Hello and welcome to this week's edition of the Denton and Reddish Weekly News. 

I hope you're looking forward to the long weekend. A reminder that this Sunday we've got the Artisan Market at Broadstone Mill. Scroll down to the community board for more info!

In May, I'll be taking to the skies in a Wing Walk for 9-year old Florence. Florence has a rare life-limiting degenerative condition called #GM1. We're raising money for Florence and her family to make wonderful memories. If you can, please click below to donate.

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has got involved in the National Trust’s 2023 #BlossomWatch campaign.

The annual celebration runs from the 24 – 30th April, with people encouraged to share beautiful blossom in their local area. The week takes inspiration from Japan’s Hanami, and aims to bring all generations outdoors to boost tourism and help people connect with nature.

Research recently published by the National Trust revealed that blossom is in decline. As a result, the Trust has committed to plant 4 million blossom trees and new traditional orchards on land in their care.

Gwynne, a keen gardener and fan of blossom, has encouraged residents to get involved, and snapped some blossom pictures of his own.

Commenting, Andrew Gwynne said: 

“#BlossomWatch is such a fantastic initiative to celebrate the beautiful blossom we have across the local area.

It’s a huge worry that blossom is in decline, so I’m really grateful to the National Trust for doing their utmost to protect it. I always love the blossom that appears on my own road, which I’ve snapped and shared below. I’d love to see residents across Audenshaw, Denton, Dukinfield, Reddish and the Heaton’s sharing their own pictures!”

Last week, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the March of the Living as part of the UK delegation.

Taking place in Poland, the March of the Living is an annual Holocaust memorial and education programme, which includes a march to commemorate people murdered and persecuted by the Nazi regime.

From Monday through to Thursday, myself and other delegates from around the world met Holocaust survivors and were shown the death camps built to carry out the murder of 6 million Jews and those who didn’t fit into the perverted ideology of the Nazis.

It was an utterly harrowing experience. Walking into Auschwitz, beneath the infamous sign that reads ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ (‘work makes you free’) you are hit by the sickening scale of the Holocaust.

Auschwitz itself resembles a factory, built not for producing, but for the destruction of lives. The sense of tragedy is suffocating. You see images of the people who were so brutally murdered, the men, women and children who were robbed of their humanity, killed by a sick ideology intent on removing an entire race from the face of the earth.

Throughout the trip, I kept asking myself the question “how could human beings do this?”

I don’t have an answer. The horrors are beyond comprehension. But they serve as a reminder of what happens when politics is weaponised by hate and bigotry.

Among the heartbreak of the trip, there were inspiring moments of profound hope. Our delegation was led around the sites by Mala, a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor. Mala has seen the worst of humanity, yet still manages to be joyful and optimistic about what the future holds.

The March itself reinforced this optimism.

I stood with thousands of delegates, Holocaust survivors and Jewish people who had come to take part in the event.

I was struck by the image of Jewish people of all ages following a route that, 80 years earlier, had been the site of such horrors. It felt like an act of courage, of defiance. A profound rebuke to the sickness of Nazism and fascism. Despite the millions of lives lost, hate did not win.

It is for this reason that Holocaust education is so important. What the Nazis did must never, ever be allowed to happen again.

That means all of us, across Tameside and across the country, have a duty to call-out hate in our daily lives, to stand up for what’s right, and to pass on these principles to future generations. ‘Never again’ must be more than words, it must also be deeds.

 ST GEORGE'S DAY PARADE  

Well done to all the community groups in Dane Bank and the West End of Denton for organising a brilliant St George’s Day parade from St George’s Church down to the Fun Day event in Thornley Park.

Well done to all involved including Team Denton West!

DENTON CLASSIC CAR SHOW

I had a great morning last weekend helping to judge some of the categories in the annual Tameside Car Collectors’ show on the Civic Square. 

A BIG well done to the organisers.

OUT AND ABOUT IN REDDISH 

I had a fantastic canvassing session last Friday afternoon in Reddish.

We’ve three amazing candidates seeking election on May 4th who will be brilliant Labour and Co-operative Councillors for the area.

If you live in Reddish South, Heaton Chapel, Heaton Norris and Lancashire Hill, I can’t think of anyone better for you to give your support to in these “all-out” local elections.

They’re local, they’re proactive, they’re committed to the area and - even though they’re not yet elected - they’re already getting results for residents, and it’s showing in the great response we’ve been getting on the doorsteps!

Remember you have 3 votes this time. Use all three to elect:
David White
Jo Williams,
Paul Wright

And remember your Photo ID too!

#3VotesForLabour The Reddish South Labour Team

 WATCH: Recently, I raised my concerns about the dreadful litter on the M60 and M67 in Denton. I was told by National Highways that it was inspected and given a Grade B (no immediate action required).

This is totally unacceptable, and the Secretary of State transport has a legal duty to ensure that roads on the strategic network are kept clean.

I ask the House of Commons Leader if we can have a statement on this issue from the Secretary of State.

 WATCH: In Electoral Commissioner Qs, as well as in the Voter ID Urgent Question, I raise the issue of immunocompromised people being forced to remove face masks in polling stations.

The Govt's failure to engage with immunocompromised, CV, and CEV people is very concerning.

 WATCH: We have a statement on the Gambling Act Review, which sets out changes to regulations which have been in place since 2005.

This is a long overdue review. I raise the issue of underage gambling, which is a huge problem that has been exacerbated by changes online.

I ask what steps the Government will take to ensure that this review keeps up with the ever-changing demands of the digital world.

WATCH: We have an urgent question on Ukraine in Parliament. Following Putin's dreadful invasion, British Armed Forces have been training Ukrainian forces on the ground.

I ask the Minister, with conflict expected to increase in Ukraine, what more can be done to accelerate this training program.

WATCH: Today, the Conservatives voted against Labour's plans to tackle raw sewage being pumped into our waterways.

Just before the vote, I spoke about why this scandal is so unacceptable. We all deserve access to green spaces and clean waterways.

We need automatic fines for sewage dumping, and Government action to clamp down on this dreadful practise.

WATCH: A child growing up in Blackpool will live 8 years less than a child born in Kensington.

I make no apologies for 'chuntering about children' when ordinary families are paying the price for this Tory Government's failure to tackle health inequalities.

Labour would scrap the non-dim tax status, and use the cash to pay for 5,000 new health visitors, so that every child has the best start to life.

 READ: Thanks to The i for covering my comments in Parliament on immunocompromised people needing to remove facemasks in polling stations.

CV, CEV and immunocompromised people feel totally forgotten by the Government. The response from the Minister in Parliament today was not even close to sufficient.

Read the full piece here.