Welcome to North East Derbyshire Constituency Labour Party (CLP). Whether you are a member who has recently joined or you have been a member for many years, this guide is meant to provide you with all you need to know to make the most of your membership of the Labour Party in North East Derbyshire.

North East Derbyshire Constituency Labour Party comprises a wide range of people with a variety of skills and with huge potential to make generational change. Being a member of the local Labour Party is about making a contribution to further the social democratic objectives of the Labour Party. It is up to you how much and what kind of a contribution you want to make.

You can contribute simply by turning up and airing your views at the various meetings which take place, or you may wish to get more involved with the campaigns and socials which are run in North East Derbyshire. You can influence policy and meet a wide range of people and exercise your influence by participating in consultation events.

This Welcome Pack is designed to give you

We would be grateful for any comments you may have on this Welcome Pack, and we’re very keen to hear your suggestions on how we can encourage more people to join and participate in the activities of the Labour Party in the constituency.

Thank you for joining the Labour Party - I look forward to working and campaigning with you.
Best wishes

Graham Baxter
Chair
North East Derbyshire Constituency Labour Party

It is made up of a mixture of mining, other industrial and commuter communities in the north and south. Its western side is mainly agriculture and borders the Peak District National Park. The largest communities are Dronfleld in the north and Clay Cross in the south, but the constituency also includes Ashover. Cutthorpe, Eckington, Grassmoor, Heath, Holmewood, Holymoorside, Killamarsh, North Wingfield, Staveley North, Tupton, Walton and Wingerworth.

For official government statistics about North East Derbyshire go to http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination?NeighbourhoodProfileSearch.do?areaId=276923

For maps showing the constituency and ward boundaries go to http://www.election-maps.co.uk/

The District of North East Derbyshire lies on the edge of the Peak District National Park, where the foothills of the Pennines meet the Midland plain. Covering 100 square miles, and with some of the most beautiful scenery in the country, the District is home to almost 100,000 people and is a popular visiting place for ramblers and tourists, For information about the Peak District please visit http://www.derbyshire-thepeakdistrict.co.uk

With a diverse range of places to visit, North East Derbyshire is perfect for a great day out or a weekend break- Here is just a brief taster of what the District of North East Derbyshire has to offer.

Renishaw Hall and Gardens, seat of the Sitwells for centuries has the most beautiful four-acre ltalianate gardens, containing rare plants, yew hedges, pyramids, ponds and terraces looking over water and woodland landscapes, are open from Easter to October. Not far away is another interesting destination, the Ridgeway Craft Centre, with its craft workshops housed in converted 17th Century farm buildings.

Other places worth visiting indude the pretty village of Ashover, especially on the days of its annual village show and vintage car rally, Linacre reservoir with its casual countryside trails and Sutton Scarsdale Hall. which was built in 1724 and is now a dramatic ruin.

The ancient tradition of Well Dressing is alive and well in North East Derbyshire, with annual events in areas across the District including Coal Aston. Dronfield Woodhouse, Cutthorpe, Millthorpe, Cowley, Heath, Holmesfield, Barlow and Holymoorside.

Who’s who and what’s what in North East Derbyshire Labour Party
North East Derbyshire Constituency Labour Party - Structure

North East Derbyshire Constituency Labour Party (CLP) is the Labour Party organisation in the parliamentary constituency of North East Derbyshire. North East Derbyshire CLP’s membership is made up of those members of the national Labour Party who organisation in the CLPs live in North East Derbyshire.

The constituency is currently made up of ten branches - most branches are based on one or more North East Derbyshire District council wards within the constituency. Due to the re-drawing of the Parliamentary boundaries which take effect from the next General Election, we wilL inherit New Whittington from Chesterfield.

The branches elect delegates to the General Committee (GC) of the constituency which is the main decision-making body of the constituency. The activities of the constituency Labour Party are managed by the Executive Committee (EC) of CLP officers who are elected annually by the General Committee. Each branch also has its own set of officers who oversee the activities of that branch.

North East Derbyshire CLP Officers

The Branches

All members of North East Derbyshire CLP currently belong to one of the 11 branches. A branch (known as a Branch Labour Party or BLP) is the Labour Party orqanisation in your immediate vicinity. The CLP branches are as follows:

There are regular branch meetings and activities. Each branch has its own set officers who oversee the activities of that branch (please see details below). If you have any queries about your membership or would like to contact an officer, email the CLP Secretary John Gilbert dougcon@cromarty11.freeserve.co.uk or call him on 01246 413198.

1. Please note that Staveley is split between North East Derbyshire and Chesterfield constituencies but meets as one branch.

Constituency Office: 62 Market Street, Eckington S21 4JH
Tel:  01246 439018 Email: engeln@parliament.uk

Natastha Engel is Labour Member of Parliament for North East Derbyshire.
Born in 1967, Natascha was elected as Labour Member of Parliament for North East Derbyshire in the General Election of May 2005. She succeeded Harry Barnes who had held the seat for almost 20 years prior to his retirement.

GENERAL ELECTION RESULT 2005 (turnout 61.2%)

Natascha lives in Dronfeld. She and husband Dave have two children; Malek born November 2003 and Anton born May 2005 shortly after the General Election.

Natascha studied Modern Languages (German and Portuguese) at King’s College in London. After leaving university, she trained as a journalist, working on local newspapers (Folkestone Herald and Dover Express) before moving to work as a teacher in Madrid, Spain, for two years. She worked for a while as a translator and later became a Teletext subtitler for deaf and hearing-impaired people. She was also responsible for liaison with deaf dubs on subtitling provision and learned British Sign Language to Stage II. Natascha then joined the first in-take of the TUG’s flagship Organising Academy and worked as an organiser for the print union, the GPMU (now part of Amicus). She was subsequently appointed as Labour’s National Trade Union Liaison Officer, ensuring unions took full part in the policy-making process and Policy Commissions.

Following the 2001 General Election, she was Programme Director at the Smith Institute, a think tank, focusing on policy areas including Full Employment, Regional Economic Development and Women in the Economy.

If you would like to contact Natascha, please call her at the constituency office on 01246 439018 or call her at Parliament on 020 7219 4709 or email her engeln@parliament.uk