Letter from Parliament: Tony Lloyd MP

Tony Lloyd MP

Last week I wrote only about Brexit, and whilst it is still important, I’ll just content myself by saying that Prime Minister May must bring her deal before Parliament for the meaningful vote she promised, any further delay is simply reckless.

Last weekend, I visited Rochdale’s Polish Church and Community Centre. Poles have always made up a significant part of the local community here in Rochdale since the Second World War. Poland recently celebrated its 100th Anniversary of its Independence and it was nice to meet with members of the community.

In Parliament, there was a meeting of the All-Party Group on Pubs. One of the big issues is pushing for a fairer deal for pub landlords. Many landlords have found themselves in financial difficulty due to the demands of the pub owning companies. We need to find a fairer way to reward pub landlords, the people who keep our pubs alive as part of the British social scene.

I had a meeting with Jeremy Corbyn, to discuss many of the political issues that we face as a country, and across the world. One of the really important issues is climate change and a meeting which took place to move forward the global commitment which all countries agreed to in Paris in 2015. The UK must reach zero carbon by 2050, but here in Greater Manchester, we can and must commit to a much earlier carbon neutral timeframe.

There was an important report issued by the Home Affairs Select Committee into the government’s mishandling of the placement of asylum seekers across the country. The report was rightly critical of the way the government has placed too high a proportion of asylum seekers in a small number of mainly northern towns, such as Rochdale. Rochdale people and Rochdale council have made asylum seekers feel welcome, and that’s what northern hospitality is all about, but the government’s incompetence has put pressure on our local services, and that’s not fair on both asylum seekers and the local community.

I took part in a roundtable discussion on child trafficking. It is shocking to know that Greater Manchester is one of the areas where significant amounts of child trafficking takes place. It surprises many also that the biggest group comprises of young British children, some as young as 8 years old. It’s unbelievable that traffickers can be this cynical. Fortunately, there is good work being done by our local police and children’s services and the charity Barnardo's.

Greater Manchester MPs, along with Greater Manchester’s Mayor, Andy Burnham met during the week to discuss many local issues, but a major matter for conversation was that Greater Manchester needs to have greater control of the monies we spend on post age 16 education and training. One key example will explain this requirement. We need to build new homes in the area and to do that we require skilled construction workers, bricklayers, electricians, plumbers etc. At the moment, the North West has an ageing workforce in this industry. Government policy means we simply aren’t training the talent we need for the next generation. If we have local control this and other areas, we can tailor training to local need.

An event was organised by the Samaritans which focused on the tragedy of the increasing number of young people taking their own lives. We know that loneliness is one of the huge factors affecting young people today, and rightly the Samaritans are arguing that we need to challenge the problem of loneliness in society, not only for young people, but for all age groups alike.

I visited Rochdale Health Alliance and the Federation of GP Practices in Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale, who deliver HART, the Homeless Alliance Response Team, at the Champness Hall Soup Kitchen on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. This is a volunteer health service providing a GP surgery for the homeless including flu vaccinations, wound-care dressings and much more. Well done to Jackie, Beth and all of the volunteers who make this service possible. Here, I also met with ‘Angie’s Angels’, a great local charity who provide clothing and toiletries for people in need. You can help out both of these amazing charities by donating food, toiletries and clothing at Champness Hall.

I had a lovely evening at the Healey Labour Party members Christmas Dinner, held at the Healey Hotel, the food was fantastic - highly recommended. I then finished my evening at Milnrow Cricket Club to take part in their Christmas Quiz.

Over the weekend, I hope to visit St Edmund’s Church and Rochdale’s Salvation Army for their annual Christmas Carol Services.

And let me finish by wishing everyone reading this a Happy Christmas and a really great 2019.