Thought readers might be interested in Sarah Champion’s exchange with Tony Richardson on matters of a vote for citizens on the UK’s continued membership of the European Union:
“I asked MP Sarah Champion if she would be backing the private member’s bill on the 5th july 2013 for an in out referendum on the EU. As you can see she takes her party’s line on this in denying the people the first chance in 49 years to express their feelings on the matter..”
This is her reply:
“Dear Mr Richardson,
Thank you for contacting me recently regarding Britain’s role in Europe and the upcoming Private Members Bill which would legislate for a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.
I know this issue provokes strong and sincerely held views and I agree that Britain’s relationship with the EU is vital for our economy, jobs, trade and wider position in the world. I also agree that there needs to be urgent reform of the EU to ensure it focuses more on growth and jobs and so that national Parliaments have more of a say over the making of EU laws.
It is the economy, however, that is the biggest challenge Britain faces today, not Europe, and our priority should be stability, growth and jobs. I would like to see the Government focus on tackling unemployment and getting our economy moving again rather than obsessing over Europe and I do not believe that committing now to an in/out referendum on our membership of the EU would be in the British national interest.
Not only would this create uncertainty for local businesses and distract focus from the urgent need for economic recovery, but it could also affect Britain’s position in the world’s largest trading bloc and a single market that helps thousands of businesses across the country.
That is why I will not be supporting the Private Members Bill that is due to be debated on the EU on 5th July 2013.
Thank you once again for writing to me and for sharing your views. I will continue to bear them in mind as this issue develops in Parliament.”
Sarah Champion
From the Star:
MP raises fears over child abuse
A South Yorkshire MP has spoken out about the use of IT and social media in child abuse.
Sarah Champion, Labour MP for Rotherham, highlighted the risks new technology poses to children during a debate in Parliament.
She spoke about how gangs use social media to target vulnerable children and lure them into sharing personal information.
The MP said: “Abusers have always been able to identify vulnerable children, but social media and mobile phones now make it easy for them to make contact. Read on….
Rotherham Politics 
Sarah is not bright enough to have put together this letter. I believe therefore that this letter will have been written by the Labour Party. Out of interest, has anyone else asked this question of their MP and got the same answer?
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So Sarah Champion stated she would not support the Private Members Bill; that’s her right. While I personally may not agree with her stance and want a referendum at least she has given an answer.
Peter, it’s patronising to use such term as ‘Sarah is not bright enough’. If you beleive the Labour Party wrote the letter (as I do) it was sufficiuent to say so. Usually the standard of debate on Roth Pol is high. But now and again – if someone (usually but not always a man) doesn’t get the reply they like (i.e I totally agree with you because you are so right) – its back to playground insults.
Yes I want a referendum – and although I am yet to decide which way I would vote in it – I want an adult debate to help me choose – not silly tickle tackle – its puts people off. (Think Prime Minister’s Question Time).
xxxx hugs and kisses xxxx
SKT
A silly uneducated female who like many is tired of politics being trivialised by petty name calling. Once again can we stick to the issues please. It’s makers it a much more interesting debate. And in addition it helps clarify and unite the emessage.
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Like all politicians she avoids answering the question directly, she peppers her answer instead with meaningless drivel. She is following the Labour party on this issue which is also erroneous and complete rubbish.
I asked K.Barron Esq. this question 5 years ago and got back a similar nonsensical answer.
The EU needs Britain more than Britain needs the EU.
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Hi Colin,
You say “The EU needs Britain more than Britain needs the EU.”.
Can you explain why?
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Certainly.
‘Europe needs Britain, says ECB president Mario Draghi’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/10077166/Europe-needs-Britain-says-ECB-president-Mario-Draghi.html
‘Why the EU needs Britain’
‘Europe needs to change, let the debate begin’
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/martin-schulz-europe-needs-to-change-let-the-debate-begin-8612684.html
Europe does not ‘need’ us in the sense of belonging to a family, it needs us to be subservient because to succeed the EU must have control of both the City and our finances. The EU is is facing massive social and financial problems which are discussed elsewhere and at length.
For Britain, the single market carries higher costs than benefits. For the EU as a whole, the single market has been a macroeconomic non-event. Its impact on aggregate gross domestic product is statistically imperceptible. If Britain decided to remain a member, it would find itself pushed to the outside as the eurozone integrates.
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The loss of Britain from the eu would trigger many other nation states to want and demand to leave. The US relies on Britain as its ambassador in the eu, hence Obama’s proclamation earlier this year for Britain to remain in it though ostensibly it has nothing to do with him.
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You are almost certainly right Peter Thirlwall, this is the prepared script all Labour MPs will be speaking from. But the main point is not who wrote it, but that she and her party wish to deny the electorate their first chance – sorry about the typo of 49 years – since 1975 to have a say on our continued membership of the EU. When we had the referendum back then most people thought the “Common Market” was just a trading agreement. They did not envisage it becoming more and more political with EU law over riding UK law and with us losing control over our borders. If this had been foreseen at the time the result would have been very different. Whether you are pro or anti EU it is surely time the people spoke on this issue. An issue of massive importance to this country cannot be left solely to transient and corruptable (Denis MacShane) politicians!
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She is Common Purpose trained – need I say more?
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The Labour, Liberal and Conservative party are in this together. If they believed that a vote would put this issue to sleep and that we would remain in the EU for good, they would do it tomorrow, but we know at least two thirds of the UK would choose to leave the EU if given a vote tomorrow. We currently put in 50 million a day more than we get out, think what good this would do across the country. 50 million would completely finish the Chesterfield to Worksop canal, 365 projects of this nature could happen each year in the UK. We have a massive balance of payments with the EU, so there is no way they wouldn’t trade with us.
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I could do with UKIP and their escape from Europe plan but they have no idea how to achieve it or what to do if they did. They would have us believe that all we have to do is to say we are no longer in the EU and all will be well. This ignores the trade agreements that British companies have within the Eu. I am not advocating that we stay in the EU which is just a massive capitalist club with billions of pounds poured into useless projects. Even a small proportion of the money wasted in Europe could be spent in the poorer European countries to create jobs and a decent welfare state for them, they would then not feel the need to come here for a better life. This would be a better way of doing it rather than creating racism and xenophobia. Nigel Farage the leader of UKIP is an admitted Thatcherite so he and the rest of his party should take note that she seconded the nomination of Delores to the position of European Commission President knowing full well that he was the architect of the Maastricht Treaty. This was the treaty that changed the name from the EEC to European Union and made further claims on British sovereignty it also made us all citizens of Europe with the formal right to live and work in any EU country. So even Nigel Farage’s heroin didn’t get out us out of Europe in fact she helped to make it even more federal, perhaps Cameron was right all the parties are Thatcherites. UKIP and its leader are free marketeers they believe that the market rules, but then as a futures trader Farage would. He believes Iceland was right to let itself go bust in 2008 and devalue the Krona by two thirds and raised interest rates by 18% it also let the established banks go under. I am sure most of you will remember the trouble this caused to some ordinary British savers, let alone the working class citizens of Iceland. No call for the banks to be nationalised to save the heartache that the bankruptcy caused to ordinary people. So it is obvious that UKIP being faced with the bank crisis we had in this country would have let the banks go to the wall, leaving pensioners and small savers well and truly up the creek. Thats why they are not worried about what happens after we leave Europe because the market will decide not the British people.
David Smith
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Dave what other option do we have, because no Independent will dislodge Kevin Barron at Rothervalley level, it has to be UKIP even though they are no way perfect, a massive vote of no confidence has to be sent to the EU when the next election comes in 2015. I am an Independent at Parish level, but would willingly stand for UKIP against Kevin Barron, if they hadn’t already made the choice. Take a look at the deputy leader of UKIP, who is a working class lad made good, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Nuttall
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firtleberry: we were also denied a referendum on the Maastricht treaty when most of the peoples of the other member states had a say on whether their countries should sign up to it, or not. Why are the elite of this country so terrified of the plebs having a say on this issue.
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Why we can do without the EU parliament. How do these people get away with it?
Watch this reporter try to get a Euro MP to tell the truth (obviously not a concept he’s familiar with):
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What a thieving set of criminals the MEP’s are! We have to pay these illegitimate (I’ll not use the correct word) individuals just like we have to pay those robbing sods in RMBC. How much more do we have to take? We should get out of the EU by any means possible as it is just full of self serving, self-important individuals intent on making themselves as rich as the rest of the corrupt politicians of this day and age.
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Sarah Champion has been an MP for over six months now. It is now time for the examination and scrutiny to begin.
To that end Rothpol would welcome any contributions from readers who have experienced Sarah at work on their behalf.
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Is’nt that an oxymoron-MP and Work?
Does she support calls for the Dynamic Duo of Stone and Thacker to face an inquiry?
Does she support RMBC’s rape of our greenbelt?
What has she achieved so far?
Her voting record in the HoC is here:
http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?id=uk.org.publicwhip/member/40694&showall=yes#divisions
She supports CAP, Same Sex marriage and Human Rights Act ,Transaction Tax and Economic and Monetary Union.
Follows the Party line.
Another Compliant Drone.
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Does she support Ed Mili balls plan to adopt the tory cuts rather than reverse?
Has she lobbied our council to get round misery of bedroom tax?
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So chumpion is good at cut and paste from labour
hi command diatribes
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‘Has she lobbied our council to get round misery of bedroom tax?’
Labour are not actually opposed to the bedroom tax itself. Their only bone to pick is that there is not enough one bedroom social housing being built, and those who cannot leave their home to find alternative accommodation should not have the tax imposed. On the BBC’s Daily Politics programme, Shadow Cabinet member Helen Goodman said:
We’ve said that the bedroom tax should only apply if people have been offered a smaller place to live and turned it down because, obviously, it is better to use the housing stock more efficiently. In the short to medium term we need to bring down the housing benefit bill and we had said that we would reduce the rents that were paid under housing benefit in the private sector and that’s where the rents were really spiralling up very fast, much more than in the social sector, which is where this bedroom tax is being applied now.
Bear in mind a similar idea was first introduced by the Labour government, the only difference was it applied to the private rented sector. Champion is not a critic of Labour’s front bench nor its policies so the people who elected her should not expect any radical or innovative speeches from her.
She was selected by a hardcore few representing the Party machine-and she wants to be re-elected-so WYSIWYG.
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Colin. Didn’t Jackie Smith of the Labour party claim 20K a year for a bedroom in her sisters house, when she already had a grace and favour mansion as home secretary. Anybody else would go to prison for this? Couldn’t Labour have stopped the bedroom tax with the help of the Liberals? This current brigade of Labour councillors are nothing more than Tory spivs, spouting a different patter. Kevin Barron passed me the other night in his big 4 x 4, while I was cycling away from my parents. Cheers Tim
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Jacqui Smith was found to be fiddling her parliamentary expenses (aka ‘Fiddling the Taxpayers’)
The Lib-Dems will not climb into bed with the Labour party whilst they are members of the Coalition and as I mentioned in my previous post Labour will not scrap the idea of penalising residents with a spare bedroom.
As for Barron…………………………………..He is yesterday’s man
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Colin. Kevin Barron will be yesterdays man, if UKIP have chosen the right candidate to stand against him. I understand Labour are losing more to UKIP than the Conservatives at the moment. Cheers Tim
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Well let’s hope that his daughter is not ‘tomorrow’s woman’ !
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Its a strange world when David Cameron used to claim te full DLA for his son then hammers the disabled.I had a little re read of the Mp’s expenses scandal and the european expenses Seems all parties are guilty whetever the colour . The councils (everyone one) are the same. Maybe we should have payment by attendance and results.
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Sally Kate: The House of Lord are as bad as the MEPs at claiming their attendance allownce and then disappearing. Many of them (and there’s more than 800) sign in claim their £300 plus travel expenses, have a meal in one of the heavily subsidised restuarants and then vanish. Our very own Baron Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham has got one of the best attendance records in the Lords, can’t help wondering how much time he actually spends in there!
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SKT, you know as well as I do that the disabled are exempt from this so-called bedroom tax if they require additional rooms for equipment and carers. This was made quite clear by the government when these rules first came in. It is RMBC who are wrongly applying this tax, quite illegally in my opinion, for political purposes in exactly the same way they applied the Poll Tax when that was introduced. The Poll Tax was one of the fairest taxes of it’s time, everyone paid their share, unlike the Council Tax as it now is where those who own their own property have to pay towards those who live in Council rented property when often those who live in Council property have a higher income than homeowners. This bedroom tax is fair if it is applied correctly and not used as a political porn like it is in Rotherham.
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The Poll tax fair. Never heard that one before.How memories fade. I agreed with Victor Kyam ‘ Why should a dustman pay the same as a millionaire. But we beg to differ.
Sorry but council tennants pay Council Tax. It is based on income. By the way I’ve paid my mortgage off – my daughter pays council rent . Same Council Tax bills though.
The bedrom is tax is an abomonation. It’s not fair or logical. Young girl – income £51 a week in study pays £14 council tax. It’s not saine or even good for the economy. Talk about taking food from the mouths of babes. .Then again thanks to Cam teh Sham we have foodbanks. How shameful.Sorry i will complain about the council until the cow come home but this is IDS and Lord Freud’s little baby. The same Lord Freud who is aiming to to penalise councils that try to make the Bedroom Tax fairer by reclassifying pro[perties. Plus if it is fair how come we all don’t pay it – home owners – as i am too.
The Bedroom tax is simply spite.
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Anonymous: As someone who makes many typos I think your political “porn” is quite amusing, but your claim that the Poll Tax was fair is derisory. The Duke of Norfolk paid the same as his gate man, yes that was fair all right!! The HOL recorded its second highest ever turnout to vote that fair tax through, and they were all interested in was the fairness of it!
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Back on topic………………………….
The Labour party wants to scrap the single persons 25% Council Tax Rebate.
Champion is a Labour MP.
Champion fully supports the Labour party.
Ergo, Champion supports Labour party policy of scrapping Single Persons CTR.
There you have it, Sarah Champion fully supports the attacks on widows, single persons, single parents* and the chronically sick who live alone by forcing them to pay full council tax.
You couldn’t make it up.
NB* I make a clear distinction between Single Parents and unmarried mothers.*
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Colin Tawn: Sorry for going off topic, but I couldn’t resist replying to a claim that the poll tax was fair! I’m not a Labour supporter, but “some” Labour Councils have suggested it should be means tested not scrapped and whilst Sarah Champion has slavishly followed her party on most things, as far as I know she hasn’t commented on this yet. Give her a a chance to before you condem her!
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@Malcontent.
Sarah has had ample time since her maiden speech to set out her stall. The fact she chooses to remain silent on the issues that concern-or should concern-her supporters ie: Thacker and her gross mismanagement of her department, Child gooming, RMBC’s arrogance over building on greenbelt, RMBC’s lack of action to control council spending plus other issues, does not inspire me to believe she is anything but another Compliant Drone riding the Labour gravy train.
Just because she is fairly new to the HoC does not mean she should be a reactive MP, why can’t she be a proactive MP?
Esther McVeigh was a new MP in 2010 but within a few months she was a Junior Minister so lack of parliamentary experience cannot be nor should be the excuse for inaction.
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Colin Tawn: Esther McVeigh has had a meteoric rise, she may yet have a meteoric fall. The jury’s still out on her competency as Minister for the Disabled. Being gifted academically and being an able politician are not necessarily twin attributes. Ask Doctor Denis MacShane!
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Fair comments.
The central thrust of my post was to highlight Champion’s inability to make any impression on her party’s leaders or the whips. If you re-read her voting record it confirms her status as parliamentary Labour party cannon fodder.
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Denis MacShane’s articles read like a first-year student’s efforts to please his tutor. Laptops would be nowhere without his political connections. I’ve read some of his articles in French newspapers, and they show little intelligence or insight.
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tommo: You’ve made my point for me, being intelligent and being academically proficient are not necessarily the same. Wonder how the CPS are getting on at considering whether to charge him or not?
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The Jury isn’t out she’s a disaster.
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I can’t argue with that!
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