News Guardian Articles - Alan Campbell MP for Tynemouth

Police numbers don’t add up

The Prime Minister must be secretly pleased that so few people are as maths literate as he claims. Otherwise they might ask even more questions about last weeks announcement on police numbers. The Government claimed to have met their 20,000 more officers target, conveniently just days before important local elections.…

The Great Stink

In 1858 the hot summer weather mixed with the human effluent in the River Thames to cause the Great Stink making the work of Parliament almost impossible. Then an active Government, in a confident nation, built a sewage infrastructure much of which survives today. But if you are waiting for…

NHS in crisis

I’m often asked by constituents to attend an event in Parliament in support of a cause they care strongly about. No more so than in support of health charities who work so hard to highlight the need for funding for research or how else they might help to effectively tackle…

Can we afford the Tories?

There’s a rule which says Chancellor’s must not leak their budget before delivering it t the House of Commons. At least one Chancellor paid for his lapse with his job. How different it seems nowadays. If Ministers resigned for leaking statements today there would be few left in the Cabinet.…

Don’t lose your right to vote

There are important local elections across England on 4th May and campaigns will start in a few weeks time. These elections are significant because of the big number of seats being contested but also because they may also be the last local elections before the next General Election. The elections…

Tackling crime and anti-social behaviour

There are fewer things more corrosive of local communities than crime and antisocial behaviour. It can leave communities feeling powerless and under siege. Parents worry about their children playing in the park or being targeted online. Pensioners worry about being scammed or robbed in the street and small businesses worry…

Catch up with Cancer

Last Saturday was World Cancer Day. Cancer services are at breaking point with record waiting times for treatment. No region is currently meeting the Government’s target of 85% of patients being seen within 62 days. Modern technology will allow earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment. Radiotherapy is an example of…

End of the line for levelling up

So farewell, levelling up. This Government struggled to explain what this flagship policy meant in practice which allowed them to adapt it to suit their political priorities. And as the recent funding round confirmed the North East is not their priority. As I have written before, eventually the Government would…

The NHS is in crisis

As parliament returns after the Christmas recess there’s a sense of real crisis particularly in the NHS. 2023 will see the 75th anniversary of the setting up of the NHS but for many in healthcare things have never seemed so bad. There are particular challenges like Covid and flu but…

Happy New Year

Things can only get better. The Prime Minister says it’s his aim to give people peace of mind. That’s ironic because many people would like to give him a piece of theirs. There’s a cost of living crisis and a squeeze on household incomes, the problems in transport and our…

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