Thanks for your support

In the general election on May 7th, Tom Blenkinsop held his seat with an increased majority, although it was a poor election result nationally for Labour.

In the local elections, I increased my vote to 816 votes but the Conservatives still won quite easily. The finals result was

David Branson (Lab)   816

Steve Cass (Lab) 443

Chris Hobson (Con) 1661

John Hobson (Con ) 1557

Terry O’Brien (UKIP) 388

In would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Chris and John Hobson on their success, Also I would like to thank all of you who voted for Steve Cass and myself.

I have fought Marton West five times over the past 12 years and I now think it is time for someone else to take over the challenge. Whilst I still want to continue to help Tom Blenkinsop and to continue with local campaigns like the bus petition, I do not intend to stand for the Marton West seat in future. I would like once again to thank all of those people who have supported me over the last 12 years, I am very grateful for your help.

With Thanks

David Branson

Vote Today! Make your voice heard and boot the Tory-Led Government out of Downing Street

If you haven’t already voted by post, remember to come out on Thursday May 7th, to cast your vote.

Polling starts at 7.00am and finishes at 10.00pm, and the polling stations are as below.

Voting is for: your local MP, your local councillors and the Mayor of Middlesbrough

Thanks for your support.

Lingfield Primary School	Buxton Avenue, Marton, Middlesbrough, TS7 8LP.	Marton West Polling District SBM McGuinness Estate
Normanby Court	Linden Crescent, Marton, Middlesbrough, TS7 8LE.	Marton West Polling District SAM North of Gunnergate Lane
Mobile Station	Fulford Way, Marton, Middlesbrough.	Marton West Polling District SCM Eagle Park area

Beating the ‘Marton Crawl’

Marton residents have long endured the increasing congestion on Marton Road. My plan is to get a better train service to the town centre, alongside better parking facilities and a park and ride system based in Nunthorpe.

Only by getting people out of their cars and onto public transport can we tackle this problem. Building an extra dual-carriageway will only attract more cars onto our roads.

Tom Watson MP gives Support

MP Tom Watson popped along to Middlesbrough to show support for Tom Blenkinsop and local Party activists. He gave a rousing speech in support of local Labour activists.

Bus Service Campaign launched

Local Labour Candidates Steve Cass and David Branson pose with Tom Blenkinsop, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, at the start of their bus service campaign. Labour Candidates have started a petition calling for improvements to the service.

Labour want to see improved bus services for the Eagle Park estate with the 29A bus scheduled to run every half hour during the day, stopping at Nunthorpe Shops.

David Branson said

 ‘….not all local people have access to a car, especially young people and retired people. We need to have a regular bus service to serve local residents who want to get to town’.

Labour candidates also want to see more bus shelters on Turnberry Way as this will encourage people to use public transport if they do not have to brave the element waiting for a bus. Labour also want to see the re-establishment of the bus link to the Parkway shopping Centre which was cut several years ago.

Investing in communities

In the coming election Steve Cass and myself will be campaigning to improve local amenities including play facilities. One idea is a multipurpose play park at Bonnygrove Park for young people such as the one in the picture above. Marton West lacks good play facilities and amenities although it is a growing residential area.

Labour believe in investing in communities, not starving them of funds so as to cut taxes for the better off. The Tories are using austerity as an excuse to cut taxes for those people whose income has risen the most in recent years. As a result we pay the price locally in reduced local services, closed libraries and mothballed community centres.

On May 7th you have chance to decide the kind of county you want to live in. A vote for Labour is a vote for a better future. Make sure you vote to make that choice.

Just the Ticket! Bus Campaign Launched

As I have mentioned before I feel that the public transport provision for Marton West is not good enough. Therefore along with the Labour candidate for Major David Budd, I am launching a campaign to improve the 29A bus service.

The 29A runs between Middlesbrough and Stokesley, stopping in our area, but it only runs around every hour, and fails to stop at Nunthorpe Shops. Therefore the Campaign is to get the 29A running every half-hour and also to stop at Nunthorpe Shops.

I will be out collecting any signatures in order to present them to the council. If I miss you and you would like to give your signature, please drop me an email.

Why we need better public transport

The Marton West ward lacks good public transport links , with no bus to the Parkway Centre although it is the main shopping centre for the area. To get to the Parkway Centre by bus you would need to go via the Town Centre, which is clearly ridiculous.

In addition, the cost of travelling to town is very expensive at £4.40 return. It is not hard to see why people prefer to go by car not bus. We need to get more people to travel in by public transport if we want to avoid congestion in town. To get this we need cheaper fares and more services, but cutting local authority funds means that services cannot be subsidized.

We need more support for public transport rather than building new bypasses into town. Maybe a park and ride to link with buses or the Esk Valley train services should be looked at as an option.

Labour Will Protect the NHS

The Labour Party founded the NHS in 1948, and has always worked to protect and improve it. From 1997-2010 the Labour Party invested hugely in the NHS, and patient satisfaction of NHS care rose from a low of 36% inherited from the previous Conservative Government, to 71% in 2010.

Conservative and Liberal Democrat cuts threaten our NHS. The NHS can’t be trusted under UKIP either as they are interested in an insurance-based system, which would rip the heart out of the NHS system.

Tackling Low Pay

Under the Tory-led Government, we’ve seen more and more people struggling to make ends meet in low paid, insecure jobs. It’s Labour’s goal to make sure work pays fairly.

Read all About It! Winter Newsletter Released

http://davidbranson.net/2014-winter/

29A Bus Service

I want to see an improvement in the number of buses serving Marton West. At present we only have one service an hour and this only goes to town and Stokesley.

In addition, there are no bus shelters in Eagle park so people have to wait in the rain. I will be starting a petition in the near future – so look out for this.

James Cook hospital hit by NHS cuts

James Cook hospital faces big cutbacks after £90 million is cut from the local NHS trust. Already Park End medical centre has had to close. The Tories have shown that they cannot be trusted with the NHS –  they are more interested cutting taxes for the better off. Labour will provide an extra £2.5 million for the NHS raised from a tax on mansions.

Cheers! Tom Blenkinsop MP backs New Rules to help Pubs Survive

Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland backed an amendment to the Small Business Bill that put a stop to large pub companies forcing their pub tenants to buy beer solely through them, and therefore charging them much higher prices than on the open market.

The Labour Party backed amendment successfully passed on the 18th of November, defeating the Tory-led government’s opposition to it, with Tom’s vote adding to the over 200 other labour MP’s who supported the measure. The change should mean that more pubs can remain open and potentially pass on savings to the general public.

Tim Page head of the Campaign for Real Ale expressed that he was ‘delighted’ that after years of campaigning parliament had voted to introduce a rent only option for licensees, and called it a ‘move that will secure the future of the Great British pub”.

Helping People onto the Housing Ladder

‘Boro Residents lose £1371 annually to High-street Gambling Machines

Known as the ‘crack cocaine of gambling’ fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT) allow players to bet up to £100 ever 20 seconds on virtual games of roulette and poker. Middlesbrough has 42 betting shops where such machines exist, with the average Middlesbrough FOBT user loosing £1371 a year.

This video shows 29 year old Middlesbrough resident and father, Michael O’Grady, telling Look North about the pain FOBTs have caused him and his family, as he starts to turn his life around.

A number of Labour MP’s have expressed concern about FOBTs including Tom Blenkinsop, Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, and Tom Watson, Labour MP for West Bromwich East. Please support the campaign to tighten restrictions on high-street betting by clicking below to visit STOP FOBTs.

Nigel Farage: What the UKIP leader really thinks

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/12/film-nigel-farage-insurance-based-nhs-private-companies

UKIP not coming clean on Europe

UKIP say they want the UK to leave the European Union to get rid of excess regulations. Yet they rarely say what regulations they mean. Do they include the regulations limiting working hours, those which guarantee employees a minimum holiday entitlement?

Do they mean laws which ensure that consumers are not sold dangerous goods?
Its about time the press gave voters got clear answers on these vital questions.

Wage Slump Continues – Britain needs a Pay rise

Real wages have continued to slump falling up to 15% over the last five years. The Tories think that cutting taxes is the answer, but this will be paid for by cutting benefits for people in work. Only high earners will benefit overall from such tax cuts. That is why the Tories want to cut the taxes for people earning over £150,000.

Britain needs a pay rise. Raising the minimum wage now to £8.00 per hour will deal with the problem. Help those in most need, not those who need it least.