City MP Stephen Morgan started Carers Week this year by attending a special speednetworking event with carers and charities in Westminster, pledging his support to unpaid carers in Portsmouth.

He also ended the week with a visit to Portsmouth Carers Centre where he met with staff and some unpaid carers from across the city, listened to concerns and offered his support.

Carers Week celebrates and recognises the vital contribution made by the 6.5 million people across the UK who currently provide care and support to a family member or friend who has a disability, illness, mental health problem or who needs extra help as they grow older.

Eight national charities have come together to call for urgent support for unpaid carers to be Healthy and Connected as new research released at the start of Carers Week reveals the toll that caring can take on many carers’ own health and wellbeing.

Stephen Morgan MP said:

“It was good to be able to show my support for the carers in our great city by meeting with representatives this week. 

As someone who used to run a charity which supports young carers I know how valuable support to carers is. Unpaid carers make a huge contribution to our communities in Portsmouth, providing vital and often hidden support to friends and family members, and it is right that we value them and ensure they have the right support at the right time.

I look forward to working with the Carers charities, and, with unpaid carers across the city, to make a difference to their lives.”

Heléna Herklots CBE, Chief Executive of Carers UK, on behalf of Carers Week, said:

“Without the unpaid care provided every year by family and friends, our health and care services would collapse. Yet, caring for a loved one too often means carers neglect their own mental and physical health.

Finding the time and space to be healthy, get enough sleep and maintain relationships with others are all huge challenges identified by carers. By working together during Carers Week we have a huge opportunity to make our communities more Carer Friendly and make a difference to those who contribute so much.”

Carers Week 2018 is made possible by Carers UK joining forces with Age UK, Carers Trust, Independent Age, Macmillan Cancer Support, the Motor Neurone Disease Association, MS Society and Which? Elderly Care and kindly supported by Nutricia Advanced Medical Nutrition.

Thank you for contacting me regarding the EU Withdrawal Bill and for making me aware of your views.

Sadly, the UK Government decided that when they were drawing up the timetable, that 12 hours would be sufficient to debate and vote on the most important issue facing the UK since the Second World War. The Labour Party opposed that timetable and forced the government to hold debates and votes over two days. We still did not believe that this was sufficient, but the UK Government were not prepared to move any further on this.

It is also worth clarifying that due to the Government’s deal with the DUP, the only way the combined opposition can win any vote is if Tory members do not support the government position.

Over the past few days, there have been a number of votes on a whole host of different issues posed by Brexit. I have outlined what happened in these votes below.

Meaningful vote

The UK Government managed to bluff their way out of a defeat on giving Parliament a meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal by striking a deal with some of their rebel backbenchers, who originally appeared to be prepared to support Labour amendments.

However, this has already begun to unravel with Theresa May saying that the deal struck meant one thing and the rebel backbenchers saying that the deal meant another. Dominic Grieve MP (one of the backbenchers) said on Question Time this week that we would be pressing the government further over the next week to clarify their position on this matter, and if necessary he will use parliamentary mechanisms to ensure that parliament does have a meaningful vote at the end of the process.

To us in the Labour Party, it is so important that Parliament has a meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal. It is vital that the government is under no illusions that the UK Parliament will not endorse a ‘no deal’ Brexit and will instruct the government to go back to the EU and renegotiate if it looks like ‘no deal’ is the likely outcome.

The Scottish devolution settlement

From the outset of the EU Withdrawal Bill process Scottish Labour has made clear the devolution process must be protected.

We have made clear that we support efforts to improve the deal but would not stand for any political game playing.

The initial Clause 11 proposals were completely unacceptable. We have supported work from other parties, as well as making attempts ourselves, to put down amendments to the legislation.

While there has been some progress in strengthening the proposed legislation, voting against the current proposals earlier this week could have taken the legislation back to the very original offer, which would be far more damaging.

To be clear, if Clause 15 had been defeated it would have reverted back to the even more flawed Clause 11 resulting in all powers in devolved areas which are coming back from Brussels by-passing Scotland and going straight to Westminster. Scottish Labour could not vote for that to happen.

There is no question that the blame for this situation lies squarely at the door of the Tories. However, the behaviour and vote of the SNP in the Commons was the worst example of the political game playing we have consistently pledged to avoid on this vital and important issue.

The Labour Party proposed further amendments to the devolution element of the bill. Our amendment would have removed the odd definition of consent that meant consent constitutes giving consent or not giving consent. We also proposed a reduction of the ‘Sunset Clause’ from 5 years to 3 years after the we leave the EU and that the only time the UK Government could legislate without the permission of the Scottish Parliament is where the UK Government have reason to believe that not acting would leave them in breach of international obligations – a provision that is already contained within the Scotland Act.

I have written to the UK Government calling for immediate cross-party talks and to bring in legal and constitutional experts to assist their discussions and to ensure that the Scottish devolution settlement is protected. It is incumbent upon the UK Government to fix the mess that they have created.

The Labour Party is the party of devolution, and I can assure you that we will continue to protect it at every turn.

European Economic Area

It’s vital that any final Brexit agreement delivers a strong relationship with the Single Market and that there is no drop in rights, standards or our ability to trade freely in services after we leave the EU. Labour has been clear in its six tests that we will not support any Brexit deal that fails to deliver that and that the government needs to do far more to prioritise the benefits of the Single Market.

The Lords amendment on this issue set out a very specific way to achieve a new relationship with the Single Market – by remaining in the EEA, the so-called Norway Model.

I understand why there is sympathy for this approach. Norway has a high-level participation in the Single Market and it has strong protections for rights and standards.

However, there are also real drawbacks and limitations to the UK adopting this model. There is almost no flexibility in accepting the four freedoms (including freedom of movement), having very little say over EU rules and, crucially, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are outside of a customs union with the EU. As it stands, the EEA cannot meet the commitment to no hard border in Northern Ireland.

So this is far from an ideal solution for the UK, which is why I did not support this amendment.

Instead, I supported an alternative Labour amendment tabled by Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer, which would require the government to negotiate a new UK-EU Single Market agreement that would protect jobs, the economy and rights.

The other tabled amendments, to the Customs Bill and Trade Bill, would require the government to negotiate:

• Full access to the Single Market
• No new impediments to trade
• Common rights, standards and protections as a minimum
• Underpinned by shared institution and regulations

Rather than binding the UK to follow the EEA route, this amendment set out a framework for a close future relationship with the EU and would ensure that Brexit does not lead to a race to the bottom on rights or to new barriers for UK businesses. Taken alongside Labour’s commitment to negotiate a new customs union with the EU, it also provides a viable solution to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland.

Sadly, the UK Government were unwilling to support this amendment, even though it would have been in line with their manifesto commitment to leave the Single Market but maintain a close and collaborative relationship with the EU – one that includes no barriers or impediments to businesses.

On Monday 18^th June there will be a further opportunity to persuade the government to come to the negotiating table and I will be setting out once again Labour’s proposals to move this debate on the devolution settlement forward.

I hope that helps outline my position the EU Withdrawal Bill and the events of this week.

The post Brexit update – 15th June 2018 appeared first on Lesley Laird.

Today is one of those rare Fridays when I’m in Parliament rather than Llanelli to support Private Members’ Bills like the one Gina Martin has been championing to make upskirting a specific sexual offence. I met Gina earlier this week to hear about her tireless campaigning to change the law so that creeps who take photos up women’s skirts can be prosecuted properly.

We in Labour have supported this Bill from the start and I’m glad the Government has finally decided to back it too. Unfortunately one Tory backbencher has shamefully objected to the Bill and pushed it back, but we will keep fighting to make upskirting an offence and work with the Government to get this Bill passed.

Emma Reynolds, Labour MP for Wolverhampton North East, went along to celebrate the collective achievements of pupils from across the city who were taking part in ‘Go Run For Free’. Go Run For Free is a national initiative supported by schools, the city council and many other partners. It aims to inspire children to be more active through well-organised running events.

Emma said, “It was lovely to join the Mayor of Wolverhampton, councillors and others in seeing so many youngsters taking part and clearly having such a great time. I watched children from Rakegate Primary school in my constituency, who took part in a one mile run and they looked to be having a great time.

“The event was supported by pupils from secondary schools who have taken up leadership roles for the campaign, including some from schools in my constituency, Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Sports College; Ormiston NEW Academy; Coppice Performing Arts; Heath Park; Aldersley and Westcroft.

“Many congratulations to the organisers but especially to the young people taking part, who knows, they may yet be the sporting stars of the future.”

June 2018

The post Emma supports ‘Go Run For Fun’ Great School Run encouraging primary school children to take up sport appeared first on Emma Reynolds MP.

Alex Cunningham MP attended the RSPCA’s annual drop-in in the House of Commons last week. As part of this, he heard directly from RSPCA Inspectors about their frontline work to protect animals in Stockton North and across the UK.

At the event, the scale of animal cruelty complaints across County Durham were revealed. In 2017, the RSPCA investigated 3384 complaints about animal cruelty in the county, with the charity’s nationwide 24-hour cruelty line receiving over a million calls.

The RSPCA has been investigating and prosecuting animal welfare offences since its foundation in 1824. To this day, they are increasing their work to prevent cruelty occurring in the first place and to educate the next generation of animal lovers.

Alex Cunningham MP said:

 

“I’m proud to support the RSPCA and the work that their Inspectors do to protect animal welfare in Stockton North. It was fantastic to meet some of their hard-working Inspectors and to thank them on behalf of the animal lovers in our area for all that they do.

“However, I am saddened that the RSPCA’s latest statistics show animal cruelty complaints are continuing in County Durham. We all have a duty to be vigilant against abuses of animal welfare and I will continue to work closely with the RSPCA to help improve standards of animal welfare in County Durham and across the UK.”

Christina Rees, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, has joined with clinicians and disabled people living with Brittle Bones and associated conditions to celebrate the wonderful care given by NHS specialist centres to children with the condition across the UK.

At a parliamentary reception held on 6^th June, the MP for Neath congratulated the Brittle Bone society on its 50^th anniversary and applauded those NHS specialist services which had been presented with awards to celebrate the difference which the service is making to children’s lives.

The charity also highlighted the discrepancies that exist between child and adult services, and the need for continued and multi-disciplinary services for this lifelong condition.

Patricia Osborne, CEO of the Brittle Bone Society, said, “We were incredibly honoured to be able to hold this reception at the House of Commons and to celebrate our 50 years of supporting people with OI. It was an absolute pleasure to be able to thank and reward all the wonderful NHS staff who work tirelessly in supporting us and our members, and to recognise the advances in healthcare achievements throughout the years. There is much to build on as we ensure that adults with the condition also feel fully supported.”

Samantha Renke, disability campaigner and actress, said, “It was great to see the Brittle Bone Society have this opportunity to raise awareness of this rare condition and highlight the needs that so many of us living with OI come across on a regular basis. The treatment when you are a child is excellent, but the minute you turn 18, you end up being the expert on your own condition.”

The Parliamentary Reception is one of a number of special events the Brittle Bone Society is running to commemorate its 50^th year. This includes a four day conference in August this year at the Apex Hotel in the charity’s home town of Dundee.

Eid Mubarak to all celebrating Eid in Leicester and beyond.

The post Eid Mubarak appeared first on Keith Vaz.

This week is Carers Week and I joined Carers UK to pledge that I will do all I can to support carers through my work in Parliament. There are 100,000 people in Leicester and Leicestershire who are looking after a parent, partner, child or friend, including 8,952 in my constituency.  I am backing the call from Carers UK for the introduction of up to 10 days of paid care leave a year. I pledge to encourage more businesses in Leicester to provide paid care leave to their staff, and to continue pressing the Government to act now and support the UK’s three million carers. 

You can read more about Carers Week here.

The post Carers Week – Liz pledges to support carers in Parliament appeared first on Liz Kendall.

Carers Week this year celebrates and raises awareness of the 6.5 million people in the UK who care, unpaid, for an ill, older or disabled family member or friend. I’m pleased to be backing the pledge to build carer-friendly communities.

Around one in eight people in Liverpool Wavertree is a carer. Caring is something that will increasingly affect all of us in some way, whether we are providing, or receiving care. There are an estimated 700,000 young carers.

Caring is part of being human and at the heart of family life. As our population ages and people live longer, often with complex health conditions, more and more of us will find ourselves caring. Yet many still see caring as a private matter.

Many people don’t identify themselves as carers, they feel they are just doing what anyone else would so they don’t always know what support is available.

Carers Week is our chance to raise awareness and to build communities that support carers to stay healthy and connected.

Communities that support the health and wellbeing of carers are places where local people and services support carers to look after their loved ones well, while recognising that they are individuals with needs of their own.

Carer friendly communities are aware of the part played by unpaid carers within their community, encouraging everyone – whether employers, public services, local amenities or businesses – to do something to make life better for carers.

Caring can be a hugely rewarding experience, but it can also come at a cost to the carer’s own health and wellbeing if proper recognition and support is not available.

I’m pledging to play my part in building a carer-friendly community, you can join me by clicking here.

If you are a carer in Liverpool, you can find out about support services by clicking here or telephone 0151 709 0990.

Tracy Brabin MP was taken aback by the horror stories relayed to her by members of the public at Batley Railway Station who slammed local services as ‘overcrowded and primitive’.

The Batley and Spen MP spent Friday morning speaking to constituents and commuters about their experiences of the local rail network.

She was joined at the station by campaigners from across the political divide who gathered to protest the shambolic introduction of the new Northern Rail timetable.

Ms Brabin said: “Having had numerous conversations and email exchanges with constituents about the dire situation I thought nothing could shock me – but I was wrong.

“Some of the stories I heard – one where a woman spent her journey crammed into a train toilet with six other commuters – were beyond belief.

“A young girl I spoke to was left extremely distressed when her train was delayed as she was on her way to a vital GCSE exam. Thankfully a good Samaritan helped her to book a taxi, but it could have been a different story.

“And these were just the tip of the iceberg. Consistent cancellations and delays, too few carriages, extortionate fares and nonsensical timetabling – the list goes on.These aren’t just stories – they are people’s lives.

“Last week I had a meeting with Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling as well as speaking to bosses from Northern Rail and Network Rail, and I did not hear a single thing that gave even the slightest impression that the Government has this under control.

“Time and time again we have been promised better transport links and a vastly improved rail service is integral to this.

“How can we have an interconnected Northern Powerhouse if we struggle to get from one town to the next?

“The Tory Government is failing the north on transport and we have a man in charge of it all who refuses to accept any responsibility whatsoever.

“It’s time for the Government to end the failed experiment in franchising and bring rail back into public ownership before any further damage is done.”

Ms Brabin is asking commuters to send her their experiences of the rail network locally with a view to compiling the responses to send to the Secretary of State for Transport.

She added: “We need to show the Government the reality of what is happening on the ground – and the more examples we can give, the more compelling a case we can build.”

Responses can be sent to tracy.brabin.mp@parliament.uk or to Tracy Brabin MP, 286 Oxford Road, Gomersal, BD19 4PY

Remembrance services have taken place to mark the first anniversary of the Grenfell Tower disaster. During the night on 14^th June 2017, a fire broke out in the 24-story tower block and 72 people were killed.

Yesterday in Parliament (Wed 13th June), Susan Elan Jones MP called on the UK Government to do more to engage charities and social enterprises with the North Wales Growth Deal.

Questioning Wales Office Ministers, the Clwyd South Labour MP asked:

“North Wales has a thriving voluntary sector and some excellent social enterprises. What engagement are Ministers in the Wales Office having with them?”

Speaking afterwards, Susan Elan Jones MP said:

“I welcome the fact that Minister Stuart Andrew MP said he’s spoken to the main Council Leader in charge of this area of engagement. However this can’t just be about the odd conversation.

We need a serious and strategic plan for growth, engagement and development. Our North Wales charities and social enterprises need to be involved at every point in the process. And as North Wales has so many small towns and villages, we need to recognise that it is natural territory for the setting up of more local, community enterprises. The Welsh Labour Government has made a massive commitment to enterprise by setting up a Development Bank and situating it in Wrexham. We need the UK Government to be providing more support too.”

Susan Elan Jones MP’s questioning of Ministers comes a day after the Clwyd South MP chaired a meeting in Parliament of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Charities and Volunteering in which the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Charity Tax Group, community development organisation Locality, the Institute of Fundraising, Big Society Capital and the Charity Finance Group put forward their ideas of how this year’s Budget can help charities and social enterprises. The All Party Parliamentary Group, which is co-chaired by Susan Elan Jones MP, will present a formal submission to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in advance of this year’s Budget.

Last week while visiting a sunny Loftus Road, home of the Championships Queens Park Rangers, Labour’s Shadow Sports Minister announced that a future Labour government would work with clubs and safety authorities to create safe standing areas at football matches as the calls for change continue to intensify.

Over the past decade we’ve had consultation after consultation with the issue always kicked into the long grass from this government. That’s why Labour are demanding the government drop their plans to start yet another review of safe standing and instead back Labour’s plan without delay.

After years of campaigning from official club supporters’ groups as well as some football clubs, the drumbeat for safe standing areas at English football grounds intensified.

In light of this, the Labour Party has decided to support our fans and football clubs by presenting proposals which would cap the number of safe standing spaces at 7,500 per stadium, which is in line with what the English Football League have already proposed.

After months of conversations with club hierarchy, supporters’ clubs and trusts, safety authorities, and football leagues, as well as meeting with Hillsborough families to discuss the move, Labour decided to undertake a full review of opinions around Safe Standing in football.

By working with those in football, as well as local safety authorities, we decided that the best way to rollout this strategy would be to give the power to decide to fans, clubs and those who keep us safe.

Clubs, fans and local authorities know their stadium and the area around it far better than anybody in Whitehall and we believe that the decision should rest with them as to whether to create a small area inside a stadium to be designated for Safe Standing.

In light of Labour’s decision, outgoing Premiere League executive chairman Richard Scudamore, confirmed (just last week) that the Premier League has decided to come out in favour of allowing its clubs a “local choice” as to whether to introduce safe standing. This follows the decision already made by the English Football League last month which called for clubs to be given a choice on whether to install standing areas – this is really positive and shows that the appetite for change means the government can no longer sit on its hands.

Closer to home, fans of both Manchester clubs are enthusiastic about the proposals with supporters of both United and City backing Labour’s proposal saying that it would improve the overall atmosphere at games as well as improving the fan experience and hopefully lead to decreases in some ticket prices. In fact both the Manchester United Supporters Trust and City’s

1894 Group travelled down to London to meet Labour’s Shadow Sports Minister Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, and discussed the issue at a roundtable.

The matter of safe standing at football grounds is due to be debated in Parliament on 25 June, but Labour are clear, the laws which prevent standing at grounds in the Premier League and the Championship have to be changed, and should be changed within weeks.

It’s about time that we allow fans to enjoy our national sport safely, and in a way that includes their wishes – it’s about time we put fans first.

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week we are voting on the amendments to the Great Withdrawal Bill. Fifteen amendments returned to us from the Lords, and then further amendments were made by colleagues in the Commons. There has quite rightly been a huge amount of interest in my voting intentions and I am sorry that I have not been able to make them public as my time has been taken up listening to the arguments as well as preparing for my Adjournment Debate on Long Term Support for the Victims of Sexual Exploitation.

Some of the social media comments have suggested it is a choice between country and party.  I am a Labour Party MP and the vast majority of those who voted for me did so because I represent the Labour Party. I joined the Labour Party at the age of 16 because I support and hope to embody its enduring values of equality, solidarity and fairness. I believe a Labour Government is in the interest of the vast majority of my constituents. And I believe that is why they voted for me. That said, I also believe my primary duty is to my constituents and my conscience. There may be, and often are, difficult decisions where constituents themselves are divided or when it is a choice between competing bad options– but I am clear where my duty lies.

That is why I have always supported Labour’s position of a ‘jobs first’ Brexit – jobs are clearly in the interests of my constituency and as an exporting region, the European Market is of huge importance. I have been pleased to be a part of the way in which the Labour Party – under Keir Starmer’s reasoned and reasonable, pragmatic and inclusive approach – has led the debate from a jobs first Brexit to a transitional agreement to a Customs Union and now to continued access to a new Single Market – all whilst keeping the vast majority of Labour MPs united.

And that is important. Labour’s great strength on Brexit is that we represent the full diversity of Britain’s Brexit vote. There are many Labour MPs whose constituencies voted overwhelmingly to leave, many whose constituencies voted overwhelmingly to remain, and many, like myself, whose constituencies were divided right down the line.  We need to move forward as a party because that is to bring the country together, difficult as that may sound.

There are two existential threats to our country which I believe are more profound even than Brexit. The first is to our existence as a democratic country whose Government is legitimate in the eyes of its citizens. The second is to our existence as a nation with a commonly held sense of purpose. Decades of Thatcherite division and neo-liberal indifference to inequality, followed by extreme-right austerity has divided our country. Brexit was both a symptom of that and a cause of deepening division. The country needs to come together around a Brexit which enables as far as possible the prosperity we so need everyone to benefit from.

The amendments which our Labour team negotiated in the Lords help to do that: such as on the environment, on a meaningful vote, and on working rights.

The amendment requiring membership of the European Economic Area does not. For the following reasons:

It is the Norway model and we are not Norway, we have ten-times more people, and an economy approximately seven times larger in which agriculture does not play as significant a part. Norway are not in the Customs Union. We do not want to be rule takers but  active participants in a Single Market that reflects both the value of immigration and the ways in which freedom of movement is current exploited by the unscrupulous, as I set out in my 2016 article and which my colleague Alison McGovern described today.

For these reasons I will not be supporting Amendment 51. And there is one other reason. It has no chance of being agreed. As we saw yesterday, Tory rebels are much fewer in the lobbies then they are on the front pages. I am all for symbolic gestures where they make a real difference to the lives of my constituents. This is a symbolic gesture which by dividing the party and the country pushes the possibility of a long term constructive, unifying relationship with the EU further away.

Since the referendum, the Conservative Party have done everything possible to further divide the nation. They have acted as if the 48% who voted to remain should have no voice, and the 52% who voted to leave voted en block for a hard Brexit. I have watched with dismay the increasing division in the Brexit debate, the uncontained venom apparent on both sides. Those who call all Brexiteers racist, ‘Gammon’ isolationists and those who treat all Remainers as at traitors to the Union Jack would be well served to join me on Newcastle’s doorsteps this weekend. As we voted 50.7% to 49.3% to remain an hours door-knocking would provide a range of views and even the most rabid ideologue would learn that reasonableness, national interest, kindness or logic are not the preserve of any one ‘side’.

These last few days have demonstrated that there is a limit to our ability to manage Brexit in the national interest so long as we have a government that literally doesn’t know what it’s doing. We to move to a close relationship with the European Union but we need to do so through thoughtful negotiations. The paralysis and division of the Tories means the only option is to attempt to manage the process by Prime Ministerial edict–and there are limits to that approach.

We need a government that is unified around doing the right thing for Britain–not one that is fundamentally divided and unable to engage in productive dialogue with the EU about our mutual interests.

Last week I met representatives from Cancer Research UK to hear about their appeal for more NHS cancer staff.

This week the House of Commons will be asked to determine the type of Brexit our country seeks.

Will MPs back a sensible lords amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill that instructs Theresa May to negotiate a deal keeping Britain inside the European Economic Area, or will we risk a bad deal such as a Canada-style Free Trade Agreement which would do nothing for our services industries and lead inevitably to a hard border in Ireland?

Or, worse still, will we allow the government’s profound incompetence to take us over the cliff edge into a "no deal" scenario, where tariffs and non-tariff barriers destroy the jobs and livelihoods of the very people we were elected to represent?

My Privacy Policy

I am the MP for Blackburn and Darwen. As your MP, it is important that I and my office can keep in touch with constituents about my work, take up casework on their behalf, and ask for views on local issues and wider political questions.

As a Labour MP I also have access to other information which I and my office, or volunteers working with me, will use for campaigning purposes or for communicating with Labour Party members. In respect of that information, the Labour Party is the data controller, and you should consult their privacy policy (https://labour.org.uk/privacy-policy/) for details of what information they hold, why, and how they use and process that information.

This page explains how I collect and use personal data, the legal basis for doing so and provides information about your rights in respect of your personal data for which I am the data controller.

I reserve the right to modify this policy at any time. My responsible officer for data protection can be contacted at damian.talbot@parliament.uk

Data collection and use:

My office will only collect and use personal information for the specific purpose for which it has been obtained.

I will undertake casework using personal information provided by or on behalf of a constituent. It may be necessary for me to share your information with third party organisations. I will only do this where it is necessary and reasonable to do so, and I will share only the minimum amount of personal information necessary in order to advocate on your behalf. Please see the “who I share your information with” section for further details.

When registering with this website or by completing a form or survey sent to you by my office, you may be asked for personal information. In each case, I will ask for your explicit consent to use your information, and I will only use it for the purposes for which you provide it.

I may communicate by post, email, phone or text message about my work and to give you the latest news on my campaigns and opportunities to get involved. I have a legal entitlement to the full electoral register for my constituency, which includes the full name and address of every registered elector and I may write to you in connection with my activities as an MP.

The Labour Party may contact you for campaigning purposes around election time by telephone, leaflet or email. As mentioned above, the Labour Party is the data controller for this information and you should consult their privacy policy for details of the information they hold and how they use that information. In my role as your Member of Parliament, I will only send emails, texts or contact you by telephone where you have provided explicit consent for me to do so. You may withdraw your consent or unsubscribe at any time from communications in any medium by contacting our responsible officer for data protection or by using the unsubscribe option I provide in all communications.

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When I take up casework on your behalf, it may be necessary for me to share the details you provide with government departments, local authorities and other public bodies. I will only share as much information as is necessary to take your case forward. If you have any questions or concerns about how information you provide as part of a casework request is used, please contact my responsible officer for data protection for more information.

Other than in the circumstances above, I will not share personal information with other organisations without your explicit consent.

In order to communicate with you about my work as the MP for the Newcastle upon Tyne East Constituency, it may be necessary for me to transfer personal information to countries or jurisdictions outside the EU. In each case, I will take steps to ensure that the suppliers I use comply with the General Data Protection Regulation or are subject to the Privacy Shield scheme agreed between the European Union and the United States. This would be a very exceptional circumstance that I would only consider if it was essential to the progress of a constituent’s case.

Retention of personal data:

Information relating to casework will be retained for seven years in the event that you contact me again for help or there are further developments in your case. In exceptional circumstances, where it is deemed necessary, this period may be extended. All other information prior to 2011 has been deleted.

You can at any time ask me to delete any personal information I may have on you and I will, of course, comply.

If you have consented to receive information about my work, I will only retain your personal information so long as I am the MP for the Newcastle upon Tyne East Constituency, or you ask not to be contacted further.

I will regularly review the personal information I hold to ensure that its use is necessary and proportionate.

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This site does not automatically capture or store personal information, other than logging the user’s IP Address or the location of your computer or network on the Internet, for systems administration and troubleshooting purposes. I also use IP addresses in the aggregate to track which pages people visit in order to improve the quality of the site.

A cookie is a tiny text file that is stored on your computer. Cookies may be used in order to tailor your experience on this site according to the preferences you have specified. Cookies on this website do not contain personally identifiable information, other than your IP address, which itself is only very rarely enough to identify you as an individual. In the rare opportunities that it is possible to do so, I will never use this information to identify you as an individual.

Links to other websites:

This website contains links to other websites. I am not responsible for the content or privacy practices of these websites.

Your rights:

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal information and the opportunity to choose how it is used. You can:

• Obtain copies of the personal information I hold about you (known as a “subject access request”)
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You may opt out of receiving further communications from me in any medium at any time. All requests to unsubscribe are dealt with promptly, and in all cases within a week.

If you wish to exercise your rights in respect of your personal data or have any concerns about how your data is used, please contact my responsible officer for data protection:

Damian Talbot
c/o Kate Hollern MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

Damian.talbot@parliament.uk
Tel: 0207 219 8692

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I felt it was more than necessary to write a letter to Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport, regarding the shambles which Northern Rail has fallen into. Strength of feeling runs so high that the letter has been co-signed by 82 of my Labour colleagues from all three Northern regions.

The blame for the thousands of cancellations and delays which Northern Rail passengers have faced must lie at the top, with Chris Grayling.

The letter in full is attached.

I will update my constituents as soon as I receive an answer.

Following the publication of KPMG reports into plans for a new arena in Bristol, Bristol South MP Karin Smyth said:

“However you cut it up, the KPMG reports are very bad news for south Bristol. The top line is no arena and no investment – in fact, the only guarantee that residents have is years of uncertainty around the Temple Meads site.

“Bristol South needs investment, jobs, improved infrastructure – and a signal from those running the city that they are not forgotten. Instead, we are looking at a process which has not only failed to deliver in every regard, but actually cost millions of tax payers’ money to achieve precisely nothing. My constituents deserve better than this.

“In many ways, these reports pose more questions than they answer. They lead the reader through a maze, hedging bets throughout, and relying on the purposefully narrow terms of reference they accepted to avoid assessing crucial issues.

“Too often, Bristol South seems to be at the back of queue for crucial investment, and this announcement is similar to the recent Metrobus mess. Where there are challenges – financial or otherwise – I’ll work with anyone to overcome them. But I will not support proposals which will leave Bristol South worse off.”

This week will see important votes in Parliament on some of the 15 amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill which were agreed in the House of Lords by peers from all parties.

We do not yet know which amendments will be voted on by MPs, but as you know I have taken very seriously my responsibility on Brexit as High Peak’s representative, and have sought views and impacts from people and businesses across the constituency as much as I can.

I would like to thank the 1,300+ High Peak residents who completed my detailed survey on what you would like to see from our deal with the EU.  I have found your responses very interesting as they give a far more detailed picture of the range of opinions on our Brexit options, among both Leave and Remain voters.

Together with the evidence from my Brexit Summits for businesses and for young people – links to the reports on my website are below – the survey gives me very valuable information on views across High Peak to help inform my voting.

I attach a full report of the survey’s findings, which I have presented as fairly as I can.

Some of the key points I have taken are:

1. Priorities for Leave Voters: taking back control of our laws and courts were the main priorities for Leave voters, with over 80% thinking they were very important. Saving money by not paying the EU was very important to over half.  Restricting EU citizens’ access to the UK by immigration was the least important priority, cited by less than a third as very important.
2. Priorities for Remain Voters: Remain voters were most concerned about collaboration on academic and scientific research, cited as very important by 76.5%, probably reflecting High Peak’s relatively high proportion of academics and scientists. Safeguarding the economy and jobs was the next highest priority, followed by safeguarding ‘free movement’.  None of the priorities rated less than 50% feeling they were very important.
3. Access to EU Markets: 16% of Leave voters want to retain full access to the Single Market, but the majority of Leave voters were evenly split between wanting access to the EU Free Trade Zone and wanting to be out of the Single Market. When responses were balanced between Leave and Remain voters, full access to the Single Market was the most popular option with 54% supportive.
4. Immigration:5% of Leave voters want to retain Free Movement, but most Leave voters (55%) want a more vigorous visa system. The overwhelming majority of Remain voters wanting Free Movement, combined with some Leave voters, mean it was the option preferred by a majority (52.6%).
5. Compromises to safeguard jobs: on balance, around a net 20% more Remain voters are likely to accept compromise on the 3 issues asked of access to EU markets, law-making and immigration. Leave voters are not overly concerned about access to EU markets but a net proportion of over half are very unlikely or unlikely to accept compromise on law-making and immigration, even to safeguard jobs.
6. Who should confirm the final Brexit deal: just over half of Remain voters (52.4%) wanted the people to confirm the deal, with the remained wishing Parliament to do so. 7% of Leave voters wanted a people’s referendum on the deal, but the remainder were fairly evenly split between the PM and Parliament confirming it.  Overall, when the responses were balanced, Parliament confirming the deal was the most popular option with 42.2% supporting, and 37.9% wanting a second referendum.
7. If a deal cannot be reached: a large majority of Leave voters (76.9%) wanted to leave with no deal if no agreement could be reached, however 23% would prefer joining the EU Free Trade Zone. Not surprisingly, an even higher proportion of Remain voters (88.4%) wished to remain in the EU if a deal could not be reached, meaning that this option was the most preferred of the 3, but it was not supported by any Leave voters.
8. Have people changed their minds? Very few people who voted in the 2016 referendum would now vote differently if the referendum was held again. However, a group of voters who were 16 and 17 in 2016 would now be entitled to vote and would vote Remain by around 4:1, giving a shift of around 1% towards Remain in High Peak.  However, as re-running the Referendum is not on any agenda, the question is of limited use.

All responses have been analysed separately for Leave and Remain voters, and where results are combined I have calculated a balanced result which is representative of the 50.5% Leave and 49.5% Remain votes in High Peak in the 2016 referendum.

Overall, in deciding how to vote on Brexit, I have always started with the commitments in the Labour manifesto on which I was elected last year – to seek to retain the benefits of the Customs Union and the Single Market, with a system of managed migration.  However, now we know more details we have more understanding of what will and will not be achievable.

As well as votes on our Brexit deal, the EU Withdrawal Bill proposes to hand enormous ‘Henry VIII’ powers to government ministers and this is one of my primary concerns, especially with a precarious government and a Prime Minister who could be replaced by an alternative with very different and possibly quite extreme views.  As you can imagine, one of my top priorities is to protect our democracy and this will continue to be a key focus for me in the next few days.

I am very conscious that votes in Parliament over the coming months will impact heavily on our future as a nation and I will do my very best to vote in the interests of our country and of the residents of High Peak.

The right path to take is unlikely to be simple or clear-cut, but I thank you for letting me know your views, and for the support that so many people have given me in helping to take the difficult decisions ahead.

I have always tried to make political decisions based on sound evidence and local views.  I hope that you find the evidence I have gathered useful and interesting.

Business Brexit summit report:
https://ruthforhighpeak.co.uk/campaigns/local/businessbrexitsummit/

Youth Brexit summit report:
https://ruthforhighpeak.co.uk/press-releases/ruth-george-mp-holds-youth-brexit-summit/

With kind regards

Ruth

Ruth George MP

Member of Parliament for High Peak

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