Christine Russell MP says welcome to Chester Labour | |
Chester Labour is Chester's voice - the voice all Cestrians have been looking for, whether rich or poor, young or old. An honest voice, a true voice. Chester is one of the best and most forward-looking cities in the whole of Europe, with an unparalleled culture, heritage, people - and reputation for openness, generosity and solidarity. Let's keep it that way with Labour - a new Labour for Britain.
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Tories forced to look again at new HQ plans | |
The move came after Labour Group Leader Derek Bateman and Opposition Finance Spokesperson Justin Madders attended the Executive to raise their concerns.
"The news about this was like a bolt out of the blue, although there had been rumours for months they were thinking of selling County Hall. This is probably the single biggest piece of expenditure the new Council is likely to incur and we need to be satisfied that it is a good use of public money and the purchaser of County Hall has good intentions for the future. That is why we have called for greater transparency and discussion on the proposals. Labour’s view is neither in support nor against, we just want to exercise ‘Due Diligence’ to the proposals." "When the Council is talking about making cuts throughout all its services there needs to be a very good case made that spending such a large amount of public money on new offices is the best use of scarce resources. There appears to have been no real strategy forthcoming from the Tories on this. For example, where is the Council going to be meet in future? What is going to happen to all the other council buildings, many of which will have to be sold to pay for this? Which other large projects are going to be put on ice to pay for this?
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Christine's "News from Westminster" | |
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Chester City News | |
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Cheshire West & Chester | |
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Christine Russell MP At Work | |||||||||||
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The National Scene | |||||||
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Energy Helpline | |
As you may know, the winter campaign to raise awareness of the Home Heat Helpline, the only free-phone energy helpline, was launched on Tuesday 9th December. The Helpline is entirely funded by energy suppliers to enable fuel poor and vulnerable customers to access the information and services they need to reduce their energy consumption, and therefore manage their fuel bills. Research conducted for the Energy Retail Association (ERA) showed that, although 75% of respondents say the credit crunch has made them more concerned about saving energy, more than half admit that they are not as energy efficient as they could be. The research also shows that one third of those surveyed across the UK are unaware that there are grants available to fit free or discounted home insulation. Furthermore, two thirds of people do not know they might qualify for grants and other assistance from their energy supplier.The Home Heat Helpline (0800 33 66 99), set up in 2005, provides vulnerable customers, including older people, families with young children, and people with disabilities or long term health conditions, with a direct link to a specialist team within their energy supplier. As well as providing direct help through access to grants and support for those most in need, the Helpline also acts as a one stop shop for access to the full range of support services from a wide range of organisations. The Helpline has recently been upgraded in order to make it even more accessible to consumers. This year, for the first time, the Home Heat Helpline website (www.homeheathelpline.org) has been upgraded to ensure that customers or their relatives and friends will also be able to make enquiries and access support online. In parallel, the Home Heat Helpline will be able to direct calls - at no cost to the caller - to a number of specialised services including, Warm Front, Consumer Focus, Energy Efficiency Advice Centres (EST), benefits teams at DWP and Home Improvement Agencies (including Care & Repair).
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Special Features | |
JOIN CHRISTINE RUSSELL'S "ODEON ACTION GROUP"
Chester lost its last remaining city centre cinema in June 2007 when the Odeon closed. The cinema is a Grade II listed art-deco building specifically set aside for community use in Chester's Local Plan. In July 2007 Christine Russell MP formed the Odeon Action Group, comprising members of Chester Civic Trust, Chester Film Society, local arts enthusiasts and student representatives, to begin campaigning to reintroduce cinema into the Odeon building. The Odeon Action Group is firmly of the opinion that Chester already has an abundance of bars and restaurants. The city has lost its theatre, a concert hall remains a pipedream and, if the rumours are true, the proposed Performing Arts Centre may be dropped from the Northgate Development. It is therefore absolutely paramount that Chester City Council throws its weight behind the campaign to re-open the Odeon as a multi-purpose arts venue, including a minimum of two cinema screens. Register your support for the campaign. Send us an email to admin@chesterlabour.org. The Labour Party may contact you using the details you provide.
MORE ITEMS OF INTEREST Join the Labour Party now - click here.
See what Arlene McCarthy MEP is doing for the North West - click here to go to her website. Want to know more about the latest achievements of the National Minimum Wage? Go to www.direct.gov.uk/nmw to find out more. Any comments about this website? Email us at admin@chesterlabour.org.
LABOUR'S MANIFESTO FOR CHESHIRE WEST & CHESTER - 2008-2011 Labour has recently published its manifesto for Cheshire West & Chester. These are our ten pledges to all of the new authority's citizens:
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Christine Russell Supports Breast Cancer Campaign | |
Thousands of families are affected by this illness each year but survival rates are improving. The Wear It Pink campaign and Breast Cancer Awareness Month are really important ways of promoting breast awareness and ending the suffering faced by thousands of women each year. To find out more about Christine Russell's initiative, read a background article in the Chester and District Standard. To find out more about the astonishing programmes of renewal that successive Labour governments have carried out in the NHS, please see the video below.
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Proud Of The NHS At 60 | |
Find out more about Labour and the NHS here. And see Alan Johnson, Health Secretary, in our YouTube video below, tell us more about the future of the NHS, on what it's like to have the "best job in the world" and on the real importance of "changing things for the better".
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Proud Of The NHS At 60 In Chester | |
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The last city centre cinema in Chester, the Odeon, closed in June 2007. Christine formed the Odeon Action Group to campaign to get a cinema back into the Odeon. Chester Labour firmly believe that Chester deserves and needs a local cinema.

The National Health Service was 60 years old on the 5th July 2008. A Thanksgiving Service to celebrate one of our country’s greatest achievements was held in Chester Cathedral on Sunday 6th July at 6.30pm. 