A North East MP has criticised the Treasury for implying that a benefit of Brexit is “cheap booze and fags”. Catherine McKinnell, Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North made reference to a tweet in Parliament sent by the Treasury’s official account which stated that “beer, wine, spirits and cigarettes […]
Politics
Sunderland MP joins Guide Dogs in call for safer streets for blind and partially sighted people
A Sunderland MP has raised concerns about the safety of streets for blind and partially sighted people. The Labour MP for Washington and Sunderland West, Sharon Hodgson – who is also Shadow Minister for Public Health – spoke with the charity Guide Dogs at the recent Labour Party conference about […]
2019 Local Elections Preview: rival parties to go head to head in Sunderland
The local elections will take place across Sunderland on May 2, 2019, with 26 councillor positions available across the 25 council wards. Labour, the Conservatives and UKIP have each put forward 26 candidates for the positions; meanwhile, the Green Party have a total of 24 candidates, while the Liberal Democrats […]
Conservatives propose plans for Sunderland airshow to be held every two years
Proposals to cut the Sunderland Airshow budget were introduced at a recent Sunderland City Council budget meeting. The Conservative Group propose to host the Sunderland Airshow every two years instead of it being an annual event, in an attempt to save £2 million on their 2019/20 budget plan. The proposed […]
Brexit: the road to extension
The road to Brexit was never going to be easy or fast as demonstrated last week when MPs voted for a law that would prevent the UK leaving the EU without asking for a longer extension. The law, which will almost certainly mean the UK taking part in the EU […]
South Tyneside Council calls on government to end poverty as a political choice
At a meeting of South Tyneside Borough Council, councillors passed a motion on tackling poverty in the UK. The motion states that a fifth of the population lives in poverty, with 1.5 million destitute. The motion recognises that “everyone is entitled to an education, adequate housing, healthcare, food, social security […]
Nigel Farage leads ‘Leave Means Leave’ march from Sunderland to London
The Leave means Leave march set off from Sunderland to Hartlepool on the first leg of the 200-mile route hosted by Nigel Farage. Pro-brexit marchers walked the 18.5 mile route to Hartlepool, which then continued down the country for 14 days. The march finished in Parliament Square on the 29 […]
Salvation Army respond to Sunderland City Council’s new draft homelessness strategy
The Salvation Army’s North-East regional manager, Tony Thornton, says he hopes Sunderland City Council’s new draft homelessness strategy resolves many of the issues facing vulnerable people in the city. The council are running an online consultation on the draft of their new strategy, which they say covers all types of […]
Sunderland City Council “must cut” allowances to “restore trust” in local politics say Lib Dems
Sunderland’s Liberal Democrats have called on Sunderland City Council to cut councillors’ allowances in the upcoming budget on Wednesday 5 March. It will be the third year in a row they have asked this, and their leader, councillor Niall Hodson, isn’t holding out much hope it will be voted […]
Sunderland City Council to increase council tax by 3.99% in upcoming budget
Sunderland City Council are set to increase council tax by 3.99% in tomorrow’s budget. The move is to be opposed by Sunderland’s Conservatives who propose a 1.99% increase instead. Leader of the Conservative group, Councillor Robert Oliver, said: “Sunderland Conservatives will be opposing the 3.99% council tax rise proposed by the […]