Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

Jim Dobbin MP

My question at Prime Minister's Questions to David Cameron on asbestos about to be exported from Canada to India also has strong connections with Rochdale.

The Turners’ asbestos factory in the Spodden Valley was one of the first to use Canadian asbestos in the 1870s through until the 1990s.

The first recognised asbestosis death in 1924 was, I understand, in Rochdale. The first asbestos memorial is also close to the Cenotaph in Rochdale Town Centre.

Having heard from Kathleen Ruff, a Canadian writer and campaign speaker, at a public meeting in Manchester Town Hall about the spending of 58 million Canadian dollars to export asbestos to India, I was so appalled at the Canadian Government imposing what is a death sentence on thousands of poor people that I felt the international community needs to oppose this. The Prime Minister responded positively and promised to raise the issue with the World Health Organisation the same afternoon. There should be a global ban on using asbestos.

When I heard that the Government had announced cuts to the armed forces and that one of these was to be the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, I felt equally angry. The cuts will reduce the armed forces by 20,000.

Isn’t it funny, here we are just a few days later, prior to the opening of the Olympic Games and the Government is ordering the armed forces to fill the gaps in security for the games?

The reductions in the armed forces and police numbers have been shown to be a mistake and the Government should review both these decisions.

This Olympic Shambles has shown Theresa May as an addition to the growing list of incompetent ministers. 

I must congratulate Ed Miliband for speaking at the Durham Miners Gala. My father was a miner for over 40 years in the Fife coal fields and died in the middle of the miner’s strike. Ed Miliband was showing his support to all the lost mining communities decimated by Mrs Thatcher. Entire families that were ruined by a policy of social engineering and this echoed by the Tories’ present day attacks on the Health Service, Local Government, the Police, Armed Forces and other public sector personnel.

I note that Rochdale Infirmary was one of 14 hospitals breaking the law on abortion provision. The law needs to be radical, reform the industry that encourages ever increasing access to abortion.

I was re-elected as Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary group on Child Health and Vaccine Preventable Diseases which works closely with Global Action for Vaccines and Immunisation (G.A.V.I.) and the Bill Gates Foundation.

I was also re-elected to chair the All Party Parliamentary group on Involuntary Tranquilliser Addiction that looks at prescription addiction, a massive problem in the U.K. and across the globe.

I note that the Parliamentary Committee announced to enquire into the banks has been weakened by the omission of Labours’ John Mann and Tory Andrea Leadsom, two powerful inquisitors. We may be looking at an engineered whitewash.

On Monday 16 July, I travelled to Wigan on behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to present the Mayor of Wigan with the Europe Flag of Honour for outstanding work in European relations.

We are now in recess, meaning I change my place of work from Westminster to my constituency office.