Wellbeing of Blyth Residents of great concern to Councillor Nisbet.

“The next Labour administration at County Hall will join with Blyth Town councillors to act urgently and combat the crisis of poverty and health inequalities in Northumberland’s poorest postcodes” Councillor Kath Nisbet of Croft Ward in Blyth told us recently.

She also said “Helping those in greatest need may not be a glamour project similar to the modernisation of County Hall in Morpeth but it's a must for a large part of the population of Blyth and our other struggling wards county-wide as well as the Labour Party.”

“People in our poorest wards have a much shorter lifespan than those of the County’s wealthiest wards and we need to rectify as many obstacles as we can to correct the imbalance”.

Margaret’s worried for Blyth Families

In reply to the Conservative Government's budget this week the Resolution Foundation think-tank released a press report on tax increases for families.

Their statement to the press included that households are unlikely to feel like its good news. Typical household incomes are set to fall by 4 per cent (or £1,100) in 2023-24. This figure includes tax rises of £650 for a typical household from April 23.

Taxes as a share of Gross Domestic Product are on track to hit 37.7% by the end of the forecast, a 70-year-high and a 4.7% increase since 2019-20, the equivalent burden rising to nearly £4,200 for every UK household.

Councillor Margaret Richardson, Town Councillor for Croft Ward and County Councillor for Cowpen Ward, Northumberlands most deprived ward said: “ £4200 a year, that's a spending power cut of £80 per week for every family in Cowpen, many are already struggling and this may tip some over the edge. I find it difficult to accept that it's OK to remove the tax burden from rich pensioners then ask working families to pick up the strain, its deplorable”

The need to grow our own craft workers is more important than ever?

The office for budget responsibility (OBR) has issued the following statement as part of the budget. 

‘Government has added construction-related roles such as bricklayers, carpenters and roofers to the "Shortage Occupation List" to help firms tackle staff shortages with lower-paid foreign
workers’ says Sky News.,

Blyth Councillor Grant Davey is not surprised by this announcement but is seriously disappointed by this shocking  attitude from the Government, he said “ The Government should hang their heads in shame in pushing cheap Labour schemes onto the highly profitable construction industry.

As a nation we should be training hundreds if not thousands of young people each year to fill these posts and ensure the real rate for the job becomes a true part of national government thinking”

 Margaret’s worried for Blyth Families

In reply to the Conservative Government's budget this week the Resolution Foundation think-tank released a press report on tax increases for families.

Their statement to the press included that households are unlikely to feel like good news for households. Typical household incomes are set to fall by 4 per cent (or £1,100) in 2023-24. This figure includes tax rises of £650 for a typical household from April 23.Taxes as a share of GDP are on track to hit 37.7% by the end of the forecast, a 70-year-high and a 4.7% increase since 2019-20, the equivalent to nearly an extra £4,200 for every UK household.

Councillor Margaret Richardson, Town Councillor for Cowpen, Northumberlands most deprived ward said: “ £4200 a year, that's a spending power cut of £80 per week for every family in Cowpen, many are already struggling and this may tip some over the edge. I find it difficult to accept that it's OK to remove the tax burden from rich pensioners then ask working families to pick up the strain?, its deplorable”

Blyth putting itself on the map?

 

Blyth Town council is putting together an arts and history trail map to maintain interest and learning in and about the communities which make up this, Northumberland's largest settlement.

Councillor John Potts has been working hard to secure public arts and historical blue plaques to ensure we all get the opportunity to hold onto Blyths history. Councillor Potts told Labour News “We have been working hard as a group of Councillors to develop public art right across the Town and along with our partners I believe we can bring in additional visitors to help increase the commercial footfall in Blyth through our arts and history trail”.

 good eveing