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This week in Denton & Reddish
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** Dear Constituent,
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Hello and welcome to this week's edition of the Denton and Reddish weekly news!

This week has seen some fantastic community events, plenty of campaigning, and debates on lots of really important issues in Parliament.

Another busy week, so time for a 60 second recap!
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A reminder too that this weekend there'll be a summer fayre at St Elisabeth's Church in Reddish, plus the start of a treasure hunt in Jet Amber Fields!

Scroll down to the community board at the bottom of this newsletter for more info!
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Headlines

The nature of my job means that I often find myself on trains. Some travelling to home to Manchester, others to London, and the rest to various media, campaigning and constituency events.

I’ve been doing this since 2005, so have seen an awful lot of the rail network. What always strikes me, however, is how rapidly the service for passengers has declined over the last 13 years.

Not only are fares more expensive, but cancellations are more frequent. On Monday I had to get over to Selby for by-election campaigning. My transpennine direct train was cancelled, meaning I had to get on a train to Huddersfield, then York, then Selby.

I don’t tell this story for sympathy, but instead to paint a picture of what many millions of commuters have to go through in one form or another every week in Britain. In 2023, it is frankly staggering that travelling from one part of the country to another is still fraught with pitfalls, cancellations and poor service.

Sadly, our railways are not the only public service that has suffered from mismanagement and neglect. We’ve all seen the stories of sewage being pumped routinely into our waterways, of the Government sitting on its hands and refusing to clamp down on this practice.

So too has our NHS suffered. Despite the efforts of heroic NHS staff, 13 years of neglect and mismanagement have left us with a burned-out workforce and the highest waiting times and the lowest patient satisfaction ratings on record.

Given these problems, and combined with soaring inflation and rising mortgage costs, it’s no surprise that constituents regularly ask me “Why does nothing work in Britain?”.

It’s important, however, that we don’t get despondent. Things can and will get better, but it requires political will.

That’s why I’ve been so pleased to hear Labour’s plans to tackle these issues in the round. To sort our railways, to tackle failing water companies and to give our NHS the staff, technology and reform it needs to thrive.

That these pledges sound ambitious is an indication of just how far things have fallen over the last 13 years.

But I’m certain that with a fresh start under Keir Starmer, we can get to work in improving the lives of the people I represent across Tameside.

That’s why I got into politics, and in 5 years’ time I hope to be able to look back on this article with bemusement, from a Britain where things actually work for ordinary people.

There are few things that I feel more strongly about then the importance of excellent community fire stations. For obvious reasons, it is essential that people right across Reddish and the Heatons are served by fire staff who are based nearby and on hand to respond swiftly to any emergency that comes their way.

That’s why I was so delighted that Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, as part of their major overhaul of fire stations, have earmarked Stockport Community Fire Station on King Street West as the site for a brand new, state-of-the-art fire station.

When this plan was first announced, there was talk of Whitehill fire station being closed and merged onto the new Stockport Community site. However, after tireless campaigning from local residents and representatives, GMFRS made the welcome announcement that both Stockport and Whitehill stations will remain operational. This decision was a real victory for local people and shows the importance of community engagement on these issues. I know that local councillors across Stockport are also working hard to challenge proposals to make Offerton Fire Station a daytime-only model.

Our fire and rescue services deserve to be given all the tools they need to do their vital jobs. Since 2016, £140m has been cut from fire services national. It’s therefore really important that we do everything we can here in Stockport to not only protect fire stations, but also invest in their future.

I look forward to continuing this work with local councillors and residents, and to seeing the new Stockport Community Fire Station become a reality.
Andrew in Parliament
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📺 WATCH: In Foreign Office questions, I raise the plight of Hong Kongers who have fled Chinese repression.

I ask the Minister what steps her Department is taking, alongside our international counterparts, to support Hong Kongers seeking refuge.
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📺 WATCH: I'm closing my second Westminster Hall Debate of the day, this time on the Government's HIV Action Plan.

We have made great strides in reducing HIV prevalence and improving care for those living with HIV. However, there are still real problems with access to services and persistent health inequalities.

I'm hopeful though, that with the right action, we can meet our goal of no new cases of HIV in England by 2030.
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📺 WATCH: We have a debate on access to radiotherapy in Westminster Hall. I close as Labour's Shadow Minister for Public Health.

It's just over a year since my Dad passed away. Towards the end of his life, radiotherapy gave him precious additional time with his friends and family.

But nationally there's a real problem with staffing and access, with some deprived and rural communities facing far worse health outcomes as a result. We need to see urgency from the Government in tackling this issue.
Andrew in the constituency


** 🐴 FRIENDS OF THE HORSES FIELD DANE BANK 🐴
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Thank you to the Friends of the Horses Field Dane Bank ([link removed]) for inviting me to open their Fun Day at St George's Community Centre ([link removed]) last weekend.

I’ve been involved with this group since 1996, both as a Denton West Councillor and then as the MP.

They’ve been instrumental in protecting this public open space on the edge of the Tame Valley for three decades now, and still have the active support of the Team Denton West ([link removed]) Councillors and myself.

This year the group has been working closely with the tenant on the field to make it better for grazing and for the public to use. It was lovely to join them with City of Trees ([link removed]) in April to plant saplings on the edge of the field too, hopefully increasing biodiversity over time. 🐝 🦋 🐞


** 🎠 DCC'S SUMMER BLAST! 🎠
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We had a great time at Denton Community College's Summer Blast last weekend. As ever, there was so much to see and do.

Just some of the highlights were:
Free face painting 🎨
Free pony rides 🐴
Free bouncy castles 🏰
Free smoothies on the Juice Bike 🚴
Lots of craft and charity stalls 🧶
Birds of Prey 🦅
Creepy Crawlies and Snakes 🐍
Fun fair rides 🎠
Mickey Mouse 🐭
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service 🚒
Greater Manchester Police Cadets 🚓
Hot food 🌭
Tameside Radio 🎤
Ensemble theatre 🎭

Well done to Hayley and the team for organising such a fantastic day for ALL of the community!


** ☪️ Post-Eid party at the Pakistani Community Centre ☪️
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A massive thank you to Longsight Councillor Abid Chohan ([link removed]) for inviting me to a superb post-Eid party at the Pakistani Community Centre ([link removed]) on Sunday night.

It was a fantastic night with lots of great music, entertainment and amazing food. But most importantly of all, brilliant company.

As Longsight will be part of my new constituency, it’s so good to be able to make friends ahead of the next election. Thanks to Afzal Khan MP ([link removed]) for welcoming me so kindly into his current patch.

Eid-al-Adhar is the Festival of Sacrifice, remembering when Ibrahim (Abraham) was prepared to sacrifice his first son Ismail (Ishmael) to show their devotion to God. God intervened at the last minute, seeing their devotion was real, and permitted the sacrifice of a lamb in the son’s place. This story, to Muslims, exemplifies the devotion one must have to God.
Andrew in the the media

📰READ: Thanks to the Stockport Express ([link removed]) for covering my thoughts on the awful proposal to close over 1,000 ticket offices across England, including at Reddish North and Heatons Chapel stations.

Ticket offices make our railways more accessible, and are great ways of getting help on disrupted journeys. This plan will cost jobs and hurt passengers. I'll fight it tooth and nail.

Read the full piece here ([link removed]) .
Community Board

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