Chuka Umunna MP

Recently, Chuka took part in an event with Save the Children’s Global Children’s Panel at Dunraven School in Streatham.

The panel brings together young people aged between 12 and 19 from around the world, including Bangladesh, Colombia, Nigeria, South Africa and the UK. Its members have taken part in events across the country, highlighting the issue of child poverty and making sure children’s voices are listened to.

Joining with students from Dunraven School, the Global Children’s Panel engaged in a question and answer session in which Chuka took part, focusing on issues facing children in the UK and overseas.

In the video above, members of the panel discuss their views and aspirations during their visit to Streatham. Follow this link to find out more about the crucially important work which Save the Children does.

Recently Chuka visited the brand new Windrush Square in Brixton on its inaugural weekend, which included live music and celebrations to mark its opening.

To see more pictures, please visit Chuka’s Facebook photo album.

Earlier this month the number of people gaining a qualification through the government’s Train to Gain programme hit the one million mark. Through working in partnership with Business Link advisers, colleges and other training providers, Train to Gain has assisted over 175,000 businesses of all sizes in identifying their skills needs, meeting their short and long term targets and increasing productivity.

Everything from basic skills to leadership and management training is catered for by the programme, enabling people to develop skills that will help them further their careers and make a significant impact on the businesses that employ them. With nearly £1bn to be invested in the Train to Gain programme over the next year, this continued investment is crucial in helping British businesses emerge strongly from economic downturn.

The Train to Gain programme ties in with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Skills for Growth strategy for economic growth and individual prosperity.

Labour is committed to developing more advanced apprenticeships, investing in sectors and skills on which future prosperity depends such as high tech and low carbon jobs, and empowering people through skills training.

Speaking about the milestone Skills Minister Kevin Brennan said:

“This is a great achievement for the programme and for each of the one million people who have now gained a qualification that will help them get on at work. Train to Gain has been hugely effective and both learners and employers have seen the benefits.”

Chuka Umunna, Labour Parliamentary candidate for Streatham, is opposing cuts to ticket office opening times at tube stations in Clapham, Balham and Brixton.

Details of the cuts were announced by London Mayor Boris Johnson this week, and would affect tube stations including Brixton, Clapham South, Clapham Common and Balham and result in hundreds of jobs being axed.

Under the proposals, Clapham South station ticket office would see its opening times cut by 46 hours per week, while Clapham Common station’s ticket office would be open for 32 fewer hours each week.

While currently Clapham South’s ticket office closes at 9.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays, under the Mayor’s planned changes it would be without a ticket office after 3.45pm on Saturday and 4.00pm on Sundays.

The ticket offices at Balham and Clapham Common will close at 7.45pm from Monday to Friday and Clapham South’s at 7.15pm, also closing for most of the afternoon, between 1.30pm and 5.00pm on weekdays.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for the Streatham constituency, which includes significant parts of Clapham and Balham, said:

“Thousands of people use our local underground stations on a daily basis and they form a vital connection with central London.

“The Mayor’s drastic cuts to opening times would see our local tube stations without ticket offices for hours on end at peak times.

“As well as the loss of customer service for tube users, I am concerned about the impact the changes could have on the safety of stations, particularly late at night.”

Last year, Mr Umunna launched a campaign to bring the tube to Streatham after learning that TfL was examining plans to extend the Bakerloo line to Lewisham and Bromley in Kent. Following this, TfL is now considering a range of options for extending the line in South London, including one which would
bring the line to Streatham.

Recently Chuka joined David Rowntree, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for the Cities of London and Westminster, to encourage young people to participate in politics at an event at University College London.

Chuka and David, who is also the drummer of the band Blur, spoke to students about their priorities and the importance of voting, before taking questions from the floor.

To see more pictures from the day, follow this link

We have recently set up new campaign premises in the heart of Streatham at 3A Mount Ephraim Road, Streatham SW16 1NQ – please see the map and pictures below.

If you want to volunteer to help Chuka’s campaign then please do drop in anytime

Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited Hitherfield Primary School and Children’s Centre in Streatham yesterday to open Britain’s 3,500th Sure Start Centre, accompanied by Health Secretary Andy Burnham and Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls.

The Sure Start centre is the tenth to have been opened across the Streatham parliamentary constituency, providing childcare, parenting advice, healthcare, family support and helping parents get back into work or training.

By coincidence, Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, attended Hitherfield nursery in his early years.

The Prime Minister used his visit to Hitherfield to launch new plans to boost childcare and maternity care. The measures include providing expectant parents with a named contact at a local Sure Start Children’s Centre and appointing a panel of specialists to advise on food in nurseries.

He also announced a boost in free childcare for three and four year-olds, increasing to 15 hours per week, as well as a consultation on giving pregnant mothers an assessment of health and social care needs, risks and choices by the twelfth week of pregnancy.

Commenting, Mr Umunna said: “As a governor of Sunnyhill Children’s Centre and speaking to parents on the doorstep, I know the real difference which Sure Start Centres make for families locally.

“As well as ensuring children get the best start in life, the centres help support parents’ aspirations through training and employment.

“I am immensely proud of our ten Sure Start Children’s Centres and that the Prime Minister came to Streatham to open the country’s 3,500th centre. This is an incredible achievement considering that in 1997, there were no Sure Start Centres at all.”

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “Over the last 10 years we’ve been building children centres in every community. It’s the revolution that we started 10 years ago with children centres spreading to the whole of the country.

10 SureStart Children’s Centres have been opened under the Labour government in the Streatham constituency since 1997.  Today, Prime Minister Gordon Brown MP, Children & Schools Secretary Ed Balls MP and the Health Secretary Andy Burnham MP opened Labour 3,500^th SureStart centre – Hitherfield Children’s Centre in Streatham.  By coincidence, Chuka attended Hitherfield nursery in his early years.  You can watch a video of Ed and Andy explaining what children’s centres do in Streatham and nationally below.

Last week, the government announced new proposals to deal with the problem of violence with dogs.

There has been a growth in dogfighting incidents in our local area and people are rightly concerned about dangerous dogs being trained by gangs to be aggressive, used as weapons or in illegal dog fights.

Action is already being taken with the introduction last year of the new police and court orders to restrict the movements of gang members and prohibit them from owning or being in control of dogs. To build on this, the government has launched a consultation this month on what further measures should be taken to tackle this problem.

One option would see owners of dangerous breeds having to take out insurance cover for their dog attacking people, while Police and local authorities would be given powers to force owners of dangerous dogs to muzzle them or get them neutered. The government is also looking into making microchipping compulsory so that dog owners can be more easily traced. This would crack down on irresponsible owners who train up their dogs to be used as weapons by brutalising them through appalling abuse.

To have your say email animalwelfareconsultations {at} defra.gsi.gov(.)uk or write to Defra, Animal Welfare Act Implementation Team, Area 8B, No 9 Millbank, c/o 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR.

Chuka Umunna
Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham

This letter was published in the South London Press on 19 March 2010 and the Streatham Guardian on April 1 2010

To mark Mother’s Day Glenys Kinnock, Minister of State for Africa and the United Nations, has launched a campaign in conjunction with Unions Together calling on David Cameron and the Conservative Party to come clean about the repercussions of their policy on Europe. The Conservative Party’s virulent anti-Europe position means that they could jeopardise mothers and workers rights.

Baroness Kinnock points out that European laws prevent discrimination against breast-feeding mums or on the basis of pregnancy. Most recently a European Directive on agency workers was transposed into a Statutory Instrument that provides greater protection for agency workers, including improved access to training and permanent jobs and equal treatment on pay and holiday pay.

To let Cameron know how you feel about mothers and workers rights ensured by our membership in the EU you can sign the petition at Unions Together. We can’t let the Conservatives’ anti-Europe dogma undermine hard-won rights.