One Labour initiative worth supporting

This letter will astonish the Labour MP's of Lancashire as it is from a Labour MP.  Stella Creasy makes all the overtures of a real constituent MP and Notareargunner fully endorses her efforts to have these businesses outlawed.  Please go to the link and sign the e-petition to have these bloodsuckers neutered.


Stella Creasy, MP for Walthamstow, today urged the Government to take action in order to stem a rising tide of debt problems among Britain’s Armed Forces after she published research by the Royal British Legion’s debt service showing a third of problems they dealt with related to unsecured debts. Speaking after a debate in the House of Commons on services personnel today ahead of Remembrance Sunday, Stella said: “Our Armed Forces make enormous sacrifices for the sake of our security, so it’s only right that we give them the protection they deserve from problems at home. These figures from the Royal British Legion reflect the difficult financial circumstances many of our service personnel and their families find themselves in given their unique lifestyle. My fears for their financial welfare are compounded by the evidence that payday lending companies are deliberately targeting our forces here in the UK as they did in America. Now we learn a third of all debt cases the RBL deals with involve these kinds of unsecured debts.” “America took action by capping what soldiers could be charged for credit – I urge the Ministers to learn from them by commissioning research into the causes of financial struggle for our forces, back our call for caps on the costs of credit to protect consumers from these firms  and ensure our Forces are able to access affordable credit through a dedicated army credit union. Any member of the public concerned about debt and our military could also help this campaign by signing the petition calling on the Government to end legal loan sharking and cap the costs of credit.” ENDS Notes
·         The Royal British Legion’s dedicated Benefits and Money Advice Service helped 2,400 army personnel in their first year (2007). Last year this rose to over 11,000, and they’re predicting that this figure will keep rising.
·         Nearly a third of all the clients that come to the RBL’s debt service have debt problems as a result of taking out unsecured loans. Further details of this research is available from the office of Stella Creasy.
·         63% of the RBL’s debt advice is classified as “specialist” level compared to just 12% for the CAB network.
·         Quickquid– interest rate 1734% states on its special military site ““You provide security and protection for your country — shouldn’t your armour against financial problems include access to military loans when you need them?”
·         Easymilitaryloans.co.uk makes a virtue of lending to service personnel with poor credit histories in the UK
·         One in four people who take out payday loans need the money to buy food or essentials, with 44 per cent using them to pay off other debts. (Debt Advice Foundation, 2011)·         There has been a fourfold rise in just two years in the numbers of people coming to the CAB with debt problems as a result of taking out payday loans. (Citizens Advice, 2011)·         Stella Creasy is the Labour and Co-Operative MP for Walthamstow. She has been campaigning to toughen up regulation of the high-cost credit sector for over a year and is backing an e-petition calling for the Government to End Legal Loan sharking in time for Christmas 2011 by capping the cost of credit which can be found here : http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/20219
·         For more information about this and the wider campaign on high-cost credit, contact Will in her office on will@workingforwalthamstow.org.uk / 0208 521 1223.