Hello and welcome to this week's edition of the Denton and Reddish weekly news! 

I hope you had a good week and are looking forward to the long weekend. Last Saturday, I finally did it and took part in a Wing Walk for Florence. It was such an incredible experience, and for such a worthy cause. A reminder that if you are able to, you can still sponsor me here.

A reminder too that Friends of the Tame Valley are hosting two Balsam Bashing sessions this Saturday and next Wednesday. Scroll down to the community board to find out more!

I am delighted to announce that, at the next General Election, I will be standing as the Labour candidate for the new Gorton and Denton parliamentary constituency.

Because of boundary changes, the current Denton and Reddish seat is being abolished. The Audenshaw and Dukinfield wards will go into the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency, Reddish North and South will move into the Stockport constituency and the three Denton wards will be joined with Gorton & Abbey Hey, Longsight, Levenshulme and Burnage in the city of Manchester to form a new Gorton and Denton constituency.

Until the General Election, I remain the Member of Parliament for Denton and Reddish, and fully committed to the job at hand that I was elected to do. I want to thank the incredible local representatives and residents across Audenshaw, Dukinfield, Reddish North and Reddish South who have made – and continue to make – my job such a pleasure.

Read my full statement here.

On Monday morning, I was invited in my capacity as Labour’s Shadow Minister for Public Health to the launch of Labour’s Health Mission in Essex.

I’ve been the Shadow Minister since 2021. Public Health is a broad term, but essentially covers the health of the population as a whole. It’s about things like life expectancy, disease prevention, obesity, smoking and quite a bit more. It’s a fascinating thing to work on, and something that I’ve been passionate about for many years.

We all have a right to lead happy, healthy lives, irrespective of where we grow up or the money in our pockets. When I was growing up in Denton, I remember feeling horrified when I discovered that some of my best friends would – on average – live ten years less than me. Not because they were some kind of daredevils, but because their environment (i.e. their housing, diet, financial circumstances and more) made them more likely to get ill younger.

Tackling this inequality in health outcomes is why I accepted the Public Health job in the first place, and why I was so pleased to see Keir Starmer setting out a bold and ambitious vision for the future.

The next Labour Government has committed to meeting all major NHS targets by the end of its first time, and to driving down waiting times across the board.

These goals are ambitious, but totally achievable. They would be achieved by shifting care from the hospital to the community, by recruiting thousands more NHS staff, and by taking action to prevent people becoming sick in the first place.  

If this all sounds a bit ‘pie in the sky’ to you, I don’t blame you. The NHS is in such a crisis, it’s hard to imagine anything beyond that. But another future is possible, one where the NHS is there for everyone who needs it. It’s been done before. When Labour left office in 2010 the NHS had the lowest waiting times and highest patient satisfaction levels on record.

If we can make this mission a reality, it will be truly transformative for Tameside. I know from my own casework that local people are really struggling to access care when they need to, in spite of the heroic efforts of burnt-out NHS staff.

This must not be allowed to go on. It’s time to build an NHS that is fit for the future.

WING WALK FOR FLORENCE  

 WATCH: Last year, the PM promised to recruit 700 staff to the Small Boat Operational Command.

I ask the Home Sec how many have been appointed since. She hasn't the foggiest.

Perhaps she should spend less time trying to dodge speeding courses, and more time doing her job...

 WATCH: Ministers clearly know that the Civil Servants who were asked by the Home Secretary to request something in breach of the Ministerial Code correctly reported it to the Cabinet Office’s proprietary and ethics team, so why won’t the PM launch an investigation into a breach of the Ministerial Code? 

 WATCH: Labour is leading a debate on it's plans for leaseholder reform. The arcane system we currently have denies far too many people a say over their own homes. It also leaves people vulnerable to sharp practises and unjust fees.

It's time we consigned this system to the dustbin of history.

 WATCH: We have a Westminster Hall Debate on Healthy Start, a really important NHS scheme that helps women who are pregnant or families with young children and are receiving benefits, buy foods such as milk or fruit.

However, uptake remains below the Government's target, and there have been concerns raised about the level of support in the face of soaring inflation.

I press the Minister on what he plans to do to ensure families with young children are supported during this cost-of-living crisis.

 WATCH: We have a debate on the conditions of school buildings across the country.
I raise the plight of Russell Scott Primary School in Denton, where pupils and staff are having to put up with a crumbling building because of a botched job by the collapsed construction giant Carillion.

After years of campaigning, the School was added Government's rebuilding programme, but there has been little updates since that welcome announcement. I'll be meeting with the Minister to discuss my concerns in more detail.

 WATCH: We have a Westminster Hall debate on Dentistry in the South West, which I respond to as Labour's Shadow Public Health Minister.

This follows a series of other similiar debates over the last few weeks, highlighting the strength of feeling in Parliament about the crisis in dentistry.

We urgently need to see the Government get a grip on this. Patients are waiting in agony, and so-called 'dentistry deserts' are popping up right across the country.

 WATCH: This week, the G20 Tourism Working Group are meeting in Kashmir.
As Chair of Labour Friends of Kashmir, I'm urging the UK to raise the issue of human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir.

We must bring all sides together for a peaceful resolution, acceptable to the Kashmiri people.

WATCH: On Monday, Labour set out its vision of an NHS fit for the future.

An NHS that is there when people need it, with the staff, technology and reform it needs to thrive. After 13 years of Tory mismanagement and neglect, change can't come soon enough.

Great to speak on GB News about our plans, and also about why Rishi Sunak should grow a backbone and stand up to his Home Secretary!

 READ: Thanks to the Tameside Reporter for covering my Wing Walk for Florence. Such a terrifying but thrilling experience and all for a good cause. 

Read the full piece here.