I had social media growing up so I deeply understand the concerns.
But growing up I didn’t have access to tutors. My mum wasn’t around as she worked evenings. When I needed help revising for my GCSEs, I turned to educational content on YouTube. For kids from backgrounds like mine, it offers support they might not get elsewhere. That matters in this conversation.
@LeeAndersonMP_ You don’t need to argue with me, Lee.
You need to listen to Gemma, the person who runs The Hamlet, and then decide whether as a Party you are prepared to do the decent thing.
I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election.
I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics.
Ten years ago, I decided to leave Westminster. Why? Because, after 16 years, I came to the conclusion that our national political system does not work for areas like ours. I learnt this fighting its failure to invest in the Wigan borough, for justice for the Hillsborough families and against its treatment of Greater Manchester during the pandemic.
Over the last decade, I have been challenging this failure from the outside and building a new and better way of doing politics. We have built Greater Manchester into the fastest-growing city-region in the UK and put buses back under public control, introducing a £2 fare cap to help people with cost-of-living pressures.
However, there is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester. Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people.
Millions are struggling and they need the Labour Government to succeed. It has already made changes to make life better for them in its first two years. After this week, we owe it to people to come back together as a Labour movement, giving the Prime Minister and the Government the space and stability they need as the by-election takes place.
I want to recognise the difficult decision taken by Josh Simons and the sacrifice he and his family are making. I have worked closely with him as Mayor on issues like flooding and illegal waste dumping and have seen first-hand how effective he has been. He has put the communities of Makerfield first, made a real difference for them and should take great pride in that.
Finally, I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times. We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again.
ENDS
I welcome HMRC’s conclusion, which has cleared me of any wrongdoing.
I have been exonerated by HMRC of the accusation that I deliberately sought to avoid tax.
When purchasing a home of my own with a mortgage, I did not own any other property and had no personal financial interest in the court-instructed trust set up to manage my son’s financial award. I was advised by experts that I should pay stamp duty at the standard rate.
I set out to pay the correct amount of tax. I took reasonable care and acted in good faith, based on the expert advice I received, and HMRC has accepted this.
I have always sought to act with integrity, and I believe politicians should be held to high standards - that is why I resigned from government and cooperated fully with HMRC.
I wanted to ensure that I paid every penny that I owed, and have done so. I am relieved that my family can now move on - and that I can get on with my job.
So to be clear, the BBC and ITV are censoring a political advert because the Reform politicians being *quoted* are too offensive to be broadcast, and therefore their words must be hidden from the public?
This is just the BBC helping out Farage again isn't it?
As a previous renew candidate, i feel attacked by this article. I won the election the first time around as did many of my colleagues and friends - their “strong mandate” only arises from dubious circumstances. But to say we played a negative campaign and targeted members is 1/3
Of course AI didn’t write your whole book @GoodwinMJ. But this explanation in @spectator for the false quotes is laughable. How did you get them wrong? Transcribing while drunk? Translating into Urdu and back? I think these are AI hallucinations you didn’t bother to check.