The Co-operative Party

Last night the government recognised the need to cap the interest rates charged on payday loans, responding to a debate in the House of Lords on a proposed amendment to the Financial Services Bill. As inflation rises and household incomes fall, increasing numbers of people are borrowing from payday lenders to make ends meet and [...]

Stella Creasy MP dinner – an invitation from Liverpool & Sefton Co-operative Party Great news! Stella Creasy has agreed to be the guest of honour at our first Liverpool & Sefton Co-operative Party fundraising dinner. Stella will be speaking about her fantastic work campaigning to End Legal Loan Sharks and what it means to be [...]

The Co-operative Party’s Development & Campaigns Officer Rebecca Mattingly previews tonight’s Labour Party Conference event. Today at Labour Party Conference, the Co-operative Party will join with Movement for Change for an End Legal Loansharking campaign training session. Speakers including Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP and Stella Creasy MP will build on growing activism around the [...]

The Co-operative Party has announced its events at Labour Party Conference which takes place in Manchester next week. We are hosting a varied set of fringe meetings, training events and socials, with partners including CSM, Movement for Change, Compass, the Fabians and Labour Students. We look forward to seeing delegates in Manchester – the Co-operative [...]

Summerfest – the Co-operative Party’s National Training Event – is changing. **UPDATE** Speakers include Chris Evans MP; Stephen Yeo of the Co-operative College; Karin Christiansen; Ben Maloney and Stewart Owadally of Movement for Change; Kirsty McNeill; Gavin Shuker MP This year, our event takes place Friday 3 August to Monday  6 August at the Woodbrooke Study [...]

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Insolvency Service annual report 2009-10 and 2010-11, what the threshold is for a bankruptcy case to be recorded as having few or little assets.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many bankruptcy cases were recorded as having few or no assets in each year since 2008.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the average level of debt was for bankruptcy cases (a) recorded as having few or no assets, (b) excluding those with few or no assets and (c) overall in each year since 2008.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to his speech of 19 February 2013 on delays in the criminal justice system, if he will publish citations for the research quoted in that speech.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 15 April 2013, Official Report, column 154W, on Violence Against Women and Girls Ministerial Group, what the (a) Department, (b) ministerial level and (c) civil service grade is of each attendee at the last five of those meetings.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the availability of primary school places; and if he will make a statement.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many admissions to hospitals in England and Wales related to incidents of domestic violence and abuse in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12; (2) whether clinical commissioning groups have a responsibility to deliver improvements in the recognition of, and response to, victims of domestic violence and abuse; (3) what...

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the last meeting of the Violence Against Women and Girls Inter-Ministerial Group was held; who attended that meeting; and what items were on the agenda.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job centres have public conveniences available for use by benefit claimants and jobseekers; and what his Department’s policy is on provision of such facilities.

Stella Creasy: My hon. Friend might be interested to know that one of the people mentioned in the leaked e-mail about the conduct in my jobcentre is a regional manager who also covers his part of the borough of Redbridge, which might explain why the issue of sanctions and targets is emerging. I would also like to take this opportunity to apologise to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for not explaining in my earlier...

Scores of supporters heard how volunteer projects are helping people to cope with austerity in Walthamstow at a meeting of 7days4Stow at the Welcome Centre in Walthamstow village on Sunday 21st April. Since the start of the year, the scheme has already recruited more than 100 people to work for local projects which help vulnerable people and families. The 7days4stow idea works on the basis that many people making small contributions can add up to big changes. The scheme encourages volunteers to donate a week’s-worth of time over the next 12 months. Projects range from mentoring young people to befriending senior citizens and include the E17 Community Kitchen, Sharkstoppers, which promotes low-cost alternatives to payday loans and the Eat or Heat foodbank. Volunteers have helped Eat or Heat find premises for storing foodstuffs and assembling food parcels. It is also working with local schools and setting up ‘Foodbank Fridays’ to encourage regular donations. Fund-raising and support by 7days4stow also helped Forest Nightshelter stay open an extra week through the cold March nights. “If we can get eight projects up and running in just 12 weeks, think what we can do over a year,” said Stella Creasy MP, who champions the [...]

The #7days4stow project has now been running for four months – and already has achieved fantastic results that are making a real difference for people in Walthamstow. Volunteers from across the local area have been keeping the nightshelter open and staffed during the extra cold snap and have been raising funds and a new venue for the local Eat or Heat foodbank. There are now already eight projects that together are helping protect Walthamstow from the financial and social impact of austerity and help us fight for a better future for everyone here. They are: Befriending- this project is helping link isolated people in Walthamstow with community and residents groups for social and emotional support The Eat or Heat foodbank- this project is ensuring all residents have access to food by providing emergency parcels of free non perishable goods The Forest Nightshelter – this project is helping support emergency accommodation for those who are homeless in E17 Sharkstoppers- this project is helping tackle the legal loan sharks preying on our community and improving access to affordable credit for local people Cost Free Kids – this project is helping parents in walthamstow with reducing the costs associated with parenthood Education- this project is [...]

Following Stella’s appearance on Question Time at the end of last year, the Daily Mail columnist Peter Hitchens took up her challenge to come to Walthamstow to see what he’s missing!    The local community put on a half term afternoon tea-party for him – where Peter was given a taste of the many different delights of Walthamstow. Local Reverend Saxby hosted the event, and local people taking part in the #7days4stow project and local residents affected by the changes took part in organising the event and attended on Wednesday 20th February.   For more information on the #7days4stow project click here. Photographs by  Matt Thompson

Responding to today’s publication of the full OFT report into the payday loan industry which is seeking to refer the entire industry to the Competition Commission , Stella Creasy MP said; “This report is a damning indictment of the Government’s failure to act on this market. Despite three years of warnings, under their watch its now clear legal loan sharks are out of control in Britain and our consumer credit market urgently needs meaningful reform. The best way to prevent the problems payday lending causes is to cap the costs of credit, so that people do not get into debt in the first place.  So whilst announcements on credit checking and advertising will help limit the damage these loans do, the Government is still ducking the real issues. For too many consumers, the only people who will lend to them at the moment are these legal loan sharks. There is no competition for their business. That is why a cap on the total cost of borrowing makes more sense than relying on affordability assessments which leave lenders to decide what consumers can pay. The Government is clearly out of touch with the way this industry works and is giving it a [...]

Responding to figures released by the Money Advice Trust today showing a 4,000% increase in the number of complaints about payday lenders since 2007, Stella Creasy MP said; “These shocking figures from the Money Advice Trust are yet more proof of the problems now facing millions in our country. It is a shameful reality that many are being pushed into taking out payday loans as they cope with the pressures on their pockets from the rising cost of food, rent and travel. With 20,000 calls from struggling payday loan customers being taken in 2012 these numbers speak for themselves in highlighting the sheer number of British families now suffering at the hands of the legal loan sharks. Whilst many know just how toxic these loans can be, they find themselves with no alternative but to accept credit with interest rates of 4,500% or more – which half of all borrowers turn out not to be able to repay – with 57% missing a payment. Despite review after review and recommendation after recommendation, these companies are continuing to get away with taking British consumers for a rough ride as the Government has yet to take decisive action to stop this spiral of [...]