my hustings speech, fairness is very important to me and the sense of injustice about the state of things on my own doorstep was what first attracted me to the Party.


I was also pleased to hear Nick say it was time politicians started treating voters like grown-ups and not pledging to do things they cannot deliver. Gordon Brown and the Labour Party have left the public finances in a total mess and to quote Nick again "the politics of plenty are over".

Nick has spelled out his four steps for a fairer Britain in this short video:



I got a call from BBC South yesterday keen to interview me to do a piece about the problems many young people in Reading are facing during this recession.


The high number of 16-19 year olds who are not in education, employment in training in Reading is an issue I have been actively campaigning to highlight over the past year.

A few months ago I got the Council to hold a special summit to find out what more could be done to help and support young people.

I also campaigned to ensure Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems developed policies action to tackle youth unemployment. I spoke out at the last Lib Dem Conference in support this issue.

You can watch my speech here:




I am very excited about the local Lib Dem campaign for a fairer Reading and I can't wait to get out and about meeting more local people.

I am keen to find out what issues local people in West Reading and West Berkshire are concerned about.

Please get in touch - I'd love to hear from you. Email me at daisy@daisybenson.com