“Save the Plough” campaigners at Fuller’s Brewery!

Steve Pound MP is amongst the supporters throwing their weight behind the “Pledge for the Plough” Campaign in an attempt to see their local pub restored.

Since The Plough’s devastation by fire on August 16 the Brewery are trying to decide what to do with the popular watering hole, in Mandeville Road, Northolt Village.

Steve Pound celebrates the success of the Stop the Rain Tax Campaign

Labour MP Steve Pound welcomed proposals to end unaffordable charges for water services by the water regulator following their visit to a Scout Association youth forum at Labour Party Conference.

 

Steve said: “It was great to meet Scouts from across the UK and to hear about the impact Scouting has on their lives. They told me how Ofwat’s rain tax was a source of real concern to them and thousands of other local community and voluntary groups. That’s why today I’m delighted that Hilary Benn has announced measures to ensure groups like the Scouts will have affordable water bills in future and I will be supporting the legislation he proposes to secure this.”

Along with the Rugby Football Union, the Church of England, the Football Association, The Lawn Tennis Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board The Scouts have been campaigning for Ofwat to agree an acceptable new social tariff structure which would take into account vulnerable low-income groups. Today Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs announced plans to bring in amendments to the forthcoming Draft Floods and Water Bill to enable water companies to offer concessionary tariffs to community and voluntary groups.

Sophie Richings, an eighteen year old Explorer Scout and young leader from Enfield said: “It was great that so many MPs and PPCs came to meet with us and hear our concerns about the rain tax as well as thoughts on issues affecting young people. Its even better to know today that there is an end to the rain tax in sight!”

MY Ealing North constituents

One of the reasons why I believe that I have the best job in the world is the utter unpredictability of the issues that matter to my Ealing North constituents.

Holding two advice “surgeries” every week means that I have a pretty good feel for current concerns but I could never have anticipated that the largest number of letters and e-mails that I’ve received in the past week relate to a fast food take away in Acton.

Although Twyford Church of England High School is not in Ealing North many of my constituents have children or family there and the universal expression of fury that has erupted has left me as breathless as if I’d been on a diet of deep fried extruded chicken remnants for months.

Horsenden Hill Captain’s Day

On Sunday 13th September golfers at Horsenden Golf Club raised £7,065 for John Chilton Special School, Northolt.

 

The pupils, many of whom had never had the opportunity to try golf before were given the chance to try their hand at putting on the practice greens.

In the picture are Steve Pound MP with the Club Captain and Simon Rosenberg (Head of John Chilton) with some of the pupils.

New Bus Route to Wood End Estate

Cheering the buses arrival

Steve was in Greenford to help the residents of Wood End Estate celebrate the arrival of the new bus route 398 to their estate.

The route will run from Ruislip to South Harrow and Northolt Park as before, before diverting to finish it’s journey at Wood End estate.

Steve with Local Councillors

 

Steve is seen here with local councillors Patricia Walker and Shahbaz Ahmed, discussing the point that some of the residents had waited over 30 years for the bus route to enter the estate.

The changes will give those who live and work in the area vauable new links to other places.

 

Steve "Driving" the bus?

 

Honestly!!  Steve is only pretending to drive the bus although he did hold a PSV licence to drive a bus.  But that was a long time ago.

Steve Pound’s Book Reviews

The Lost Spy. Andrew Meier. Weidenfeld and Nicholson.402pp.2009.

This book has been described as “a jewel” by Simon Sebag Montefiore and he is not guilty of exaggeration. Quite simply this is one of the most extraordinary books I’ve ever read and the tale it tells is not just of a human tragedy but the history of Communism in the US and the horrific betrayal of the October Revolution – and those who served it.
The prose is pared down from necessity as there are more than a dozen good books fighting to escape the covers of “The Lost Spy” and the author has adopted a lean muscularity of style that means that there are no superfluous words and yet sufficient suggestions and signposts to years of study.
Put simply this is the biography of the utterly tragic idealist Isaiah Oggins, a small town American born of emigrant parents, successful student at Columbia University, agent of Soviet Russia, father, husband, gulag prisoner in Norilsk hundreds of miles north of the Arctic Circle and, finally, victim of execution by lethal injection in a white tiled room, Laboratory Number One, next door to the Lubyanka.
The incredible amount of research and effort undertaken by the author increases the admiration that many already harboured for Andrew Meier and the gentleness and respectfulness he shows to “Cy” Oggins living son reveals a decent human being as well as writer and investigator of genius.