Summer of fun at our great festivals
WITH the summer in full swing, it has been fantastic to spend some more time in the constituency, as our many festivals and events get underway.
I was particularly pleased to open the Linthwaite Leadboilers festival, which has really gone from strength to strength.
Holmfirth Arts festival and WOVEN in Kirklees were other highlights, showcasing an incredible amount of talent and achievement. Lindley Carnival was excellent as always, as was Meltham Memories - both fantastic events which really bring the community together and enrich our area. There are many more events planned for the summer in and I look forward to getting to as many as possible. My thanks to the volunteers that make them happen.
■It was great to hear that the controversial road scheme for the centre of Holmfirth has been dropped.
Over 2,500 local residents responded to the council consultation, with 80% against the proposed scheme. My thanks to local councillor Paul Davies for his tireless work on behalf of residents, which has really paid dividends - I look forward to working with residents and the council to find a solution to traffic problems in Holmfirth which suits everyone.
■I have continued to support the national #LayDown4CF campaign, led by the parents of cystic fibrosis sufferers - including families in
Colne Valley - pushing for the drug Orkambi to be made available on the NHS.
Orkambi can be life-changing for sufferers of CF, but Vertex - the company which produces the drug - have rejected the NHS's biggest pay offer ever of £500m over five years. I joined their protest in Parliament Square, which was partly a memorial to those lives lost from CF, and partly a plea to the government to step in and end the impasse. It is unacceptable that children’s lives are being held to ransom in this way and I was honoured to raise the case of families in Parliament.
■I was also very happy to be able to visit several schools in the run up to the end of term, including Holmfirth JI&N, and Pivot Academy.
As a former teacher and head teacher I know how hectic the end of the school year can be – so thank you all for making time for me to visit!
Unfortunately, more than one school raised concerns with me that many of their children and families are going to struggle over the summer holiday. With a majority of those in poverty now also in work, families are faced with the extra burden of having to pay for childcare over the summer - which can be over £800 a month.
This would be a difficult amount for any family to find, let alone our most vulnerable. Local food banks at the Welcome Centre and Holmfirth Food Bank, as well as our Uniform Exchange which I visited last month, have reported a large increase in demand this year.
The summer holidays should be a time for children to be children, and for families to spend quality time together - not worry about where their next meal is coming from. I have written to all head teachers asking them to allow families to buy supermarket or non-branded uniform wherever possible, to help low income families with the costs of education.
■In Parliament and on the Education Select Committee, I was keen to take part in the debates on music and the creative arts in schools.
The recent Primary Colours report concluded that our children now are receiving nowhere near the same provision of the creative arts as they did a generation ago. For many children, school is their first exposure to all kinds of art, theatre, music, and culture - and it is unforgivable that we are moving backwards on this.
Not only does this have consequences for those children personally, it holds us back as a society.
In our history we have produced so many fantastic actors, artists, literature, and more, and it is heartbreaking to think this may not continue.
I will keep putting pressure on the government not to let these areas become the preserve of a privileged few.
■Of course, while spending time in the constituency remains my favourite part of being an MP, the announcement of our new Prime Minister has taken up much of all our attention.
The Examiner has covered my comments on Prime Minister Johnson and his Cabinet in some depth, so I will not reiterate all my views here. Let me just say that such a poorly skilled and incompetent group of politicians I cannot envisage or remember, whatever party held power.
More importantly - and I say this not as a Labour MP, but as a human being - we cannot allow this Trump wannabe to erode the tolerance and respect that has been hard won in our communities over many years.
Here in Kirklees, the borough where Jo Cox was shot in the street, we know the consequences of hatred and divisive rhetoric better than anyone.
And so I am greatly concerned that someone with such a lack of integrity, and such discriminatory views, has come to hold such power in our country.
As a resident of Colne Valley, as a teacher in local schools, and since becoming your Member of Parliament, I have never stopped being impressed and touched by the kindness, compassion, creativity, wit, entrepreneurship, and talent people here show every single day.
It is heartbreaking that a country full of such potential is now led by someone who comes up so short on every possible measure.
■The record-breaking temperatures we have experienced recently have been alarming on several levels.
There can now be no doubt that the effects of climate change have reached us, with countries across Europe reporting their hottest ever temperatures. I was pleased to hear an update from our council on what they are doing to follow up their declaration of a Climate Emergency, in response to questions from local campaigners.
That said, it is disheartening to see such hard work going on locally, when our national picture looks increasingly grim. Prime Minister Johnson has previously denied that climate change exists - putting him at odds with 99.9% of scientists worldwide - and even when he retracted this view as Foreign Secretary, he went on to preside over a 60% funding cut to environmental activity.
During the Conservative leadership campaign he received £25,000 in donations from the Global Warming Policy Forum, part of the UK’s principal climate change denial group.
Quite frankly, we do not have time for him to deny the truth for cash.
■I will be taking a family holiday to recharge my batteries, and look forward to returning to work hard for all my Colne Valley constituents.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact me on the below details.
Thelma Walker MP, c/o Slaithwaite Civic Hall, 15a New Street, Slaithwaite, HD7 5AB. Phone: 01484 843068 / Email: thelma.walker.mp@parliament.uk / Twitter: @Thelma_WalkerMP