Northumberland and North Tyneside can help improve local fishing communities lot, even though Government abandoned them.

 Two minute read from Councillor Liz Simpson, Labour Councillor for Newbiggin Central and East.

One of the few things the extremely poor handling of the pandemic has done to improve my lot was to remind me that I needed to take some exercise daily.

Most days my husband and I wander along the prom at Newbiggin by the Sea and I look at the improvements to the beach behind the breakwater planned and delivered by a Labour Council. It reminds me to look around and see what has been delivered by the current Tory controlled unitary Council based in Morpeth, and I keep coming back to Paul Daniels and his catchphrase of ‘not a lot’.

The Newbiggin bay improvements were designed to save the town from rising sea levels and would be cost prohibitive on a larger scale, but looking around further I have noticed that the rocks at Church Point and the Quarry are worn smooth now by the tides and are beginning to wear faster. So how can we improve fishing for both anglers who bring tourist pounds, protect our shores and homes whilst helping traditional communities who rely on an industry lied too in the Brexit deal improve their lot.

The Euorpeans always expected that they would retain fishing within UK territorial waters and armed with a confident assumption that Britain would sell out the industry, reduced fish catches in the Medditeranean by 20% in 2019 and plan a further 15% reduction this year to help stocks recover, while investing heavily in inshore fishing reefs and commercial breeding programs to replenish depleted stocks much more easily in future while they can still raid UK waters to cover any shortfalls. So with a Government who appears to have abandoned an industry to simply raise its own profile, what can we do to help our traditional communities survive?

History and the Welsh,Scottish and Yorkshire embryonic but growing rapidly, coastal rewilding programs can give us pointers on some simple things that smaller levels of Government support and investment from established sources such as the Coastal Communities fund can achieve.

In Scotland, Wales and Yorkshire, the Government is investing in expanding commercial Oyster production activity and reseeding oyster beds to protect the coastline. Oysters and the reefs they develop protect our shores from erosion and filter our coastal waters free from algae developing a more oxygen rich environment within our inshore environments, allowing other marine animals and shellfish species to survive the batterings from rising sea levels, increasing quality fish stocks into the bargain.

In the past, history shows that huge oyster beds and their ecosystems protected our shores from Tynemouth to the Firth of Forth and now that better and more effective sewage treatment by Northumbria Water is online, they can again.

The benefits for Northumberland and North Tyneside if rewilding projects got underway would offset the cost particularly in areas reliant on tourism as sea angling is still a huge draw for the Tourist Pound.

As the County Councillor for a traditional fishing community I would really like to see any rewilding program start here in Newbiggin by the Sea and will push for it over the next four years. It would be nice to be able to watch as other shellfish began to revive and save the rocky shoreline around my Town. But wherever a program begins we would all benefit in some way and the spin off is that once oyster ecosystems become established they spread to surrounding areas.

 

Where does Blyth Valley End?

Local MP doesn’t know.

There have been calls for Ian Levy MP Tory MP for Blyth Valley to make a public open apology when he had the gall to announce a new factory planned in the Wansbeck Constituency stating it was a great achievement for Blyth.

The local Labour Party County Councillors, Blyth Croft Ward’s Kath Nisbet and East Sleekburn’s Jeff Gobin are both incensed that the MP for Blyth appeared to have no idea where his constituency ended and that any announcement should have been made by or on behalf of Ian Lavery the MP for Wansbeck.

Jeff Gobin told us, “It appears that Blyth Valley residents have chosen a media pirate who has stolen the kudos from our man for Wansbeck, Ian Lavery MP, to announce a project on the former Power Station site in Cambois that we the local Labour Party had our former  national leader visit five years ago when this battery plant was first revealed as a prospective factory tenant by ARCH the northumberland development company.” “Its shocking that this MP from ower the water has had the gall to break with all expected protocol in announcing an improvement scheme that creates jobs in another constituency and he needs to apologise for his very rude actions.”

Croft Wards Kath Nisbet said “This man the Tory Ian Levy must have read the LibDem handbook as they always claim that they have been involved with anything good whether they have or not”. “I think its great that Wansbeck Constituency is getting a factory to bring employment for 8000 people but when a man voted in as an MP doesn’t know where his constituency ends and he needs to ensure he apologises to Ian Lavery at least if not the whole of the area for his what is possibly deliberate to steal the press faux pas.”

 

“I’m so pleased health improvements are on the move for North Northumberland”

 The news that the plans for Berwick’s brand new hospital on the Infirmary site are going before the Councils strategic Planning Committee is excellent for those who dwell in North Northumberland, and that the new facility should be up and running in 2023/24 financial year.

By that time the promise of a new hospital at Berwick upon Tweed will have been a financially viable project for a decade, ever since in June 2014 when Northumberland County Council’s Labour Group organised an extremely cheap rate loan of £25M to make Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trusts dreams a reality. The power behind the throne at Northumberland County Council at that time was Councillor Scott Dickinson who held the post of Business Chairperson on the Councils Cabinet.

We caught up with Councillor Dickinson the current deputy leader of the County labour group, who was busily organising much needed meals on wheels deliveries for the elderly from his base in Hadston, part of the Berwick Constituency. He told us “I’m so pleased that health improvements are on the move for residents in North Northumberland. It seems like a lifetime since I persuaded the Labour Group to financially support health improvements through the building of a new hospital facility in Berwick upon Tweed and now that its moving on to the final planning stage I’m pleased I did”.

“Many of our (Labour) group members at the time hadn’t realised how many tourists come to North Northumberland from April to October each year and how that places immense pressure on the current facilities sited at Berwick’s aging Infirmary, I was so pleased that they accepted my arguments and that the Leader of Council Grant Davey immediately granted the loan facility to develop and improve matters for local residents and visitors”. “I have been keeping an eye on progress ever since and I’m very glad and extremely hopeful that the new designs which are going before a planning committee in the near future will get over this final hurdle.”

History shows that the only disenter to the granting of this loan at the Councils Cabinet was the Tory Leader, Councillor Peter Jackson.

 

https://www.northumbria.nhs.uk/new-25-million-berwick-hospital-better-patient-care/

 

River Blyth Labour Councillors Fully Support Jamie’s ‘Freeport Plan’

 

The news that the North of Tyne Mayor, Jamie Driscoll has a team working on a multisite freeport plan which includes the River Blyth and its surrounding industrial estates is fully supported by Labour’s Northumberland County and Town Councillors from Blyth and East Bedlington representing wards which surround the river basin.

Freeports expected to help traditional ports and surrounding Towns attract International and domestic manufacturing, transport and storage industries post Brexit brings hope to an area which has been missed over the last decade by Government and has had its hopes dashed further by the Conservative County Council who have recently pulled the plug on financing transport improvements designed to grow the areas GDP from their budget book.  

But its the news that the Mayor’s offices and the Port of Blyth are showing confidence in the quality of their bid to include Blyth in the North’s multisite freeport plan which has been hailed as ‘manna from heaven’ in the Wards surrounding the River Blyth which need a major boost as unemployment, child and family poverty is rising rapidly across the riverside communities which have suffered more than most from post industrial offshoring, a process begun by the Thatcher Government which reduced its manufacturing skilled workforce down to the bare bones and damaged the prospects for its young people.

We caught up with one of the River Blyth Labour Councillors, Kitty Brewster’s Councillor Grant Davey, the former Labour leader of Northumberland County Council 2013-2017 who said to us: “Labour Councillors from both sides of the River have been following North of Tyne Labour Mayor Jamie Driscolls interest in hosting through his offices a strong bid to Government to include the Port of Blyth in his multisite Freeport bid.” “During the last Labour administration at County Hall we Labour Councillors worked closely with the Port of Blyth to bring Energy Central to the North banks of the river Blyth importing power from Norway to satisfy what we hoped would be a growing North-East manufacturing base, last weeks Government spending review dashed those hopes as the Tories decided to retain regional funds in their deep pockets with complete central control over spend. Jamie’s (Mayor Driscol) plan has given us some hope that we have a growing future for our children and that the poverty we see all around the River Blyth basin is driven out by the creation of good quality and well paid jobs that a Freeport will bring.”

Jump in Jobless figures ruiness for Blyth.

Croft Ward Councillors Kath Nesbit &Margaret Richardson

The recent news regarding the unemployment rates for the North East of England with the area having the highest unemployment rate in the UK. When this information is dug into, the same old areas of disadvantage and deprivation have been hit hardest. Blyth in Northumberland is one of those areas with a major unemployment jump in October followed by many jobs lost particularly in the beauty and hospitality sector with the announcement of the second national lockdown, steering Blyth into a slump.

Currently the picture looks bleak for Blyth, as it has over the last few years developed itself as a destination for all things edible with a good number of restaurants serving world wide food and an excellent pub-grub reputation even before latest lockdown was announced this sector found that the fear of covid had reduced its turnover considerably with the trimming down of staff to suit the lower customer numbers taking place over an extended period. But the new lockdown has accelerated problems for local people who staff these premises and the Local Councillors for the Town are extremely concerned.

We spoke with Councillor Kath Nisbit of Croft Ward an area that is primarily made up of working family accommodation many of whom work in the industries affected by the current situation. She said “last year things appeared to be improving with the numbers of those in work rising across Croft Ward”. 

“But figures appear to me to mask the problems joblessness pours onto families, it still takes far too long to resolve the claim issues of Universal Credit and I can see in the faces of many whose sons and daughters have lost their jobs and with their grandchildren suddenly locked into poverty how they are also struggling as they try their best to help them through this dark period in their lives.”

“I’m very unhappy that the Council’s adopted policies under the current Conservative administration doesn’t appear to help those in need. The debt level that launches letters starting the legal process is set at only £15 and the Council has thousands of families with attachments for payments from Benefits as well as lowering the amount of help they give those in need by 8% two years ago. The Tories policies are not only ruiness for families in need, the legacy of the debt they are being forced into is unbelievably damaging to our local economy as the payments are still ongoing when they eventually find work and such things as long lying on periods before pay is received is dragging back the incentive of taking some jobs”.

“But my biggest concern regarding the recent leap in unemployment in Blyth is the Chancellor's announcement in his spending review in that the restart program cash will only be issued when a claimant has been unemployed for a full year. I believe this is writing off people from East Coast ex industrial towns like Blyth and it should be made available as soon as a person's job disappears.”

 

Ashington and Bedlington will be badly damaged through Tories putting back Rail line project for a decade

The news from Northumberland conservative cabinet member Councillor Richard Wearmouth that the reopening of the Ashington, Blyth and Tyne Line is to be put back for 10 years following the massive internal splits in their Northumberland political structure coupled with the recent press exposure of the massive almost £900m debt the Council has accrued since May 2017 without any sign apart from press spin of the urgently required regeneration of either South East Northumberland Towns of Ashington and Bedlington which are home to the now infamous ‘Whole’ sites.

The recent happenings at County Hall which has shattered the Tories across the County and region, splitting them into two distinct rudderless rabble groups with their administration accused by Senior Council officers of running a corrupt, bullying, racist organisation which is being forensically investigated by a number of agencies.

The Council has also been weakened further by the news that their Chief Finance Director (section 151 officer) has submitted his notice and is leaving the organisation shortly. The Conservatives are now in the hunt for their fifth person to hold this post since May 2017 but with the dreadful reputation that has been gained since the Castle Morpeth Tories took power, very few top officers will want Northumberland County Council to appear on their CV.

On the subject of the decade long delay in the rail line reopening we spoke with Councillor Lynne Grimshaw from Bothal Ward in Ashington who said ” the work put in by the last Labour administration at County Hall to have the line reopened was a huge undertaking. The Labour Group organised the GRIP studies which are essential before a rail line can be reopened and agreement was reached with the Metro for through ticketing to open up most of the North East public transport network to workers from South East Northumberland.” “But I feel that with the announcement of a 10yr delay, both Bedlington and Ashington will lose out massively. The line was to bring workers in and out of the mammoth Labour Group project of energy central in the Port of Blyth through its Bedlington Station halt and Labour also wanted to develop new Council offices in Ashington to regenerate the Town yet the Tories have spent a fortune on modernising an ugly 1980’s building in Morpeth that is far to large for the trimmed down workforce they have developed to deliver less for our residents”.

Tory Male Model kickstarts second decade of Austerity

Rishi Sunaks the Tory Party’s Mr Wonderful's drive to pay for the costs of the pandemic from your refuse collectors and care workers pockets isn’t seen by some media gurus as the wrong thing to do. However for those who are living in communities where the closure and offshoring of traditional industry began during the Thatcher regime turning society into a service industry jungle, those public sector jobs mean a lot.

Austerity over the last decade has reduced the public sector non-NHS workforce by over a third and among the two thirds who have survived, seasonal or part time working has become the norm, with the public very accepting that their streets aren’t clean, full of potholes and their parks are overgrown but the big losers in areas of endemic underpay are children.

Sunaks decision to slash public sector pay and his Governments ‘stagnation not growth’ policies have led to over 1/3rd of all children now living in poverty and that's before hard Brexit hits our shores.

In Northumberland Labour’s Councillors are fully engaged fighting against the Poverty on a daily basis,three of them have chatted with us. Eileen Cartie form Blyth who works in the third sector and has families attending the Centre she works in seeking advice regularly, Lynne Grimshaw from Bothal Ward who has been helping to ensure people in need aren’t bypassed by society and Liz Simpson whose Town of Newbiggin by the Sea has the highest rate of children living in poverty across the whole huge County of Northumberland. All three were keen to point out how this damage to society in general has grown out of all proportion since 2010.

Eileen Cartie said: “During the last decade we have seen the removal of ESA from young people, the Bedroom Tax, Government attacks on the disabled, the introduction of Universal Credit a damaging stretch in retirement age a shortage of much needed social housing whilst the prime growth areas over the last decade have been in food banks, charitable giving TV shows, child poverty, private landlords, slum living and a massive growth in loan sharking. In fact people now ask, what was the welfare state?”

Echoing Eileen, Lynne Grimshaw told us: “The Tory Governments handling of the pandemic has greatly increased pressure on public sector services, everything from Job Centres to Citizens Advice services, as banks are perched to foreclose on families who either the Government haven’t helped or are waiting their post furlough redundancy notice.” “Luckily most people are aware that these Tories if given half a chance would remove the word ‘Compassion’ from all dictionaries but as we move into the second decade of ruinous for society and business Austerity, there task will be made ever easier as Libraries are now facing a very difficult future indeed under the Conservatives and their never ending Austerity program” .

Cllr Liz Simpson said: “I believe the biggest crime facing the nation is the media spin and sentimental statements from this twisted Tory regime who do not care, weasel words such as ‘Hard Decisions’, ‘Get Brexit Done’ ‘Build Britain’ do nothing to put reasonable quality shoes on childrens feet, or bread on the table for those families striving when there's five weekends in a month. Developing poverty instead of top class highly paid jobs and cutting the pay packets of low paid public sector workers whose incomes support businesses in small East Coast towns like Newbiggin by the Sea is beyond me and certainly show a complete lack of Christian values from our democratically elected representatives in power”.