Working with British Cycling to make Manchester’s roads safer

John Leech MP taking part in the critical commute

It is day’s like today, when it’s sunny and there’s a slight breeze that it’s a great time to be a cyclist.

The reason I mention this is because I recently met Martin Gibbs to speak about Cycling. Martin is British Cycling’s Policy and Legal Affairs Director. British Cycling has a membership of 50,000 strong, and their home is Manchester, which is a great tribute to the City. Manchester can be rightly proud of producing more than its fair share of Cycling Gold Medalist at World and Olympic games.

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/

Martin wanted to meet me following my 10 minute rule bill on Road Safety, to raise concerns about proposals to allow larger Lorries to be built and put onto the U.K’s roads. One in five deaths of cyclists involve lorries.

He feels, and I agree, that the needs of cyclists are not being considered in this decision. There are proposals to increase the length of articulated lorries to by 2.05 metres, to a new maximum total length of 18.75m.

At that length, HGVs would be longer than bendy buses which are currently being phased out in cities around the UK after they were reported to be the cause of twice as many injuries as other buses.

Another cause for concern is the infrastructure assessment and the standards set in place by the Road Planning and Design Manual which doesn’t at any point clearly and in depth create enough procedures to take cyclists into account.

This is something that Martin is working on extremely hard with and I have offered him my support to help put cycling higher on the agenda across the board for things such as road design.

Cycling provides a lot of benefits to a lot of people throughout the UK and it is important that this is encouraged as not only a healthy and fun way of getting around, but also a safe mode of transport.

With people like Martin and British Cycling on their side, the safety of the British Cyclist is in good hands.

Connect with British Cycling’s online communities by following the links below:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/britishcycling

and getting news updates by following them on twitter:

https://twitter.com/#!/BCreports

Robin Gibb: Chorlton’s finest.

If the Metrolink is half as smooth as the BeeGees then it will be a massive success.

Last week, I wrote a letter. It was to support an application that was being put together to give Robin Gibb a Knighthood. Before writing the letter of support, I researched Robin’s life and work.

Born on the Isle of Man, as a boy Robin and his family lived in Chorlton, on Keppel Rd. Despite his huge fame and fortune, he always maintained his links with Chorlton.

Away from music, Robin worked with numerous charities. They included Against Breast Cancer, Variety Club, The Royal British Legion, Comic Relief and the Bomber Command Memorial Appeal.

But his major contribution was as an singer and composer for the BeeGees and other artists. Over 200 million records sold.

Manchester has a huge musical heritage. It and is brimming with talent and creativity. It is artists like Robin Gibb that fuelled the creativity. I think it is important to mark his sad passing by highlighting the true impact bands like the Bee Gees had on developing creativity and talent in south Manchester.

That is why I’ve laid down a Parliamentary motion as a tribute and celebration to his lifetime achievements which highlighted his impact on the world of music but also his dedication to charity work and helping others.

Robin Gibb was an immense talent and a true musical legend. He will be truly missed.

My favourite BeeGee’s song is How Deep is Your Love?

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=How+deep+is+your+love%2c+Bee+Gees&view=detail&mid=684448C00206805DE660684448C00206805DE660&first=0&qpvt=How+deep+is+your+love%2c+Bee+Gees

Early Day Motion was laid down by John Leech on 21st May 2012 full text below.

Robin Gibb CBE
That this house joins with family and friends from around the world in celebrating the life and mourning the death of Robin Gibb who died of cancer aged 62, for his work and dedication to the music industry as a writer, composer and performer both as a solo artist as well as the world famous music Group The Bee Gees with his brothers Barry and Maurice who were born in the Isle of Man and childhood residents of Keppel Road, Chorlton, Manchester; commends his untiring commitment to making the world a better place by working with many charities including Against Breast Cancer, Variety Club, The Royal British Legion, Comic Relief and the Bomber Command Memorial Appeal; acknowledges his Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music received in May 2004 from The University of Manchester; and wishes that he may rest in peace knowing that the world has benefitted greatly from his dedication and talent.

IDAHO – International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia

I have always been committed to promoting equality for all; whether I’m signing a Parliamentary motion on human rights abuses in a foreign country, campaigning for Show Racism the Red Card by getting my footy boots on or fighting for the posthumous rights of Alan Turing and other gay men like him. This is why I would like to highlight tomorrow as a special day.

Tomorrow (Thursday 17^th May) is an important day in the calendar of LGBT communities all over the globe, it is IDAHO.

The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) got started officially in 2005 after a year-long campaign to spread the word and get people on board. The idea came about in 2004 as a celebration of the removal of homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1990, on the 17^th May.

The organisers took the date of the removal and turned it into a celebration, now every year IDAHO is celebrated on 17^th May. It’s incredible to think that just 22 years ago the World Health Organisation considered a gay man or woman to be mentally ill.

Thankfully times have changed and IDAHO has been paving the way as an international force by working with local groups over the world to reduce prejudice and promote LGBT causes. On IDAHO in 2005 the first public gay and lesbian demonstrations were held in China, Congo and Bulgaria while on IDAHO in 2006 Moscow held its first Gay Pride event. Organisations in over 70 countries now include IDAHO in there campaigning with many holding major events to recognise and celebrate it.

The Gay and Lesbian Foundation have a campaign this year entitled ‘Flying the Flag’. The initiative is a chance to show your support for IDAHO on 17^th May by flying a Rainbow Flag or marking the day by taking positive action to celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans individuals and communities. I will be showing my support by changing my twitter and facebook profiles to the Rainbow Flag logo.

There will be many events held all over the North West and the UK, to see what is going on you can follow one of the links below:

Lesbian & Gay Foundation

IDAHO UK Website

IDAHO International Website

 

A good day for Prostate Cancer sufferers as Arbiraterone to be made available on NHS.

John and Owen Sharp at a recent Prostate Cancer event in the House of Commons

 

In politics, there are some great days when what you campaign for is exactly what happens. Today’s announcement of NICE’s U-turn on the use of arbiraterone for Prostate Cancer sufferer is one of those days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18076137

Some 32,500 men are diagnosed and 10,000 men die from prostate cancer each year in England and Wales. Tests show that abiraterone would improve the quality of life for many of these men, and on average extend life by four months.

I am delighted that the campaign to get the drug available on the NHS has been successful.  This is down to the hard work of the Prostate Cancer Charity along with the Members of Parliament who supported me in calling for NICE to think again.

The manufacturers dropping the price also made a big difference.

I blogged about arbiraterone at the start of February

http://johnleechmp.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/prostate-cancer-drug-nice-should-think-again/

And working closely with the Prostate Cancer Charity I submitted EDM 2706

http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2010-12/2706

as well as hosting an event in Parliament to spread awareness of the campaign among fellow MPs  I also pressed Ministers on the decision through Parliamentary Questions in the House of Commons.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/judithpotts/100152360/are-prostate-cancer-treatments-being-neglected-by-nice/

Owen Sharp Chief Executive of The Prostate Cancer Charity said:

“John Leech MP has done a huge amount to raise the profile of this issue in parliament and we are extremely grateful to him for all his support.

I am certain that his hard work behind the scenes has proved invaluable to the success of this campaign.”

The news means that suitable men whose cancer has stopped responding to other hormone therapy and chemotherapy will be able to receive the drug without having to make an application through the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Supporting Cystic Fibrosis Week

John at the Cystic Fibrosis Trust "Lung Function" League Table.

On Wednesday I went to an event in parliament to support Cystic Fibrosis Week, which runs from the 29th of April to the 5th of May.

More information about Cystic Fibrosis Week, can be found at www.cfweek.org.uk

The event was organised by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. I  had my lung capacity measured, and scored 94%, which is a good score. A healthy person should score at least 80%. The average score for an adult suffering with Cystic Fibrosis is 65.1%, which shows to what extent the lung function deteriorates under CF.

Cystic Fibrosis is one of the UK’s most common inherited conditions, affecting over 9,000 babies, children and adults. CF is caused by a faulty gene that causes the lungs, digestive system and pancreas clogging them with a thick sticky mucus.

Despite Cystic Fibrosis being a progressive disease with the average age of death for a sufferer being 29 years, because of advances in treatment and access to clinical expertise, many people with CF are living longer than ever before.

 The CF Trust also lobbied to ensure that CF services were protected as much as possible from funding cuts. They argue that patient care is being compromised because posts in vital disciplines – specialist nursing, physiotherapy and dietetics – are being disestablished, downgraded, left vacant or used to backfill general vacancies.

The event gave me a better understand of the problems faced by CF sufferers, and the wonderful work done by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to raise awareness of CF, and fight for a better deal for Cystic Fibrosis sufferers.

Guest Blog; Cllr Bernie Ryan: No library closed by Lib Dem Councils

 The elections next week are about who can provide the best local services.

Last year, more than 40 libraries were closed by Conservative and Labour councils. In stark contrast, for the second year in a row, no Liberal Democrat-controlled council in England and Wales closed any library.

Liberal Democrat-controlled Cardiff is opening five new libraries and Portsmouth and Bristol are also opening new libraries.

While Conservatives and Labour councils cut their budgets without regard for the most vulnerable, Liberal Democrat-controlled councils know how to protect essential services.

Libraries are a life-line for local communities, especially for those who are less well off, and give people the opportunity to relax, learn new information and skills or to use the internet if they don’t have it at home.

They are also an opportunity to get young people interested in reading. They should not be cut. Liberal Democrats understand that. Labour and Tories do not.

We need to work harder to stop cyber-bullying

Greater Manchester Police have stated that ten children a day are telling them that they are being bullied on Facebook. The real figure will be higher due to unreported cases .

Last November the NSPCC reported that 38% of young people have been affected by cyber-bullying in the UK and that 11% of Childline calls are related to cyber bullying on Facebook.

It’s an unfortunate reality that in today’s age of social media and widespread internet access, children are being bullied simply by going online in their own home. I have spoken about the increasing problem of cyber bullying before and the need to balance the freedom of the internet with the need to protect the vulnerable.

Some measures are already in place, like  

 www.cybermentors.org.uk

This helps victims by encouraging them to discuss their experiences and show support to others who are being subjected to cyber bullying.

 A school in the Harpurhey area of Manchester has also been teaching their Year 7s about how social media works and how lenient privacy settings on social media sites can mean personal information about you can be found easily. Raising awareness of the existence of cyber bullying and how it can be dealt with, as well as how social media websites work seems to be a good way of showing victims of cyber bullying a way out.

If the problem continues to increase, a review of the three laws which collectively deal with cyber bullying, the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and the Communications Act 2003, may need to be made so the Government can discover whether cyber bullying would be better dealt with using specific cyber bullying legislation.

The early years of education are incredibly important to someone’s life as they help build the personal grow and basic skills that a youngster needs to flourish as an adult. Bullying undermines this and can leave a psychological scar for years. I hope that those victimised by bullying are able to get more help and support, whether it be on-line, or in the playground.