A busy and fulfilling day today. At lunchtime I was joined on the doorstep by Kevan Jones MP, Shadow Armed Forces Minister and a very old friend of Stockton South. He pops down from Chester le Street most weeks for an hour to help me have good conversations with local residents about what matters to them. It was doubly good today as the campaign team and I were also able to welcome another special visitor when Dan Jarvis MP for Barnsley and Shadow Minister for Justice came as part of his 9 days, 9 regions, 900 miles #roadtrip. Dan has spoken to many hundreds of people personally over this last week and was particularly interested to hear from so many struggling bus passengers in Thornaby. Action on public transport will be a top pledge for me. After knocking on doors Dan and I went off to Endeavour Housing, part of North Star where the excellent Chief Executive Angela Lockwood hosted a round table discussion for us. We drew together people from across Stockton who work with or support victims of domestic violence. I wanted Dan to hear first hand from the great staff and leaders at Endeavour, Harbour, Thirteen and Hewitts Family Law specialists about the ways in which (mainly) women are abused all over again by the system letting them down - particularly with the loss of legal aid. We also paused to reflect on the terrible plight of dads who suffer from the bedroom tax while keeping bedrooms for their children who live with them perhaps at weekends. It was useful and constructive to be able to bring a listening ear, someone who may be in a position to make a difference, to hear deep concerns they have previously expressed to me. Bringing people together and forging connections and partnerships has always been the way I operate. After a few short hours to catch up on some paperwork we were out tonight again on the doorstep in Ingleby where another big team pushed on to engage with, in this case, my neighbours. We were joined by the BBC who wanted to film my brilliant team at work. Tune in to Sunday Politics North East and Cumbria this weekend to see our Anne in the spotlight. A very positive and empowering day where I feel I have been able to make a difference. Thanks to everyone who made it possible
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 22:22:47 +0000
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