Dear Editor
Last Saturday I attended the Labour Local Government Conference in Nottingham and you can read my full report of the conference at bit.ly/Lablocal15
The opening speech was given by Ed Miliband – he spoke very well, not at all the figure-of-ridicule the right-wing media make him out to be.
Particularly, he made two key promises which are relevant to our recent debate in the Newton News – viz that, if elected:
• Labour will devolve powers and £30bn funding to the regions to develop infrastructure and grow their local economies (not the bureaucratic, assembly-type devolution we rejected in 2004, but local initiatives based on the Combined Authority).
• Although there will be no immediate increase in the total ‘pot’ to councils, a Labour government will rebalance the funding formula for councils so that it recognises again local *need*.
It is too-cynical to dismiss governments as ‘all the same’.  Under the last Labour government the County Durham economy was one of the fastest-growing in the country, with an employment rate of 73%.
So the choice for north-east voters in May is stark – between more-of-the-same, or for a genuine opportunity under Labour to grow our local economy and protect council services.
John D Clare