Joanne Cash

Welcome,

Thank you for visiting my website and taking an interest in my campaign to become the Member of Parliament for Westminster North.

I am committed to fighting for my fellow residents in Westminster North and this site contains the details of some of the issues that I think are particularly important. In addition, I hope that you will keep me informed of what your priorities are for making our constituency a safer, better place to live.

I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Best wishes,

FREE help with university applications

This week, Joanne launched an initiative to help state school children throughout Westminster North who want to go to university, achieve greater levels of success in their applications.

This initiative is part of Joanne’s ongoing social action project, STEP UP.

STEP UP volunteers are offering advice with UCAS applications as well as training to help improve students' presentation and communication skills.

Joanne explained the thinking behind the project and what she hopes to achieve:

“I was educated at state schools. I know the application process can be daunting and a little bit of guidance can make a lot of difference.

Students at private schools receive a lot of extra tuition that is not always available to their state school peers.

Every child should have the opportunity to realise their ambitions and to maximise their potential.

This scheme is designed to provide state educated children in Westminster North with the best possible chance to succeed in their university applications and to allow universities to pick their students on merit rather than to be forced into making decisions based on other factors.

Our impressive, forty strong, team of volunteers all have recent experience of the application process and are giving up their time for free because they believe in what we are doing.

We are all very excited about this programme, and about working with sixth form pupils throughout Westminster North. I hope that this will be the first of many such projects. “

If you or your child would like to take up this free service, or if you are interested in becoming a STEP UP mentor, please contact Joanne at joanne@step-up.me or call               020 7625 3805        and ask for James Abbott.

Joanne and Mark Field MP visit Home Start Westminster

Joanne and Mark Field, the Conservative Member of Parliament for the Cities of London and Westminster, yesterday visited Home Start in Church Street to discuss the support their volunteers provide for families throughout Westminster.

Home Start’s programme in Westminster provides vital assistance to parents facing difficult circumstances in their lives. It targets families with at least one child under the age of five, many of whom have personally asked to receive guidance and assistance.

There are a huge number of reasons why a family might need Home Start’s help. They will all receive confidential, judgement-free support from a qualified volunteer, carefully matched to the families needs.

Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Joanne Cash is a keen supporter of Home Start’s work:

 “When a parent experiences difficulties, it is often the children who suffer the most.

The support provided by Home Start ensures that parents can take positive steps to resolve their problems and minimises the impact this situation has on their children.

Home Start’s volunteers do not preach or patronise. They encourage parents to find their own solutions and to take responsibility for their actions. They provide positive assistance by helping parents to realise a set of achievable goals.

This is not a quick fix. Home Start will engage with a parent for as long as necessary, offering long-term solutions to difficult problems by promoting a sense of ownership and achievement.

It is clear from the sheer number of thank you letters and photographs of happy, smiling children on display throughout the office that the Home Start team have had a tremendous impact on the lives of many families throughout Westminster.”

I have recently launched a social action programme called STEP UP, the first stage of which will help state educated pupils in Westminster North achieve greater levels of success in their university applications.

Despite this government’s attempts to widen participation in Higher Education, state educated students continue to encounter difficulties when applying to top universities.

The application process can be daunting. Step Up offers a wide range of practical advice with UCAS applications as well as specialised training designed to boost students' presentation and communication skills.

Our team are recent graduates with direct experience of the application processes.

We are always looking for more volunteers: if you wish to join us and participate in this project, as a mentor or as a student, please do not hesitate to contact Joanne at joanne@step-up.me or call 020 7625 3805and ask for James Abbott.

Equitable Life: A decade of regulatory failure

A large number of residents, many of whom have lost a considerable amount of money through no fault of their own, have contacted me following the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s report into Equitable Life.

I want to make it clear that I fully support the recommendations contained in this report.

It was Conservatives who forced the Government to allow the Parliamentary Ombudsman to investigate the regulation of Equitable Life and we welcome her report.

Ann Abraham has rightly highlighted a number of regulatory failings, including those that occurred between 1998 and 2001. These failings happened when Gordon Brown held ultimate responsibility for this area at the Treasury, and he cannot escape the blame for this.

The report recommends that the government makes a public apology for maladministration and that payments should be made to those who have lost out. The job now is to assess how much these payments should be and to whom they should be paid. 

If this government fails to do this, the Conservative Party will act - should a general election put us in a position to do so.

I have written our Member of Parliament asking for her position on the issue and will write further when I receive a response.

In the meantime, if you have been affected, please do not hesitate to contact me at joanne@westminsternorthconservatives.com. Further advice is available via the Equitable Members Action Group’s website at www.emag.org.uk.

Mayor Johnson Launches Congestion Consultation

Boris Johnson, our Conservative Mayor of London, today launched a five-week public consultation on the future of the Western Extension of the Congestion Charging Zone.

The Mayor has pledged to hold a genuine consultation – respecting the opinions of Londoners and abiding by the results.

If you have been affected by the Western Extension this is your opportunity to have a direct say in whether it is retained.

TFL are offring three There are three possible options which they would like residents to consider. These are:

Keep the Western Extension as it is

Remove the Western Extension – There would no longer be a charge to drive within the Western Extension; residents there would no longer receive a discount on travel in the original charging zone

Change the Western Extension – Change the way the scheme operates by introducing account based payment, by introducing a charge free period in the middle of the day in the Western Extension, or by increasing the residents' discount to 100%

Please ensure your views are recorded by visiting TFL's website at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/roadusers/congestioncharging/westernextension/default.aspx

Inaugural Mayor's Cup to be hosted by All Stars

Some very exciting news for Westminster North in the wake of the Olympics!
 
During the Mayoral campaign we introduced Boris to Mr Akay and the amazing team who run All Stars boxing gym. I am an old supporter of the gym (you may have seen earlier posts) so I am thrilled that Mayor Johnson has confirmed All Stars are to host the inaugural Mayor's Cup – a new London wide annual amateur boxing competition.
   
The Mayor's Cup will be held at Porchester Hall on 21st November 2008 and All Stars are currently looking for interested parties to sponsor some of the prizes. If you would like to do so, please contact me at joanne@westminsternorthconservatives.com.
 
All Stars also received just under £5000 from Westminster Council's Ward Budgets programme this summer. The money was used to fund a number of extra summer classes that proved very popular. However, All Stars's future is still far from secure. They need constant and consistent funding so my work to help them will continue.  All volunteers welcomed!

Church Street's residents elect their first ever Conservative Councillor

Conservatives in Westminster North have today seen the election of their candidate, Mehfuz Ahmed, in the Church Street Council By-Election.

Church Street has been a Labour stronghold since its creation in 1964 – local residents have never before been represented by a Conservative Councillor.

Mehfuz Ahmed's victory is even more significant given Church Street's location – it is one of ten electoral wards, and one of only four Labour wards, in the newly redrawn, marginal constituency of Westminster North. 

Westminster North will be a key target seat at the next general election. The outcome in Church Street bodes well for Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Joanne Cash and is further evidence of the tidal support behind David Cameron and the Conservative Party.

Joanne Cash, the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Westminster North explained:

"This result is momentous. It is a clear message to Gordon Brown and the Labour Party that our residents have had enough.

Mehfuz Ahmed will make an excellent Councillor – he embodies the positive spirit of the Conservative party and our campaign in Westminster North.

We work for the right to represent our constituents. People are realising that if they want to improve their lives, it is the Conservative Party that will provide the opportunities to do so."   

Westminster's newest Conservative councillor, Mehfuz Ahmed, agreed,

"Many people who have never voted Conservative before have put their faith in me.

I will repay their trust by working hard to ensure that the residents; views are heard and to make Church Street a safer and better place for us all."

FORMOSA STREET - The fight goes on

We are all tremendously disappointed that the Post Office has decided to close our branch in Formosa Street.

Many of us have campaigned hard to demonstrate how important Formosa Street is to our community and I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who gave up their time to get involved.

Sadly, local opinion has been totally ignored and Labour's policy of closing down Post Offices is rolling on regardless.

We will not give up.  I will continue try to find a positive solution by working with Westminster's Conservative Council, who are as keen as any of us to keep Formosa Street open.

But I need your help.  One of our most persuasive arguments is that the Formosa Street Post Office can operate as a profitable business.  It is vital that we make it so.

Please, whether it's for a few stamps or to renew your tax disk, continue to use Formosa Street and encourage friends, family and fellow residents to do the same.

The Formosa Street Post Office plays a vital role in our local community and we must do all we can to protect it.

If you have any other suggestions, thoughts or ideas please contact me at joanne@westminsternorthconservatives.com

42 Days - Where is the Evidence?

This week, Members of Parliament will vote on proposals to extend the period of detention without charge to 42 days.

I would be happy to support this measure if there was a shred of evidence that it is needed. There is not.

Senior lawyers, including the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken Macdonald, and the former Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith are clear that there is no basis for extending the current detention limit of 28 days. Such an erosion of individual liberties, a cornerstone of our society for 800 years, will do nothing to bolster our collective security.

Even worse, Gordon Brown's apparent concessions on the issue are a con. A Labour minister recently promised a series of 'Mickey Mouse' amendments, designed to whip potential back bench rebels into line, and that is precisely what we have been given.

Labour's MPs are being bullied into supporting this proposal. 'Vote against 42 days on Wednesday and you get David Miliband on Thursday,' they have reportedly been told by their party whips. This is an issue of high principle that Labour have reduced to a test of party loyalty.

This is yet another example of Labour's gesture politics and it must be opposed. Once again, Gordon Brown is feeding his own ego, fighting for something we don't need, while neglecting the vital issues.

Cynical, opportunistic Labour shown the door in Crewe and Nantwich

Last week, the constituents of Crewe and Nantwich launched a new era in British politics. For sure, it was a wonderful victory for us and a damning indictment of Labour and Gordon Brown, but I believe that the scale of the Conservative majority was achieved by the positivity and constructiveness of our message, both as a Party and in the personal campaign of Edward Timpson.

Amidst a barrage of negative campaigning, he kept his dignity and allowed the voters to cast their own verdict on Labour's inverted snobbery and dirty tricks. What a shaming exposure in The Mail on Sunday for the young Labour activist posing as a "Toff" to mock Edward, despite having enjoyed a private school education himself. Asked to comment, his former Principal, Dr Martin Stephen, produced one of the best quotes I have heard in ages: "In my opinion everybody should be a toff, because everyone in the country should have the benefit of a decent education.”

I could not agree more. I went to a state school. I support aspiration and opportunity for everyone. I would no more consider denigrating someone for having, by birth, had the opportunity to attend a good private school than I would criticise someone for having been forced, through different circumstances, to attend the worst of comprehensives. That sort of discrimination is a cheap distraction from the need (and our desire) to provide every person, regardless of social background or political affiliation, with the requisite tools for success.

The voters in Crewe and Nantwich have made it very clear that the days when such nonsense would allow politicians to skirt the real issues are over. I am delighted.