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 Nick Brown with Labour's East Newcastle Council candidates Nick Brown has been re-elected as Member of Parliament for Newcastle East. Nick would like to thank everyone who supported the Labour Party in the general and local elections for their ongoing support.
There was good news in the local elections as well, with the Labour vote up in all nine council wards which make up the Newcastle East constituency. Maureen Lowson won back Walkergate ward for Labour, while Nick Kemp, Sophie White and John Stokel-Walker were elected for Byker, South Heaton and Walker wards respectively.
Overall Labour won seven extra seats on Newcastle City Council, and had the highest share of the vote, with 39.1%.
A General Election has been called for Thursday 6th May, 2010. Nick Brown will be standing as the Labour candidate for Newcastle East.
Parliament has been dissolved today and, during the election period, there are no MPs. This website will not be updated during the election period, and all content should be seen as referring to Nick’s work as a Member of Parliament prior to this date.
If you are a constituent of Newcastle East and Wallsend and urgently need assistance during the election period you can contact Nick Brown, who may be able to help in a personal capacity, either on 0191 261 1408 or nickbrown4mp@gmail.com.
 Nick with members of Newcastle's emergency services At Nick’s constituency surgeries at the weekends, one issue that is raised over and over again is Anti Social Behaviour. When people are causing trouble in their area it has the potential to make the lives of the majority of law-abiding citizens a misery. People in East Newcastle rightly want to live in neighbourhoods free from unnecessary noise, intimidation and harassment.
It is for this reason that Labour introduced Anti Social Behaviour Orders in 1998. The latest statistics bear out the effects this policy can have. 65% of people issued with an ASBO desisted from further anti-social behaviour after the first intervention, 86% after the second and 93% after the third. It’s clear that ASBOs can make a difference.
The Government has worked hard to tackle wider criminal activity. Since 1997 overall crime has fallen 36%, and domestic burglary is down 54%. Car theft has fallen by over 50%, and household crime is down 36%. Despite the “Broken Britain” rhetoric of some, you are now less likely to be a victim of crime than at any time in the past 25 years.
This is thanks to a police force that is respected and well resourced. Labour has invested more than £3.7bn in policing, putting an extra 16,000 police officers on our streets, alongside 16 000 further Community Support Officers. This is the first Government since the 1940s to see an overall fall in crime. All these measures will contribute to people feeling safer going about their day to day lives in our city.
 - Nick with Chancellor Alistair Darling at this year’s Regional Cabinet in Durham
Today’s Budget is good news for the East Newcastle, putting economic growth first, to ensure that people have the skills and jobs they need to succeed in the world and their children have the opportunities to get on and get ahead.
The Labour Government has laid out a clear plan to cut the deficit within four years once the recovery is guaranteed, while protecting vital frontline services – in health, education and police numbers.
Nick Brown said: “This is a budget for economic recovery. The strategy is the right one. It is particularly right for our region. The measures aimed at small and medium sized businesses have a disproportionately beneficial impact on the economy of the North East. The extension of the time to pay initiative and the extension of help for business liquidity are both proposals that the business community have made to me.”
 - Nick at today’s Earth Hour event in Parliament
Nick Brown lent his support to the WWF’s Earth Hour initiative at an event held in Westminster today. WWF is calling on individuals, businesses, iconic landmarks and local authorities to sign up to switch off their lights for one hour to show they care about people and wildlife threatened by climate change.
As Minister for the North East Nick has worked hard to shape the regional economy around renewable energy. From plans for clean coal at Lynemouth and electric cars at Nissan to our own wind farm factory on the banks of the Tyne, the North East is setting a lead in initiatives to help combat climate change.
But we need to make changes on an individual level as well. Campaigns like Earth Hour can make a real difference, and safeguard our planet for future generations.
 Nick Brown with Housing Minister John Healey in Byker The Minister for Housing, John Healey MP today joined Newcastle East MP Nick Brown and Byker Councillors Nick Kemp, Geordie Allison and Veronica Dunn along with local residents to announce a proposal for a community housing trust. This will offer local people a leading and decision making role in the regeneration of the famous estate whilst securing millions of pounds of much needed investment in the regeneration of the iconic Byker Wall.
Today’s unprecedented announcement shows the commitment of the Labour Government to securing the future of this unique, iconic and internationally renowned estate. The Government is proposing to wipe off the debt of the Byker Estate Housing Stock to free up funds for renovations.
Nick Brown said: “I welcome today’s announcement by John Healey. It would not have been possible without a Labour Housing Minister directly intervening to set up the Byker taskgroup and recognising the unique features of the Byker Estate.
“This offer recognises the very special circumstances of the Byker development. We can make this a really exciting, fresh start for the Byker estate. The debt write-off is fantastic news underpinning the proposed community housing trust and a multi-million pound budget for investment in the estate.”
“This is a way forward for the community to secure millions of pound of investment to regenerate the estate. It is now crucial that the proposals are explained to the community who must have the final say.”
Housing Minister John Healey MP said: “Nick Brown is a great champion of Byker, but his passion to do something radical for the estate was brought home to me when I became Housing Minister. He has constantly pressed the residents’ case with government, and today’s announcement is the basis for helping them build a new future.”
 Nick speaking at last year's GMB-run Parliamentary lobby Following Nick’s campaign to get justice for the victims of pleural plaques, the Government is today announcing a package of help for the people diagnosed with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
The vast majority of victims of asbestos-related diseases are concentrated in old industrial areas like the North East. Nick has been campaigning to get justice for sufferers for a long time, going right back to his days as the legal officer at the GMB in the early 1980s. There is still more to be done to help those who develop pleural plaques in the future, but today’s announcement is a good result for working people in communities such as our own.
The package announced today includes measures that will speed up the way mesothelioma claims are dealt with, so that sufferers and their families receive what they are entitled to more quickly. Sufferers of mesothelioma will see welfare payments increase above inflation and payments to bereaved families will be raised by up to £5,000.
Today’s announcement also introduces a £5000 payment to those individuals who had made claims for compensation for pleural plaques prior to the Law Lords ruling in October 2007. This will benefit over 6,000 people. Details of how the scheme will work are being published on the Ministry of Justice website at www.justice.gov.uk/about/pleural-plaques.htm.
 Nick with Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the site of the new Clipper factory Nick joined the Prime Minister in Walker yesterday as global energy giants Clipper Windpower confirmed their plans to bring a windfarm factory to the banks of the Tyne. As Minister for the North East Nick has worked hard to promote the Region as a centre for green industries. That work is now getting results, with this announcement expected to provide more than 500 local jobs on the site of the old Neptune Yard.
Nick said: “This is the start of a whole new industry for east Newcastle. It will provide secure employment for generations to come and put our community at the forefront of new green technologies. This is a great example of the public and private sector working together.”
Aided by the Labour Government’s recent announcements of increased wind energy grants and further off-shore sites for windfarms, these developments are not just good news for employment in our area, they are good news for the planet as a whole.
 - Nick speaking at today’s Regional Cabinet in Durham
The Cabinet met today in the North East for the first time ever. Newcastle East MP Nick Brown took the chance to show his Government colleagues the very best that the region has to offer.
Nick Brown said: “This is a tremendous chance to show our region at its best. As the Minister for the North East I will be hosting the meeting, the very first time that the Cabinet has met in a school. The previous Regional Cabinets have been a terrific success, and I am delighted to add the North East to the list of places that have been visited.”
In 2008 the Prime Minister announced that he planned to take the Cabinet to hear people’s views around the country. So far, there have been meetings and public engagement sessions in Birmingham, Leeds, Southampton, Glasgow, Cardiff, Nottingham, Liverpool and, today, in Durham.
The session was held at Durham Johnston Comprehensive, one of the 4000 schools to be built or refurbished since 1997. In Durham as in Newcastle, students are benefiting from the largest sustained school building programme in British history.
 Nick with Pensions Minister Angela Eagle and NEOPAG Chair Elsie Richardson Nick Brown today spoke at a conference at the Assembly Rooms organised by the North East Older People’s Advisory Group. More than a hundred elder citizens gathered to tell Nick and Pensions Minister Angela Eagle what more the Government can do to make their lives easier and better.
In 2007, for the first time ever, there were more people in Britain over the age of 65 than under the age of 16. By 2020, over half the adult population will be over 50. Making plans now to take care of our older citizens will be to the benefit of us all.
This Government has a decent record on protecting our pensioners. The Government recently set aside a new £33m fund for making sure that council houses are properly equipped for older residents. Labour’s ambitious plans for a National Care Service, to work alongside the NHS, will mean more older people will receive free personal care in their own home.
Targeted measures such as the Winter Fuel Payments, free bus passes and Pensions Credit have made a real difference to people’s weekly budgets. Over 100,000 pensioners in our region have been lifted out of relative poverty in the past ten years, and pensioners in the North East are now less likely to live in relative poverty than the national population as a whole. In total the UK now spends £13bn more per year on pensioners than if the policies of the last Conservative Government had carried on after 1997.
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