News Guardian Articles - Alan Campbell MP for Tynemouth

Promising local plans for town centres despite lack of government support

Many town centres were in difficulty even before COVID and changes during the pandemic have turbo charged those problems. Town centres are important to so many of us. They are part of our identity even though many have seen better days. The challenge for government is how to first save…

Don’t blow the Budget

Next month’s budget will be the first to be delivered to a largely virtual Commons Chamber. Traditionally the Chancellor is heard without intervention to ensure the audience don’t miss any detail. The Leader of the Opposition’s response is one of the hardest to deliver – and again is heard without…

Proper funding for social care

A few weeks ago, the Communities Secretary wrote to local authority leaders thanking councils for their exceptional service during the COVID pandemic. He highlighted social care as being an important part of the response and spoke about extra funding going forward. Ministers had originally promised that councils would get “whatever…

Safe voting important for May

Last week the Government said the local elections in May will go ahead as planned though “the situation is being kept under review”. I hope that optimism is not misplaced. There are a lot of elections due this spring. Some were held over from last year when the country was…

Vaccination the No 1 Priority

The arrival of a vaccine in the fight against the pandemic is a 2021 good news story. It can be a bit galling to listen to the Prime Minister and Health Secretary who would have you think they had personally cooked the vaccine up in the kitchen in Number 10.…

In the Bleak Midwinter

“In the Bleak Midwinter” – Christina Rosetti’s poem set to the music of Gustav Holst – is the nation’s favourite carol – and mine. It is hard, however, to remember a midwinter as bleak as this. Our country already had one of the highest death rates from COVID 19 and…

Respect our shopworkers

There are many unsung heroines and heroes of this pandemic, including the people who have kept our country moving, kept us supplied and kept our communities safe. On that list are the army of shopworkers who have kept us fed, managed the shortages and managed social distancing. With more online…

Carers Rights Day

Carers have always been important for our society and our health service, giving their time and energy selflessly for other people. This pandemic has made their role and the challenge they face even greater. Carers UK estimate that the current crisis has meant an additional 4.5 million people taking on…

Good news in troubled times

President Elect Biden’s victory will have profound implications for politics around the world including here in Britain. It can only help that a Biden administration intends to rejoin the WHO and rejoin the international fight against coronavirus. It will help that the new President will rejoin the Paris Accord, make…

We will remember them

The British Legion Poppy Appeal was launched last week and, like everything else, it has had to adapt to the Covid crisis. There’ll be fewer volunteers doing face to face collections and whilst supermarkets and other outlets may still take part, most donations will probably be made online. Wearing a…

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