Dear Constituent,

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

As some of you may have seen, this week I have had to take a temporary step back from Parliament to care for my Dad, who is currently receiving end of life care. My constituency office is still open for casework, and my team is continuing my work in Westminster. I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who has sent kind messages to me and the family, it has been most appreciated. 

There's still a fair amount to update you on (after all, it's been a dramatic week in Westminster - to put it mildly!) and this week's newsletter has been guest-edited by my office. 

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, commenting on the resignation of Boris Johnson said:

“This whole sorry saga is like nothing I have seen in my entire political career. We’ve had to put up with a dishonest, inept and arrogant Prime Minister, propped up by spineless Tory MPs. They’ve finally forced him to resign, but only after he had done lasting damage to our national institutions and inflicted chaos on the public in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

Let’s be clear, the Prime Minister needs to go immediately. Not in a couple of months, but right now. If the last few days have proven anything, it is that it would be profoundly reckless to leave the keys of Number 10 in the hands of Boris Johnson. He has disregarded convention and tradition, and in the process incapacitated entire Government departments.

He’s lost over a third of his Government, and it is not right for the Tories to inflict upon the country a lame duck Prime Minister who can’t even command the respect of his Cabinet, let alone the electorate.

The Labour Party have been clear. If the Tories do not have the guts to get rid of him, we will act in the national interest and force a Vote of No Confidence in the Prime Minister in Parliament.

But I also want to be clear that removing one man will not remove the rot at the heart of the Conservative Party. The Tories have been in Government for 12 years, and in that time have unpicked our public services, left communities like mine in the lurch, and obliterated trust in politics.

We need a fresh start for Britain, and that simply can’t happen under the Tories. It’s time for a proper change of Government."

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has welcomed the news that a multi-million pound transformation of Stepping Hill Hospital has been given the go-ahead.

The approval means that A&E and urgent care services will be ‘significantly improved’, and that a major new facility will be built for a ‘more efficient’ treatment centre.

Building work will commence this year, and will include a new children’s emergency department, enhanced mental health care, and medical same-day emergency care. Gwynne has long-called for improvements to be made to the Hospital, which has suffered from some of the highest waiting times in the country, and has called the news ‘a step in the right direction’

Commenting, Andrew Gwynne said:

“I’m pleased that this approval has been granted, and that tens of thousands of people across Stockport are set to benefit from better care and state-of-the-art facilities.

I’m also glad that there is a focus on children’s and mental health care. We know that there is a huge unmet need across the country for mental health care, and it is great that Stockport aims to lead the way on this.

I’ve been calling for improvements to be made to Stepping Hill for many years. People across Stockport deserve access to the very best care, and this is a step in the right direction.”

Last Friday, it was my pleasure to present Haughton Green community campaigner Cathy Newton with the latest of my Citizen’s Awards.

Cathy is the founder of Forever Green Community Group, a brilliant voluntary organisation which organises regular events in the village. She has also secured the installation of four life saving defibrillators across Denton South.

Nominated by several members of the public, I was delighted to present her with this Award to recognise her achievements, along with Team Denton South (minus Councillor Jack Naylor who had COVID).

Well done Cathy!

As people will know, this is a cause very close to my heart, so I was delighted when they were nominated by the public for one of my Citizen’s Awards.

On Saturday morning I took time out to visit Florence, her mum Jenny Croce, Shaun Delaney and Massimino Malacrino to present them with awards to recognise their incredible fundraising efforts. I was joined by Dunkinfield Councillors Naila Sharif and Jackie Lane.

Florence Croce has Late-Infantile Gangliosidosis, or GM1, a genetic disorder that progressively destroys the brain and spinal cord, slowly taking away her ability to walk, talk and swallow.

Since her diagnosis, Florence’s family and friends have been tirelessly raising funds so they can ensure Florence gets the best treatment possible, and to help make memories for her and her family.

Jenny and the whole team are so inspiring, and it was an honour to visit them at home and present them with Citizen’s Awards to recognise their untiring dedication to supporting Florence. 

What a fun afternoon I had last Friday at the opening of the Tameside Wellness Centre rooftop gym and sensory garden along with Denton Councillors Allison Gwynne, Denise Ward, Vincent Ricci, Claire Reid and George Newton.

And what a great use of the roof space it is. There’s a sensory garden area (still to be planted out); some warm-up gym equipment like cross-trainers and cycling; and a heavy duty gym including weightlifting. Still to be installed are two 30 metre running tracks and a circuit training area.

It’s a brilliant investment in public health and leisure facilities. Well done Active Tameside!

READ: Thanks to the Tameside Reporter for covering my Citizen's Awards to the incredible Florence, her mum Jenny Croce, Shaun Delaney and Massimino Malacrino.

They've done so much to raise money for an amazing cause, and it was an honour to present them with these awards. 

Read the full story here.👈

READ: Also In this week's Tameside Reporter , I've written about Labour's commitment to create a National Care Service, with the same level of ambition Nye Bevan had when he envisioned the NHS, and what it means for Tameside.

For too long, social care has been allowed to flounder. We need to take action to ensure that no matter where you live you get the care that you deserve.

Read the full column here.👈

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