Together with Yasmin and Shadow Health Minister Andy Burnham MP he visited a children’s ward at the hospital before holding talks with health staff at the Bolton Science and Technology Centre where gave a keynote speech blasting the Government’s new Health and Social Care Bill.

Health workers spoke to him about the difficulties facing the NHS in the face of Government cuts and re-organisations but that Bolton is very passionate about protecting the NHS.

Ed Miliband was told to “Take a message back that Bolton will fight tooth-and-nail for the NHS.”

At the end of the session Mr Miliband said: “We have learned more here in one hour than a week at Westminster.”

He added: “The Prime Minister made solemn promises before the election to the country. He has broken all these promises and more. It is bad for our NHS and bad for politics.

“He should drop his NHS Bill and at least restore one of his broken promises. He should listen to doctors and nurses and the 140,000 who have signed the petition urging him to drop the Health Bill.”

Following the visit to the hospital, Yasmin invited Ed Miliband to meet Labour Party members at Farnworth and Kearsley Labour Club to celebrate Bolton South East winning the national winter membership recruitment challenge, and to present the winning member with an iPad 2.

The ‘Go Gilnow Girls’ event, held on Friday 27^th January, was head teacher Jo Riley’s idea to help girls from Years 5 and 6 think about their aspirations for the future.  And guest speakers, including Yasmin and former head teacher of The Valley School, Gwen Ramsden OBE, were on hand to talk about their lives and achievements.

Yasmin spoke about the support she got from her family throughout her school life, and the encouragement she received to go to University before becoming a barrister and then a Member of Parliament, telling the students: ‘Think about what you want, then work hard and don’t be put off, and you will achieve it’.

She heard from all the girls about what they aspired to be, including being a teacher, doctor, policewoman, hairdresser and athlete. 

Speaking after the event, Yasmin said:

“I found it really inspiring to meet such an enthusiastic, motivated group of girls.  I was really impressed by the work they have done in thinking hard about what they want to do with their lives.  I hope they will all get the chance to follow their dreams. I’d like to thank the school for inviting me to come and speak to them.”

The Swan Centre, at Swan Mills on Higher Swan Lane, Great Lever, opened in 2003 after a £2m refurbishment of what was the largest mill in the world when it was built in the early 1900s as a cotton spinning mill.  The Centre offers offices, industrial and commercial units, self-storage and parking facilities and currently houses over 100 businesses, including many sole traders or ‘Ebay businesses’, with long or short term, flexible rental deals available.   The self-storage facility boasts 24-hour security and CCTV and has a ‘drive in’ facility for customers.

The mill has been developed as part of Bolton’s Mill Action Framework, which aims to improve investment in the town’s 102 remaining mills while conserving the best of Bolton’s industrial heritage and maximising employment space available.

Following a tour of the facilities with Swan Centre bosses John Oliver and Chris Hutton, Yasmin said:

“I’m really impressed with the investment that has been put into the Swan Centre.  It’s a brilliant facility and is helping to promote jobs and economic growth in Bolton by supporting small businesses. Not having to commit to long term and expensive leases for their space requirements is a big help.  Anything that can help the economic regeneration of this area should be applauded.”

“I would encourage any small businesses in Bolton which are looking for accommodation to get in touch with the Swan Centre to see what might be available for them.”

Further information is available at www.swancentre.co.uk

Friday January 27th will mark the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentration and extermination camp which is the site of the largest mass murder in history – and in the weeks running up to the day, the Holocaust Educational Trust placed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons, giving MPs the chance to honour those who were persecuted and killed during their Holocaust and encouraging constituents to actively speak out against prejudice and bigotry today.

 In signing the Book of Commitment Yamsin Qureshi MP

 paid tribute to the extraordinary men and women who having survived the Holocaust, work to educate young people about what they endured, through the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Outreach programme.

In the weeks around Holocaust Memorial Day, thousands of commemorative events will be arranged by schools, faith groups and community organisations across the country, remembering all the victims of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. This year, people will also be encouraged to take a stand against racism and prejudice today – and to speak out against hatred wherever they encounter it.

 Yasmin Qureshi MP said:

“Holocaust Memorial Day marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau – and is an important opportunity to both remember the victims of genocide. I encourage all constituents to mark the day and to commit to ‘speaking up and speaking out’ against prejudice today.”

I’ll continue to support the Lighter Later campaign though.   Evidence suggests that moving an hour of light from the early morning to the evening could make roads safer, cut the UK’s carbon while boosting its economy and provide more time for leisure activities and sport.

 
Those of us who watch this closely see what’s going wrong. Tax rises and spending cuts that go too far and too fast have choked off the recovery. Result? No jobs and growth or prospect of them.
 
The Tory-led Government is now set to borrow £158 billion more than planned – because more people are out of work claiming benefit rather than paying tax.  Result? An economic plan that’s backfired and a deficit headache that won’t go away.
 
The new work programmes they boasted about are yet to have an impact. Result?  Higher youth unemployment returning and a benefit bill we simply can’t afford.
 
The Government claimed last month that the labour market is ‘stabilising’. This shows how clearly out of touch they are with ordinary people.
 
Complacent ministers need to wake up to the jobs crisis they’re responsible for and take urgent action now.

Young Enterprise is the United Kingdom’s largest business and enterprise education charity. Every year they help 250,000 young people between the ages of 4 and 25 years learn about business and the world of work in the classroom under the guidance of volunteers from 3,500 companies.

With the rising number of 16-24yr olds who are not working or in education Young Enterprise believes that not enough is done in schools to show students that starting their own business can be a real option when they leave the education system.

And as youth unemployment hit a 17-year record, a pioneering Young Enterprise scheme to help students launch their own business is booming.  Only six months into the academic year, the number of undergraduates joining the ‘Start-up’ programme has already overtaken last year’s full-year total by a large margin.  As a result Young Enterprise has launched an appeal for more volunteers to act as business mentors – as the 14% growth in first six months looks set to hit over 40% by the end of this academic year.

Following a meeting with North West Young Enterprise Yasmin Qureshi said:

“Not all students are academically gifted and want to progress through college and university.  There are other opportunities available to them and starting their own business can be a very rewarding venture. 

“I hope as many schools in Bolton will take the opportunity to work alongside Young Enterprise to take forward some of the ideas and programmes that will help the entrepreneurs of the future to flourish”

The Prime Minister’s plan, announced in the Lords just before the Christmas break, threatens to turn England’s hospitals into US-style hospitals, pitting one against another in a competitive market and putting profits before patient care.

Yasmin Qureshi MP said:

“People will be shocked to discover that the Government is allowing NHS hospitals to devote half their beds, appointments and car park spaces to the treatment of private patients. David Cameron’s plan opens the door to an explosion of private work in NHS facilities, meaning longer waits for NHS patients and a two-tier health service in England.

“This 49% plan is the starkest sign yet of how our NHS will change if the Bill gets passed. In time, England’s hospitals could become like US hospitals, putting pursuit of profits before patient care.

“This Bill is a privatisation plan for the NHS. Time is running out for the NHS and we urgently need to alert people to what is happening.”

Information supplied to HM Treasury suggests that £67.2billion a year is taken from the £2.1trillion held in savings and pensions by exploiting hidden fees, with the greatest cost being wages and bonuses for traders and fund managers.  In siphoning off the equivalent of 3.2 per cent of savers’ hard-earned cash, hard-hit retirees are sometimes left with less than they paid in. UK funds are in many cases more expensive to invest in than funds in France, Germany and the US.  Without reform pension funds management business opportunities for the UK financial services industry could be lost.

Adding her support to a House of Commons Early Day Motion, Yasmin Qureshi urged the Government to take action on pension charges.  She said:

“Even percentages that would sound small to most people – like the 3 per cent charged by one in 14 schemes – can eat large amounts off a pension and most savers don’t realise. For example, someone who saved £100 a month for 40 years in one of these expensive pensions would have £118,000 of their savings taken in charges over the course of their working life.

“The Government needs to do more to help the next generation of pensioners and the communities they live in to have a safer, more secure future.”

Working with Resuscitation Council UK, the BHF is calling for all school pupils to be taught the skills which could help save a life in an emergency situation. ELS skills include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) – which can help save the life of someone  who is in  cardiac arrest – how to deal with an unconscious person, serious bleeding, choking and recognising the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.

Yasmin said:

“Making ELS part of our children’s education would put hundreds of thousands of new lifesavers on the streets every year. I’m urging everyone in Bolton to pop into their local BHF shop, or go online, to sign the petition.”

According to a BHF survey 40% of kids in the South East feel powerless to help someone who has collapsed in the street despite more than two-thirds (67%) wanting to be able to help. The survey also revealed overwhelming support from parents. Three quarters (75%) of parents in the South East also believe ELS should be taught at school.

The BHF’s Heartstart scheme has already trained 2.9 million people across the UK in ELS skills and now wants every pupil leaving school to have the ability to save a life. Find out more at bhf.org.uk/lifesaving.