Welcome to my October newsletter!
It’s been a busy few months, from campaigning for better care and more genuinely affordable homes to backing investment in dementia research, flood protection and Salford’s creative life. My team and I have resolved 981 cases and sent more than 1,830 emails, while I’ve been out across the city listening to residents and taking up the issues that matter to them. As ever, we’re working to put Salford first.
Salford at the heart of a £48 million drive to beat dementia
It was a pleasure to welcome the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to Salford as he announced a new £48 million partnership to accelerate the search for better dementia treatments and, ultimately, a cure.
The Humphrey Booth Resource Centre shows the very best of our city. Its dedicated staff and volunteers deserve enormous credit for the care, kindness and creativity they bring to supporting people living with dementia and their families. And the people who use the centre make it what it is: a community full of warmth, friendship and life. It was wonderful to see Andy’s announcement shine a light on them and the brilliant work happening here in Salford.
In Salford, more than 1,900 people are living with a recorded dementia diagnosis, with many more families and loved ones affected across our city. We should never accept dementia as something we can only manage. I’m pleased to see the PM is ambitious about beating it, and the Labour Government making that ambition a national priority.
The investment will bring together Government, the NHS, researchers, universities, charities and industry, helping more people take part in clinical trials and getting promising new treatments to patients faster.
Building the National Care Service families deserve
When my mum needed care, I saw first-hand how confusing and exhausting the system can be. Families should not have to navigate fragmented services or worry about whether they can afford essential support when someone they love is ill, disabled or growing older. Care should be there when people need it, with dignity and independence at its heart.
I’m pleased Andy Burnham has committed to building a National Care Service, including free personal care for older people. This is an important step towards treating care as a right, just as we do healthcare.
But the service must also support disabled people to live independently, give people who draw on care a genuine say in how it works, and properly value care workers through decent pay and conditions.
We should build towards publicly run, accountable services where quality of care comes first.
People who need care, their families and the workers who provide it deserve nothing less.
Awaab’s Law for Every Renter
Safe homes shouldn’t depend on who your landlord is. Awaab was just two years old. What happened to him should never happen to another child or another family. I was proud to work alongside Awaab’s family, campaigners and the late Tony Lloyd MP to help press for Awaab’s Law, ensuring social landlords have to act quickly when dangerous damp and mould puts tenants’ health at risk.
Now the Government is taking the next step, consulting on extending those protections to private renters, as well as considering people living in temporary accommodation, supported housing and young people leaving care. That could extend Awaab’s Law protections from around 4 million to 9 million households. I’m pleased to see the Government building on this. Everyone deserves a home that is safe, decent and fit to live in, whoever their landlord is.
A bigger push for the homes Salford needs
Everyone deserves a secure home at a rent they can afford, but too many people are struggling to find one. Social Rent homes make a real difference: they offer long-term security at rents local people can manage. Housing associations are planning 101,000 new Social Rent homes across England over the next five years—37,000 more than in their previous plans.
Salford is already making progress, with 717 Social Rent homes delivered across the city in the last five years and hundreds more affordable homes in the pipeline through the council, Dérive and housing partners. But, as we know locally, much more is needed. The Government’s £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme gives us a major opportunity to build on that work and provide more of the secure, genuinely affordable homes Salford residents need.
Protecting Salford homes and businesses
We know in Salford just how important investment in flood defences can be. Kersal Wetlands was created as part of a £10million flood-protection scheme, helping protect homes while creating a fantastic new green space for our community. So it’s great to see the Government is investing at least £10.5 billion in flood defences between 2024 and 2036, the largest programme of its kind in England’s history.
A new national Flood and Drought Resilience Taskforce will also bring together communities, emergency services, local leaders and experts to make sure we are better prepared for increasingly extreme weather. The Government has now set a target to improve flood protection for another 200,000 properties across England. As our climate changes, investing in resilient communities and protecting people’s homes has never been more important.
Union Learning Fund Restored
I’m pleased the government has announced £15 million a year to restore the Union Learning Fund, helping working people gain new skills, progress in their careers and prepare for changes in the workplace.
For working people across Salford, this means more opportunities to learn new skills, progress at work and access new careers. Trade unions have a long history of helping people access learning and training at work, from English, maths and digital skills to qualifications for growing industries such as advanced manufacturing.
The previous fund generated around 180,000 learning opportunities every year, and workers will not need to be union members to benefit from the restored scheme. The wider package will also bring new investment in apprenticeships, including expanded locally-led apprenticeship services across Greater Manchester from spring 2027, alongside National Wealth Fund investment to create and support jobs across the UK.
Lifting Barriers to Public Water Ownership
Water is essential to life, and decisions about it should serve the public.
I welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement to remove restrictions on public ownership of water company shares, give mayors stronger powers to hold companies to account and tighten the rules on executive bonuses. These are welcome steps after years of pollution, underinvestment and poor accountability.
I hope this marks the start of wider change towards public ownership of water and other essential utilities. People’s bills should help fund better services and the investment our communities need.
A publicly owned grid to power a fairer, cleaner future
I’m really pleased to see plans for a publicly owned Great British Grid. Our energy networks are essential infrastructure, and they should be planned for the long term and work in the interests of the public. For too long, decisions about the systems we all rely on have been shaped by private profit, while families and businesses continue to face high energy costs.
Investing in the grid and speeding up connections will help bring clean power where it is needed, support new industries and create good jobs. A stronger, better-connected network is vital if we are to make the most of renewable energy and build a secure energy system for the future.
I’ve long argued that our energy networks should serve the public. This is a welcome step towards bringing more of our energy system into public ownership. The focus now must be on making sure that investment delivers practical benefits for people and businesses, including fairer bills.
Avanti West Coast coming into Public Ownership
Avanti West Coast is coming into public ownership, bringing one of the country’s major long-distance rail services under public control. For Salford passengers travelling via Manchester Piccadilly, that means the link to London will soon be publicly run, with decisions made in the public interest.
Public ownership gives us the chance to put passengers and service quality at the centre of the railway: improving accountability, making better use of public money and building a more reliable service. The test will be whether passengers see the difference in their day-to-day journeys, with trains they can depend on and fares that offer better value.
Backing Salford’s Music Scene
Salford has always punched above its weight when it comes to music and creativity. So it’s pleasing to see a further £2 million is being invested in Greater Manchester’s music scene, helping to provide rehearsal and production space, practical support and more opportunities for people to build careers in the industry.
For Salford, that matters. Our city is already home to a huge creative economy, from grassroots venues and emerging artists to MediaCity, the University of Salford and major music and production businesses. And this isn’t investment just for MediaCity. It is about supporting musicians, venues and creative organisations across all of Salford and beyond.
Investing in music means more than putting on events. It means jobs, skills, opportunities for young people, stronger local venues and more reasons for people to spend time and money here in Salford. Salford has the talent. This investment can help more of that talent build a future here.
Salford’s creative talent takes centre stage
The Salford Open 2026 is bringing together more than 180 works by artists of all ages who live, work, study or were born in our city. From painting and photography to textiles, sculpture and mixed media, the exhibition is a wonderful showcase of the imagination, skill and variety of Salford’s creative community.
It’s free to visit at Salford Museum and Art Gallery until Sunday 29 November. While you’re there, you can vote for your favourite piece in the People’s Choice Award—a brilliant way to celebrate local artists and Salford’s centenary.
Help shape the new Clarendon Leisure Centre
Plans for a new Clarendon Leisure Centre are taking shape, and local people now have the chance to help shape what comes next. Since the former centre closed, I’ve backed Salford City Council’s efforts to secure a replacement, raising the need for investment with the Government and Sport England. I know how much leisure facilities mean to people in Salford.
The proposals include a 25-metre swimming pool, family splash pad, fitness suite, sports hall and community café, on a site next to Salford Shopping Centre. Before submitting a planning application, the Council is holding a public consultation so residents can see the plans, meet the design team and share their views.
Everyone is welcome: Thursday 22 October, 4pm–7pm, Pendleton Gateway, 1 Broadwalk, Salford, M6 5FX. Please take this opportunity to help shape the new centre.
Defending the peace in Northern Ireland
Securing peace in Northern Ireland is one of the proudest legacies of Labour and the wider Labour movement. That peace was hard won, and it must be protected. Forcing the Drumcree march would risk reopening deep wounds and retraumatising a community that has spent decades healing from the past.
I’ve joined cross-party MPs in writing to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, urging him to intervene. We must listen to communities, recognise the lasting impact of the past and do all we can to protect the progress made through the peace process. Read the letter here.
10 years of age-friendly Salford
For ten years, Salford has been celebrating its status as an Age Friendly City, bringing people together and helping make our city a great place to grow older. Being age friendly means building a community where people can stay connected, take part in local life and feel valued at every stage.
A huge thank you to the residents and community groups who make this possible. Their work helps ensure older people are included and heard, and that everyone can feel part of Salford. Here’s to continuing that work and making sure our city is a place where people of every age can thrive.
Remembering the Battle of Bexley Square
I was proud to join trade unionists and our local community to mark 95 years since the Battle of Bexley Square. In October 1931, around 10,000 people marched to Salford Council to demand relief from poverty, unemployment, poor housing and cuts to unemployment benefit. They were met with violence from mounted police.
That march was a powerful call for people facing hardship to be treated with dignity and for their voices to be heard. Nearly a century later, that demand still resonates. It was good to hear trade unionists, campaigners and community organisations reflect on the events of 1931 and their meaning for Salford today.
We honour those who marched not only by remembering their courage, but by carrying forward their fight for dignity, decent homes and a fairer society.
Giving Sir Kevin Sinfield and team a big Salford welcome
It was great to join residents, rugby fans and Councillor Jane Hamilton outside the White Swan to cheer on Sir Kevin Sinfield and his team as they passed through Swinton on their ultra-marathon. They’re raising vital funds for Motor Neurone Disease charities. Donate to their fundraising effort here.
Every step for Salford
It was great to take part in Salford City FC Foundation’s Stroll for Salford. Walkers set off from Salford Civic Centre and made their way to the AIG Stadium, raising money to support the Foundation’s work across our city. The Foundation makes an important contribution to communities across Salford, and events like this bring people together while helping that work continue. A huge well done to everyone who took part, and a big thank you to the organisers whose hard work made the day possible.
The Valentine Cup returns to Salford
After more than a decade away, this historic Salford rugby league competition is back at Salford Community Stadium on Sunday 25 October. Cadishead Rhinos face Langworthy Reds, followed by Folly Lane v Salford City Roosters.
Gates open at 10.30am, admission is free and tickets are available on the gate. Donations are welcome for a big day of Salford rugby league.
Find out more at valentinecup.co.uk
Out and about in Salford
It’s been great to join Salford Labour councillors, members and City Mayor Paul Dennett on numerous door knocking sessions across Salford, speaking to residents about issues that matter to them most and picking up plenty of casework along the way. Thank you to everyone who stopped to chat with us!
