Letter from Parliament - Tony Lloyd

Tony Lloyd MP

The week started with a meeting with campaigners for the forgotten who were killed during the Northern Ireland troubles. The families of those killed in England, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are still looking for justice and to find out what happened.

I also met with a couple of brave women who are campaigning for abortion rights in Northern Ireland. One of them, Denise Felan, sought a termination after her and her husband’s much-longed for baby was diagnosed with Edward’s Syndrome, a serious genetic condition. Unfortunately, most babies with Edward’s Syndrome only survive for a very short period of time.

No-one gave Denise any advice and the law prohibits this being passed on. In the end, she continued with the pregnancy, but sadly the baby died at only a few days old.

Theresa May gave a statement at the European Council Summit, which to be honest, was a total damp squib as I don’t think anyone learnt anything they didn’t already know.

There is also the serious issue of Esther McVey, the Social Security Secretary, who has been accused of misleading MPs about the success, or lack of, of the new Universal Credit system. If she did know, this this the most serious offence a minister can commit, and she should resign. It is hard to trust she will do a good job. I had many people attend my advice bureau with their woes surrounding the new benefit system, and other MPs are in a similar position.

The NHS celebrated its 70th birthday this week, and I attended commemorations at both Fairfield Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary, both of which are heavily used by people living in the borough. Most of us have had some experience with the NHS and most of us are proud of what they do. Unlike America, we know we are paying together and it is there in our time of need. Despite this, the NHS is still drastically underfunded and desperately needs more money.

I met with Veterans in the Community, which provides social events for veterans and ensure they feel included with all manners of things to do.

There has been some call for a return of maternity services in Rochdale, or a birthing unit, for some time. I visited the Blackburn unit, which was set up after their maternity services closed around the same time as Rochdale’s. The unit operates separately for midwives and offers a lot of human support. If anything goes wrong, patients are sent to Burnley, where there are more medical facilities.  I’m keen to see if Rochdale can pick up this model and have a similar relationship with Oldham.

The UK Parliament has a Teacher’s Ambassador programme which Dacas Ahmed, a teacher from Falinge Park, is following to teach the role of Parliament and offer a deeper insight into politics.

There was a lot of interest around the England and Colombia match which we watched in Parliament. I’m very much looking forward to the game against Sweden, and also hope that I will be able to watch the Rochdale Hornets play on Sunday.

I will also be attending an event in Manchester where Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott is speaking, visiting Oulder Hill School and attending the Labour party’s NHS demonstration on Yorkshire Street, where we will be campaigning for the service to be recognised.