The Co-operative Party

Co-operative MP Stella Creasy has tabled an amendment to the Financial Services Bill which has cross party support, including from Conservative MPs. This would give regulators powers to tackle the problems caused by legal loan sharking. Please help this become law by asking your MP to join us and vote for this amendment next Monday 23 April 2012. The [...]

Stella Creasy outlines her event in Westminster next week on what it means for Walthamstow to have a Labour & Co-operative Member of Parliament I’m organising an event next Monday 20th February in Parliament for people from Walthamstow to find out more about what it means to have a Co-operative as well as Labour MP. [...]

Parliamentary Officer Joe Fortune outlines the work Co-operative MPs are doing in Parliament to make our economy fairer. The Co-operative Party Parliamentary Group has always sought to provide the movement a range of activity in Westminster, whether it is promoting co-operative legislation, promoting the ideas of the movement and scrutinising proposals to ensure that the co-operative angle is [...]

There are yet more payday lenders arriving in Walthamstow – two new shops have opened recently on the High Street, another Money Shop as well as a business called Cash Generator. As we near the end of the month and local people find their pay packets stretched to breaking point, I’m asking you to join [...]

Several Co-operative MPs, including some elected to Parliament in 2010, have featured prominently in Ed Miliband’s reshuffle of the shadow frontbench team over the weekend. Joining Ed Balls MP and Lord Steve Bassam in Shadow Cabinet will be Stephen Twigg, Labour & Co-operative MP for Liverpool West Derby since 2010 and now Shadow Education Secretary. [...]

Stella Creasy: I was very challenged earlier when I heard the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard)-I am sad that he is not here-demeaning the contributions of Labour Members by saying that we thought that this was a “state of the nation” debate rather than a debate on the Queen’s Speech. That struck me as a powerful example of the strong differences...

Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the average waiting time for a response from HM Revenue and Customs for calls to 0845 numbers for public helplines in each month of the last three years.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish details of the revenue generated by HM Revenue and Customs' use of 0845 numbers for public help lines in each month of the last three years.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish data setting out the nationality and immigration status of all (a) children and (b) family members receiving public assistance under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 in local authorities in England in each of the last five years.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish details of any discussions and meetings (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with PayPoint regarding the nature of advertising placed at the bottom of receipts to be given to benefit claimants cashing their green giros when using the system.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of those charged with offences related to domestic violence have been (a) brought to court by the Crown Prosecution Service and (b) convicted in (i) London and (ii) England in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Stella Creasy: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Stella Creasy: The Government say that clinicians understand patients best, but there are doctors in Walthamstow who will not provide contraceptives to local women, and we now have one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy and repeat abortions in the country. Will the Ministers agree to meet women from my constituency and help them understand who, under the new system and the new layers of bureaucracy,...

Stella Creasy: In the context of these revelations, the public will be concerned not only about policy change but about policy absence. Will the Minister confirm whether any donors related to the legal loan sharking industry have made representations on the Government’s absence of a cap on the cost of credit?

Stella Creasy: We have listened to the debate, but we are still not satisfied on the question of lesser and more serious charges of stalking. We therefore wish to press amendment (b) to a vote.

Last week Stella invited around 70 of Walthamstow’s older residents to a reception at Parliament. Guests enjoyed tea and cake, discussed issues affecting older people in Walthamstow, and listened to Labour’s Shadow Minister for Social Care, Liz Kendall MP.

The campaign to save the Walthamstow Greyhound Stadium from being turned into a housing estate goes on – below are the details of how you can help by contacting the Mayor of London. Please also encourage  friends and family from across the capital to do the same! Waltham Forest Council have given their approval to plans put forward by London and Quadrant Housing Association to convert the site into an estate. However they still have to be approved by the Mayor of London. He has until Friday 25 May to make the final decision about whether L&Q’s application goes ahead. He can be emailed about this matter on mayor@london.gov.uk. The Mayor is only likely to intervene if he feels issues around this application are of key strategic importance to London itself, such as delivery of the right homes and jobs for the capital, and protecting and enhancing London’s unique status and amenities. That is why if you think a better use could be made for this site which will bring benefits to all of London it is important to let him know your views. In particular, its important both local residents and fans of the Stadium who don’t live in [...]

Please click here to read the full newsletter   What’s happening in Walthamstow this week… Remark! Are launching the weekly Walthamstow Deaf Lunch Club today (Friday 11 May). This is a social club for older deaf people with lunch and tea/coffee provided.  A free advocacy service will be on offer to help with any issues you have and to help with writing letters and making phone calls. At 434 Forest Road, E17 4PY (next to The Salvation Army charity shop). £3 entry.Email Jess for more information. E17 Designers’ market are also holding their Spring Fair today (Friday 11 May) at the Asian Centre, E17 9NL. A mix of art and designer craft – £2 entry includes a free drink, music, Suzie’s kitchen, and entry to the prize draw. 7pm – 10pm. Grow Your Own Theatre is holding the next Saturday Seedlings class, Maypole Mayhem onSaturday 12 May. Only two places left for 3-5 year olds and a few more for the 5-7 yrs. Book now at bookwhen.com/growyourowntheatre On Saturday 12 May at 7:30pm the Nowhere Club will hear Tisa Muhaddes speak about ‘The Bangladesh Diaspora in the United Kingdom and Bangladeshis at Home’. At The Epicentre, West Street, Leytonstone, E11 4LJ. Free entry and buffet. On Sunday 13 May the Walthamstow Family [...]

  I’m saddened to see that L&Q have passed through this stage of the planning process in their bid to develop the Walthamstow Greyhound Stadium as a housing estate. I remain concerned that their bid does not meet the needs of our local area in providing an appropriate mix of housing and therefore isn’t good enough for Walthamstow.   Furthermore, the existence of an alternative proposal which would preserve dog racing on the site providing much needed local jobs, as well as a better mix of housing, serves to highlight the need to explore other options for the Stadium. That’s why along with residents and neighbouring MP Iain Duncan Smith we will now be lobbying the Mayor of London to use his powers to look again at this matter and ensure the best deal is secured for our community for this site.  

The following joint statement has been issued by Stella Creasy, Labour and Co-opera tive MP for Walthamstow, and Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith, Conservative MP for Chingford and Woodford Green regarding the revelation that the proposed housing estate for the former Walthamstow Greyhound Stadium will contain no socially rented properties: “We agree with Waltham Forest Council’s stated ambition to provide a mix of housing for our community so the news that L&Q will not be providing any social housing in this plan at all is proof they are not meeting the real needs of Waltham Forest’s residents. Given that there are 21,000 people on our housing waiting list this omission is a critical flaw in L&Q’s plans. Furthermore, not only are there no social rented properties in this proposal, it will also only deliver  24 flats  at ‘affordable rates’ of rent which are higher and so meet a different need in our local housing market. This doesn’t meet the council’s ambitions which it set for itself that there should be at least 50% affordable housing in any development. All this goes to show this proposal is simply not good enough and we urge the planning committee to demand a better deal for the residents of [...]

On 16 April Stella joined a panel at St Paul’s Cathedral discussing the role investors could take in tackling payday lending. The video summarises the debate, and you can see the full debate on YouTube.