Letter from Parliament – Tony Lloyd MP

Date published: 01 May 2019

With Parliament in recess for a week during April, it was great to spend time in Rochdale meeting various groups and attending some events that Parliament normally prevents me from doing.

I was pleased to hear that the Petrus Community has been accepted to exhibit a show garden at the Tatton Flower Show this year. The Petrus Community is a charity which provides residential and day support services for people in housing need throughout the Borough of Rochdale. They rightly believe that people should have access to safe, secure, quality housing. Their acceptance for an exhibit at the Tatton Flower Show is a great achievement and I was glad to celebrate with them. I also hope to join them in July in Tatton Park to see what will be a beautiful display.

I met with members of Rochdale Carers’ Hub who get together regularly to offer mutual support and practical advice in their ‘Coffee and Chats’ sessions. The Carers’ Hub in Rochdale provides a single point of access for all carers in the borough. They provide dedicated support and opportunities to ‘take a break’ by providing a volunteer sitting service, as well as offering health & wellbeing and training services.

Carers play a vitally important role in society and if we had to pay for the work they do, it would cost us billions. Their contribution is therefore precious to us, so it is brilliant that the hub offers carers the chance to relax and talk with likeminded people. I would recommend any carer in the borough to get in touch with the group to find out more about the various events they hold.

Please see link below to their latest newsletter:

• search3.openobjects.com/mediamanager/rochdale/fsd/files/rochdale_carers_hub_-_6th_newsletter_a5.pdf

Rochdale Council of Mosques held their annual charity dinner this month, which is always a successful event but most importantly, this year it raised money to support the Rochdale Mayor’s Charity Appeal. Mayor Councillor Zaman is raising funds for six charities – Springhill Hospice, Petrus, Moorend Trust, Parkinsons UK, Rochdale Community Partnership and British Heart Foundation. The RCM dinner raised an incredible £21,600 for these deserving charities.

Deeplish Playscheme Project provides a range of learning and fun based activities for children under 12 during the Summer and Easter holidays. I joined them on the final day of the Easter holiday session to thank the volunteers for their contributions and award the children with certificates for the new skills they have picked up.

I must also pay tribute to Rochdale Hornets and Rochdale Football Club who have contributed by sending coaching staff to the project and have made a great success of getting young people, particularly young girls, involved in football and rugby league.

I also met with a local care provider which provides care for young vulnerable people. We discussed how different agencies across Rochdale can get together to share knowledge and information to help these young people, who may be particularly vulnerable to grooming by gangs and criminals, to escape this way of life and hopefully make a real difference in their future.

I met with the three Central Rochdale ward councillors – Ali Ahmed, Iftikhar Ahmed and Sultan Ali to discuss the future of College Bank and Lower Falinge. The redevelopment plans for these areas are controversial and therefore it’s important that we get it right for all the residents.

In Parliament, Greta Thunberg, the 15-year-old Swedish climate change campaigner, visited Westminster to speak to MPs about our responsibilities to the environment, and ultimately the future of our planet. She is a remarkable young woman and you don’t have to agree with everything she says to agree that we are not doing enough to combat this looming and enormous threat. Her visit was a timely reminder to all MPs that the Government must do more.

Even the Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, had to admit that this Government has not done enough. We’ve got to keep climate change high on the political agenda, here and round the world.

In Belfast, along with Jeremy Corbyn and the UK & Irish Prime Ministers, I attended the funeral of murdered journalist Lyra McKee. It is devastating that a young woman was shot on the streets of Derry, scenes that we thought had disappeared from our news. Her funeral was very emotional and it was moving to hear what a fascinating life she led, facing and breaking down so many barriers. Her story has echoed all around the world, but what a waste of a life.

The comments of the priest, Fr. Martin Magill were extraordinary, when he commended politicians for coming together for Lyra’s funeral, but rightly asked why it took the death of a young woman to see politicians acting in unity. The spontaneous applause in the Cathedral was real and genuine, and as the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, I hope it will have a real impact in bringing power sharing back to Northern Ireland.

I met with the Chair of Remembering Srebrenica – a charity whose vision is clear, to free society from hatred. Whilst remembering the atrocities that took place in the Bosnian Civil War in July 1995, the charity recognises that here in the UK we have achieved a lot in terms of building a unified society, but discrimination, promotion of hatred, extremism, and exclusion persist, and we must play our part, no matter how large or small, to create a better and safer society for all. I am committed to helping people remember what took place in 1995, just like in the Holocaust, and how fragile across the world peace can be.

I met local campaign groups who put their cases forward to me regarding the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework. The groups represent Milnrow and Newhey & Smithybridge and Littleborough. It’s important that the Spatial Framework moves forward to create the new homes Greater Manchester needs, but we must take on the legitimate concerns of local people.

You can view my submission to the GMSF at the bottom of this letter.

I visited Falinge Park High School to meet with Farah Khan, a student who is passionate about politics and hopes one day to become a politician. Farah wanted to ask me about my role in Parliament and my experiences, including what it was like for me getting into the world of politics and what, if any, barriers I faced. She also asked about what she can do to achieve her goals and what she can do locally to prepare for a future career in politics. I’m always pleased to see young people actively engaged in politics and I’m sure Farah will go very far!

I visited the Hungry Horse on Helmsman Lane, where I met Janette, the manager, along with Sarah, one of the new generation of Greene King apprentices who is not only working in the pub but also getting skills training as part of the role. I also met some of the directors of Greene King (who run the Hungry Horse); they are committed to employing ex-prisoners, a policy I strongly welcome. A major employer like Greene King giving people, mainly young men, a second chance in life is not only incredibly important for the individual, but for our communities. When people leave prison, it’s important that they get into work.

At the weekend I went to watch the Milnrow Cricket team play Colne Cricket Club. Sadly, Colne won by well over 100 runs but nevertheless, Sunday was a great day for watching cricket and it was a bit of light relaxation after knocking on doors in Littleborough for the local elections.

And on that note, whichever way you choose to vote, don’t forget to cast your vote in Thursday’s local election.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/127552/who-to-vote-for-this-local-election