Greggs bakery employs 200 people at its production factory in Bramley.  The factory produces bread, cakes and buns for shops across Yorkshire, including sixteen in Leeds alone.  Greggs also run breakfast clubs in local schools in Bramley and Armley.

Rachel went to the factory to meet staff and managers and find out a bit more in the business.  Greggs have expanded in the last few years which is good for employment in Leeds West.

Over the last few years Greggs have also worked hard to reduce waste, reduce artificial flavours and colourings in food and improve recycling.  It is important that businesses support the local area where they operate – putting something back in to the community.

Transport Minister Lord Adonis came to Leeds today to speak about the recent unveiling of plans for a high speed network of trains that will link Leeds to London in 1hour 30 minutes. Lord Adonis spoke of the importance of integrated high speed rail, a long term investment plan protected in Wednesday's budget speech. It will bring jobs to the region in construction, and keep them here by making sure our connections to the rest of the country are at 21st Century speeds. 

Lord Adonis also saw the ongoing development of a cycle hub at Leeds station, a facility based on Dutch examples of one stop shops to buy, store and repair your bike at a convenient location. It is one of a series of measures designed to get Leeds commuters off the road and onto two wheels and the train. Alongside plans for a new south entrance to the station, these are exciting times for West Yorkshire's train travellers. 

Rachel recently visited Sue Ryder Care – Wheatfields Hospice to meet staff and learn more about its specialist palliative and end of life care services.

Sue Ryder Care Wheatfields Hospice support patients and their families living with life-limiting conditions including cancer and non cancer conditions such as renal failure or Motor Neurone Disease to get the best from life for as long as possible.

In response to a large percentage of people’s preference to be cared for at home, Sue Ryder Care is increasingly focusing on developing community-based services that support people to retain independence and live well in their own homes. Last year Sue Ryder Care Wheatfields Hospice carried out 3149 homecare visits.

Rachel said: “I am impressed with the excellent work that the hospice does to support people in Leeds. The services provided at the Sue Ryder Care Wheatfields hospice are innovative, compassionate and of the highest standard. People have the choice to be cared for in their own homes or at the hospice and they can access a variety of services ranging from day care, in-patient and community-based services."

If you would like to receive more information or make a donation to Sue Ryder Care, please visit www.suerydercare.org

The Big Freeze that hit Britain this winter inflicted massive damage on our road network. Snow, ice and plummeting temperatures not only made it the severest winter in 30 years, they also left potholed roads to be repaired up and down the country.

Councils have been working flat out to repair the most severely affected roads. But they still face a significant, and expensive, task to fix the lesser damage which, if left, would become a danger to road users and increasingly expensive to repair.

And to make sure it is spent on our roads, the money will be ring-fenced, with each local authority publishing a brief report on the work they’ve carried out with the funding.

This means the funding will go where it should go – to plug the potholes.

Rachel is making sure that Leeds City Council spends the money wisely, by keeping them up to date with the worst roads in Leeds West - if you've bumped over a particularly bad road recently we want to hear from you!

Labour has also recently announced plans to make sure utility companies repair roads properly after carrying out their work. Taken together, it is clear proof of a determination to tackle maintenance problems and make our local roads safe and fit for purpose.

All this comes on top of a trebling in Labour’s investment for local road maintenance over the past decade – up from £265 million in 2000/01 to £809 million in 2010/11.

But we understand we must also look forward to help avoid another sudden deterioration in road conditions in the future. So local authorities will be encouraged to focus on longer term resurfacing and maintenance work.

Another busy Wednesday has seen Prime Minister's Questions and a the budget from Chancellor of the Exchequer. Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling both underlined the government's approach to the recession, and the benefits it has brought.

Rachel has responded to both on 'Progress'.

You can see her take on the 'pre-budget scrap' here, writing alongside Conor Ryan and Luke Akehurst.

After viewing the budget, Rachel commented on the measures for Progress, saying: "Darling set out Labour’s vision. It’s a vision to fight for and a fight we cannot afford to lose."

Rachel also tracked the budget on twitter.

Children's Centres in West Leeds are gearing up for an Easter packed full of activities for children, their parents and carers.

Rachel visited Hollybush Children's Centre this week to meet the centre's manager, Tracey, to see what they have planned. As well as opportunities to stay and play, there is also healthy cooking and more besides.

Hollybush Children's Centre have just founf out that they were judged 'Good' by Ofsted, 'Excellent' at involving parents and the local community. Congratulations to everyone at Hollybush on this great assessment.

Coal is an important part of Yorkshire's industrial history, and it could be an important part of its future too if experiments in generating 'clean coal' through carbon capture and storage are successful. Rachel visited the National Coal Museum in Wakefield this week to meet with the Director and staff, talking about how we can preserve some of the most important industrial and social heritage of our area and how we can move forward to invest in new technologies, high skill jobs and apprenticeships.

If you haven't visited the museum it is well worth a trip, not least to experience going down in to the pit to see how it works and the conditions that men women and children had to work in, especially in the 19th century.

Rachel has pledged to support the NSPCC’s ‘I stand for children’ campaign which aims to make child protection a priority for the next Parliament. She said: “I’m supporting the NSPCC’s new campaign to ensure protecting children is a political priority: I Stand for Children.”

The NSPCC’s campaign is calling on candidates to commit to a range of child protection measures including:
- Making the internet safer for children
- Continued funding of helpline services for children and for adults concerned about the safety or welfare of a child
- Tackling domestic violence from a child's point of view
- Ensuring that vital child protection reforms are fully implemented and resourced
- Provision of resources for vital therapeutic services for children who have experienced abuse
- Strengthening the role of the children's commissioner in England to act as a genuinely independent voice for children.

The charity’s Diana Sutton, head of the public affairs and campaigns unit at the NSPCC, said: “We need to make sure that the next elected Government keeps child protection high on its list of priorities. By signing up to our campaign, candidates in this next general election can help. The public can play their role by letting the politicians know what they want done.”

Kirkstall Abbey has been nominated on the shortlist for Britain's favourite picnic site. Visit www.welovebread.co.uk to vote for our own Abbey as the regional winner!

Rachel is backing the Abbey: "The Abbey isn't just a nice spot to look at on the bus home. It's a fantastic place to take a stroll, learn about our local history, take in some Shakespeare or sit down with a picnic. We should be proud of having such a landmark on our doorstep."

On the 12th March Rachel attended an International Women’s Day Charity Dinner held by Linda McAvan MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, with guest speaker Baroness Glenys Kinnock. Linda holds the dinner every two years to raise money for this great cause and this dinner saw over 200 women from across the region gather to raise money to support the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, which treats young girls who suffer debilitating injuries during childbirth that can affect them throughout their lives. The dinner is held to show how far women have come, but also how far we still have to go for women in the developing world.  The Millennium Development goals agreed at Gleneagles are making a difference to people in Africa but there is more governments – at home and abroad must do to help people get an education and access to health care.

£20m of government funding has been secured for Kirkstall Road, to cut congestion and make it quicker for people to travel into town. As well as providing bus lanes to cut journey times into town, the 'quality bus scheme' will provide a safer route for cyclists.

Rachel said: "It is vital the £20m is spent properly, so that bus users, drivers and cyclists can all benefit from better, safer journeys into town. I'll be working hard with Kirkstall's Labour Councillors to get the best out of this investment. One really important element is making sure that cyclists can get into town safely - at the minute cycling along Kirkstall Road is unnecessarily dangerous, and it is no wonder that few people do it."

4km of new bus routes will be built, real time bus timetables will be installed alongside bus shelters, pedestrian crossings and cycle lanes. Details of the Quality bus corridor can be found here.

Last week Rachel attended a 'toothbrush exchange' event at the Fairfield Community Centre. The event was designed to teach children and adults about the importance of brushing your teeth. There was also the opportunity to trade in your old toothbrush for a new pack of a toothbrush and toothpaste. Also in attendance at the event were staff from NHS Leeds and the tooth fairy!

John Battle MP and Fabian Hamilton MP hosted an auction, and 'Brothers on the Slide' played a fantastic set. It was a fitting start to what will be a hectic few weeks!

After his speech, Alan Johnson MP got his hands on a copy of Rachel's book, 'Why Vote Labour' - which you can still order from whyvotelabour@googlemail.com for £6.99.

Government Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, announced today plans to bring high-speed rail to Leeds.

The new generation of high speed travel will include both Leeds and Sheffield, despite earlier fears that it would only offer rapid links to London from the West Coast.

The initial phase of the scheme will be built to Birmingham, and then proceed in a y-network to both Leeds and Manchester.

The plans will cut journey times from Leeds to the capital to one and a half hours. Although it is some years until the project will become a reality, Rachel was delighted that the government is backing modern transport for Yorkshire: "It is vital that high speed rail doesn't bypass our region. I welcome the proposed route as it offers an opportunity for everyone to benefit from 21st century transport around the country".

Rachel visited Leeds College of Building last week, meeting Principal Ian Billyard. Rachel was full of praise for the college, which is the only specialist further education construction college in the UK.

The college was featured on Rachel's short film for Channel 4's 'Political Slot'. It currently has 600 apprentices, spread across 7 locations, and provides a unique and valuable service to the city.

Rachel is lobbying for the college to expand into West Leeds, with a number of viable sites from where the college could offer yet more apprenticeships and training. She said: "Investment in skills is making a real difference. Leeds College of Building are offering more courses for the next generation of builders, plumbers, architects and joiners. Advanced apprenticeships around the country are producing the engineers who will lay the cables to make high speed internet a reality for all, and the technicians who will build electric cars of the future. This targeted investment by the Labour government is supporting our emergence from the recession on the sound footing of a broad, competitive, skilled economy, not something that happens by chance. I want to make sure that Leeds West is part of that opportunity economy, having the college of building here would be a step in the right direction."

'Why Vote Labour' has hit the shops today.

The book is Rachel's personal account of why she is a Labour Party member, candidate and voter, and includes personal stories from members and supporters around the country about what the Labour government has done.

You can order your copy direct from Rachel by emailing whyvotelabour@googlemail.com - if you do £5 of the price will be donated to the Party! Every little bit helps to counter Lord Ashcroft's millions!

Short synopses of the book are available at at progress and LabourList

Local theatre group Interplay have been awarded the Best Film in the over 13s category at the prestigious First Light Film Awards.

The group went to the glitzy awards ceremony in London after nomination for Best Film by over 13s and Best Comedy.

The accolade came for the film 'One Man's Walk', a story by Kenneth and Nicholas Mitchell. The film is 'a window into Kenneth Mitchell's life and his favourite things.'

We are delighted for Interplay, who do fantastic work in the community. Creative Director Steve Byrne featured in Rachel's new book, explaining the effect the Labour government has had on Interplay.

You can buy 'Why Vote Labour' direct from Rachel now by emailing whyvotelabour@googlemail.com, and donate £5 to the Party by doing so.

Congratulations to Steve and all at Interplay!

Another Wednesday closer to the election, another Prime Minister's Question Time gone by. It was bound to be a lively session following the revelations about Tory peer Lord Ashcroft's tax status, and the House did not disappoint.

Rachel analysed the session for Progress, alongside Conor Ryan and Rupa Huq. You can read her comments here.