Whitley News: Summer 2017

Whitley councillor Rachel Eden is Reading’s lead councillor for Adult Social Care.

Rachel says: “One of the things that we can be proudest of is our NHS, and we know that for the last seven years the Conservative government has been underfunding it. The government has capped the pay of NHS staff, and put doctors and nurses under increasing pressure, forcing them to make more and more difficult decisions. This has been reflected in increased waiting times .

The General Election and the chaos of their ‘dementia tax’ have shown yet again that the Conservatives really don’t understand the value of care for elderly and disabled people.

I am determined to keep pressing the government to provide adequate funding and show more competence. Reading Council is working hard with NHS staff, people who need vital services and groups who care about these issues. I am determined that this will continue in Reading but the government has to realise it is making huge mistakes and needs to change its approach.

Austerity isn’t working.”

Do you have any comments or need help with a council problem?

Name__________________________________ Title (Mr/Mrs/Ms/Other)_______ Address_____________________________________ Postcode________________ Tel._______________________________ Email_________________________ Comment or problem_______________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ Please return this to Cllr. Rachel Eden, Reading Borough Council, Civic Offices, Bridge Street, Reading RG1 9ZY. Printed by InstantPrint, Unit A Brookfields Park, Manvers , Rotherham, S63 5DR. Promoted by Reading and District Labour Party, PO Box 8188, Reading, RG30 9LE.

Whitley News from Whitley Labour councillors Summer 2017 /WhitleyLabour

Labour gains seat in Reading The General Election brought changes to Reading. Labour won the Reading East constituency from the Conservatives and only narrowly missed winning in our constituency of Reading West. Many people changed to voting Labour or voted for the first time.

Theresa May called an election expecting to get a massive majority. Instead, the government was exposed, especially on housing, care for the elderly and education. It had no clear vision and failed to put forward a plan for Brexit. Theresa May’s leadership has been completely discredited.

Expensive deal to stay in power The Conservatives lost their majority in Parliament but have allocated £1 billion to spend in Northern Ireland in a deal to get the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) to prop up a Conservative Government, while they still refuse to fund fair pay rises for nurses and teachers.

Olivia Bailey, Labour’s candidate in Reading West says, PIC “The Tories called the election in a fit of arrogance to give themselves a blank cheque for Brexit. But they underestimated us, and they failed to understand that people are worried about cuts to public services and stagnant living standards.”

Olivia Bailey, Labour candidate in Reading West.

The Conservatives have now dropped their plans for social care and education and their housing policy is totally inadequate. Their approach to Brexit is in tatters. What Next? See inside.

Labour councillors say: There is a lot of uncertainty about in politics at the moment. We know that the Conservatives have lost their mandate to cut services. We don’t know fully yet what the new minority Conservative government will do, or even how long it will last.

What you can be sure of is that as your Labour councillors we will keep working for Whitley, all year, every year.

Whitley hosts a Great Get Together The Whitley Wood Community Centre hosted a Great Get Together on 17th June, like many places across the country, to honour the memory of Labour MP Jo Cox who was murdered last year. There are plans for more community events.

Rachel Eden, who is on the committee for the centre said “There’s a lot going on but there could be even more. I’m keen to get ideas and to talk to people how they would like to set up events—it’s a centre for the community so let’s make full use of it.”

How to get in touch with us We hold councillors’ surgeries on the first Saturday of every month at the Community Café, South Reading Community Centre, 252 Northumberland Avenue.

You can call or email us at

Rachel Eden Tel: 07914 211828. rachel.eden@reading.gov.uk Kelly Edwards Tel: 07855 078052. kelly.edwards@reading.gov.uk Emmett McKenna Tel: 07795 088106. emmett.mckenna@reading.gov.uk You can write to us at: Cllr. Rachel Eden, Reading Borough Council, Civic Offices, Bridge Street, Reading RG1 9ZY.

Housing action is needed more than ever The General Election and the last few weeks have highlighted the extent of the government’s failure and lack of concern on housing policy. Before the election the Tories admitted that the government’s housing policy can’t work (as reported previously in Whitley News) but since then they have not done or announced anything new.

The housing crisis is getting worse The government’s recent changes to the housing and planning rules mean that it is more difficult to get the affordable housing that is needed on development sites, and Reading Council can’t build the 1000 new council houses it had planned. As a result, many people in Whitley still can’t get adequate housing at a price they can afford.

The shortage of suitable, decent housing is getting worse and is affecting those who need to rent and those who want to buy, with people forced to rent expensive and insecure houses in the private sector.

More council houses Reading Council is continuing to do all it can to provide more social housing. Before the election the council had agreed to build 87 new council houses and in early July it made funding available for 100 more.

However, the big question remains: The government has admitted its policy isn’t working but is it prepared to change?

Olivia Bailey, Labour candidate In Reading West with Whitley councillor Rachel Eden during the General Election.

“Standing Up For Whitley All Year, Every Year.”

Labour councillors say: There is a lot of uncertainty about in politics at the moment. We know that the Conservatives have lost their mandate to cut services. We don’t know fully yet what the new minority Conservative government will do, or even how long it will last.

What you can be sure of is that as your Labour councillors we will keep working for Whitley, all year, every year.

Whitley hosts a Great Get Together The Whitley Wood Community Centre hosted a Great Get Together on 17th June, like many places across the country, to honour the memory of Labour MP Jo Cox who was murdered last year. There are plans for more community events.

Rachel Eden, who is on the committee for the centre said “There’s a lot going on but there could be even more. I’m keen to get ideas and to talk to people how they would like to set up events—it’s a centre for the community so let’s make full use of it.”

How to get in touch with us We hold councillors’ surgeries on the first Saturday of every month at the Community Café, South Reading Community Centre, 252 Northumberland Avenue.

You can call or email us at

Rachel Eden Tel: 07914 211828. rachel.eden@reading.gov.uk Kelly Edwards Tel: 07855 078052. kelly.edwards@reading.gov.uk Emmett McKenna Tel: 07795 088106. emmett.mckenna@reading.gov.uk You can write to us at: Cllr. Rachel Eden, Reading Borough Council, Civic Offices, Bridge Street, Reading RG1 9ZY.

Housing action is needed more than ever The General Election and the last few weeks have highlighted the extent of the government’s failure and lack of concern on housing policy. Before the election the Tories admitted that the government’s housing policy can’t work (as reported previously in Whitley News) but since then they have not done or announced anything new.

The housing crisis is getting worse The government’s recent changes to the housing and planning rules mean that it is more difficult to get the affordable housing that is needed on development sites, and Reading Council can’t build the 1000 new council houses it had planned. As a result, many people in Whitley still can’t get adequate housing at a price they can afford.

The shortage of suitable, decent housing is getting worse and is affecting those who need to rent and those who want to buy, with people forced to rent expensive and insecure houses in the private sector.

More council houses Reading Council is continuing to do all it can to provide more social housing. Before the election the council had agreed to build 87 new council houses and in early July it made funding available for 100 more.

However, the big question remains: The government has admitted its policy isn’t working but is it prepared to change?

Olivia Bailey, Labour candidate In Reading West with Whitley councillor Rachel Eden during the General Election.

“Standing Up For Whitley All Year, Every Year.”

Whitley councillor Rachel Eden is Reading’s lead councillor for Adult Social Care.

Rachel says: “One of the things that we can be proudest of is our NHS, and we know that for the last seven years the Conservative government has been underfunding it. The government has capped the pay of NHS staff, and put doctors and nurses under increasing pressure, forcing them to make more and more difficult decisions. This has been reflected in increased waiting times .

The General Election and the chaos of their ‘dementia tax’ have shown yet again that the Conservatives really don’t understand the value of care for elderly and disabled people.

I am determined to keep pressing the government to provide adequate funding and show more competence. Reading Council is working hard with NHS staff, people who need vital services and groups who care about these issues. I am determined that this will continue in Reading but the government has to realise it is making huge mistakes and needs to change its approach.

Austerity isn’t working.”

Do you have any comments or need help with a council problem?

Name__________________________________ Title (Mr/Mrs/Ms/Other)_______ Address_____________________________________ Postcode________________ Tel._______________________________ Email_________________________ Comment or problem_______________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ Please return this to Cllr. Rachel Eden, Reading Borough Council, Civic Offices, Bridge Street, Reading RG1 9ZY. Printed by InstantPrint, Unit A Brookfields Park, Manvers , Rotherham, S63 5DR. Promoted by Reading and District Labour Party, PO Box 8188, Reading, RG30 9LE.

Whitley News from Whitley Labour councillors Summer 2017 /WhitleyLabour

Labour gains seat in Reading The General Election brought changes to Reading. Labour won the Reading East constituency from the Conservatives and only narrowly missed winning in our constituency of Reading West. Many people changed to voting Labour or voted for the first time.

Theresa May called an election expecting to get a massive majority. Instead, the government was exposed, especially on housing, care for the elderly and education. It had no clear vision and failed to put forward a plan for Brexit. Theresa May’s leadership has been completely discredited.

Expensive deal to stay in power The Conservatives lost their majority in Parliament but have allocated £1 billion to spend in Northern Ireland in a deal to get the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) to prop up a Conservative Government, while they still refuse to fund fair pay rises for nurses and teachers.

Olivia Bailey, Labour’s candidate in Reading West says, PIC “The Tories called the election in a fit of arrogance to give themselves a blank cheque for Brexit. But they underestimated us, and they failed to understand that people are worried about cuts to public services and stagnant living standards.”

Olivia Bailey, Labour candidate in Reading West.

The Conservatives have now dropped their plans for social care and education and their housing policy is totally inadequate. Their approach to Brexit is in tatters. What Next? See inside.