We have finally got back under way in Parliament with well over 200 new colleagues to meet and greet. But while they are new, no one should underestimate that many of these folk are very experienced people in their own right.
In our own area we have Ian Mearns who has given over a quarter of century of service at the highest level of Gateshead Council. Ian Lavery from Wansbeck has led the National Union of Mineworkers for almost a decade. Julie Elliot now MP for Sunderland Central has a long track record in political and industrial organising for the GMB union.
Across the House others will bring a huge variety of personal, business and political experience to our Parliament. Sure, they will need time to settle in but I look forward to meeting them and working with them on cross-party causes where possible as well as opposing them where necessary.
I am keen to continue work on helping to promote constituency interests and good causes.
One issue that won't go away is the continuing search for justice for those with Pleural Plaques who were criminally and negligently injured at work. We secured important changes from the last Labour government but I will persist in asking this new coalition to do the right thing. We may have a new government but this country still needs sensible plans for its energy needs. I will do my best to persuade them to adopt our policies. I am a keen advocate of clean coal to tap into the vast resources of the North East.
That is why this week I hosted a high level meeting in the Commons on energy policy which brought together my old union Unison and energy experts to launch an Energy Prospectus with essays on the challenges facing the energy sector after 20 years of privatisation. It will shape policies to ensure secure supplies of energy, boost jobs and tackle climate change.
The other part of my job in the new Parliament is to hold the government to account. I am worried at their glibness in saying they will defend some front-line jobs which presumably means non-front-line jobs are dispensable. I will be asking them to define what they mean and reminding them that behind every statistic is a person, a life, a home and hope. I accept that we need to tighten our collective belt but the burden must be spread fairly.
Newcastle Chronicle and Journal
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