Vera Baird DBE KC

Chair Criminal Cases Review Commission. Member Women’s Justice Bd.
Ex Victims’ Commissioner, Solicitor Gen & PCC. Fellow St Hilda’s Oxford. Writer. Labour Party

Tag: ed miliband

  • Ed Miliband’s New Year Message


    “I want to wish you a very Happy New Year, from my family to yours. This is the season for new beginnings and hopes for the future. And Britain is ready for a new beginning. Because I don’t have to tell you that all over our country today, there are people working harder and harder, but standing still: families struggling with bills that are growing faster than their wages; young people, taking on mountains of debt to get a proper education, only to find themselves with no job at the other end; and an NHS where people are waiting longer and longer to get the care they need.

    “It doesn’t have to be this way. As this New Year dawns, we have the chance to change direction; a chance to build a recovery for all of Britain; to fight for policies that actually honour and reward hard work; and hold the banks and energy companies accountable. We have the chance- all of us together- to fight for a new plan that cuts our deficit responsibly, without threatening our NHS or short changing our children and their future. This year, we have the power to bring about the change working families all over Britain need. This isn’t about idle dreams or empty promises. It\’s about a real, concrete plan: a plan for a recovery which reaches your kitchen table.

    “In the coming months, I look forward to sharing our ideas with you about how we raise wages, give our young people a proper chance to get on, set fair rules for immigration and rescue our NHS. None of this will be easy or instant. But it is possible if we run the country in a different way: with a different idea, a different plan: putting working people first. And I know we will be a better, stronger and more prosperous country for it. So this is a moment of possibility for Britain. We have it within our grasp not just to see out the old year but to see out the old ways of running the country. Can we do it? Of course we can.

    “This coming year, we mark the seventieth anniversary of the end of the second world war, when our parents and grandparents overcame the most daunting odds to rebuild. After the war, badly battered and deeply in debt, Britain rose again. We built the NHS, a modern welfare state, homes for people to live in and still dealt with our debts; we set the stage for a generation of progress for working people. Today’s challenges are different. But if we could walk through those fires, we surely can meet the problems of our time. We can build a country that works for everyday people. Change is possible if we reach for it. If you are one of the millions of people who think Britain can do a lot better, I am with you. I am with you and this year, together, we can bring about the change we need.”

    You can also watch it here – 

  • Leading Labour’s commitment to women at the next General Election – Northumbria’s Police & Crime Commissioner

    Vera Baird QC, Police & Crime Commissioner for Northumbria, will today release the findings of a report which will influence the next Labour Government’s agenda on delivering for women across the north east and United Kingdom.

    In 2011 the Labour Party asked Vera Baird to lead ‘Everywoman Safe Everywhere’ Commission and come up with recommendations for the next Labour Government. An interim report was produced in 2012 with the final report being published today (Wednesday, 10 December, 2014).

    The research covered many areas affecting women – from legal aid to services for victims of domestic violence.

    The report asks the next Labour Government to do more than just reverse the last five years of decline by putting tackling violence against women and girls at the heart of our modern welfare state.

    It proposes a statutory obligation on Government and local authorities to develop integrated domestic and sexual violence strategies and the establishment of a new Commissioner to tackle violence against women and girls, to drive their implementation and bring national standards of service to all.

    The report encourages reforming how services are commissioned, refocusing on the practical need for specialist women-centred services with a track record of success.

    Vera Baird said: “I was delighted to be asked by Yvette Cooper to lead this Commission, as it’s allowed me to put the changes we’ve implemented here in Northumbria on a national platform.

    “The work happening in our region can be used as a model of good practice by the next Labour Government. The main job for Ed Miliband and his team is to develop an integrated domestic and sexual violence strategy. If we get it right from day one of the next Labour Government we will change lives for a generation.”

    Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has already accepted one of the report’s recommendations for a new national refuge fund, to provide the safe places that women and children need and national Rape Support Funding on a three-year cycle, to give rape crisis centres real security.

    Vera Baird added: “The Shadow Home Secretary’s actions show how Labour take women’s issues seriously and we are committed to providing safe places for women and girls when they need it most.

    “The Commission’s recommendations are about fixing this issue, in all its myriad forms, including forced marriage, trafficking, slavery, harassment, honour crimes, FGM and prostitution; putting them at the heart of the modern public services that Ed Miliband’s Premiership will deliver. Next we should work on a strategy with the Department of Education, to prevent violence against women and girls in coming generations so we can also drive a lasting legacy of culture change.”

  • Ahead of the Autumn Statement – How Labour will make a difference,

     

    The mood of Britain last week was to enjoy “Black Friday” that became Black weekend as shoppers headed to stores and online to grab a bargain or two.

     

    Today could become “Black Wednesday” depending on what the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, will tell the House of Commons.  We already know this government has broken promise after promise, cut funding to our police service (since 2010, Northumbria’s budget has been cut by more than £80 million) and forgotten about our region. 

    The Tories came to power on a promise to balance the books by 2015  which they have broken. When Labour win the election in six months time, Ed Miliband and Ed Balls are set to inherit a large deficit – which they will address.  Income tax receipts across the Parliament are set to fall short of their 2010 expectations by more than £66 billion and receipts from National Insurance Contributions are a further £22.5 billion lower across the same period – less money in means less to spend on services such as police, schools, NHS and protecting our vulnerable people to name but a few.

    The last few years have been hard for families, real median wages for full time workers have fallen by more than £2000 since 2010.  In Northumbria, I have played a small part in improving the salaries of lower paid members of staff by introducing the Living Wage, all cleaning staff within Northumbria Police now benefit from an increase in pay of more than £1 per hour.  Prior to this the service was contracted out and the cleaners were on the minimum wage.  There are still more than 4.9 million workers earning less than the Living – this is something that must change in the next Parliament.

     

    We need a government that is going to support the 1.4 million people who are currently on zero-hours contracts – many of the people affected work regular and predictable hours but don’t benefit from sick and holiday pay.  I know that with Ed Miliband as Prime Minister, we will see zero hour contacts abolished.

     

    It will be interesting to see what George Osborne says in his Autumn statement, as he has to account why the Tory led Government has borrowed more in four and a half years than the last Labour government did in 13 years.  The Chancellor needs to explain why he has borrowed almost £4 billion more than he did in the same period last year. 

     

    Labour is clear that we need an economic plan that can earn our way to rising living standards for all.  I want the next Labour government to help families in Sunderland and Newcastle just as much as David Cameron has helped millionaires with their tax break in this Parliament.  I want Labour to be given the opportunity to build 200,000 new homes a year to help get first time buyers on the property ladder.

     

    Let’s help the next generation by creating more apprenticeships. Since I took up my post of Police & Crime Commissioner, my small office has been able to help boost the career of two young people by securing them apprentice opportunities.  Ed Balls has made no promises without saying where the money is coming from, the Labour Party manifesto will have no commitments paid for by additional borrowing.

     

    Labour will balance the book, I suspect George Osborne will shuffle a few pages today – he has failed to deliver over the last four years, he has forgotten the North East.  I know it will take a Labour Government to make the changes happen that we want to see.

     

  • In response: Yvette Cooper’s speech to the Fabian Conference (28th June 2014)

    Yvette Cooper once again showed us why she will be an effective Home Secretary in 45 weeks time.

    Speaking at the Fabians Society Conference she delivered a speech which was compassionate, caring and reinforced why we need a Labour Government with Ed Miliband and Yvette leading from the front for a fairer country that speaks for all.

    As a party we are right to oppose the bedroom tax, it hurts too many people – it is not right that people have to make the choice of whether to feed themselves or not because they can\’t afford the ever increasing heating bills and bedroom tax. It is only our party that is standing up and saying the bedroom tax is wrong.

    As Yvette states, Ed Miliband has kept Labour united, focused on what we should be tackling and building a vision for Britain. Ed has ensured that MPs, Councillors, MEPs, and latterly, PCCs are working in communities in every neighbourhood delivering for local people – we are united together in doing all we can to win the General Election. We have the determination, we have the policies and we all know what is at stake if the Conservatives win another term in 2015.

    During the Shadow Home Secretary’s speech she mentioned that prosecutions for domestic and sexual violence have dropped even though reported crimes are going up, 999 waits across the country are going up and fewer crimes are being solved. Here in Northumbria we have seen our budget cut by £67 million since 2010, we have had to look at every option available to protect neighbourhood policing – had the Tories had their way we would have seen frontline policing cut to the skeleton – as Labour Police & Crime Commissioner for Northumbria there was no way I was going to allow this to happen, so we are relocating police stations in to the heart of communities, looking at sharing premises with organisations such as the fire and health service to save money, this making our police bases more accessible to the public and keeping officers on the beat, we are then disposing of old properties, cutting tiers of management and have looked for savings at every level to protect neighbourhood policing. With the election of a Labour government we know that neighbourhood policing will be a priority on Yvette’s agenda.

    Theresa May really does believe that policing is only fighting crime – we need to put preventing crime back on the agenda as the last Labour government did. The Home Secretary declined my invitation to stop off and see excellent policing in action when she was coming through the force area to go to the Scottish Tory Party Conference earlier this year – she has still to accept my invitation to see first class police officers trying to deliver for communities despite massive budget cuts.

    I’m pleased that Yvette recognised that Labour PCCs have worked hard to collaborate with each other and with local councils and partners, this is what we were elected to do and we continue to urge Commissioners of other political persuasion to do the same.

    When delivering public services, it frightens me that the market is dominated by Capita, G4S, Serco, Sodexho and Atos – I don’t have have confidence in these companies, yet the governments commissioning process is pushing them at us and as Yvette rightly states they are crowding out smaller organisations, local voluntary groups and failing to deliver value for money too.

    Northumbria’s Probation service is recognised as one of the best in the country, now their future is uncertain as the government has cut up and privatised the service to the point were morale is rock bottom and the staff are working in a system with no direction from government apart from to cut costs at any measures. The services that are being dismantled are crucial to an effective rehabilitation process and getting it wrong now will have consequences for many years.

    Everyone is in favour of introducing aftercare to prevent re-offending by people sentenced to one year or less. But the coalition’s Crime Minister made clear, in answer to a question from me, in May, that this will “not happen soon” but after “we have waited for the cohort to build up” whereas if it had been given to local probation trusts, the best team to deliver it, no doubt it would have been in place by now, preventing more crimes and protecting more victims. It was a showpiece reason for making these changes but the best current estimate is that it won’t even start until 2016. This is worrying

    A Labour government knows that resources will be tight during the next Parliament, but public services will be more important than ever and it is Labour’s different set of values to the current government that will deliver a difference. As Yvette states “for the many, not the few; for social justice, not social fragmentation. Labour progressive values, not Tory prejudice”

    Labour PCCs will both inform and support the next Labour reforms in criminal justice. We say yes to services that are personalised, giving power to individuals, families and communities; Yes to creating partnerships and collaboration. Labour PCCs believe in this rather than fragmentation and enforced competition.

    Long term prevention is a Yes from us and we fully support raising professional standards.

    Labour values will make a difference to our country and as Ed Miliband said nearly a year ago “Britain can do better” I’m up for the fight, I have implemented many Labour policies since my election as PCC in November 2012 – one of the proudest being a Living Wage for all who work for Northumbria police. We brought the cleaning team back in house so we could pay them a living wage.

    Let’s make the next 45 weeks count and come May 2015 we will have a brighter future for our communities – with Ed Miliband as Prime Minister and Yvette Cooper as Home Secretary.

  • Miliband calls for “proper intervention” into police conduct during the Orgreave miners clash

    Labour Leader, Ed Miliband and Vera Baird – Calling for Answers.

    From Labourlist – www.labourlist.org

    The Guardian has reported today that Miliband has become one of the most senior politicians to call for a “proper investigation” into the confrontation between police and miners at Orgreave – known as the Battle of Orgreave

    Thirty years after the clashes between police and miners at Orgreave, the drive to push for a full investigation into alleged police alleged misconduct both during and after the incident continues. The police are accused of physically assaulting miners, lying under oath and perverting the course of justice when it came to the prosecution of 95 miners.

    In light of these accusations, in November 2012 the South Yorkshire police referred themselves to the Independent Police and Complaints Commission (IPCC). But over a year and a half later and the IPCC says they’re still “scoping” existing evidence so they can decide whether they’ll hold a full investigation

    Miliband, speaking to miners and representatives from Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign at Hatfield Main colliery in his Doncaster constituency, recently described the miner’s strike as a “just cause”. He went on to call for a full investigation into the polices actions:

    “You were fighting for justice, for your community, for equality, for all the things that mattered.

    The values you fought for are the values that we have to take forward for the future.

    Very specifically, there does need to be a proper investigation about what happened at Orgreave. We support that proper investigation taking place, as a matter of truth and a matter of justice.”

    A Labour party spokeperson further explained what a “proper investigation” meant: “The IPCC is looking into whether they should investigate. We want them to do the right thing.”

    Northumbria’s police and crime commissioner Vera Baird QC echoed Miliband’s sentiments. Speaking with the the Observer she said:

    “The IPCC is running out of time for trust to be sustained. One wants to have faith in the publicly established statutory organisation that investigates complaints against the police, but it’s impossible not to ask yourself: ‘What’s keeping them?’”

    Miliband’s bold stance is surely a welcome one, particularly for the miners and their families directly involved in and affected by the clashes – after thirty years it’s about time the matter was investigated thoroughly.