Nick Brown MP

Nick with Headteacher Nick Sharing and Look North's Hannah Bayman

Nick Brown today attended the 10^th Anniversary Celebrations at Sir Charles Parsons School and Science College.

Nick attended the official opening of the local special needs school ten years ago, and was pleased to join Hannah Bayman from BBC’s Look North as well as staff, pupils and parents to see the progress made over the past decade.

The school – which became a specialist science college in 2007 – has been rated “outstanding” in its last two inspections.

Nick with members of Newcastle's emergency services

The Evening Chronicle has today published details of a report which shows that Northumbria police force is the second worst hit nationally by spending cuts as a percentage of total funding.

Newcastle East MP Nick Brown said: “What the report shows is that the big Labour urban areas are taking a much bigger hit than the ones that are broadly speaking Conservative supporting. Northumbria has always suffered from being a mixed urban and rural force. It affects their grant formula. They will not find it easy to absorb this real-terms cut.

“Policing is a very labour intensive activity. It seems to me inevitable that this will have an impact on jobs. It makes the job of the chief constable a lot harder at a time when we ought to be helping them.”

And Nick denied claims by the Liberal Democrat and Tory coalition that the country was in it together in terms of painful spending cuts to deal with the national debt.

Nick said: “We are clearly not in this together. These cuts are falling disproportionately on urban police authorities in Labour voting areas. On the face of it, it doesn’t seem fair. Northumbria has always been disadvantaged by being treated as a part rural party urban area when in fact the overwhelming bulk of work is in urban areas.”

Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman has praised Nick Brown’s work in making sure the new Government’s decision to increase VAT is properly debated in the House of Commons.

VAT is a tax which hits the poorest hardest. The more of your income you spend, the worse you’ll be affected by this rise. The Lib Dems know this – that’s why they campaigned against it in the General Election. But in their first Budget, the Lib Dem Tory Coalition have announced plans to raise VAT to 20%.

Ms Harman, who will be launching a new campaign against the VAT rise tonight, told the Evening Standard that Labour Party Chief Whip Nick Brown was “an immovable object” in negotiations over the vote.

Ms Harman said: “We were amazed that the Government wanted to keep this in committee and not on the floor of the House. Fortunately they ran into a brick wall in the shape of Nick Brown. I hope this vote is the High Noon for the VAT rise.”

Nick at the Opening of Newcastle University's Edwardson Building

Nick Brown has signed a charter highlighting the plight of pensioners. The Newcastle East MP has pledged his support for Newcastle University’s Charter for Changing Age.

The charter provides a radical reassessment of the place of older people in society and calls for “profound” change in attitudes towards ageing.

The charter states: “Too often, political debate has focused on population ageing as a negative issue, a burden to be managed. This negativity pervades attitudes commonly seen in the media, business, employment, education and even in health and social care. Political leadership is needed to promote change across society.”

By 2020 over half the adult population will be over 60.

Nick Brown said: “This charter celebrates the fact that people are living longer – one of humanity’s triumphs. It is also important to recognise and promote age equality in society.”

Nick Brown has condemned the Lib Dem Tory Coalition government’s decision to scrap the North East regional development agency.

Since its creation, One NorthEast has created and safe guarded over 160,000 jobs in the North East. But Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable has now confirmed it is to be scrapped. Newcastle East MP Nick Brown has branded the move “the single worst thing the Liberal Democrats could have done to hurt the North East economy”.

As Regional Minister, Nick worked together with the One NorthEast as it played a key role in getting the region through the economic downturn, helping to bring in large-scale green technology projects like the electric car plant at Nissan, and the new wind-farm factory in Walker.

In a speech to the Northern TUC, Nick Brown has criticised Newcastle City Council for its failing social care plan. Nick said that the Council’s decision to slash backroom staff had led to a deadly shortfall in social work. The Newcastle East MP accused council chiefs of disguising cuts as “efficiency savings”.
As part of its transformation [...]

Today’s Evening Chronicle has paid tribute to Nick Brown’s work for the region as Minister for the North East – and criticised the Lib Dem Tory Coalition decision to scrap the post.
The Chronicle says: “Putting political allegiances aside, it is difficult to argue anyone could have represented the region better than the Newcastle East MP. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]