Laughable idea for us to move to the South
No sooner had I finished writing my last column for the Express, extolling the virtues of Yorkshire and how we as an area have a lot to be proud of, than the Conservative think tank Policy Exchange announced the way to solve our country's problems was to get everyone from the North to move to the South.
While the Conservative Party scurried to distance themselves from their friends' ideas, it left many outraged that such a ridiculous idea could be taken seriously.
There is much left to be done in our area but to say regeneration has failed is patently wrong.
Comparing our area today with how we found it in 1997, the differences are stark. To start with, people are in work.
In 1996 mass unemployment left behind by the Tories saw families without hope and not knowing where to turn. The ruthless destruction of the mining industry saw generations lose their jobs with no offer of retraining or help from the government of the time.
For any Conservatives to now say those people should give up and move south is as shocking as it is laughable.
In my constituency there are remarkable projects happening. Cedars Centre, in Hemsworth, is helping people who want to start their own businesses.
Havercroft and Ryhill Community Learning Centre, along with its sports centre, is a great asset to the community and provides a number of opportunities for local residents, as does Crofton Community Centre.
Chesneys, in Featherstone, is a multi-million pound investment that offers managed work spaces and a plethora of training opportunities.
Local schools are consistently turning in better results and the area's high schools are evolving into community hubs.
Minsthorpe Community College has been approved as a pre-Olympic training venue for basketball and indoor volleyball. With all of this happening, it angers me to hear people say the regeneration has failed.
I mentioned the North/South divide in my last column – there is no doubt it exists.
But rather than saying 'give up on the north' we should be looking to tackle the outstanding issues that divide us. The fact is that if you live in the south of England you are more likely to live longer, earn more and obtain higher qualifications than if you live in the North.
There are many issues that feed into these facts but poverty is a key problem. Those from poorer households have a lower life expectancy.
In the poorer areas of my constituency people are more likely to smoke and more likely to be obese, but that does not mean that these problems would be solved by upping sticks and heading south.
The government is currently running a scheme to ensure primary school children get at least one free portion of fruit or veg a day. I want to see this expanded to all primary school children being given a healthy meal for free every day.
Not only does this mean a healthy meal for a child it eases the financial burden on parents.
I also want to see a living wage – our government put in place the National Minimum Wage, which has transformed work life for those on the lowest paid jobs – but now is time to take that further.
A living wage would lift more people out of poverty and give thousands of children and working families a better standard of living.
Another action we can take is to promote and advance sport in our communities – many people do this already but I'm sure, if asked, all of these teams could use more funding.
If you have any comments about this or any other issues, you can e-mail me at Jtrickett@ jontrickett.org.uk
You can also keep up to date with what I am doing in parliament and the constituency by visiting www .jontrickett.org.uk
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Weather for Wakefield
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light snow
Temperature: 0 C to 2 C
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Light snow
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