With a great atmosphere and special guest speakers, we expect it to be a fantastic evening accompanied by delicious Mediterranean food, good company and great guest speakers. Find out more or book your ticket.

Over the next few weeks you may be contacted by NEC candidates asking for your vote. If so, please ask them about the issues we raise.

Letter to NEC Candidates

Dear Candidate

Labour Women’s Network and Lead for Women made a substantial submission to Refounding Labour (http://lead4women.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/refounding-labour-lead-for-women.pdf)

Whilst we welcome the progress that was made at conference 2011, there is more to do if the Labour Party is to truly lead for women.

Will you ensure that more Labour women are elected to parliament, including requiring that a minimum of 50% of Labour’s parliamentary by election candidates should be women?

Will you commit to supporting the continued use of all women shortlists and to their application in seats with a strong Labour majority as well as Labour’s target seats?

What will you do to ensure equal and transparent application of AWS policy across the regions, including in Scotland and Wales?

Would you support the formulation and publication of clear criteria for the application of AWS policy and what would your favoured criteria be?

What will you do to ensure we have a 50:50 PLP and 50:50 Labour administration in Scotland, Wales, London and local government?

What will you do to ensure that the proportion of women in the PLP does not decrease as a result of boundary changes?

Will you support our Refounding Labour proposals for changing the party, including implementing a proper complaints process and building a fully funded and organised Women’s organisation in the Labour Party?

All responses from candidates will be posted on the LWN website (www.lwn.org.uk) and on Lead4Women’s (www.lead4women.org.uk) as they are received.

Best wishes.

Labour Women’s Network and Lead4Women

View more information at: http://www.labour.org.uk/new_job

Inspired by the Fawcett Society’s ‘Day of Action’, Milton Keynes Women’s Group held a Christmas ‘Don’t Turn Back Time’ street stall on Saturday 17^th December. Representatives from the women’s group took to the high street in Stony Stratford to speak to people about how the coalition’s approach to cutting the deficit is turning back the clock on women’s equality. Women are being disproprtionately affected by cuts, and this was certainly backed up by the experiences from women who stopped to speak to us. One woman, a casualty of a 20 year record for women’s unemployment told me how since losing her job she has had to move back into her mother’s house, and is currently sharing a bed with her young daughter. The cavalier attitude the government is taking toward’s womens lives and equalities is all too clear.

Dressing with a 50s theme to reinforce the message certainly got us a few funny looks, and comments about our dedication! I ditched my coat, which was not appropriate for the time period, and slowly felt all feeling disappear from my brogue-shod feet. In spite of the cold, it was well worth it, as many women and men stopped to talk about their disappointment with the current coalition government, with the NHS a particularly emotive topic for many.

 Joined by our parliamentary candidate for MK South there was lively debate from Christmas shoppers, but the main feeling I took home with me was that there were a lot of women who seemed pleasantly surprised to see other women standing (in the cold!) up for issues affecting them. With a government determined to move backwards on fairness and equality, it was fun and inspiring to feel part of a fightback. Thanks must go to the Fawcett Society for the original campaign day. Getting dressed up meant that people stopped to look and talk, and many took home a campaign leaflet and discussed their concerns and ideas with us. It was a great way to engage with the public, and hopefully showed local women that MK Labour are determined to stand up and be counted.

“Next year will see elections for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales. PCCs will have an impact on issues ranging from the number of police patrolling our streets, to improving street safety and funding domestic abuse prevention projects. These elections will be important for Labour, for community safety, and we need talented women to think about standing. …

I know that the Labour Women’s Network has worked with and trained some remarkably talented women since the general election, with women who have served in the armed forces and national domestic violence campaigners amongst the impressive alumni. That’s why I’m hoping some of these women will think seriously about standing next year.”

Training will be available for candidates who are selected to stand. We are also told that women wishing to stand for nomination may have the opportunity to talk through the process, and their application, in advance if they would find this helpful. We would strongly urge you to share this message with other Labour women, and to consider putting yourself forward for nomination.

For more information on standing as a Labour candidate, please email: PCC@labour.org.uk

This is a great opportunity for Labour women who are interested in standing for office to gain valuable experience as candidates and, if selected, to represent their local communities on key public policy issues.

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Labour at a national and local level is committed to making our communities safer places to live, to reduce crime and work with the police in the difficult job that they do.

Crime fell by 43% under Labour, but with the Tory-led Government cutting over 16,000 police officers and having no strategy to cut crime, that record is under threat.
 
Next year sees elections to the new position of Police and Crime Commissioners, replacing existing Police Authorities. Elections will be held in every police area in England and Wales outside London on 15 November 2012.  
 
We want to find the best candidates possible who share our values and understand the challenge ahead.
 
Labour is seeking candidates who will:
 
* Be committed to building on Labour’s record falls in crime and action to tackle anti-social behaviour in their local area
* Have the strategic vision to both support and hold to account the Chief Constable in building confidence in the police, promoting community safety, reducing crime and antisocial behaviour, determining local policing priorities and contributing to action on national priorities such as organised crime and prevention of terrorist activity.  
* Be champions for the communities in which they live
* Engage with the public and local communities and work to protect neighbourhood policing – a flagship Labour reform – which is being threatened by the scale of the Government’s cuts
* Be committed to working in partnership with other criminal justice agencies, local government, voluntary agencies and community groups to strengthen community safety and to prevent crime.
* Have the skills to lead a dynamic, complex, forward-looking organisation, accountable to local people
* Be able to offer strategic lead on policing issues
* Have a commitment to the values and ideals of the Labour Party
* At all times recognising and respecting the operational independence of the Chief Constable and fully-sworn officers

The role of the Police and Crime Commissioner will be to:

* set the strategic direction and objectives of the police force with the Chief Constable hold the Chief Constable to account
* decide the budget and set the precept, along with the Policing and Crime Panel
* appoint the Chief Constable
* maintain an efficient and effective police force for the police area;
* provide the local link between the police and communities

Prospective Labour candidates can request further information by emailing PCC@labour.org.uk

“There are more men called Roger on the ballot paper than there are women”

Seema Malhotra is standing as Labour’s Parliamentary candidate in the upcoming Feltham & Heston by-election.

Seema grew up in Feltham, and went to school in Heston. She is co-founder and Director of the Fabian Women’s Network and a former National Chair of the Fabian Society, as well as a former adviser to Harriet Harman during her stint as leader of the opposition last year. If elected, Seema will become the constituency’s first ever female MP. Kathryn Perera caught up with Seema on the campaign trail.

Seema, congratulations on your selection. Is it true that you’re the only female candidate standing in the by-election?

It is. In fact, there are more men called Roger on the ballot paper than there are women. If elected, I’ll be the first woman to represent this constituency, which would be a huge honour. We’re working hard to ensure that we get our political message out across Feltham & Heston, but I need the active support of LWN women to make that happen!

Why do you think it matters to have more women in Parliament?

As I’ve spent time campaigning in our area, I’ve found that women really connect with the idea of a female representative – that it provides an opportunity for them to have political conversations that might not otherwise occur. I think women can bring a very different perspective to the political debate, whether on economics or family and community issues. Often, women are deeply rooted in their communities and are central to the invisible networks that hold communities together. I believe there is real value in that perspective being represented in Parliament.

If elected on 15 December, what will be your priorities as an MP?

If elected as an MP, I will focus on three priorities which I believe matter to the constituents. First, our area is really feeling the hit from cost of living increases. This is an area on the edge of London, where costs are high but many people face serious economic challenges. This Government is doing so much to cut the good work of Labour, and people in Feltham & Heston are really feeling the effects.

My second priority will be to place the question of young people at the heart of our political debate. In this constituency, there are lots of young people with aspirations, but they lack opportunities, especially with steps such as the Government’s cuts to EMA. In Feltham & Heston, long-term unemployment has risen by 147% since January this year, which is shocking. I want to focus on our local economy, helping return confidence to the area and addressing aspirations which are not being met under this Government.

Third, I’ve noticed how my campaign has really resonated with women on the doorstep. They connect with the idea of electing our first ever female MP. I want to do more to engage women in politics at a local level, to bring politics closer to people who might otherwise not take part.

Why are you asking LWN activists to come and campaign with you in Feltham & Heston on Sunday 11 December?

By-elections are a great political experience, and a great opportunity to learn about campaigning in the community. I hope that the women who come to campaign with me will learn more about political campaigning in a very unique environment, as well as having a good time. They will also, of course, be making a direct contribution towards increasing the representation of women in Parliament. So I would say: come and be part of it, I really value your help!

Seema needs the support of LWN activists. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats will be targeting this seat hard. Vince Cable will want to shore up his political future after boundary changes and Boris Johnson will be looking to boost his mayoral campaign with the last test of Londoners’ opinion before May’s elections.

Labour Women’s Network and the Fabian Women’s Network are joining forces for a women’s campaign day on Sunday, 11 December from 11am – we’ll be meeting up at the campaign centre at Feltham Labour Hall, Manor Place TW14 9BT. Contact us or Seema’s campaign for more information.

The Government recently announced plans to create a database of individuals who are interested in being considered for public appointments. We would urge LWN members to apply for consideration – here are the full details:

From the Cabinet Office:

“The Cabinet Office is committed to supporting government departments in finding the best and most diverse field of candidates who may be interested in applying for public appointments. To this end we are putting together a database of individuals interested in making applications for appointments which we will then share with government departments as and when vacancies are advertised. We cannot guarantee that being part of the database will secure an appointment however individuals may be contacted by government departments to alert them to vacancies as they arise. Applications for appointments will still be necessary in the usual way.

If you would be interested in being part of the Public Appointments Database please email public.appointments@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk for an application form. Individuals may also wish to send us their CV. The Cabinet Office may get in touch if we require additional information on receipt of the form. Our privacy policy is in full on the Cabinet Office website at http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/content/privacy-policy.”

Let us know how you get on.