Letter from Parliament - Simon Danczuk MP

Simon Danczuk MP

This week saw the state opening of Parliament and amid all the usual pomp and ceremony there was one Bill that’s set to assume enormous significance under this Government. That’s the bill to allow an EU referendum in 2017.

As the first referendum on Europe for more than 40 years, this will dominate the political agenda and marks the beginning of a massive debate about Britain’s role in the world. I remain of the view that we’re better off inside the world’s largest trading bloc and I want us to stay in a reformed Europe.

Another important Bill relates to the devolution of powers to Greater Manchester and, while I welcome this, we need to ensure these powers don’t just benefit the north but also tackle regional imbalances.

There has been a north-south divide in Greater Manchester for some time and to address this we need a big focus on driving economic growth in northern towns like Rochdale.

Our Council is working very hard to improve our local economy and I’m pleased to hear that businesses are signing up to take over empty shops in the town centre as a result of the Council’s business rate discounts. We can expect more positive news on this front very soon.