Echo Column: Office closure makes it clear levelling-up rhetoric is hollow.
ECHO COLUMN: Office closure makes it clear levelling-up rhetoric is hollow.
A child’s access to healthy food should not be quibbled over.
I wish to express my utter and complete condemnation for Vladimir Putin and his administration as it wages an invasion in Ukraine, killing innocent civilians and wounding many more. I have been working closely with colleagues to ensure that the Government offers the best route to asylum for Ukrainian refugees fleeing their homes as their brave soldiers repel the Russian invaders.
But, closer to home, this week I raised the issue of regional food inequality in Parliament.
ECHO COLUMN: A child’s access to healthy food should not be quibbled over.
You can read Sharon's latest Echo column below, or on the Sunderland Echo Website
Inflation is at the highest level that it has been in three decades, food costs are soaring, and fuel bills could increase by another 50% in the next few months. We are in a cost of living crisis.
ECHO COLUMN: Labour would bring down the cost of living to give families security
You can read Sharon's latest Echo column below, or on the Sunderland Echo Website
One hundred and fifty thousand Britons have died of coronavirus,
and this could be as high as 175,000 if the 28-day marker is not used.
ECHO COLUMN: Tories play fast and loose with your safety but want yet more.
You can read Sharon's latest Echo column below or on the Sunderland Echo Website
We must work internationally to stop the spread of Covid-19.
I would like to take the time to express my thanks for the hard work and dedication of our country’s NHS staff, like those working hard at the Nightingale vaccination hub, and the wider scientific community for the vaccination efforts that are saving lives this winter. It is because of these heroes that life has been allowed to return to some sense of normality.
ECHO COLUMN: We must work internationally to stop the spread of Covid-19 - 9 Dec 2021
You can read Sharon's latest Echo column below or on the Sunderland Echo Website.
This has been Tory sleaze and they will never learn.
It has been 31 years since John Major assumed control of the Conservative party but once again an old word has returned to haunt British politics, ‘Sleaze’.
ECHO COLUMN: This has been Tory sleaze and they will never learn
You can read Sharon's latest Echo column below or on the Sunderland Echo Website
On climate change, we need Britain to lead by example.
The 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, will take place this month in Scotland.
It will be the largest summit ever hosted by the United Kingdom, with over 30,000 delegates. After the 2015 Paris Agreement established that we must limit climate change to an increase of 1.5°C, COP26 attendees in Glasgow will look to establish ‘how’ we achieve that limit, perhaps over haggis, neeps and tatties.
They will have a lot to consider.
ECHO COLUMN: On climate change, we need Britain to lead by example
You can read Sharon's latest Echo Column below or on the Sunderland Echo website.
Britain’s social care system is on its knees
A decade of Conservative and Lib-Dem rule has seen a generation of older people struggle to access the care they both need and deserve. Years of neglect have brought about high employee turnover, low pay and chronic funding shortages which plague the sector. It is no exaggeration to say that the Conservatives are the party of levelling down.
ECHO COLUMN: Britain’s social care system is on its knees
You can read Sharon's latest Echo Column below or on the Sunderland Echo website
I can’t imagine many people in the region missed the news coming from Nissan last week, and rightly so.
This three-headline announcement has the potential to transform our country’s automotive industry and is an incredible vote of confidence in our region’s world-class workforce.
Firstly, Sunderland will move full throttle towards its aim of being a carbon-free city by 2040, providing green jobs and clean energy with the construction of a ‘microgrid’.
This microgrid will then power a Gigafactory, which will be producing batteries for electric vehicles as we race towards the 2030 ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars.
And finally, to match the increasing demand for electric vehicles, Nissan have announced their next electric model will be built in Sunderland.
This collaboration between Nissan, AESC Envision, and Sunderland City Council, with support from the Government, is a result of incredible hard work.
But let’s not forget, the automotive industry was pushed to a cliff edge last year awaiting Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal which came through at the very last minute.
The deal emphasised the necessity for a domestic battery-manufacturing industry which for years has been highlighted by Nissan, local stakeholders and in Parliament by myself and colleagues, in order to meet the 2030 electrification goal and the moving goalposts of the UK-EU trade deal.
The Gigafactory commitment is therefore a massive sigh of relief for us all, and will pioneer the way ahead for British batteries.
The Sunderland plant has truly been certified as the jewel in the Nissan crown, with our region reaping the economic and employment rewards. In the North East, we all know people employed by Nissan or its supply chain, so we should all be very proud that their hard work has brought us here.
I will continue to showcase our automotive superpower in Parliament; a job that will be significantly easier after last week’s announcement.
ECHO COLUMN: Nissan announcement is a vote of confidence in our world-class workforce
You can read Sharon's latest Sunderland Echo column below or on the Sunderland Echo website
Last week, a parliamentary session lasting over sixteen months ended. The State Opening of a new session will take place next Tuesday, where, following a centuries old tradition, the Queen will visit Parliament and read out a list of the Conservative Government’s priorities for the year ahead.
The first test for the Conservatives in this Queen’s Speech will be to commit once more to securing jobs and backing our local businesses, helping people across the North East, rather than lining the pockets of their mates with dodgy contracts worth millions of pounds.
In Government, Labour would work with private enterprise to create the next generation of high-skilled jobs, and get people into work, training or education, while ensuring the protection of public sector jobs. Labour’s priority is to see jobs protected by holding the Tories to account and by working hard locally to support businesses, trade unions and employees.
We know that the easing of restrictions will help us see many people return to work. But many will not. This Queen’s Speech follows a national report by Green Alliance which shows Washington and Sunderland West has the highest Labour Market Challenge Score (the greatest combination of pre- and post-pandemic unemployment), scoring 239, compared with the national average of 100. This shows that Washington and Sunderland West will have the highest employment challenge nationwide post-pandemic.
It is clear that it will take our community a long time to rebuild; and it is only the Labour Party whose priorities lie firmly with rebuilding our communities and securing the future of our jobs.
Ten years of Conservative austerity cuts have left our councils cash-strapped, while pay for key workers has decreased in real terms. The pandemic only exacerbated the deep-rooted inequalities already present, while favours were provided for those who have ministers in their Whatsapp contacts.
There’s no reason we can’t have job security, more opportunities, high streets we are proud of, and public services that put people first: the Government just has to prioritise them.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to remind readers to use their vote today in our local elections for Councillors and the Police and Crime Commissioner. Our council has worked hard to ensure that this can be done in Covid-safe manner. Results should be known by midday Friday.