Defeated Tory: we can hold our heads high

A CONSERVATIVE who narrowly failed to oust Solihull’s Liberal Democrat MP has said supporters can ‘hold our heads highs’.

Maggie Throup spoke after she lost the poll to Lorely Burt by 175 votes.

She was selected shortly after the Tories lost the seat by 279 votes in a shock defeat in 2005.

Ms Throup ran a high-profile, five-year campaign including opposition to moves to downgrade maternity services at Solihull Hospital.

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Lib Dems narrowly keep Solihull

THE Liberal Democrats have narrowly retained Solihull as the Conservatives hold safe Meriden in the General Election.

Lib Dem Lorely Burt beat Tory Maggie Throup by just 175 votes with 23,635. She won the 2005 poll by 279 votes.

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Mirror urges Solihull residents to vote Lib Dem

LABOUR voters in Solihull are urged to vote Liberal Democrat on the front of today's Daily Mirror in a bid to defeat the Conservatives.

The Labour-supporting newspaper urges voters to back Lib Dem Lorely Burt, who narrowly defeated the Tories in 2005 by just 279 votes.

It is a considered a key marginal and has seen a five-year campaign by Tory candidate Maggie Throup.

The front page features the headline HOW TO STOP HIM with a red cross through the face of a photograph of Conservative leader David Cameron.

Click here for the Mirror's story.

Solihull candidates write for The Silhillian

CANDIDATES in the Solihull constituency today write exclusively for The Silhillian on why they want your vote on May 6.

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Tory Solihull win 'vulnerable' says Telegraph

THE Daily Telegraph has said the Conservatives are ‘vulnerable’ in their bid to win back Solihull.
The Tory newspaper spoke out as Liberal Democrat Lorely Burt fights to retain the seat she won in a shock win from the Conservatives in 2005.

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Lib Dem boss: we can win again

A LIBERAL Democrat chief said he was confident Lorely Burt would retain Solihull as candidates being their campaigns for the marginal seat.

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Anger at 'political' Facebook maternity group

MEMBERS of Facebook groups campaigning over maternity services have turned on its politician founder after she sent them a message backing Conservative policies.

They said Maggie Throup – the Tories’ MP hopeful for Solihull – should not be using the groups for political purposes.

Messages left on the two groups included one which said: “I did not join this group so I could be canvassed via my inbox.”

The Silhillian contacted Mrs Throup on Wednesday for a comment but has yet to receive one.

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Tories will win back Solihull, says bookies

THE Conservatives will win back Solihull at the General Election, a bookmakers has predicted.

Ladbrokes says Tory candidate Maggie Throup has a 57 per cent chance of winning the seat as the election is finally called.

Liberal Democrat Lorely Burt won a shock victory at the 2005 poll, beating long-time Conservative MP John Taylor by just 279 seats with 20,896 votes.

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Hospital chiefs deny MP's maternity 'reprieve' claims

HOSPITAL chiefs have denied claims by a Conservative MP and a Tory election hopeful that under-threat maternity services have been granted a ‘reprieve’.

Meriden MP Caroline Spelman and Solihull candidate Maggie Throup said Solihull Hospital would maintain a full maternity service until a consultation on its future begins later this year.

But bosses said this is not true and existing plans to close it to all births for training and building works and then to midwife-led births only would happen from next month.

They confirmed to The Silhillian that the temporary closure of all births will be from April 26. It did not say when the maternity-led service would begin when asked.

Mrs Throup said hers and Mrs Spelman's allegations were based on information given at a meeting held in public which neither of them attended.

Event unfolded after Mrs Spelman issued a press release which said: “Solihull will now maintain a full maternity service until formal consultations begin to decide the future of the town’s maternity unit.

“Delays in building work at Heartlands Hospital have forced NHS management to admit that they could not guarantee the safe transfer of higher risk women from Solihull.”

This gave the service ‘breathing space’ until after this summer’s General Election, she said, and pledged the Conservatives would ‘take a different view on the configuration of maternity services in the area’.

Mrs Throup then released a statement which said the service ‘now will continue with a consultant-led service and paediatric cover until after the General Election’.

She was quoted as saying: “This is great news for expectant mums.”

Yet the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, moved to dismiss Mrs Spelman’s statement.

In a posting on its website it said: “This information is not correct. The planned changes to temporarily provide a birthing unit at Solihull continue on track.

“We anticipate the change will happen during April as soon as we are confident all the necessary safety arrangements are in place.”

Mrs Spelman then issued another press release which said she was ‘seeking urgent clarification as to how long Solihull maternity services will continue to operate’.

She was quoted as saying: “Whilst it is great news that it seems that Solihull will now maintain a full maternity service for longer than anticipated, the Heart of England Trust have created a climate of uncertainty for local mums.

“Therefore I have written to Heartlands Trust today asking them how long the reprieve will last.”

Mrs Throup last night the trust of 'smoke and mirrors'. She told The Silhillian: "There is not actual facts, there is really nothing to go on."

She said hers and Mrs Spelman's reporters were based on a meeting of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council committee on Tuesday night, which neither attended.

Health chiefs addressed the committee, the Health, Social Care & Partnerships Scrutiny Board. Mrs Throup denied not checking her facts when asked by The Silhillian.

She would only say 'people who were there' reported to her about what was discussed.

Mrs Throup said: "We feel the trust should come clean with what is going to happen to the thousands of mums when there is no other space for them. There is a lot of uncertainty."

A Birmingham Mail reporter attended the meeting and did not report any of the allegations made by Mrs Spelman and Mrs Throup. Click here for the story.

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Solihull MP: Tories 'can't buy seat'

SOLIHULL MP Lorely Burt has said the borough is ‘not for sale’ after reports that a Conservative donor who has avoided UK tax bankrolled a campaign to try and win back her seat.

The Liberal Democrat hit out after it was reported £55,777 was given to Solihull by Tory HQ, the single biggest donation by the party. See the official figures from the Electorial Commission here.

The Independent said the party’s national spending was ‘largely funded’ by Lord Ashcroft, who has confirmed he does not pay tax on his earnings outside of Britain.

The Conservatives lost the seat by 279 votes after decades in power at the last election in 2005. It hopes candidate Maggie Throup will regain it at the next poll, expected in May.

Mrs Burt said: “Solihull is not for sale. The voters cannot be bought, even if Lord Ashcroft’s Conservatives give the Solihull campaign more money than any other seat in the UK.

“The Conservatives have evaded questions about Lord Ashcroft’s tax status for years.

“We now know the truth - he does not pay tax on his worldwide earnings in the UK and has avoided paying up to £127m in tax.”

In a press release, she said: “It has taken a decade for him to finally admit he is not a permanent resident, the very condition he agreed to in order to become a peer.

“The Conservatives think they can throw money from Belize at Solihull and buy the seat.

“They clearly under-estimate the people of Solihull who know the Tories are trying to airbrush their record of pandering to the super-rich and ignoring everyone else.”

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'Garden grabbing' flats plan rejected

A ‘GARDEN grabbing’ plan to knock down two semi-detached Solihull houses for flats has been thrown out by councillors.

The bid for ten, two-bedroom flats at Streetsbrook Road, by the Lode Lane roundabout, right, was rejected by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council on Wednesday night.

This was despite a council planning official recommending the plan be approved. A 10-flat plan was rejected in 2008 and the again the following January.

Some 65 letters opposed the plan with local Conservatives branding it an example of ‘garden grabbing’.

This has become an issue for Solihull MP Lorely Burt and the Conservative MP who wants her seat, Maggie Throup, with both saying Labour has made it easier to allow such plans.

Mrs Burt said in a press release: “This is great news for local residents who have been subjected to harassment from a developer since 2006.

“I hope he will take the hint and either produce a development which is proportionate and in keeping with the area or withdraw from the site altogether”

Cllr Peter Hogarth, who urged planning committee member to reject the plan, said in a press release: “There has been over three years of misery and uncertainty for local residents and they deserve this victory.

“I just hope, for the sake of the residents, this is he last we see of these proposals.”

Mrs Throup said the Government is ‘in denial that the problems of garden grabbing stem from their own planning rules’.

Houses and gardens are classed as brownfield land, making them easier to develop.

Mrs Throup said: “Conservatives will help local people protect the character of their area and give new powers to councillors to allow them to stop garden grabbing ruining our neighbourhoods.”

Concerns about the plan included the size of the building and increased traffic. Ten parking spaces would have been provided.

Yet the council’s planning officer backed the scheme, saying it is ‘acceptable and in accordance with national and local planning policy’.

It said: “The proposals are not expected to result in a detrimental effect upon highway safety.”

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MP welcomes lap dancing crackdown

CAROLINE Spelman MP has welcomed new laws aimed at stopping ‘inappropriate’ lap dancing clubs, months after the first opened in Solihull.

The Government says proposed clubs could be barred if they are ‘inappropriate given the character of their local neighbourhood’ and existing clubs will need a licence.

It comes after Opal Lounge opened late last year in the High Street despite an outcry from some residents.

Conservative Meriden MP Mrs Spelman said in a press release: “I welcome this decision, but it is long overdue.

“Current licensing categorises ‘lap-dancing clubs’ as pubs and cafes, until now councils could object only on the grounds of crime, nuisance or public safety.

“I have received many complaints about the opening of such a club in Solihull.”

She said the council – which is Conservative-controlled – was ‘unable to prevent it under existing laws’.

She cautioned about what ‘children might see during their walk home from school and over neighbours' feelings about the reputation of their local area’.

And she said: “I am sure that many share my view that this type of club exploits women.

“For once, the government has listened to people's views. What a pity they haven't done over scores of other issues where councils should be able to take decisions concurrent with the wishes of residents.”

Tory prospective parliamentary candidate for Solihull, Maggie Throup, said in a press release: “It is unacceptable that this was allowed to happen - Solihull is a family town and we want it to stay this way.”

Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, said: “If people don't want to have a sleazy lap dancing club in their neighbourhood, they shouldn't be forced to have one.”

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Paper profiles MP hopeful

THIS week's Solihull News has a profile of Maggie Throup, prospective parliamentary candidate for Solihull. Read it here.

Maternity cuts go against guidance, MP says

THE shock downgrading of Solihull Hospital’s maternity unit goes against official guidance, Meriden MP Caroline Spelman says after questioning the Government.

The MP spoke out after asking the Government for guidance on the kind of staff cover needed for units where a baby might need to be resuscitated.

Health minister Anne Keen replied that there needed to be resuscitation equipment ‘available and ready for use at all times’ and process to have a specialist doctor at birth.

And she said there had to be "a process for 24 hour availability in obstetric units, within 30 minutes, of a consultant paediatrician (or equivalent staff and associate specialist grade) trained and assessed as competent in neonatal advanced life support”.

Mrs Spelman said the response ‘challenges’ reasons given by Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.

Heartlands Hospital is about 15 minutes away – meaning Solihull meets the 30 minutes guidance set out by Mrs Keen.

Bosses who previously pledged to consult before making changes last week temporarily removed doctors from the unit as it said staffing levels could not guarantee resuscitation.

They have pledged a full consultation for later in the year.

Mrs Spelman said: “The 30 minutes guidance would enable the present to continue if the paediatricians wanted it to.”

In a press release she added: “The trust has said: ‘We are determined to ensure that until a full and open dialogue with Solihull residents can take place, a service that puts the safety of mothers and babies first is continued at Solihull.’

“That dialogue should now include this official response to my question.”

Her comments were put to the trust by The Silhillian yesterday. It had not commented at the time of going to press.

Meanwhile, a group on social networking website Facebook has attracted more angry comments and a new petition has also been put online.

Group founder and Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate Maggie Throup said: “Many Solihull residents have posted comments on the Facebook group and contacted me directly to express their support for our campaign which is now spreading out even further.”

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Government won't intervene on hospice plan

THE Government has refused to intervene in a controversial bid for a new hospice in Solihull.

John Denham, secretary of state for communities and local government, had the powers to ‘call in’ Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s approval for the Marie Curie scheme.

Yet a letter from his department of the council said this could ‘not be justified’.

Opponents said the Marsh Lane plan should be rejected as it is on protected Green Belt land and would cause traffic problems.

But the letter said: “The secretary of state is satisfied that the issues raised do not relate to matters of more than local importance, which would be more appropriately decided at national level rather than the local planning authority.”

Click here to read the letter (Microsoft Word).

The council’s planning committee passed the plan in December.

More than 11,000 backed the scheme as they said Marie Curie’s present home on the Warwick Road was outdated. This will now be sold for flats.

Solihull Conservative MP election hopeful Maggie Throup welcomed the news.

In a press release she said: “Despite being an avid Green Belt defender, I feel the social role provided by our local hospice outweighs the loss of this small area of Green Belt.

“I am delighted that the Secretary of State has decided not to intervene in this local decision, which now means Marie Curie Hospice can speed ahead to the next stages and the immense amount of fundraising needed.”

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Fury as Solihull maternity downgraded

MATERNITY services have been downgraded at Solihull Hospital - before a public consultation starts.

Health chiefs said the move to take away ‘high risk’ births was a temporary measure and in the interests of safety. A midwife-led unit only will stay at the hospital.

It means the majority of mums who would otherwise give birth at Solihull will have to go to hospitals including Heartlands at Bordesley Green and Good Hope, Sutton Coldfield.

Early discussions on the plans took place last year to the outrage of many residents, postponing a formal consultation. But bosses have now gone ahead with the move without public consultation.

Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust bosses now say a full consultation will take place later this year.

But Solihull MP Lorely Burt slammed the move as a “fait accomplis”.

She said: “I am deeply disappointed that the trust has taken pre-emptive action to downgrade the maternity unit before any consultation has taken place.”

The Liberal Democrat MP said: “The trust will do the down-grading anyway and get its way with no say from the angry residents of Solihull.

“To say the consultation will have any meaning after the staff and operational changes have taken place is, in my view, empty rhetoric.”

She pledged to write to the secretary of state for health Andy Burnham MP “to complain about this state of affairs and to ask him to intervene”.

And Conservative Meriden MP Caroline Spelman the news is ‘most regrettable’.

She said: “It is a decision weighted towards the organisation rather than the patients it serves and will deny the women of Solihull borough a choice.

“It is our NHS and we have a right to have our views as users of the service taken into account.

“Taxpayers have funded the building and running of the maternity unit - they have a right to be heard.”

Tory Solihull MP hopeful Maggie Throup said in a press release: “I am utterly dismayed at the total disregard for public opinion.” She urged people to join a Facebook campaign.

In a statement, the trust said health professionals said Solihull “cannot continue as it is at the moment”.

This is because it “does not meet contemporary best practice standards particularly for resuscitation of newborns”.

Bosses last year said teams were ‘stretched’ and there are not enough specialist doctors.

It said today in a statement: “We all know that it is easy to make changes after an incident has occurred.

“What is more challenging but is the right thing to do is to make changes now to ensure the service is as safe as possible to avoid any preventable risk to a mother or her baby.”

It goes on: “In the interim and as a temporary change purely to make the service as safe as possible, Solihull Hospital will continue to provide midwifery services for low risk births through a midwifery-led unit.

“More complicated births supervised by obstetricians will be booked at Heartlands Hospital, Good Hope Hospital or another nearby hospital according to the mother’s choice.”

Trust chief executive Dr Mark Goldman said he was committed to a ‘full and open dialogue with Solihull residents’.

Claire Molloy, chief executive of Solihull Care Trust, which decides where NHS cash is spent for borough residents, said: “It is unfortunate that change has to take place before a formal consultation has taken place.

“However, it is important to remember that these are interim changes and the care trust is committed to working with local people – particularly women and their families – so that they have an input in developing a long term solution for maternity care in Solihull.”

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We'll fight for maternity, Tory says

A CONSERVATIVE MP hopeful who hopes to win back Solihull for the party unveiled an NHS campaign billboard this week – and said Tories would protect maternity services.

Maggie Throup, prospective parliamentary candidate for Solihull, unveiled the Shirley billboard which features a picture of leader David Cameron and the words: ‘We can’t go on like this. I’ll cut the deficit, not the NHS’.

The party launched its draft manifesto on the NHS this week, shortly after plans to axe most births from Solihull Hospital was put on hold.

The manifesto pledges to give mothers a ‘real choice over where to have their baby’ and introduce ‘local maternity networks to ensure that mothers can safely access the right care, in the right place at the right time’.

Ms Throup said in a press release: “Our draft NHS manifesto is very timely with everyone here in Solihull so concerned about the future of our maternity services.

“Conservatives are committed to a system that is more personal and more local – with more choice, through our proposals for maternity networks.

“Under Labour all we seem to be getting is bigger and bigger baby factories where mothers can feel neglected with some even being turned away on the doorstep – and some even in labour.”

The Conservatives lost Solihull to Liberal Democrat Lorely Burt at the last general election in 2005.

Ms Throup, left in the above photograph, was joined by shadow minister for the cabinet office Francis Maude MP, centre.

Borough NHS chiefs say there are not enough staff to safely provide maternity cover at Solihull. This follows similar maternity closures throughout England.

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Tories slam Labour over unemployment

LABOUR has “failed a generation of young people” over unemployment, the Conservatives’ parliamentary hopeful for Solihull said.

Maggie Throup, prospective parliamentary candidate for the borough, said: “The recently published figures show that the Labour government has failed a generation of young people.

“It is unacceptable that youth unemployment is now at the highest level since records began.”

She spoke after latest figures show 20.2 per cent of people aged 16-24 are out of work.

She said in a press release: “The Conservatives will put help for youth employment at the heart of our plans to get Britain working again.

“We will give young people help sooner, after six months of unemployment compared to ten months under Labour’s plans.

“This will give young people the skills they need to get a sustainable job for the future.”

And she praised the work of voluntary group Job Club, above. “We are already leading the way here in Solihull,” she said.

Tory Meriden MP Caroline Spelman said: “Next year will see a worsening situation with the rise in National Insurance contributions by employers.

“That is no way to encourage them to take on staff and so the jobless toll will surely keep on rising.

“I went to see for myself how the local job centre is coping with the numbers seeking work and the room was packed.”

She said: “It will take a change of government to sort out the whole mess this country is in and that day cannot come soon enough for all of us.”

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Hospice plans backed by council

COUNCILLORS last night backed controversial plans to put a hospice on Green Belt land in Marsh Lane, Solihull.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s planning committee approved the Marie Curie Hospice plan.

The Government has the option to intervene. Until it decides whether or not to, the plans do not have full approval.

More than 11,000 people supported moving the hospice from the Warwick Road – but Marsh lane residents said it would blight their lives.

The news has so far been welcomed by Maggie Throup, the Conservative’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Solihull.

She said: “Despite being an avid Green Belt defender, I feel that the social role provided by our local hospice outweighs the loss of this small area of Green Belt.”

Solihull MP Lorely Burt also backed the plan.

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Tory plans "will save maternity unit"

THE Conservatives’ policy on maternity care makes the case for keeping birthing services at Solihull Hospital, its election hopeful said after a major speech by the party’s health boss.

Maggie Throup, prospective parliamentary candidate for Solihull, spoke after shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley addressed the Royal College of Midwives.

He has previously supported her opposition, see right, to plans that could see doctor-led births removed from Solihull Hospital.

Mrs Throup said in a statement: “Mr Lansley recognises the importance of smaller maternity units such as Solihull and highlights that such units tend to perform better than larger units.

“Local patient choice and access must remain the main criterion and a Conservative Government will enable maternity services to meet quality standards through a maternity services budget.

“Conservative policies back our campaign to keep full maternity services here in Solihull.”

In his speech, Mr Lansley said: “These plans will transform care for new mothers, from a service that is currently overstretched and patchy to one where every family gets the care and support that it needs.

“Labour haven’t delivered on their promises to give women real choice, to provide proper care during pregnancy and following birth, or to help those families that are most isolated and vulnerable. Our reforms will make these things a reality.

“They will give every woman world-class care and help our maternity services play a much bigger part in strengthening our families and communities.”

Views are being sought by Solihull NHS Care Trust on the future of maternity services.

Five options are put forward including expanding the hospital’s services, removing doctor-led births and removing all birthing services.

It says staffing levels are too low for the current system to remain. This could not be solved with “unlimited” money, it claims, as there are not enough trained doctors and nurses.

Following the speech, RCM general secretary Cathy Warwick, RCM, general secretary, said the Tory’s plans reflect a “general consensus” but would need cash.

Asking for more detail, she said: “The Conservatives are putting forward a number of interesting proposals, but good words and good intent are one thing, and real and positive action is another.

“We want promises made to become promises delivered and the improvements we have seen so far in maternity services continuing.”

The NHS Confederation, which represents managers, said it welcomed the proposals which would “give greater support to mothers to-be”.