Sharon Hodgson MP

Washington & Gateshead South Constituency

Speeches by Sharon Hodgson MP

During a debate brought by Liz Twist MP, and alongside fellow North East MPs, I raised the lack of quality bus services in the North East.

2021_11_24_Bus_services_debate_screen_Capture.JPG
Image copyright, Parliamentary Recording Unit, 2021.

At a recent street surgery in Oxclose, the inconsistency and infrequency of buses was brought up many times. Reliable and frequent bus services connect people to the economy and are vital for areas like Washington which risk being stranded. However, our Local Authorities are having to bear the brunt of the Government’s public transport cuts as the Government has slashed covid funding for the Metro. With the Leamside line snubbed in the Integrated Rail Plan, bus provision is even more important. I will continue to press the Government on this issue and work with colleagues like Bridget Phillipson and Paul Howell regarding the reinstatement of the Leamside line.

Bus Services North-east England - Westminster Hall debate

During a debate brought by Liz Twist MP, and alongside fellow North East MPs, I raised the lack of quality bus services in the North East.Image copyright, Parliamentary Recording Unit,... Read more

Giving Every baby the Best Start in Life debate

Sharon Hodgson spoke in the debate - Giving Every baby the Best Start in Life debate - brought by the Hon Member for Richmond Park, Sarah Olney MP.Watch Sharon's contribution...

In-school Counselling, Commons Chamber on 9th November 2021.

2021_11_09_School_base_CounsellinG_Debate_screen_grab.png


Sharon Hodgson MP spoke in a debate in the the House of Commons Chamber, brought by The Rt. Hon Nick Brown MP, on school-based counselling services provision.

A silent epidemic is sweeping through our schoolchildren in poor mental health.  For some children, school is a solace from difficulties at home.

In-school counselling services help children cope with a broad range of emotional pressures and reduce chronic mental health problems.  Only around 61% of schools in the UK benefit from a counselling service, a sad deficit which the Tory Government must address.

Watch Sharon's speech during this debate >

School-based Counselling Services debate - 9 Nov, 2021

In-school Counselling, Commons Chamber on 9th November 2021.Sharon Hodgson MP spoke in a debate in the the House of Commons Chamber, brought by The Rt. Hon Nick Brown MP, on... Read more

Sharon Hodgson MP speaks in the Legacy of Jo Cox debate - 09/09/2021

2021_09_09_Legacy_of_Jo_Cox_debate_in_parliament_screen_grab.png

Legacy of Jo Cox debate

Sharon Hodgson MP speaks in the Legacy of Jo Cox debate - 09/09/2021 Read more

Sharon Hodgson MP spoke in the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review debate - 8th July, 2021, brought by the Hon Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Emma Hardy MP.

2021_07_08_medical_devices_debate_screen_grab.png

Watch the debate here - Sharon Hodgson is at 15:53 time marker >

Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review debate - 8th July, 2021

Sharon Hodgson MP spoke in the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review debate - 8th July, 2021, brought by the Hon Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Emma... Read more

Following her PMQ in December 2020, Sharon once again called on the Government to use the upcoming Queen's Speech to ban fire and rehire practices.

You can read Sharon's speech below or on Hansard. You can also watch Sharon's speech here.

Image is of Sharon speaking virtually in the debate

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Mrs Murray. I begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Kate Osborne) on securing her first Westminster Hall debate on such an important subject and her excellent speech. It is also a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery).

I first raised fire and rehire with the Prime Minister on 16 December 2020 at Prime Minister’s Question Time, after highly skilled engineers at Centrica British Gas were told they had to sign new contracts before Christmas or else they would be fired and rehired in the new year on worse terms. The Prime Minister’s response was deeply concerning:

“it is also vital that we have a flexible economy that is able to generate jobs, particularly when we are going to go through a very difficult and bumpy time.”—[Official Report, 16 December 2020; Vol. 686, c. 272.]

During this “very difficult and bumpy time”, as the Prime Minister put it, is exactly when people need stability and certainty in their lives. Yet according to Unite the Union, one in 10 workers is already threatened with fire and rehire, and many more are likely to face this manipulative process as furlough comes to an end.

Earlier this month, I was saddened to see approximately 350 British Gas engineers lose their jobs because they refused to sign a contract with worse terms and pay. Equally sad is the thousands upon thousands of other GMB members at British Gas signing new but worse contracts under duress. Yet when my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Kim Johnson) raised it with the Prime Minister just last week, he was not even aware of the issue. Four months on from my question, hundreds have been sacked and the Prime Minister still does not have an answer.

It is not just British Gas engineers either; fire and rehire is also used by British Airways in Heathrow, and I am sure my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) will go into further detail on those disputes. Go North West drivers have been on strike for more than 50 days, while Jacobs Douwe Egberts coffee producers is starting an indefinite overtime ban on International Workers Day, 1 May, and engineers at Brush Electrical Machines are balloting for action against pay cuts of up to £15,000.

Fire and rehire is an exploitative and illegitimate negotiation tactic that causes real hurt and anger. Household names have betrayed decades of trust from the nation. These tactics damage not only their workforces but their customer base, who will feel the same way at the disgraceful way those businesses treat their employees. The Government have an opportunity with the upcoming Queen’s Speech to work with Labour and the relevant trade unions such as Unite and the GMB to introduce vital legislation that will ban fire and rehire practices and give workers the stability and assurances that they need at this—again in the Prime Minister’s own words—“very difficult and bumpy time”.

Fire and Rehire Westminster Hall debate 27.04.21

Following her PMQ in December 2020, Sharon once again called on the Government to use the upcoming Queen's Speech to ban fire and rehire practices. You can read Sharon's speech below...

On Tuesday 11th February, Sharon secured a Westminster Hall debate on Waste Incinerator Facilities and raised her concerns about the planning application for a gasification plant to be built in Hillthorn Park.

Gasification_Westminster_Hall.PNG 

You can watch the debate here >

You can read the debate here >

You can read Sharon's speech below:

Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)
I beg to move,

That this House has considered waste incineration facilities.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. Here we are again, talking about what for some of us in the Chamber seems to be our favourite subject lately. We have had similar debates, including one held just last month—I spoke in it, and other hon. Members present attended—but I wanted a much longer debate, to give everyone who wants to speak the opportunity to do so. The issue is particularly relevant for me due to a planning application for a waste incineration gasification facility in my constituency at Hillthorn Park—the appeal process against it is due to start a week today.

Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen) (Lab)
Will my hon. Friend give way?

Mrs Hodgson
Yes—wow, that was quick!

Nick Thomas-Symonds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way, and I congratulate her on securing this debate. She mentioned the appeal process. Constituents who contacted me about this debate are concerned that the voice of the local community is heard throughout the planning process. Does she agree that that is essential for large projects such as this?

Mrs Hodgson
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I will come on to the 10,800 of my constituents who have been in touch with me. They signed a petition, and they certainly want their voice to be heard.

I wholeheartedly oppose this planning application, and I will come to the reasons why shortly. Before I do, I thank hon. Members present who will be expressing their opposition—I assume it will all be opposition—to waste incineration facilities.

On Saturday, I held a public meeting about my local planning application, to give constituents an opportunity to express their opinions, as my hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds) said. It was well attended, despite the short notice—I arranged it only the week before—and people came from across the community and the political spectrum, with Labour, Lib Dem and Green councillors and activists in attendance. As this debate shows, this is a cross-party issue, and I am pleased to see colleagues from all parts of the House.

As I said at the public meeting on Saturday, which was attended by more than 100 people, no one in that room was in favour of a gasification plant being built in our area. In my 15 years of being an MP, no other issue has galvanised so many people and brought them together against something in the way this issue has. It really is a community movement, with campaign groups such as No Monster Incinerator in Washington or Washington and Wearside Against Gasification leading the way to oppose the application by informing local residents and getting signatures on petitions. As I mentioned, 10,800 people have so far signed a petition in opposition, which I presented to Parliament last month.

Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)
I thank the hon. Lady for organising that meeting and the debate today. To pick up on what she said, does she recognise the expertise in highly technical matters that has been built up in communities by the groups she mentioned? They scrutinise legislation and regulations closely. In my constituency, the Docks Incinerator Action Group has drilled down into the detail and caused real problems to the proposers of a development.

Mrs Hodgson
That is an important point. I will come on to someone without whom I and most of the campaigners would not have been able to launch such a strong and informed appeal against this decision, making a world of difference.

I am so proud to represent and work with people who show such determination and community spirit. Like them, I oppose the planning application and will be speaking at the appeal process, which begins next week. I also thank the United Kingdom Without Incineration Network and Shlomo Dowen, in particular, for his work and support on this campaign. We could not have got this far without his expertise—a point the right hon. Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Alun Cairns) touched on.

As the shadow Minister for public health, it would be remiss of me not to point out the public health implications of gasification and incineration, which need to be taken into account. In the planning application in my constituency, we still do not know what technology will be used, even though the application has reached this stage. We know that the technology has never been used in the UK before, although we are told that it has been used in Japan, a country with very different safety standards and regulations from the UK.

The lack of information and transparency from the planning applicant does little to allay the fears of my constituents and me. On Saturday, constituents told me that young families were moving away from the area because of the fear of carcinogenics, diseases and birth defects. My constituents should not have to live in fear of being test subjects for something such as that.

Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South) (SNP)
I thank the hon. Lady for securing this debate. In my constituency, an incinerator is due to be built near our local primary school and a number of local houses in Torry. Does she share my concerns about the potential public health impact on residents and the children at that school?

Mrs Hodgson
I absolutely do. In our previous debate, I spoke about how nine primary schools in my constituency, as well as many thousands of homes, are within a one-mile radius of this development. That is unacceptable, so I agree with the hon. Gentleman. Also, a technology that has never been used in the UK before is not welcome in Washington and Sunderland Wes—or, probably, in any of our constituencies.

Surely a technology that is expected to release millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide during the anticipated lifetime of the gasification facility should not be backed by the Government. Indeed, that is a direct contradiction of the Government’s policies on climate change and waste processing. For every one tonne of plastic incinerated, approximately two tonnes of CO2 are released into the atmosphere, therefore contributing to climate change, whereas, perversely, one tonne of plastic in landfill releases zero CO2, so incineration cannot be and is not the solution we seek—it has to be more recycling.

Bambos Charalambous (Enfield, Southgate) (Lab)
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech on an important issue. She just mentioned recycling. Does she agree that much more needs to be done to encourage more recycling so that we do not have, or reduce, the need to rely on incineration or landfill?

Mrs Hodgson
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. More recycling has to be the solution; it will never be landfill, and certainly not incineration. How does the Minister expect to meet the Government’s climate target of being carbon neutral by 2050 if planning applications for waste incineration continue to go ahead?

A recent study by Waste and Resources Action Programme Cymru found that 75% of commercial and industrial waste sent to incineration or landfill in Wales is recyclable. With recycling rates flatlining, will the Government consider introducing a tax on incineration, as promised in 2018, to address climate harm and encourage recycling rates? There is a precedent, as that is what the landfill tax aimed to do. Surely it is counterproductive to have a landfill tax to deter burying plastic, which causes no CO2, but not to have an incineration tax for incinerating plastic, which causes masses of CO2.

Another issue that neighbouring MPs and constituents might not yet have fully realised exists is that, due to the prevailing winds, the people to the east of our proposed site, in Sunderland and South Shields, may also find themselves harmed by the plant. I hope that this debate will help to alert a bigger audience across the wider area to the impending threat that is being discussed just a few miles from them.

Sunderland City Council is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030—a target that will be totally scuppered if the planning application for Hillthorn Park is approved. The problem is the emissions from not just the plant but the 110 HGVs that will work around the clock to ship waste to it.

Elliot Colburn (Carshalton and Wallington) (Con)
The hon. Lady is making a powerful case. Does she agree that the issue is not just the incinerators but all the traffic that comes with them to transport the waste? That adds to pressure on local roads, which is concerning because of CO2 emissions.

Mrs Hodgson
Absolutely. Residents raised that point on Saturday—especially those living around the proposed site, who will be bothered by the congestion, extra fumes and mess from those heavy goods vehicles. The HGVs are supposed to be strapped and covered, but every day stuff flies off the lorries that go to the other waste recycling plants in my constituency.

In 2017 I attended the planning exhibition for this plant. I was told that living next to it would be 40 times safer than living next to a major road. I find that dubious, to say the least, but surely, in time, with greater numbers of greener vehicles, that would not be such a defence, even if it was true. We should be going forwards, not backwards, so that argument cannot be valid. Local roads in Washington are already congested, with the added problem of HGVs parking up alongside roads and drivers leaving their litter—perhaps I will have a full debate on that issue another day. That shows how problematic some nearby businesses already are to the people of Washington and Sunderland West—they are not all the best of neighbours.

A constituent told me on Saturday that he could not have his windows open or sit in the garden on some days because the noise and pollution from nearby roads was overbearing—that is without the extra 110 HGVs per day. Constituents have raised similar issues over the years about the smell and vermin from nearby waste processing sites such as Teal Farm. The last thing we need is another contributor to the problem.

My constituents and I know that the Environment Agency is a little toothless in tackling the problems that waste processing sites cause. We are rightly concerned that any issues arising from this gasification plant will bring just more of the same. If the planning application is approved, my constituents fear that their houses will suddenly become worthless; because of all the concerns I have mentioned, no one would want to buy a house next door to a plant such as this.

It is not known yet who will use the energy generated from the gasification plant. It was thought that Nissan, which is almost next door to the site, would use it—a pipe from the plant to Nissan was visible on the plans when I saw them—but, as far as I am aware, no such agreement has been made. Sunderland City Council is keen to work with Nissan to negotiate a safer and affordable means of generating energy, so there really is no need for this plant at all with regard to Nissan. I should make it clear that the Sunderland City Council planning team rejected the plant and is making a strong defence against it. We are all united against it, from politicians to the council, residents and everyone else.

The chair of the Teal Farm Residents Association wrote to me recently. He said:

“Over the years, the environment and landscape of this region has suffered greatly and we are just starting to move on from the effects of all of that not just environmentally but also the health and well-being of the community.

The region now boasts some old and new landmarks which we are justly proud of, from Penshaw monument to the Spire bridge.

We don’t want an ecological eyesore to become the new ‘landmark’ which tells visitors they’ve reached Sunderland and we don’t want the health and welfare of residents to be jeopardised by having this proposal inflicted upon them. This is a proposal which is unwanted and unnecessary.”

It is exactly that: unwanted and unnecessary.

There are no benefits to be reaped from this planning application. There would not even be huge numbers of jobs created, as only 35 new full-time jobs are being offered. But the jobs pale in comparison to the public health concerns and climate change challenges. I hope I have made it clear, even in these brief comments, that the gasification plant at Hillthorn Park in Washington must be opposed, and I will continue to do just that.

Westminster Hall debate on Waste Incineration Facilities 11.02.20

On Tuesday 11th February, Sharon secured a Westminster Hall debate on Waste Incinerator Facilities and raised her concerns about the planning application for a gasification plant to be built in Hillthorn... Read more

During a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday 28th January 2020, Sharon spoke about the planning application for a gasification plant in Hillthorn Park, Washington. 

WHallGasification2.PNG

You can read the full debate here

You can watch Sharon's speech here

You can read Sharon's speech below:

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hosie. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), both for securing this important debate and for his excellent speech to set the scene.

In 2017, a planning application for a gasification plant to be built in Hillthorn Park in Washington was submitted to Sunderland City Council. Since then, approximately 10,800 people have signed petitions opposing the plant—I presented one of them to the House last week.

Many of my constituents have contacted me about the planning application, and it came up a lot on the doorstep during the general election, so I am left in no doubt about how my constituents feel. Never in my 15 years as an MP have I seen an issue galvanise my constituents in such a way. They are totally against it. I share their concerns and join them in opposing the application. Although the planning application was submitted almost three years ago, we still do not know what type of gasification technology will be used if it is approved.

I am told that some of the options have never been used in the UK or in Europe. The technology has, however, been used in Japan, which has very different safety measures from the UK. Does the Minister think it right or fair for our constituents to be used as guinea pigs to test a new technology? Would she be happy if this took place in her constituency? I am sure that her constituents would not. My constituents are concerned about the short-term and long-term health and safety of those living around the plant.

The proposed site is as close as 100 meters to homes, and there are nine schools within a one-mile radius. Those communities will bear the brunt of increased traffic and the associated pollution, and they will be most at risk should anything go wrong with the plant, bearing in mind that the technology is totally untested in this country. The plant would not even be a great future employer—only 35 full-time equivalent jobs would be created. Basically, I can see no positives at all in the building of the gasification plant in my constituency—only many negatives.

The planning application is in direct contradiction to the Government’s own policies on climate change and waste processing, and the proposed plant could be expected to release millions of tonnes of CO—my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth mentioned that risk—within its anticipated lifetime. Undoubtedly, that will have a negative impact on our environment and on climate change. What assessment have the Government made of the impact that waste incineration could have on climate change?

I am happy to report that the planning application for this gasification plant was rejected in July last year by the local planning and highways committee. However, the application is up for appeal by the applicant, Rolton Kilbride, and the appeal will start on 18 February. I am sure that Members present will have no doubt that, based on my concerns—some of which I have raised today and many others I have not had time to mention—I plan to make strong representations to the planning inspectorate and to ask it to reject the application.

I have already written to the planning inspectorate and the national planning casework unit to request that, in the event that the application is approved, the Secretary of State recovers the appeal. If that request is approved, it will then give the Secretary of State the final say on the application, which I will lobby her strongly to reject. For now, it is a waiting game for me and my constituents, but I remain absolutely committed in my opposition to the plant. The health and the lives of my constituents should not be gambled with.

I will continue to work ceaselessly with constituents, campaigners and local councillors of every party—they all oppose the plans—to oppose the building of this plant. It must not be allowed to happen, and the united voices of all local people must be heard and heeded.

 

Read Sharon's work on the gasification plant at Hillthorn Park here >

Westminster Hall debate on Industrial and Commercial Waste Incineration 28.01.2020

During a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday 28th January 2020, Sharon spoke about the planning application for a gasification plant in Hillthorn Park, Washington.  You can read the full debate... Read more

Following the 2019 General Election result for Washington and Sunderland West constituency, Sharon made the below speech at the count in Silksworth Sports Complex.

191213_SH_speaking_at_count.jpg

**CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY**

I want to start by thanking voters in Washington and Sunderland West. It is an honour to be re-elected as your Member of Parliament.

Thank you to the Returning Officer, Patrick Melia and the team at Electoral Services, polling station staff and the counting agents, who have done a sterling job working on this snap election in the midst of winter.

Thank you to the police who have kept us all safe whilst we campaign during these turbulent times.

Thank you so much, as always, to my husband, Alan, and my kids Joseph and Emily who support me endlessly. Without your continued love and support I could not do any of this.

To my agent, Sean Laws, my campaign team and the amazing CLP activists and volunteers who have given up so much of their valuable time over the last 6 weeks to help with my campaign, you have been out in all weathers delivering leaflets and speaking to voters: I can’t thank you enough.

Boris Johnson thought that a December election would scupper us, but we are made of sturdy stuff in the North East.

By re-electing three Labour MPs, voters in Sunderland today have shown that they reject the politics of division and if there is a Conservative Majority, as the exit poll is showing, then I will return to Parliament, as soon as it is recalled, as the representative of Washington and Sunderland West to hold the most right-wing Government of our times to account.

Of course, the results aren’t in yet, not everywhere is as quick as Sunderland so we have a long night ahead of us, but I can assure all of my constituents that I will continue to be a trustworthy voice in Parliament that will put them at the forefront of all of my decisions.

I will defend our NHS from further privatisation and from a bad trade deal with the US.

I will call for more funding for our schools and emergency services.

And I will continue to be a voice for the North East, championing our local areas and calling for further investment in the region.

The North East exists all of the time, and not just when the Conservative Party want it to exist during election time.

The North East must be heard and I will do all that I can to ensure that it is in the weeks, months and years ahead.

Thank you.

Sharon's acceptance speech following 2019 General Election

Following the 2019 General Election result for Washington and Sunderland West constituency, Sharon made the below speech at the count in Silksworth Sports Complex. **CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY** I want to...

On Friday 19th July, Sharon spoke at the Planning and Highways Committee meeting regarding the proposed application for a gasification plant to be built at Hillthorn Farm. During the meeting, Councillors voted to reject the planning application.

IMG_7614.JPG

You can read Sharon's speech below

** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY **

I’m the MP for Washington and Sunderland West and the proposed site for this application is in my constituency.

I am here today to represent the views of my constituents, as they have been expressed to me over the last two years.

In my 14 years as an MP no other issue has galvanised my constituents to campaign against something than what is before you today.

Whilst the vast majority of complaints have understandably come from Washington residents, I don’t actually want this plant built anywhere near any of my constituents. In Washington or Sunderland.

I would like to begin by expressing my disappointment that this meeting is being held in Sunderland, rather than in Washington where the proposed site is, and in the middle of the afternoon as that has limited who could attend due to work or care commitments – as well as the distance to travel.

My constituents in Washington are very proud of its heritage and industry.

However, communities feel they are becoming the victim of Washington’s excellence, with industries – such as the waste processing sites cluster in Teal Farm – being akin to the nightmare neighbour next door.

Many of my constituents have told me they are worried that Washington risks becoming the dumping ground of the whole region and beyond!

If this gasification plant is a regional or national necessity, why can’t it just be built well away from homes and schools?

As one constituent wrote to me, and I quote:

“The people of Washington do not want this monstrosity built near to where we live and work.”

End quote.

As I mentioned, some communities in Washington are already suffering as a result of nearby industries.

Building a waste gasification plant in Washington may attract more of the same problems that residents living near existing industries face such as: vermin, flies and odours.

The applicant has failed to confirm what waste will be used in the feedstock, or how it will be treated.

This is particularly relevant in light of the experience of the residents in Derby, who have had two years of foul smells from the Sinfin gasification plant, despite all the reassurances given by the operator at the planning application stage .

In terms of this application, the Environment Agency are unsatisfied about the technical detail with respect to the odour management system.

Surely the Committee cannot approve an application that fails to satisfy the Environment Agency, and the concerns of my constituents, who will have to live alongside it?

Waste will be coming from across the Northern region, in 110 HGVs a day, which will have significant adverse impacts on both transport congestion as well as recycling rates in the region.

The pollution that would be emitted from the stack and from the transport to and from the facility would also have serious adverse impacts well beyond the immediate locality.

We therefore do not know the short or long-term health and environmental impacts that an approved plant in Washington would have on the local and wider population.

Last year, I held a meeting with constituents and the applicant managing company, Rolton Kilbride, to discuss concerns about the proposed plant’s technology.

They were unable to confirm what technology or feedstock would be used and a year on we are still none the wiser. This is deeply alarming.

What they did say though is that the technology would be similar to one used in Japan; but never one previously used in Europe.

The people of Washington should not be used as guinea pigs for technology used for the first time in Europe.

My constituents are concerned about several matters not just how close the proposed site is to thousands of homes and ten schools all within a mile radius, but also the effects on air quality, public health and impact on house prices.

There is also the very real danger it could pose to any metro extension to Washington.

Therefore in conclusion, knowing the anxiety of constituents and the lack of information from the applicant, could you really approve this application with a clear conscience?

I called the application in to the Secretary of State in August last year, but that should not be used as a safety net for the Council.

Please don’t gamble with the health and lives of my constituents – they deserve their elected representatives to have their best interests at heart at all times and this is too important a decision to get wrong.

Thank you.

ENDS

Planning and Highways Committee Meeting: Gasification Plant, Hillthorn Farm 19.07.19

On Friday 19th July, Sharon spoke at the Planning and Highways Committee meeting regarding the proposed application for a gasification plant to be built at Hillthorn Farm. During the meeting,... Read more

The Labour Party will place cookies on your computer to help us make this website better.

Please read this to review the updates about which cookies we use and what information we collect on our site.

To find out more about these cookies, see our privacy notice. Use of this site confirms your acceptance of these cookies.