Your Britain: have your say

As one of the National Policy Forum reps for the East Midlands I have been busy over the last few weeks attending Your Britain policy discussions across the region.

I have discussed education policy with members in North East Derbyshire and their MP Natascha Engel; I led a discussion on child poverty at Bassetlaw Labour Party and discussed health and social care policy with members in Erewash. Last week I was at Loughborough Labour Party with Shadow Minister Liz Kendall MP to discuss health and care policy. I also met with college students from Loughborough College to discuss young people and politics.

Discussing Your Britain and policy-making with members in
Loughborough and Shadow Minister Liz Kendall MP.

All of these discussions have been lively and it is good to see so many members getting involved in this important phase of policy discussion. These are the discussions that will begin to frame our policy platform and manifesto for the 2015 General Election.

Your Britain is Labour's online hub for policy discussion.
The deadline for submissions on the first set of policy challenge papers - short papers setting out the key issues and questions on priority policy areas - has been extended until Wednesday next week. So, there is still time to have your say on important issues including;

• Vocational education, apprenticeships and the role of job guarantees in tackling youth unemployment
• Protecting workers; including the role of agency workers, the Living Wage and the GLA
• 21st Century NHS and social care; delivering integration
• Tax avoidance; tax havens
• The Housing Crisis; House building and a private rented sector that works for Britain's families
• A British Investment Bank; making it a reality
• Our Buses and Railways; giving communities more of a say
• Childcare: what matters to parents and children?
• Young People and Politics; making a fresh start
• Britain's role in a post-2015 development vision

You can read and comment on the challenge papers via the Your Britain website.

These priority issues were determined by a ballot at last year's Labour Conference. The National Policy Forum Policy Commissions (essentially subcommittees of the National Policy Forum) are looking in detail at the all submissions and comments received before more detailed policy papers are issued for consultation later this year.