Dear Constituent,

Welcome to Denton and Reddish Weekly News.
 

I hope that you've had a lovely week. There's lots to update you on after a busy few days in Parliament and across Denton and Reddish. 

A reminder too that this Sunday Friends of the Tame Valley will be meeting at 10:30am at Dunkirk Lane Car Park (SatNav: SK14 4PL) for our next community litter pick. 

Anyone interested in tidying up the Tame Valley and surrounding areas is welcome to come along!

Denton and Reddish continues to stand with the people of Ukraine.

 I’m supporting the British Red Cross's humanitarian effort in Ukraine along with Team Denton South (who set up the gofundme page) and Cllr Allison Gwynne. Please donate if you can to the fundraising page.

We hope that every donation will in some way help the people of Ukraine at this extremely traumatic time.👇
https://www.gofundme.com/.../help-ukraine-wear-yellow-or...

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has again reiterated his long-standing anger at the proposal to create a A6 to M60 bypass which would see Stockport traffic diverted away from Hazel Grove and to the M60 and the A57 through Denton.

On Thursday Stockport Councillors considered an agenda item asking the Council to “Restate its commitment to seek funding and work towards the development of the Outline Business Case for the A6 to M60 relief road link”

Commenting, Andrew Gwynne said: 

“I do not support this proposal at all as it is completely flawed in its conclusions. There has been no assessment made of the impact on the Denton roundabout and no assessment of the likely build up of traffic on the A57.

“I also do not support the building of a road through the Goyt Valley which will result in increased air, noise and light pollution without in any way providing a long-term solution to the problem of increased traffic. Quite simply, the proposal does not solve the problem of congestion in Hazel Grove, it is instead moving the problem to a neighbouring areas, including Denton, which is absolutely unacceptable.

Mr Gwynne added “In my view the investment needs to go into upgrading and improving rail networks, and I urge Stockport Tories to think again when bringing this devastating proposal forward for consideration.”

Last Wednesday, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak stepped up to the despatch box in the House of Commons and delivered his ‘Spring Statement’. In essence a mini-budget, the Spring Statement was billed as being the means by which the Government would address the cost-of-living crisis.

The statistics are stark. Inflation hit a 30-year high of 6.2% in February and is expected to continue rising. The energy price cap is due to be lifted in April, from £1,277 to £1,971. The Office for Budget Responsibilities (OBR) has forecasted that in 2022-2023 households will suffer their “biggest fall in living standards in any single financial year” since records began.

Behind every one of these statistics are ordinary working people struggling to make ends meet, families not being able to get food on the table, and individuals staring in disbelief at astronomic energy bills. I know that many people across Tameside would have been anxiously watching the Chancellor’s statement, waiting for some sort of action or support from the Government.

Instead, what they got was a paper-thin plan, that will result in families paying £3,000 more in tax. This – coupled with the biggest real terms cut to state pension in 50 years and the slashing of Universal Credit – will only exacerbate the extreme financial pressures that families are currently facing.

There were several measures that the Chancellor could have taken that would have eased the burden on families. He could have scrapped his tax rise on jobs, or introduced a windfall tax on oil and gas companies to cut household goods. He could have brought forward a plan that would have supported British businesses whilst creating high-quality jobs.  He chose to do none of these things.

We cannot continue the path that the Chancellor has set us on. It is bad for families, bad for the economy and ultimately bad for the country. Here in Tameside, Council leaders are doing everything they can to support local people. However, without meaningful action from central Government, we will continue to face an uphill battle.

The Conservatives have now had 12 years in power, and in that time living standards have plummeted whilst cost-of-living has soared. We need a Government that understands the scale of the crisis that families across the country face and takes meaningful action to support those it represents.

Unfortunately, I left the Chamber on Wednesday feeling distinctly like we had the wrong people for the job.

 WATCH: Parliament begins today with Defence Questions and I’m on the Order Paper with a question on UK support to NATO. I ask about boosting the cyber resilience across the Alliance given Russia (and China) are using cyber attacks in the West.

 WATCH: Today the Transport Secretary has come to the Commons with a pretty robust set of measures to try and force P&O’s hands. In particular the power for ports to ban ships docking where the workforce is paid less than the national minimum wage.

WATCH: The All Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus has secured a debate on Long Covid in the workplace this afternoon.

As we ‘learn to live’ with Covid then we need a cross-government approach to Long Covid, seeing it not just as a health issue, but as an issue for employers and employees, and indeed the DWP, too. I also speak about my own struggles with the condition.

 WATCH: We have an Opposition Day debate calling on the Government to release the security advice to the Prime Minister on the granting of a Peerage to Lord Lebedev of Siberia. It’s time to shine transparency on the Kremlin’s links to the Tory Party, and on dirty money in our politics. It’s time to clear it all up. Why do the Tories protest so much?

WATCH: Cabinet Office Questions is the only opportunity to question the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. I ask him to look at separating the Lieutenancies from current local government structures, restoring this ceremonial function to align with our traditional and historic Counties.

 WATCH: The Education Secretary has come to Parliament to outline his White Paper intent on driving up standards. There’s much I disagree with him on, but there’s also some good in this White Paper. I also make a cheeky bid for Russell Scott Primary School again!

WATCH: Today we have a debate on Covid regulations relating to sick pay and criminal justice provisions.
I raise with the Minister the awful lack of clarity from the Government to Clinically Vulnerable, Clinically Extremely Vulnerable and immunocompromised people, as well as the woeful state of sick pay provisions.

 WATCH: As there were “bobbing slots” at Defence Topical Questions, I thought I’d ask for an update on recognising Britain’s Nuclear Test veterans. Not much of an answer but at least it keeps this injustice on the Minister’s radar. It’s time to do right by these veterans and their families.

 WATCH: At Women and Equalities Questions, I ask about the invidious practice of “conversion therapy”. The Government committed to banning it almost three years ago. I ask the Minister what’s taking so long.

 WATCH: The Foreign Secretary has just come to the House to update us on the appalling situation in Ukraine. I ask her about the reports that Putin now wants to carve Ukraine in two. That would be as unacceptable as the illegal invasion.

WATCH: At Cabinet Office Questions I raise the issue of public procurement. One of the opportunities of being outside of the EU is that neither councils nor government bodies are bound by EU procurement rules. There was a workaround anyway (as Tameside Council did in 2008) but I call for a Britain Works First strategy favouring small and medium sized businesses in contracts.

WATCH: Another Urgent Question has been granted on the shambles of the Government’s programme for registering Ukrainian refugees. The forms are far too bureaucratic and the last thing somebody fleeing war thinks about is bringing a utility bill to upload. I ask how this can be streamlined.

 WATCH: Labour secured an Urgent Question on the appalling treatment of P&O Ferries’ British workforce. The Government is now promising a package of tough measures to be brought to Parliament later this week. It will be interesting to see whether the measures match the Minister’s rhetoric. I hope so.

 WATCH: Russian forces in Ukraine are using rape and violence as a weapon of war. It’s disgraceful and the perpetrators need to be brought to account for their disgusting crimes. I ask what extra support and mental health services will be available to Ukrainian refugees in Britain

Today I’m mainly doing the Tame Valley!

My first meeting of the day was a lovely Spring walk around Jet Amber Fields with John from Bloom At Leap (Greenscape) a local social enterprise who have helped the Friends of the Tame Valley maintain the area in 2021-22.

This morning we were discussing the work programme for 2022 and beyond!
#TameValleyFriends

Next I’m off to Reddish Vale to look at Network Rail’s engineering work around the Tame Viaduct (16 Arches) after extensive riverbank erosion put the structure at risk.

Thank you to Network Rail for showing me the emergency engineering works they’ve carried out around the Tame Viaduct (known locally as the 16 Arches) in Reddish Vale Country Park.

This is the point where Denton becomes Reddish, and the viaduct is a critical piece of transport infrastructure carrying the line from Manchester to Sheffield.

The river bank has eroded over time, and the River Tame has changed course as a consequence. That placed one of the viaduct pillars under threat of collapse and so a programme to reprofile the river bank with new rocks (from Shap) which will soon be topsoiled and seeded.

The total project has cost £2.6 million and storm Eunice necessitated speeding up the work while the crews were on site. Looking at the final photo (of how the river bank was before) it’s a good job this work was done.
Thank you to Network Rail for showing me the work.

It was my pleasure yesterday evening to drop into #DestinationDenton’s newest offering: Ornella's Kitchen, a new Italian Deli at Crown Point.

There’s lots of good quality Italian fare on offer, to eat in and to take-away… Ornella’s have had an amazing online presence for some time and it’s great to see it open as a shop too.

Good luck to Ornella and the Team. It’s well worth a visit.

PS, the cannoli is to die for!

 

WATCH: On BBC Politics Live we're responding to PMQs. The Government doesn't realise just how serious the cost of living crisis is.

Promises for 2024 aren't going to cut it for people who are struggling to pay rent and put food on the table. We need the Government to act, now.

 

READ: Thanks to the BBC, Independent and Evening Standard for all running stories on comments I made during Thursday's excellent debate on the impact of #LongCovid on work.

We can - and need - to do much more in this area. I remain massively grateful to Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, for making reasonable adjustments for me. We now need other workplaces to do the same.