Letter from Parliament - Liz McInnes MP

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Liz McInnes MP

The period of time since the very sad and sudden loss of Jim Dobbin has been a hectic one. There has been much to do in recent weeks and I thank all of those people of Heywood and Middleton who have been there to make this as smooth a process as possible.

It’s been just over a month since the by-election, I now have staff in Westminster and this week was able to appoint two caseworkers for the constituency, where I’ll be keeping Jim’s York Street office for the foreseeable future. Surgeries are happening again, and casework is coming in from Middleton, Norden, Heywood, Bamford and Castleton.

It’s been a real privilege to start representing the people of the constituency here in Westminster and I was proud to make my maiden speech in the Chamber where I was able to tell fellow MPs all about Heywood and Middleton.

There are many pressing needs for the people of Heywood and Middleton - from getting rid of the bedroom tax, housing issues or enticing more employers to the area and creating more jobs - to name but a few. I have been able to raise the issue that local people identified, through the 2013-14 national GP Patient survey, of wanting quicker access to GP appointments.

There was also a vote in parliament aimed at protecting the NHS from privatisation through the Coalition Governments’ Health and Social Care Act and their move towards TTIP. I am pleased to say that we won the vote. Many constituents contacted me about this issue and requested that I remain in Parliament on the Friday in order to cast my vote.

I was able to attend the Remembrance Sunday Parade in Middleton and share in this event with the community. I also felt honoured to be asked to unveil a memorial bench, donated by Riverside Housing to the Langley Community Gardens as a lasting tribute to Gunner Lee Rigby. It was a privilege to be with Lee's family on this occasion. Their dignity, strength and composure in such tragic circumstances is an example to us all.

I met with Langley Community Gardens’ Volunteer group on Volunteer Day and was impressed by their contribution to the community.
On Saturday 15th November I was delighted to be able to celebrate St Margaret’s Day at St. Margaret’s Church in Heywood.

I am pleased to say that Tesco outlets in Heywood and Middleton have made a contribution to local food banks and hope that we can push for policy change in Westminster to ensure that no-one should find themselves reliant on food banks when trying to feed themselves and their families. In addition, I was asked to raise the issue of staff working with Capita Filestores in Heywood. Workers who are currently employed by the company are still being paid below the living wage and have made a case for this to be changed. I was able to offer support to these local workers by meeting with their representatives as well as asking about this case, in parliament, with William Hague who suggested this be raised with the Department of Work and Pensions.

It is good to hear from so many constituents about their interest and concern in the Coalition Governments’ policies.

I was pleased to welcome the Heywood Explorer Scouts to Parliament at the beginning of November, as part of a "Better Prepared" event, where we heard about the great work done by the Scouting movement and the opportunities it gives to our young people. Scouts from all over the country were attending the event and it was great to meet the representatives from Heywood.

It was a pleasure to attend the Heywood Christmas lights switch on and to join the Back O'th' Moss Community Centre Float in the parade through town, then to hotfoot it to Middleton to take part in the lights switch on there. Both events were really well organised and it was great to see so many people there. It certainly felt as though Christmas had started in style

I am very happy to be part of a local celebration called ‘Stars in our Schools’, paying tribute to the invaluable role of support workers in our local schools. I spent a lovely day at the weekend, firstly at St. Gabriels’ Church Fair in Middleton and then onto the Winter Market organised by the Friends of Hopwood Park. Both events were busy, successful and beautifully organised and it was a pleasure to meet with everyone involved.

I hope that I will be able to help in addressing those things that will make a difference to people of Heywood and Middleton and provide a fair chance for people to live comfortably. That’s not going to happen overnight but I want my constituents to know that I’m here to represent them in parliament and to help with any individual issues they may have
Over the coming weeks and months, I’ll keep people up to date with letters from Westminster and information on the website. I will also be spending as much time as possible in the constituency, so if you see me, say hello.