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Letter from Parliament

Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

During the global recession and the worst financial crisis in 60 years, the Government was not prepared to let the recession take its course. The priority was to protect homes, jobs and businesses.
If the experience of the Tory recession in the 1990s had been repeated, house repossessions and businesses would have been twice as high.

Date published: 07/03/2010

Letter from Parliament - Paul Rowen MP

Last week’s news that young people spend nearly eighteen months on the dole before finding a job compared to nine months five years ago is a tragedy for young people across Rochdale. ...

Date published: 04/03/2010

Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

I was shocked at the recent decision by Tesco to move 600 jobs to Widnes from Wincanton Distribution in Middleton. This was a complete surprise and I understand there had been little or no discussion with the Local Authority. This was a commercial decision based on the need to be closer to the docks in Liverpool and the need for expansion....

Date published: 22/02/2010

Letter from Parliament - Paul Rowen MP

I’ve been involved with a variety of issues around employment and training – both issues are important to Rochdale locally and the economy nationally.
On Monday morning, after a meeting with the Headteacher Jim Hollingworth of Littleborough Community School and School Governor Councillor Pauline Maguire, I travelled down to London to meet asbestos campaigners. ...

Date published: 08/02/2010

Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

Jim Dobbin MP

My last letter from Parliament highlighted the cold weather payments and gave advice on how to claim it for those who qualified. The Government tries very hard to alert pensioners and those...

Date published: 28/01/2010

Letter from Parliament - Paul Rowen MP

Paul Rowen MP

Last week we finally saw the thaw after what has been without doubt one of the coldest periods we’ve experienced for many years. Looking after people unable to get out of their homes and...

Date published: 21/01/2010

Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

Jim Dobbin MP

Despite all the adverse weather conditions and the accompanying hardships that people are experiencing, I wish all my constituents a Happy New Year hoping that as the economy improves and...

Date published: 12/01/2010

Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin

Jim Dobbin MP

This Christmas and New Year period is a time for family. The impact of family life generally shows the benefits of the support and strength that family offers. When parents, grandparents...

Date published: 30/12/2009

Jim Dobbin MP

Jim Dobbin MP

This is a defining period in our political calendar. We have just had the pre-Budget proposals in Westminster and the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, both political events creating...

Date published: 15/12/2009

Paul Rowen

Paul Rowen MP

The big event in Westminster this week has been the Chancellor’s Pre Budget Speech. As usual much of it had been trailed beforehand in the media.

Vince Cable, Liberal Democrat Shadow...

Date published: 09/12/2009

Letter from Parliament - Paul Rowen MP

Paul Rowen MP

This week has seen the conclusion of the debate on the Queen’s Speech with votes on its content on Wednesday and Thursday. Both the content of the speech and the debate followed fairly...

Date published: 26/11/2009

Letter from Parliament - Paul Rowen MP

Paul Rowen MP

This year's Remembrance Sunday services, which I attended at Rochdale and Wardle, were particularly poignant in view of the rising death toll of our troops in Afghanistan. Both services had...

Date published: 17/11/2009

Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

Jim Dobbin MP

The result of the Glasgow bye election must have been a huge disappointment to David Cameron and the Sun newspaper. People are generally sensible and could see the nastiness of the Sun’s...

Date published: 17/11/2009

Local MP attends parliamentary reception for World Diabetes Day

Jim Dobbin, MP

Jim Dobbin, MP for Heywood and Middleton, supported leading health charity Diabetes UK yesterday (11 November) as it demanded more education and better psychological support for people with...

Date published: 12/11/2009

Jim Dobbin MP

Jim Dobbin MP

I begin by sending my sincere sympathy to the family of Jean Edwards from Middleton who died tragically of a heart attack on Thursday morning. Jean’s family have worked tirelessly with my...

Date published: 03/11/2009

Paul Rowen MP

Paul Rowen MP

The impact of the recession continues to dominate discussion both here in Rochdale and in Westminster. Last week, I raised the issue of funding for hospices with the Prime Minister Gordon...

Date published: 28/10/2009

Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

Jim Dobbin MP

I returned to Parliament from Stockholm after attending a European Conference as part of the Swedish Presidency where 31 countries were represented. I was able to make a contribution in the...

Date published: 19/10/2009

Letter from Parliament - Paul Rowen MP

Paul Rowen MP

Parliament returned this week and predictably the Expenses row returned with MPs each receiving a letter from Sir Thomas Legg QC. He had been asked by the three party leaders to review MP’s...

Date published: 15/10/2009

Letter from Parliament - Paul Rowen MP

We are in the middle of the party conference season. Last week I was at the Liberal Democrat Conference in Bournemouth, this week Labour is in Brighton and next week the Conservatives are in Manchester. For the national media and those in the Westminster "village" these events are the meat and drink of political reporting. Every slight slip of the tongue becomes an attempted...

Date published: 02/10/2009

Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

I watched an interesting programme last week called “The Love of Money” about the boom years before the economic downturn.

It described the part played by banks and financial institutions in encouraging over-lending to house buyers especially the prime selling pressures that took place in the USA, the collapse of Lehmann Bothers, the world’s largest financial group which...

Date published: 22/09/2009

Letter from Parliament - Paul Rowen MP

Paul Rowen MP

One of the first Acts of Parliament that I worked on when I became an MP was The Road Safety Act. Among the many extra sanctions introduced was “causing death by dangerous driving”. I was...

Date published: 16/09/2009

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