On 17 October 2018 Member of Parliament for Stockton North, Alex Cunningham showed his support for the fight against blood cancer by raising awareness of the need for more blood stem cell donors as a potential lifesaver with DKMS.

Alex, supported DKMS at an event organised by fellow MP, Mike Wood, at the House of Commons. Mike joined forces with the blood cancer charity to hold the event, following his own personal experience of contracting septicaemia (sepsis), a type of blood poisoning, in 2017.

Every 20 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with a blood cancer, such as leukaemia. Combined, blood cancers are the third most common cause of cancer death in the UK, but less than half of the UK population is aware of blood cancer issues. Although for most people there is no single cure, a blood stem cell donation from a genetically similar person can offer the best treatment.

Despite stats showing that 27,027 people from the North East have registered as blood stem cell donors with DKMS, the region is still falling short of potential lifesavers. Of those registered in the North East, only 7.7 percent are from the County Durham region.

Alex said:

“Currently, only six out of 10 blood cancer patients in the UK find an unrelated matching blood stem cell donor. That’s why I am supporting DKMS in the fight against blood cancer and would urge others in my constituency who are eligible to do the same. I would like to thank Mike for bringing this important cause to my attention.”

Mike Wood MP for Dudley South, who also registered as a potential blood stem cell donor said: “I was delighted to see MPs from all sides come together to register as potential lifesavers and show their support for people with blood cancers and disorders. Alex Cunningham has sent an important message to his constituents in Stockton North, that he is committed to the fight against blood cancer and has played an important role in helping to raise awareness.”

Lisa Nugent, Head of Donor Recruitment at DKMS said:

“Thanks to Mike and Alex for their support in helping us raise awareness of the important work that we do in registering more potential blood stem cell donors. We are grateful to everyone who registered on the day and took the time to support the cause.

“Anyone that’s aged between 17-55 and in general good health can register online at dkms.org.uk for their home swab kit. There could be a lifesaver in you.”

I’m wearing pink today to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month and encourage people across Liverpool Wavertree to take the chance of a check-up when it is offered by the NHS.

This year, over 55,000 women in the UK will hear the words: ‘it’s breast cancer’ and around 11,500 women will tragically die from it. Although it is rare, men can also be diagnosed with breast cancer, with around 340 men affected each year.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in the UK, with one in eight women receiving a diagnosis in their lifetime.

The challenges is that less than half of women invited for a breast cancer screening in some parts of Liverpool Wavertree actually attend. The NHS has set a target of over 70 per cent.

Wear it Pink is a great way to raise awareness and support initiatives by the local NHS and Liverpool City Council to boost screening rates.

Emma Reynolds, Labour MP for Wolverhampton North East, is adding some pink to her usual attire to show her support for Breast Cancer Now’s ‘wear it pink’ fundraiser.

The event will take place on Friday, October 19, to raise money for vital breast cancer research.

All you need to do is wear something pink, or hold a pink-themed event, and make a donation to Breast Cancer Now.

Every penny raised will help the charity achieve its aim that by 2050 everyone who develops breast cancer will live, and live well.

Emma said: “Each year around 11,500 women and 80 men lose their lives to the disease. In Wolverhampton, over 550 women a year will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

“We need to do more to raise awareness about breast cancer and to raise vitally needed money to help fund research into treatments.

“That is why the wear it pink campaign is so important. It is a great way to come together with friends and family to have fun whilst raising money for Breast Cancer Now’s vital research.

“All it takes is find something pink to wear to jazz up your outfit. I hope as many people as possible in Wolverhampton will take part by wearing pink today.”

The post Emma Reynolds MP wears it pink to combat breast cancer appeared first on Emma Reynolds MP.

A local Training and Skills firm have launched a new office in Chesterfield to help people into work.

Workpays Ltd, welcomed local MP Toby Perkins to the launch of their new Chesterfield office which aims to support young people, adults and employers, to develop the skills needed to progress into an apprenticeship or gain and sustain employment.

Toby said, “It is good to see Workpays expanding into Chesterfield. Anything that provides a supportive and non-judgemental approach to supporting people back into the world of work is to be welcomed, and in Chesterfield we have too many people who have found it difficult to make their working lives pay, so improving skills and ensuring that we have people available to take advantage of any opportunities that arise is important.

The Borough Council has put a lot of work into attracting growth and new businesses to the town and we’re hoping for a significant number of skilled jobs to be brought to Chesterfield over the coming years. I want as many of these jobs as possible going to local people so it is vital that unemployed people or those battling illness get all the support they can get.

Workpays also works directly with large national and local employers to help them recruit and train new staff and upskill their existing employees through the Apprenticeship Levy, delivering nationally recognised qualifications across various sectors.

Anne Wright, Managing Director from Workpays Ltd said, “Workpays has had a presence in Chesterfield for over 2 years, working from remote locations to support local people to improve their confidence and skills to gain employment with local businesses. We are delighted to solidify our commitment to the area through the opening of our new Employability and Skills centre on the Newbold Road, which enables us to help more people.  We look forward to welcoming young people and adults in need of support, to gain the skills to get the job or an apprenticeship. Workpays is equally delighted to be working with local employers to fill job and apprenticeship vacancies as the area continues to attract growth. ”

Toby was joined by Frazer Clarke, the winner of the Super Heavy Weight Gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, who is the Ambassador for Workpays Ltd.

Toby said, “Frazer is an example of someone who has overcome a tough situation to achieve, and I hope he provides some inspiration to others who are facing other difficulties. When a super heavyweight champion tells you that he believes in you and the programme you are on, it might well give you a boost!”

Toby with Anne Wright, Managing Director from Workpays Ltd and gold medal winning boxer, Frazer Clarke

If we care about the vibrancy of our high streets, then protecting local services like banks and post offices matters.

Just last week the Government announced that a further 73 Crown Post Offices would close. They would be franchised out to WH Smith. Now on one level, this won’t affect the communities in my constituency. All our Crown Post Offices closed a long time ago. They now operate as franchises in other retail outlets, just as is being proposed here. But it matters to those communities concerned. And that’s why I’m proudly supporting the Communication Workers’ Union and fellow MPs to stop the closures.

Let me take you back to 1996. It’s the year the 21-year-old me was first elected to Tameside Council. In the run-up to that local election, the Tory Government of John Major proposed the closure of several Crown Post Offices. It included Denton.

Denton Post Office was then located on Albert Street, near to the Town Hall and facing the Market Place. It was in the very heart of our town centre, as a kind of social glue. People would pop into the Post Office and then mooch around the market and the shops; they’d have a cuppa in the local café. They’d support local businesses.

Over on the other side of Crown Point, our Shopping Giant supermarket was struggling. A new out-of-town Sainsbury’s had been built a few years earlier, and the neighbouring towns had also increased their supermarket offer. So the Shopping Giant took on the Post Office franchise. It was only a sticking plaster. The store closed six years later, and the Post Office was moved even further away, into the back of an even smaller shop on the edge of the town centre.

But it’s what happened to the town in the process. Almost overnight, with the closure of the Crown Post Office, the market lost a quarter of its footfall. Fewer customers meant fewer traders and the cycle of decline was irreversible. The council lowered rents, even gave stalls away for free, but the damage was done. The glue that bound the town centre together has come unstuck. Fewer customers didn’t just damage the market; it impacted on the surrounding shops and cafés too. Ironically, the market was officially closed the same year Shopping Giant closed too.

That’s why facilities like our Crown Post Offices matter. It’s why the next Labour Government will protect them (and renationalise Royal Mail, which should never have been sold off). It’s why we will stop the state-owned banks from doing the same to our branches. And it’s why we will strengthen our planning laws to support our high streets. Because our town centres matter.

High Peak MP Ruth George has called on health bosses to ensure that Stepping Hill and Macclesfield Hospitals to do not close their doors to High Peak patients at the same time.

Ruth made the call after Stepping Hill closed its doors to breast cancer referrals from High Peak, while Macclesfield closed its doors to cardiology and gastro-enterology patients from outside East Cheshire.

Both hospitals have said that long waiting lists had forced the temporary and that they would open their doors to High Peak patients once waiting lists have come down.

“It is extremely worrying that NHS services were so overstretched and short of staff that waiting times were rising and patients were denied the hospital of their choice.

“I understand that Stepping Hill’s department was overwhelmed and could not see urgent breast cancer patients within the two week deadline.  Waits for urgent appointments had risen to five weeks which could put patients with rapidly progressing breast cancer in danger,” she said.

“Long waits for urgent treatment are not acceptable, but it is also important that patients from High Peak can attend a hospital within a reasonable distance, and preferably with good public transport links.

“Following discussions with Derbyshire’s clinical commissioners and Macclesfield Hospital, I understand that a number of hospitals, from Manchester to Nottingham, have been asked if they can take High Peak patients; and that Macclesfield could accommodate High Peak breast care patients.

“I have also asked Macclesfield and Stepping Hill hospitals to seek to ensure that in future they are never both closed to High Peak patients at the same time, and I will continue to press for more resources for our NHS.”

Ruth George MP – Statement on Hospital Services for High Peak

The news that Stepping Hill Hospital was to stop breast services for patients from High Peak was a shock and a worry to many local people and medical professionals.

I understand that Stepping Hill’s department was overwhelmed and could not see urgent patients within the two week deadline.  Their waits for urgent appointments had risen to five weeks which could put patients with rapidly progressing breast cancer in danger.

Long waits for urgent treatment are not acceptable but it is also important that patients from High Peak can attend a hospital within a reasonable distance, and preferably with good public transport, as Stepping Hill has.

As soon as I received the news, I contacted Derbyshire’s clinical commissioners to ask about alternative provision and was told they were making enquiries of a number of hospitals, including in Manchester but also as far away as Nottingham.

So I met with the Chief Executive of Macclesfield Hospital – the nearest alternative for most High Peak residents who use Stepping Hill.  Macclesfield has an excellent breast care centre that many residents have praised, and where I go myself for scans due to my family history of breast cancer.

The Chief Executive stated that unless there was a sudden and unexpected surge in demand, he felt that Macclesfield could accommodate all of the High Peak breast care patients who wished.

Macclesfield has closed its cardiology department and their gastro-enterology departments to people outside East Cheshire, but he assured me this was a temporary measure due to long waiting lists.  Extra staff have now been recruited so these waits should reduce to acceptable levels.

Stockport’s commissioners are hoping the situation at Stepping Hill is temporary, and that all patients will be able to continue to go there once their waiting lists have come down.

However, it is a worry that our NHS services are so overstretched and often short of staff that waiting times are rising and patients are denied the hospital of their choice.

I have asked both Macclesfield and Stepping Hill to seek to ensure that they are never both closed to High Peak patients and I will continue to press for more resources for our NHS.

The post High Peak MP: NHS needs more resources to beat long waiting lists appeared first on Ruth George MP for High Peak.

Today in the House of Commons Chamber, Susan Elan Jones MP urged the Government to examine the excellent work of the Corwen-based South Denbighshire Community Partnership.
The Clwyd South Labour MP said: “Our former colleague the late Jo Cox MP initiated an inquiry on loneliness so it was very moving to see her parents and sister in the House of Commons Chamber as we questioned the Minister on the Government’s newly-released Strategy. I am really impressed by the fantastic work that the South Denbighshire Community Partnership is doing to bring people and communities together so I was very pleased to reference them in Parliament”.
Susan Elan Jones MP, who co-chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group for Charities and Volunteering, also questioned Minister Tracey Crouch MP on the need for the Government to develop better infrastructural support for charities.

Photograph: Susan Elan Jones MP with South Denbighshire Community Partnership Manager Margaret Sutherland

http://www.denbighshirefreepress.co.uk/news/16985632.corwen-transport-scheme-lauded-in-parliament/?ref=twtrec

I was thrilled to join the Lord Mayor in celebrating Maggie Scott’s incredible achievement of fifty years teaching at Forest Lodge Primary School here in Leicester West.

Maggie is such an inspiration and I am delighted to see her achievement recognised. 

The post Liz celebrates teacher’s fantastic achievement appeared first on Liz Kendall.

Lesley Laird MP has warned of a “potential nightmare” for Aberdour residents if three major housing developments are given the green-light.

A proposal to build 125 houses at Hillside – rejected by Fife Council planners in February this year due to ‘insufficient information’– is back on the table.

Meanwhile appeals for developments by Cala and Campion Homes – rejected by West Planning Committee in July – have recently been lodged with the Scottish Reporter.

All three development proposals attracted hundreds of objections from villagers.

Lesley Laird MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath said: “This could turn into a potential nightmare for residents.

“Aberdour could theoretically end up with three plans being granted which would fundamentally change the whole character and dynamic of the village.”

The Hillside development was resurrected in May and accompanied by a statement from planning agents, Felsham Planning and Development Limited, stating the site boundary and housing numbers remained the same as its previous application, this time with a different layout.

A Screening Opinion application was recently lodged with Fife Council to determine whether an Environmental Impact Assessment is required to be submitted with the planning application.

Lesley commented: “Initially there were three proposals – Hillside, Cala and Campion – and only Hillside satisfied criteria set out in the local plan.

“Since then, of course, we’ve seen Cala and Campion continue to press ahead with their proposals, despite the fact that both developments don’t adhere to local plan guidelines.

Lesley concluded: “I would urge the reporter to not renege on an original plan which was democratically agreed.

“They can’t possibly grant permission to Cala and Campion, otherwise it makes a mockery of the Fife plan process and simply reinforces the reasons why people have no faith in the planning process.

“As I’ve said before, planning reform is urgently needed to give communities a right of appeal in controversial cases such as these.” 

The post Three plans pose ‘potential nightmare’ for Aberdour appeared first on Lesley Laird.

To mark World Homeless Day I wanted to share some of the cases my office and I have been dealing with in Oldham East and Saddleworth in recent months.

Yvonne and Mark (not their real names) had worked in the merchant navy for several years. When they wanted to get back to life on dry land they found out that they didn’t qualify for social security support and weren’t considered a priority housing need. When they came to my surgery in January this year, they were living in a tent on common land in Greenfield. Getting them into temporary accommodation was complex and took much longer than it should have. During that time I could see the impact on their health, both physical and mental.

Tom (also not his name) had been working while looking after his mum who had dementia. When she died he went to France to live with his aunt. He returned to England only to find he was also ineligible for social security support. Andrew, Oldham’s foodbank manager at the time, contacted me when Tom had gone to him for some food. He was living in a tent on Dovestones during our very unforgiving winter. There were no hostel places (the nearest one is in Salford) and no support for him so we arranged for some temporary accommodation. After a few weeks of support from Andrew and my office, Tom found a job and was able to get a flat.

Zina and Ahmed were originally from Iraq. They fled their homeland with their children, leaving their family and friends to find peace and security in the UK. They were placed in Shaw and had settled into community life making many new friends with their neighbours with their 5 year old son doing well at school. After 18 months waiting for the Home Office’s decision on their application for asylum, on the August bank holiday week end they were told they had to leave their life in Shaw on the following Thursday. After incredible support from the local community, Serco finally relented and they will hopefully stay in Shaw where they are settled and happy after the immense trials that they have been through.

These are just a few of the cases my team and I deal with to give you a flavour of the homelessness issues Oldham faces.

As many of you know homelessness is not just about rough sleeping. Across Oldham the numbers are low, but I believe that no-one should have to sleep rough; there should always be a bed available and they should have support that they can readily access. It is unacceptable in 2018 for rough sleeping in the UK to have doubled to 4,751 since 2012 and nearly 80,000 families are living in temporary accommodation including up to 100 families living in temporary accommodation, including many in B&B’s, in the last 3 months. Recent reports indicate that the deaths associated with homelessness have doubled since 2013 with at least 449 dying last year. In the sixth richest economy in the world this is unacceptable and shames us all.

After meetings with Cllr Hannah Roberts the new Cabinet member for Housing and Planning, I know Oldham Council are developing a new Housing Strategy, including a new allocation policy and I look forward to this and its early implementation.

But out of the hands of the Council is the very worrying rise in rent arrears associated with the roll out of the Government’s Universal Credit programme, and the link to homelessness that is emerging. The Housing Federation whose members include housing associations, has reported £24m of rent arrears associated with Universal Credit; for First Choice Homes in Oldham it is over £2.5m.

The Government must act. It must commit to Labour’s proposal to build at least 100,000 genuinely affordable homes to rent and buy a year by the final year of this Parliament, to ensure every rough sleeper has a bed at night (as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has pledged) and to stop the roll out of Universal Credit which is pushing people into poverty, debt and homelessness.

Parliamentarians, politicians and policy-makers from around the globe have come together to spell out the ten key challenges for spreading the risks and sharing the rewards of automation as new technology transforms the future of work for the world’s 3.2 billion workers.

In a new book, The Future of Work for the People We Serve, commissioned by the global Parliamentary Network on the IMF and World Bank, a diverse group of twenty-five of the world’s leading experts and politicians set out a roadmap for navigating the shifts triggered by automation, artificial intelligence and demographic changes over the decades ahead.

The book comes as the World Bank publishes its annual World Development Report, with a special focus on the future of work, and as G20 leaders prepare for their summit later in the year in Argentina, which will consider new frameworks to help the world’s leading economies adjust to the digital revolution.

It draws on the ideas and experiences of thirty politicians and policymakers worldwide.

• Members of the Parliamentary Network – Jeremy Lefroy MP (UK), Olfa Soukri Cherif MP (Tunisia) and Yunus Carrim MP (South Africa) together with David Woollcombe (Peace Child International) – stress the importance of focusing on employment and livelihoods for young people – who will be hit hardest by the rise of automation. They propose a national systems approach backed by a coalition of government, parliament, the private sector and civil society.
• Nobel laureate Sir Christopher Pissarides and former advisor to Secretary Clinton Alec Ross look at the possibility for job creation in new industries even as old jobs are lost to automation.
• The Mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon, argues for cities to be allowed to lead reform of workers’ labour protections, while Singapore’s Senior Minister, Chee Hong Tat, explains the country’s groundbreaking new lifelong learning system and Francois Taddiel, an advisor to President Macron’s administration, sets out a vision for a ‘learning society.’
• Director of UNI Global Union, Philip Jennings, highlights the surprising opportunities of artificial intelligence for workers, with the potential to raise global GDP 14% by 2030 – as long as its rollout is accompanied by a new social contract.
• Simeon Djankov, Director of the World Development Report, highlights the urgent need for tax and regulatory frameworks to keep up with the fast-changing digital world.
• Cornelia Schmidt-Liermann from Argentina – which chairs this year’s G20 – sets out the agenda for the G20’s focus on the Future of Work ahead their summit in November.

The book, edited by Liam Byrne, British MP and former Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the UK Cabinet, is launched today at the meeting of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and IMF at their Annual Meeting, hosted by Indonesia.

Jeremy Lefroy MP and Chair of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and IMF, said:

“Supporting young people in all countries into jobs and livelihoods is one of the key challenges of the age. We face both the changing nature of work in the digital age and the huge numbers of young people coming of age now and over the coming 30 years.

“They are our constituents whom we are elected to represent. Their future is of the utmost importance and concern to us. It is therefore our responsibility as parliamentarians to encourage our governments, businesses, civil society and development organisations to pool our energy, ideas and resources together to tackle this challenge.”

Michal Rutkowski, World Bank Senior Director for the Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice, said:

“Technology is changing how people work and making advanced and socio-emotional skills more important. It is therefore critical to invest in the human capital of young people to ensure they have the skills needed for the new world of work,”

Helge Berger, Assistant Director, IMF Research Department, said:

“In a rapidly changing world, the future of work is not easy to predict. Technological advances promise higher productivity and income, but they also act as possible sources of disruption. The IMF anticipates that many jobs and workers will be affected by developments in artificial intelligence, automation, and robotization.

“Policymakers—including members of parliament—should focus on policies that make the best possible use of a country’s technological change while making sure benefits are widely shared by its population. This includes measures to lift skill levels so they can match demand, facilitate the mobility of workers and resources across sectors, increase access to education and training, and more evenly redistribute the gains of growth.”

Liam Byrne MP, the book’s editor, said:

“We now live, not in an era of change, but a change of era. And unless we transform old ways of doing business, we simply will not unlock the real potential of new technologies – nor help ensure we share fairly the new wealth that we know business can create.

“This new book is an essential guide to politicians and parliamentarians everywhere as they step up to meet the hopes and fears of the people they came into public life to serve.”

Contact:

Jeremy Lefroy MP: jeremy.lefroy.mp@parliament.uk

Gergana Ivanova (Coordinator, Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and the IMF): givanova@parlnet.org

Liam Byrne MP: liam.byrne.mp@parliament.uk

Notes to editors:

1. The Future of Work For the People We Serve, edited by Liam Byrne MP, can be downloaded here.
2. The book will be launched at the Annual Meeting of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and International Money Fund, hosted in Indonesia, on Tuesday 9 October.
3. The ten lessons laid out in the book are:
4. Understanding the impact of automation on the existing workforce
5. Scoping the opportunities of industries of the future
6. Redoubling efforts to unleash the power of enterprise and new firms
7. Working hard to connect young people to jobs
8. Developing new strategies to raise employment and enterprise rates amongst women
9. In the labour market, rebuilding systems for social protection and lifelong learning
10. In capital markets, ensuring financial services are a proactive force for creating good new jobs
11. Ensuring corporate governance is fit for the future
12. Letting cities pioneer change in industry and social safety nets

Reflecting on how the rules of economic institutions must change to ensure new wealth is wealth that is fairly shared

The post LAUNCHED: The Future of Work for the People we Serve appeared first on Liam Byrne MP.

Last week was Nottingham Goose Fair, one of Europe’s largest travelling fairs with a history that dates back more than 700 years. Visitors to the fair will have had over 500 attractions to choose from, including an array of Roller Coasters, Water Rides, Giant Wheels, Bombers, Dodgems, Twists, Waltzers and Miamis familiar to Goose Fair, as well as a number of new attractions that had not visited Nottingham before.

Goose Fair is perhaps the crown jewel in Nottingham City Council’s autumn events programme. Despite significant financial pressure as the Government takes more and more money from Nottingham’s Revenue Support Grant, we still remain committed to offering an array of free or affordable citywide and local events and activities for local families to enjoy. This year they include:

. Robin Hood Marathon, 29^th and 30^th September, Vicotria Embankment and Wollaton Park
. Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival, 17^th – 20^th October, Motorpoint Arena
. England vs Brazil UEFA Women’s Euro 2021, Saturday 6^th October, Meadows Lane
. Jurassic Kingdom Exhibition, 20^th October to 4^th November, Wollaton Park
. Hockley Hustle, 28^th October, Hockley
. Nottingham Halloween, 19^th – 31^st October, Old Market Square, Newstead Abbey and Wollaton Hall
. Nottingham Bonfire Night, 5^th November, Forrest Recreation Ground
. Nottingham Comedy Festival, 2^nd – 10^th November, Various Venues across the City.

This year’s Autumn Events programme also includes a number of events to remember the centenary of the end of the First World War including the 1918 Armistice Centenary Concert at the Royal Concert Hall on 4^th November, the Games of Remembrance at Meadow Lane on 8^th November, the Commemorative Ceremony on Sunday 11^th November at Victoria Embnakment and Battle’s Over a Nations Tribute from 6:30pm at the Victoria Embankment.

This will be complemented by a new war memorial at Victoria Embankment which will likely be completed May next year and will be the first memorial in Nottingham to list all the names of those from Nottinghamshire that died during the Great War.

I hope you and your family will be able to get down to some of these events and celebrations over the next couple of months.

Dave Trimble
Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture

Click here to fine What’s On.

The post Another Year of Fun, Free or Affordable Citywide and Local Events appeared first on Nottingham Labour.

Due to staff shortage, the surgery date planned for tomorrow 5/10/18 is instead taking place on 12/10/18.

My apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Today we commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street. 82 years have passed since thousands of East Londoners stood together against fascism and intolerance.

The Royal British Legion has launched a movement to say ‘Thank You’ to all who served, sacrificed, and changed our world during the First World War. This year is the centenary of the end of the First World War and the charity is calling on mass involvement from the public to recognise the legacy left to us by the entire First World War generation.

‘Thank You’ honours not only the 1.1 million British and Commonwealth Armed Forces who lost their lives in the First World War, but also those who played their part on the home front, and those who returned to build a better life for the benefit of generations to come.

Charles Byrne, Director General of The Royal British Legion, said: “We all have a connection to the First World War, for me it is Private Ross Ryan, my grandfather, and we all have a reason to say ‘Thank You’ to this special generation.

“Whether your personal ‘Thank You’ is an event dedicated to those who made a difference in your community, a visit to a place of significance, or a simple tweet, there’s no limit to the ways people can take part. We are making a plea to every single person across the UK to get involved and take a moment in this very significant year to say ‘Thank You’.”

Christina said “I was pleased to visit the Royal British Legion’s stand at Labour Party conference to hear about their work leading up to the centenary of the end of the First World War. To the farmers who gave up their horses to the war effort; to the women who kept our home fires burning; to the Sassoons and the McCraes whose work has shaped our understanding of conflict; we should indeed say ‘Thank You’. I am saying Thank You to you all.”

For further information and to find out how you can get involved in the ‘Thank You’ movement, please visit rbl.org.uk/thankyou and share your story on with #ThankYou100.

I was concerned to hear that Stephen Croft – a popular member of staff at Barnsley FC – suffered a cardiac arrest just before the start of Saturday’s match against Burton.

Stephen is still recovering in hospital, and my thoughts are with him and his family. I wish him a speedy recovery, and would like to pay tribute to the fantastic work of the club’s medical staff and the air ambulance service in responding to the incident.

Although fans will have been no doubt disappointed that Saturday’s match had to be postponed – the club made absolutely the right decision. The calm behaviour of both sets of fans is a credit to both Barnsley and Burton.

Although Saturday was a difficult day for the club, the 2018/19 season has seen a positive start for the Reds.

I have set up a petition against the removal of Intensive Care beds from the of part of Leicester General Hospital. The link to sign this petition is here: https://www.change.org/p/leicester-save-the-leicester-general-hospital-stop-the-removal-of-intensive-care-unit-icu-beds-1223b226-b3de-4e01-aa9d-2d27822fc088.  Please will you click on the link and get your … Continue reading →

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