Anne Snelgrove

As the controversial NHS bill reaches a crucial stage in the Lords, Labour’s new Health spokesman Andy Burnham has called on the Government to drop the Bill. I hope the Coalition heeds his warning that the NHS is now in the danger zone. The Tories and Lib Dems have failed to build a consensus around their plans and it's time for them to stop digging in. They should listen and change course or they will damage patient care.

While Ken Clarke and Theresa May bicker over a cat, the crisis in our prison system worsens. This is the fifth week in a row that the numbers in our prisons have surged to a record high.

The prison population is now just 127 short of the figure when the Government would be forced to activate Operation Safeguard – when prisoners would be held in police and court cells because our prisons are full. This would represent a serious failure of this Government’s prisons policy. Not only will this be expensive, but it can have profound negative implications for rehabilitation – offenders will be less likely to receive the necessary treatment and rehabilitation programmes they need, ultimately leading to more crime.

A comprehensive investigation by the Financial Times (1 October 2011) shows that poorer children in Swindon closed the achievement gap more than any other area in England from 2006 – 2010.

The data shows that Labour Government investment in Swindon has delivered better GCSE results for children from all backgrounds, and narrowed the attainment gap between the wealthiest and the poorest in our town. When Labour came to power in 1997, only 45 per cent of Swindon’s 16 year olds achieved 5 good GCSEs; when Labour left power in 2010, it had risen to over 70 per cent.

Day Four of the Labour Party Conference

Today’s debate on home office issues was given a huge boost by a cracking speech made by the Chairman of the Police Federation,  Paul McKeever, who was given a lengthy standing ovation. It was the first time a Labour Conference had heard from the police at Conference, and showed just how far the current Government has alienated the police force.

In his speech, Paul McKeever made the points that police numbers matter because the first responsibility of a Government is the safety of its citizens. He also pointed out the problems of the Government’s policy of forcing the police to wear uniforms on their journey to and from work, which would make them and their families’ targets, and thus demonstrates clearly that the Government does not understand what normal life is like for our officers.