Tony Lloyd
IT’S definitely not too late to wish everyone reading this a very hearty greeting for 2024.
In the first month of the year we are bound to look forward with hope for the future and I have thought about my ‘wish list’ for 2024.
We have all seen in the news that the horror in Gaza goes on and on. The continued bombardment
of innocent Palestinian civilians isn’t destroying Hamas - just the capacity for innocent Palestinians to live lives that are other than awful or even for Palestinians to have the right to life.
● Closer to home, we must think about our NHS. Receiving healthcare in the UK used to leave many families with crippling debts but that ended over 75 years ago when Labour created the NHS and allowed free healthcare for all.
I’ve recently spent a few days in hospital and seen how marvellous our NHS staff are, but staff morale is at an all-time low.
Already this year, junior doctors are taking industrial action and patient waiting lists for people are growing daily.
Mr Sunak has hinted at a general election this year, one he will likely lose. Again, it will be up to a Labour government to get the NHS back to where it ought to be.
● Last year we saw many environmental disasters.
Last summer saw record temperatures that hit southern Europe, North Africa and other parts of the world, causing death and economic chaos and even in the UK, we’re seeing temperature records being broken on a regular basis with unseasonal warmth or huge rainfall.
Staggeringly there are still some climate change deniers here in the UK but many people recognise that it is already making a difference.
Worse will happen if failure to act brings more flooding, unbearable temperatures and food shortage to our shores.
Our children need us to act now to prevent future disaster.
In 2024, our leaders must recognise that we can’t afford political advantage or even incompetence to frustrate what simply must be
done. On a different note, Rochdale’s colleges have excellent records of raising ambition, changing people’s attitudes and making sure that people not only aim for the top, but reach the top.
But investment in our children and young people’s education and training has been an afterthought of successive Tory governments.
In 2024, I hope to see a Labour government putting education at the heart of national life again and to rebuild the trust between schools, colleges, families and government so that we can drive high and raise standards in our classrooms, support children to achieve and thrive.
Education can change people’s lives and our town for the better. It can change the way in which the world sees Rochdale and give the confidence to our young people to take on the world.