News

I was really pleased to be able to join Chris and Martin (pictured) at the opening of the fantastic new St George's Crypt Charity Shop on Armley Town Street, in the old Co-op premises. They have a great selection of clothes, furniture and homeware, and I hope the new shop will be a great community asset for Armley.

I was really pleased to be able to join Chris and Martin (pictured) at the opening of the fantastic new St George's Crypt Charity Shop on Armley Town Street, in the old Co-op premises. They have a great selection of clothes, furniture and homeware, and I hope the new shop will be a great community asset for Armley.

For the first time in history, Party Conference season has been opened up to the general public.

Ed Miliband is throwing open the doors to Labour’s Annual Conference in Liverpool to listen to what you have to say about the priorities for our country.

He said: “Many of the vital services that we all rely on are under threat from the Tory-led Government. Family budgets are being squeezed, young people find themselves with fewer opportunities and the economy continues to stall. We need real solutions to the problems we face, not explanations and excuses.

“This is why the Open Day is so important - it is our opportunity to listen to you and to discuss how we overcome the challenges facing Britain.”

The Open Day, on Wednesday 28th September at the ACC Conference Centre in Liverpool, is your chance to ask Ed Miliband the big questions about our community and our country, see a young British Talent Showcase and debate policy with the Shadow Cabinet.

Rachel is encouraging Leeds West residents to sign up and take part in the big conversation.

To sign up, visit http://www.labour.org.uk/openday. The deadline is 30th August.

The NSPCC has announced plans for a newly refurbished centre on Stanningley Road in Bramley. Rachel lobbied the NSPCC about staying in Bramley, and after hearing about the decision said:

“I am delighted about the expansion of the NSPCC facility in Bramley. It is exciting that pioneering services that help and support the most vulnerable children in our society will be in Bramley. The refurbishment of the centre in Bramley will allow the NSPCC to build on the important work they are doing in our city.”

The centre will be renovated to make children feel welcome and at ease and will offer a wide range of facilities to help and support vulnerable and abused children. The current facilities will remain open during the refurbishment in order to continue to provide support within the community for children at risk of neglect and abuse. The NSPCC hope to hold a launch for the newly expanded centre in Bramley early next year.

Gordon Ratcliffe, the NSPCC regional head for Yorkshire and the Humber said: “We are pleased to be maintaining and strengthening the NSPCC’s presence in Leeds, where we will be developing new and innovative services to help the most vulnerable children.

“Our newly refurbished centre in Bramley will help us to expand our work and pioneer new approaches to address the significant child protection problems facing local children.

“Child protection is everyone’s responsibility and we are pleased to have the support of key leaders and politicians in Leeds to help us develop our work further across our local communities.”

This morning, Rachel opened the 2011 Armley Helping Hands Fun Day at Strawberry Lane Community Centre, Armley.

Rachel said, "I'd like to thank all the volunteers who give so much of their time and energy all year round so that Armley Helping Hands can do so much great work. I hope you have a really successful day, and I wish you all the best for the summer."