News

The Conservative party leader, David Cameron, and his wife Samantha, visited Hackney’s Pedro Youth Centre on Good Friday, to see for themselves the great work the centre does and also some of the social action work local Conservatives have been doing to help improve the club over the last year.

David and Samantha were given a tour by Pat Sands, who runs the club, and were shown some of the art, dance and boxing activities which local young people use and benefit from. Afterwards, they met with Hackney Conservative prospective parliamentary candidates Darren Caplan (Hackney North & Stoke Newington), Simon Nayyar (Hackney South & Shoreditch) and 15 Conservatives activists – who were painting the basketball court walls! The team have helped the club over the past year clear away rubbish, get rid of weeds, move facilities around, hang up new signs and, of course, paint walls!

Samantha said:

“Today David and I visited the Pedro Club in Hackney. It sits at the centre of 3 estates where gun and knife crime are sadly a major fact of life. What struck me during my time there was that places like the Pedro are not about the building, they’re always about the amazing people who run them. Like Pat Sands, who is showing the young people that there’s more to life than messing around on the streets; that if they can do well at boxing, football dance or art then they can apply the same focus to maths, English or finding a job. Judging by the motivated kids I met today, his approach really works.”

She went on to say:

“It was also good to see Conservative volunteers getting stuck into some social action, despite the weather. Two of the local candidates, Simon Nayyar and Darren Caplan, were there with 15 volunteers, all shivering in t-shirts, painting the walls of the courtyard. They’ve been helping out at the club for the past year, smartening it up and going to the events, they both feel that it’s one of the most rewarding things they’ve done as candidates.”

To see the rest of Samantha Cameron’s blog, see http://blog.conservatives.com/index.php/2010/04/02/good-friday-at-the-pedro-community-club/.

To see footage of the visit, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLB49a5XmJU.

After his wife Samantha’s televised interview by Trevor McDonald on Sunday, the Conservative leader joked that he was “beginning to be overshadowed by his wife”.

Cameron said that Hackney was “now a marginal constituency”. But aside from Conservative candidates Darren Caplan and Graene Archer, The Hackney Post was unable to find any Hackney residents among the invited guests. Out of more than 20 randomly selected spectators, 17 were from north and west London, one was from Walthamstow and two were Australian.

A Conservative source said: “This is essentially a London wide meeting. It brings in the Conservative community from all over the city and it gives an opportunity for David to present our message for London and the community.”

Keith Angus, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said “There’s very little Conservative support in Hackney. Hackney is a liberal place. It’s not Toryville.”

Cameron was joined by fellow front benchers Eric Pickles, the party’s chairman, and Sayeeda Warsi, Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion. His speech focused on education and the economy. Having slated the government for the size of its financial deficit, Cameron referred to the Greek government who were bailed out by the EU last week. He said: “Greece is somewhere you should go for your holiday, not for financial advice… When are these people going to understand that we haven’t got any money. Gordon, it’s over.”

Darren Caplan, prospective parliamentary candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said:

“It’s great the first election rally was held in Hackney. It demonstrates that no area is a no-go for the Conservative party.” He said there was a cross section of British people there. “It’s fair to say it was an event in Hackney but not just for Hackney. There were people from Hackney there but also people from different parts of London as well.”

To see a short video of excerpts from the speech, click here.

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Hackney Conservatives campaign to support local shops, Stoke Newington Church Street

20 Feb 2010

Hackney Conservatives are continuing their campaign to support local shops, on 20 February, in Stoke Newington – please come and join us!

• Saturday 20 February, from 10.30am
• there will be a street stall and petition in Stoke Newington Church Street; and
• the Hackney Conservatives’ parliamentary candidates – Darren Caplan (Hackney North & Stoke Newington) and Simon Nayyar (Hackney South & Shoreditch) – will be attending

With the Federation of Small Businesses reporting that Britain’s local shops are closing at a rate of 2,000 a year, the local shops campaign will be an opportunity to meet with local traders to hear first-hand how they are being affected by what are tough economic times, as well as ask them to give their support to the campaign.

As part of the campaign, local Conservatives are calling on the Government to introduce a raft of measures that will give immediate, practical assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises right across Hackney. These measures include:

• The establishment of a National Loan Guarantee Scheme, which would see the Government underwrite loans to business;
• Cutting small companies’ corporation tax rate from 22p to 20p;
• Cutting National Insurance Contributions by one penny in the pound for small companies with less than five employees;
• Abolishing all tax on jobs created by new companies for two years;
• Allowing small and medium sized enterprises to defer their VAT bill for up to six months, paying only the standard 7.5% rate of interest;
• A commitment to automatically pay the Small Business Rate Relief to eligible companies, which could save them up to £1,100 a year.

Darren Caplan, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Hackney North & Stoke Newington, said:

“We’re campaigning to show our support for local shops, and to find out what we can do to help make our community better for everyone. Our local shops are so much more than just places to buy goods and services; they are the heart of our high streets and give the places we live a unique sense of character. We will do everything we can to support them in these tough economic times.”

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Hackney Conservatives Campaign to support local shops rolls on!

By Darren Caplan on December 17th, 2009

Following a successful launch in Dalston over the summer, Hackney Conservatives’ campaign to support our local shops continued in December in Hackney Central.

Simon Nayyar (pictured middle in the team photo), Conservative parliamentary candidate for Hackney South & Shoreditch and Darren Caplan (second from right), candidate for Hackney North & Stoke Newington, joined local activists and shoppers to highlight the importance of local shops to our community, and the tough time they are having through the recession.

The stall was set up over two locations, outside the Hackney Empire on Mare Street and on Amhurst Road high street with a petition calling on the Government to introduce a raft of measures that would give  immediate, practical assistance to small and medium-sized businesses right across the borough. Hackney Conservatives have now collected almost 150 signatures in support of local shops.

Commenting on the campaign, Simon Nayyar said: “When we launched the campaign in Dalston over the summer, we were amazed at the positive response shown by shoppers – and I’m delighted to say that this  was repeated on Mare Street and Amhurst Road. The message is clear: the community values the services provided by local shops, and the Government needs to do more to ensure their survival. Once our local shops start to disappear there’s no guarantee they will come back – it really has become a case of use it or lose it!”

Darren Caplan said: “Small and medium-sized businesses make up the vast majority of businesses here in Hackney: they are the main provider of jobs and the engine room of the local economy. Talking to local people, it’s very clear that they feel local shops are not just places to buy goods and services, though; they are at the very heart of our high streets and communities, and give the places we live a unique sense of character.  We will continue to campaign hard to support local businesses – and the customers that use them – as much as possible.”

Information about the petition

The petition calls on the Government to introduce a raft of measures that will give immediate, practical assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises. Measures include:

• The establishment of a National Loan Guarantee Scheme, which would see the Government underwrite £50 billion worth of loans to business;
• Cutting small companies’ corporation tax rate from 22p to 20p;
• Cutting National Insurance Contributions by one penny in the pound for small companies with less than five employees;
• Allowing small and medium sized enterprises to defer their VAT bill for up to six months, paying only the standard 7.5% rate of interest; and
• A commitment to automatically pay the Small Business Rate Relief to eligible companies, which could save them up to £1,100 a year.

If you would like to add your name to the petition, please email action@hackneyconservatives.com, with your name and address.

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Hackney North & Stoke Newington has worst jobless rate in the country

By Hackney Conservatives on October 25th, 2009

Hackney North & Stoke Newington has the highest number of job applicants per individual job opportunity in the whole country.

The October Office of National Statistics figures show that there are 92 people competing for each job in Hackney North & Stoke Newington compared to 65 in the next worst constituency, and with the national average less than 10.

Darren Caplan, Conservative Hackney North & Stoke Newington spokesman, said:

“These figures simply show that not enough is being done locally to equip those seeking work and to make it easier for employers to employ people.

“Hackney North & Stoke Newngton has by far the worst situation for job seekers than any other area in the country, nine times the national average. Yet we haven’t heard Diane Abott’s views on this, despite her regularly being all over the airwaves talking about national and international issues. What about the people of Hackney?

“No-one is saying it is easy to find a job in today’s tough economic climate. Yet surely the local political representatives – Diane Abbott, who has represented the constituency for 22 years, the Labour Council and Mayor, the Labour GLA member Jeanette Arnold and this Labour government – should take some of the responsibility.

“The Conservatives , on the other hand, recently launched a package of measures to get areas like Hackney North & Stoke Newington working again, including plans for additional apprenticeships and training places, business loans to support self-employment and assisting franchising as a route back into work. It is becoming increasingly clear that to get real change, Hackney North & Stoke Newington needs a Conservative government and a Conservative MP.”

**Dealing with Labour’s Jobs Crisis**

Labour are now the party of unemployment. Two and a half million people are unemployed and one in five young people can’t find a job. By launching our plan to Get Britain Working – a big, bold and radical scheme to get millions of people back to work – Conservatives are showing that we are now the party of jobs and opportunity.

As part of a package of measures designed to Get Britain Working, Conservatives will introduce The Work Programme which:

• Simplifies Labour’s numerous and piecemeal programmes into one single back-to-work programme for everyone who is unemployed.
• Includes the 2.6 million people claiming Incapacity Benefits currently excluded by Labour’s plans.
• Pays welfare-to-work providers according to whether they get jobseekers into sustainable employment of a year or more.
• Is funded by refocusing the Government’s employment and training programmes, including the various New Deals and Train to Gain, and reducing the benefits of Incapacity Benefit claimants found to be fit to work.

To provide extra opportunities to those looking for work, we have also announced:

• Youth Action for Work – 100,000 additional apprenticeships and training places, 50,000 additional training places at FE colleges, and 50,000 work pairing places each year for two years.
• Work for Yourself – offering business mentors and loans to support self-employment and franchising as a route back into work.
• Work Together – a programme to connect people to volunteering opportunities in their area.
• Work Clubs – places where people can receive mentoring, skills training and help to find local job opportunities.
• 10,000 additional university places next year.
• New technical schools in England’s largest cities, as part of our plans for radical school reform.

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Hackney Gazette letter: DNA data fight must be backed

By Darren Caplan on September 3rd, 2009

Published Hackney Gazette, 3 Sep 09: “Following the successful appeal by the Conservative Shadow Home Affairs spokesman Damian Green to have his DNA details removed from the National Database, we should all support the campaign by Diane Abbott – the MP for Hackney North & Stoke Newington – and Liberty, to ensure legal counsel is available to those whose personal information has also been wrongly stored and who want advice on how to get it removed.

“It is simply wrong for the state to retain the personal details of innocent people. According to figures compiled by Liberty, the National DNA Database holds information on around 300,000 children and approximately 850,000 innocent people who have never been charged or cautioned.

“The issue is certainly far too important for party politics. I therefore fully support Ms Abbott’s and Liberty’s campaign and call on all politicians, political candidates and members of the public to support their efforts in this noble cause.

Yours faithfully
Darren Caplan

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