 When Tony Blair said "24 hours to save the NHS" he meant it. Years of neglect under the Conservatives had left crumbling, WW2 era hospitals and people dying on waiting lists up to 18 months long.
Labour has tripled the investment in the NHS, transforming it into a world-class health service and ensuring its future is secure for decades to come.
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80,000 more nurses
- 35,000 more doctors, including 5,300 extra family GPs
- 4,500 more dentists
- Labour brought back Matrons to our hospitals - now more than 5,530 in England
- Record numbers of operations performed on the NHS
- The largest hospital building programme since the NHS began: 149 new hospitals built or in the pipeline
- We introduced NHS Direct to offer free advice on health
- Maximum waiting times cut to just 18 weeks from referral to treatment
- Deaths from heart disease down 40%, cancer mortality down 17%
- Nurses pay increased by 58%
In the West Midlands area we have:
- 578 more NHS dentists
- 518 more GPs
- 230 more practice nurses
- 1,272 more consultants
- 8,851 more nurses
- 242 more midwives
- Number of people waiting for treatment down by 43% since 1997
- Average inpatient waiting times at Warwick hospital just 9 weeks
- No one waiting more than 26 weeks for treatment, compared to 12,968 (or 14% of all cases) in 1997
- Warwick hospital has applied for Foundation Trust status, with a new A&E unit, a new 24-hour day surgery unit, a new stroke unit, refurbished wards, and a new cancer unit being built.
 We said we would be "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime" and we meant it. Under the Conservative government, more police officers were leaving the force than were being recruited.
Since 1997, police numbers are up and crime is down. Labour introduced Safer Neighbourhood Teams, ASBOs and Community Support Officers. Year on year reductions in crime show that our policies are working to make our communities safer.
- Overall crime is down 32% since 1997 according to independent statistics
- 14,000 more police officers on the streets, up 11% since 1997
- A Safer Neighbourhood Team for every area in England & Wales
- Police pay up 27% in real terms
- PCSOs and special constables on patrol to complement the work of ordinary officers
- Successful convictions up 40% between 2002 and 2006
- Re-offending rates are down: 11% for adults and 17% for juvenile offenders between 2000 and 2005
- ASBOs and Dispersal Orders introduced to improve communities
In Warwickshire:
 Older people are among those who have benefitted the most from Labour's social and economic policies. In 1997 millions of pensioners were having to scrape by on just £69 per week.
Labour now guarantees every pensioner a minimum income of £124 per week, or £189 for couples.
We now have:
- One million pensioners lifted out of poverty since 1997
- Tax free personal allowances for pensioners now at least £9,030
- Pension Credit to guarantee a weekly income of at least £124 or £189 for couples
- Free bus travel nationwide for the over 60s
- Free NHS prescriptions and eye sight tests for the over 60s
- From 2009, everyone over 60 will have free access to local swimming pools
- Free television licences for the over 75s
- The tax-free Winter Fuel Payment to every pensioner household. Now worth £250 for the over 60s, or £400 for the over 80s
- Free central heating for everyone receiving Pension Credit, or £300 discounts to all other pensioners
- 1.4 million pensioner households benefitting from the Warm Front scheme, which provides central heating installation, insulation and energy saving advice
In Warwick and Leamington:
- 5,060 pensioners in Warwick and Leamington have benefitted from the Pension Credit
- 1000+ pensioners have received a grant under the Warm Front scheme
- Pensioner households now on average £1,500 better off than in 1997
To check your entitlement to any of these schemes, visit Direct.gov.uk, or simply contact me.
 Environmental science has improved dramatically since the late 1990s, and we now have a much better understanding of the situation.
Our policies have kept up with the science, and the UK is now seen as a world leader in terms of national commitment to tackling global environmental problems.
- We signed the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. We are on track to more than double our targets: that's a 23.6% cut in our 1990 emissions level by 2012
- Our Climate Change Bill is the first of its kind anywhere in the world, and will legally commit the UK to reducing CO2 emissions by at least 60% by 2050
- By 2016 all new homes built will be zero-carbon. By 2019 all new non-domestic buildings will also be zero-carbon
- Old style light bulbs will be withdrawn from sale from 2008
- The Climate Change Levy saves 6 millon tonnes of CO2 per year, and is encouraging businesses to be greener
- Changes to Vehicle Excise Duty mean that sales of low-emission cars now outstrips gas guzzlers
- The UK inow has the cleanest beaches, rivers, drinking water and air than at any time since before the industrial revolution
 "Education, eduction, education". That was our priority for government, and we have built a strong record since 1997. In 1997 45% of pupils achieved at least 5 good GCSEs. In 2007, it was 60%.
Labour has doubled investment in education, to help us achieve better exam results and record numbers in further and higher education.
- 36,000 more teachers than in 1997
- 172,00 more classroom assistants
- 1,100 new schools built or old schools rebuilt
- Funding per pupil has doubled since 1997
- We built 2,300 Sure Start children's centres to provide childcare, early learning education, play facilities, parental advice and support for working families
- More university students recieving a non-repayable grant than at any other time in history
- One third of all new students get a full grant for tuition and maintenance, and another third get a partial grant
- Teachers' pay increased by more than 40%
- Record numbers in further and higher education
- More students receiving a university grant than at any other time in history
In Warwick and Leamington:
- We have 3,520 extra free early years places for 3 and 4 year olds than in 1997
- SureStart centres in Whitnash, Sydneham, Lillington and Warwick
- 450 more teachers in primary and secondary schools, 1210 more teaching assistants and 440 more support staff
- £16.3 million from the government for facilities improvements at 35 local schools
- Our schools have seen a 17% improvement in literacy and 21% improvement in numeracy
- A 17.8% increase in the number of local pupils gaining at least 5 good GCSEs
- Real terms funding per pupil in Warwick and Leamington is up by 41% since 1997
We all remember the dreadful economic mess of the early 1990s. The Conservative government gave us interest rates at 15%, 3 million unemployed, record numbers of homes reposessed and 'Black Monday'.
As soon as Labour entered government in 1997, we devolved monetary policy to the experts in the Bank of England, we launched the New Deal to get people back into work and we created Tax Credits to make work pay. Since then we have enjoyed one of the longest periods of economic growth since the second world war:
- Unemployment at its lowest level since 1975, and more jobs in the economy than ever before
- The lowest basic rate of income tax in 75 years
- Fewer working days lost due to industrial action than under the previous government
- Indepdence for the Bank of England to set intrest rates and control inflation
- The National Minimum Wage now guarantees an income for the low-paid. Since we introduced it in 1999, we have increased it by 59%
- Three million extra jobs created since 1997
In Warwick and Leamington:
- Unemployment has been cut by 24% since 1997
- Jobseekers Allowance claimants down by 66% since 1996
- 9,273 more local jobs and 3,065 more local businesses since 1997
- 680 local young people have gained a job through the New Deal
- Investment in railways now 2.5 times higher than in 1997
- 1600 more train journeys. Train delays cut by 17%
- Free bus travel for pensioners and disabled people
Helping families to manage the demands of working and raising children is one of our proudest records. Today, 4 in 10 familes now pay NO net tax as a result of Labour's tax credits. We also introduced free child care for 3 and 4 year olds for the first time.
Eliminating child poverty is one of Labour's key targets by 2011 - we have made good progress so far.
- Child Poverty halved from 3.6 million in 1998 to 1.6 million
- Child Benefit increased by 26% since 1997
- Families with children now on average £,1800 a year better off - the poorest families are nearly £4,500 per year better off
- Child Trust Funds introduced by Labour, to give children future financial security
- Free milk, fruit and vegetables for schoolchildren and healthy school meals for all.
- Paid maternity leave increased to 52 weeks
- Paid paternity leave for the first time
In Warwick and Leamington:
- 3,200 families, including 5,900 children, are benefitting from Labour's tax credits
- 3,469 Child Trust Funds have been opened by local families
- Surestart centres in five local areas are giving parents advice and helping with childcare
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