Archive for January, 2012

A boxing club from Shirehampton has been held up in Parliament by Charlotte as an example of why sport is so important for young people.

The National Smelting Co Amateur Boxing Club, which has introduced the sport to generations of youngsters and turned them into champions, was described to MPs as a place where the coaches offer real goals for their members and in turn give them a sense of identity.

Charlotte, who is president of the club and who chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Boxing, told the debate on Sport and Youth Crime that clubs like NSC help some youngsters who may have become disconnected from society.

She said: “As with many sports, boxing is so important for many young people who have fallen out of all the normal authority measures. They have fallen out of school, because they do not see that it offers anything for them.

“They have fallen out of the council’s best attempts to engage them in its systems of social work, because they feel that they are dislocated from authority. For many young people, the boxing club is the only rival identity to other less savoury identities that are offered to them.

“One young boxer said to me: ‘My life was a cul-de-sac of going into a gang. If I wanted an identity, security, protection, feeling I am something, there was only one option for me and that was to join a gang. My local boxing club provided an avenue off that cul-de-sac where I could find a family and identity.’

“The immense value of sports clubs—particularly boxing clubs for kids who will not engage with other forms of society, because they feel they are too much part of authority—is that they provide the first opportunity to learn the very important lesson that my old swimming coach, Eric Henderson, taught me: no pain, no gain.”

She added that by investing in sport, the country would see a significant return because of the effective way it deals with social problems.

NSC head coach Garry Cave said he agreed with Ms Leslie about the positive effects of boxing on young people and thanked her for her support of the club over the years.

Bristol North West is a beautiful part of a glorious city and I’ve been doing my bit recently to try to enable us to see a bit more of it!

How? I’ve been working in Parliament to support a Bill which could mean we move our clocks forward by an hour all year. The result – the sun would rise and set later and more people would be up and around during the daylight hours.

Imagine walking playing with the kids in Canford Park or walking the dog on the Downs until late for longer in the year without worrying about it being too dark.

I voted to support the third reading of the Daylight Savings Bill in Parliament recently, which called on Government to have a thorough, independent assessment of the arguments for and against the idea, and to bring in a trial if the arguments for change were strong.

Sadly, a tiny minority of MPs used parliamentary procedure to block it, even though this had the overwhelming support of MPs from all parties and was a vote which would have led to a proper investigation of the issue from all standpoints. Whether Daylight Saving is worth introducing at is an issue that’s been raised again and again in Parliament but there’s never been a proper review because internal parliamentary ‘process’ has always been used to stop it.

The group ‘Lighter Later’, (www.lighterlater.org) who are leading support of Rebecca Harris MP’s Bill, make a compelling case. The changes would have benefits all through the year but we would really see the difference in the summer, when many of us sleep blissfully through those sunlit mornings yet the street lights come on in the evening when people might still want to enjoy a barbecue or sport.

And the busy evening rush hour would be in daylight for much more of the year than at present.

It’s not just about enjoying daylight, however. There is a strong case to show that having more daylight hours at the time when we are out and about will save lives on our road, reduce the opportunity and fear of crime in darkened places and reduce our carbon footprint. On the one hand, we would rethink street lighting and on the other, our household bills will be lowered as we use less domestic lighting.

In short – more of our sleeping time will take place when it’s dark and more of our waking hours will take place when it’s light.

A huge number of organisations support change, from the English Cricket Board and the FA to cycling group Sustrans and the AA. Even the Scottish farmers have backed the calls for a review.

This issue has been discussed for years, but never acted upon. There is such a cross section of support for a switch, and the debate is so energetic I am so disappointed that we cannot even have a proper review, even in the face of overwhelming support in Parliament. This is not just about investigating the pros and cons of daylight saving properly at last, but about putting real things that affecting People above playing games with parliamentary Process. This is not over however, and we will continue to fight for a proper review.

Charlotte has expressed her disappointment after it was revealed a former sports centre in Shirehampton could be turned into warehouses if planners grant a go-ahead.

In December 2005, the Robin Cousins Centre closed as part of council cut backs. Since then, despite numerous attempts to bring it back into community use, it has lain empty, leaving residents angry and devastated.

There are now plans ot turn the site into a warehouse  and offices.

Charlotte said: “After the council closed our much-loved Robin Cousins Centre, we have campaigned for years for it to be re-opened for local people. This area has lost so many community amenities, including its local swimming pool.

“The building has already been vacant far too long, and this should have been resolved a long time ago. But it will be a devastating blow if after all the campaigning for much-needed community facilities to be returned to local people, the Robin Cousins Centre is taken forever from the community.”

Robin Cousins,  who grew up in Sea Mills, won a gold medal in figure skating at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics.

The centre was named after him when it opened in the same year.

Charlotte will be supporting the campaign to have an elected mayor for Bristol – which moved a step closer last week by confirmation that there will be a ballot on May 3 in the city on the issue.

 Bristolians will be asked:

 How would you like Bristol to be run? By a leader who is an elected councillor chosen by a vote of the other elected councillors. This is how the council is run now.OR By a mayor who is elected by voters. This would be a change from how the council is run now.

She also described an Evening Post campaign, which seeks to start a debate on whether the city is fulfilling its great potential, as ‘timely’.

Charlotte said Bristol has achieved – and will continue to achieve – great things, but questioned whether this was in spite or because of its political system.

She criticised the council election system which sees a change of councillors most years, leaving the city in election mode for too much of the time, thus affecting long-term decision making.

 She said: “Ask people what they think of Bristol’s politics and you usually get some feisty replies. 

“The debates about Bristol having the political will to achieve its potential and the prospect of an elected mayor could not be more timely.

“Many people are asking whether Bristol, the second richest city outside London, punches below its weight in comparison to its competitors, in terms of its education record, local transport infrastructure and facilities like arena, conference venues, stadium.

“I think Bristol is a magnificent and beautiful city, with a successful business community, rich in voluntary groups, outstanding in the media, arts and culture and a self-proclaimed Green city.

“But many people ask whether Bristol is successful DESPITE its politics, not because of it. From my years spent talking to local people, its become apparent that many people have lost faith in Bristol’s politics and feel it is broken.

“There is the issue of Council Elections. Bristol has unusually frequent elections, which means the city is paralysed by being in election mode for a large chunk of most years, damaging long term decision making.

“People often feel that because of this we have an ever-changing carousel of elected members, flickering in and out of election-mode, revolving around a static core of unelected officers. And this lack of continuity pushes decision making away from elected members and towards,( in most cases hard working,) but unelected officials, who make decisions over significant budgets.

“Then there’s leadership and accountability. Ask people who the leader of the council is in any year, and some are able to tell you. Ask who the Chief Exec is, and hardly any can. Then when they realise the size of the Chief Exec’s salary, and the budget they control, they are shocked. I’m sure the Chief Exec is also very hard working, but they are very powerful, not elected, and are virtually publicly invisible.

“An elected mayor would be accountable, visible and would have the opportunity to find and instigate solutions to improve the city’s politics.

“Moreover, the referendum over whether we have a mayor or not is exactly the right place to air these simmering concerns about Bristol’s politics.

“The Evening Post is right to raise this debate. Too many people are saying that too many opportunities for the city are being missed for us to ignore the issue.

“Business leaders said only yesterday, there are ideas in abundance in this city but Bristol’s political system is not making the very most of this creativity and innovation.

“We need stability, accountability and a sense that there is a long-term plan for the city. A referendum for a mayor will provide a stage to debate these crucial questions. And I believe voting for a Mayor could help provide some of the crucial answers.”

Before Christmas Charlotte, along with a number of other Bristol MPs, took part in a panel discussion on this issue and Charlotte’s contribution can be seen here: http://petitions.charlotteleslie.com/2011/12/charlotte-leslie-discusses-whether-bristol-should-have-an-elected-mayor/

 For more, see http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Date-s-set-Bristol-decide-elected-mayor/story-15028008-detail/story.html

A remarkable version of TV’s DIY SOS has been taking place in Westbury-on-Trym over recent months, and Charlotte has been on hand to support their efforts.

Anyone walking down Westbury Hill will have noticed the work on a dilapidated old house and its transformation to former glory.

The former owner had been unable to look after the property and it gradually fell into such a state of disrepair that it was uninhabitable.

Yet this is not simply the usual construction project and there are no reality home show TV presenters on hand to rebuild the house in the blink of an eye.

And it is not just the house which has been transformed.

The team of workers includes a group of ex-offenders, young men whose lives had gone off the rails but who are now grafting hard, acquiring skills and building a new life for themselves.

They are part of The Restore Trust, a not for profit company providing skills, training and jobs to ex-offenders. It was formed in 2010 with support from government funding and since then it has employed dozens of young people, at minimum wage, who might otherwise have struggled to find work.

Charlotte has visited the site on Westbury Hill and spoke to some of the trainees.

She said: “It was really inspirational. This project means genuine job opportunities, not just a stop-gap training scheme with little or no hope of anything at the end of it.

“And without the prospect of work, it is well documented that rehabilitation back into society can be difficult and often unsuccessful.

“It’s a great combination of innovation and forward thinking.

“This rundown old house, with its wonky floorboards and uneven walls, was being returned to the grand villa it must have been many years ago. The young men I met – Levi and William – were clearly immensely proud of the work they were doing. The Restore Trust is now aiming to be fully sustainable and I will be supporting their efforts.”

The Restore Trust chief executive Adam McMeechan said: “We know that stable employment is the single most significant factor regarding offending and we feel strongly that schemes such as this have the potential to reduce crime and the victims of crime whilst clearly improving local environments in a very tangible way.”

And their prospects do not stop at the Restore Trust – agreement has been reached with Carillon PLC to provide trainees with guaranteed interviews at the end of their work placements.

Trainee William Holdman from Hartcliffe, who has been working on the Westbury project with Levi McHugh from Southmead, said: “My life was in a rut and I was just going round in circles.

“But with the skills I have picked up here I am hoping to go on to other jobs in the future.”

The project in Westbury-on-Trym is being undertaken in conjunction with the organisation Bristol Together, which buys rundown properties then engages groups like The Restore Trust to renovate them.
Once renovated, the idea is to sell the property at a profit, which goes back to the trust to continue their work.