Letter from Parliament - Simon Danczuk MP

Simon Danczuk MP

There’s nothing like a great parade to show the community at its best and I was delighted to see there’s no shortage of civic pride at this year’s Milnrow Carnival. Bathed in sunshine with thousands lining the streets it was a fantastic reminder that there’s lots to be proud about in Rochdale.

Another local institution that makes me proud is Rochdale Hornets. I recently attended the ‘clash of the Co-ops’ to see their emphatic victory over Hemel Stags and our local rugby league side are in great form. They followed this victory with another strong win on Tyneside – despite several of the players suffering from a sickness bug. This team has real fighting spirit and they’re a credit to the town.

We can also take enormous pride in the work carried out by the Second Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers – despite the fact the Government shamefully issued thousands of redundancies to our soldiers this week. There are many Fusiliers in our area and ministers owe it to soldiers to do all they can to help support them back into work as soon as possible.

It’s not easy making the transition from the battlefield to civvy street and this is a real slap in the face for hard working, dedicated and brave British soldiers.

Another group of people I believe we should be proud of are the grooming victims that helped convict a group of despicable sexual predators. Last year’s Rochdale grooming trial made a huge impact across the country and one of the outcomes is that new guidelines have been published to shift the law on to the side of victims. We’re also seeing changes to the law which will allow abused children to avoid hostile treatment in court and permit pre-recorded video evidence to be used.

This is a lasting legacy from the brave testimony given by Rochdale grooming victims and will help ensure that convictions against sexual predators are easier to secure in future.

A further potentially interesting law change could soon see bankers sent to jail for “reckless misconduct” following a series of major recommendations on banking standards that have been issued to parliament. This is welcome news but it’s not just bankers that should be held to account in the strongest possible way. Where highly paid public sector managers are guilty of criminal neglect – from councils to the NHS – they too should face severe consequences instead of being allowed to quietly retire with large payoffs.