
Cowley commemorates those killed in the first world war
The event, organised by Rita Allcock, was attended by the Mayor and Mayoress Cllr Joe and Sylvia Pearson, alongside the principal Cameron Sheeran.
After a welcome from the principal and Rita, the names of those pupils from Cowley whodied were read aloud by current pupils before those in attendance joined in a rendition of Jerusalem and a selection of musical pieces from the past pupils’ band and current pupil Lee Downing.
As well as the commemoration, those attending were presented with a copy of the Cowley School Roll of Honour, ‘Pro Patria 1914 – 1919’ a compilation put together by James Smethurst, a teacher at the school at the time. The compilation lists all the pupils from the school and the service they gave in the war.
The event was a poignant reminder of the sacrifice made by so many pupils at Cowley, and indeed by so many families across St Helens, during the Great War.

local school supports UNICEF send my friend to school campaign
I visited Lyme Community Primary School in Earlestown to see the important work they are doing as part of the UNICEF Send My Friend To School campaign.
Pupils at Lyme School act as ambassadors for children’s rights and are part of the Global Campaign for Education which works to ensure education for all children.
The campaign has brought together over twenty charities in the UK alone, and the children at Lyme School are playing their part by raising awareness locally, visiting other schools and distributing the posters they have produced within the community.
It was great to attend the pupils’ special assembly, led by the schools Rights-Respecting steering group and Deputy Head Teacher Mrs Roberts.
The pupils at Lyme School have done brilliant work raising awareness of the importance of education in the world’s poorest countries and it is a testament to their achievements that the school has been awarded silver accreditation for the UNICEF Rights-Respecting Schools Award – and work is underway for the gold standard.
It was a pleasure to meet the pupils and receive the work they have produced and as requested I will be passing it on to the Prime Minister to underline the importance of supporting their work.

commuter chaos
Commuters returning to work this morning were faced with more intolerable delays and cancellations. It is not good enough. I’m supporting calls by Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram for:
1) An agreed action plan with Northern, the Department for Transport and Transport for the North to be published which outlines clearly what the problems are and when passengers can expect to see improvements.
2) A deadline for the payment of outstanding Delay Repay claims and compensation for season ticket holders.
3) A commitment that if Northern does not adhere to the action plan that it will be stripped of the franchise.

Barclays Bank Earlestown
I was deeply concerned to hear that Barclays Bank is planning to close its Earlestown Branch at the end of August.
This is bad news for my constituents in Newton-le-Willows, whose nearest branch will now be in St Helens.
Following the closure announcement, I met with senior management at Barclays to seek assurances about the impact of the changes and they have assured me that customers wanting to carry out every day, over the counter, transactions will be able to use the Post Office on Haydock Street, Earlestown.
While the way that many people choose to bank is changing, it is vital those who rely on a more traditional way of banking and might not have online accounts, still have access to banking services.
European Economic Area (EEA)
I have consistently said that our future relationship with the EU must put jobs and the economy first and must therefore maintain the benefits of the Single Market and the customs union, which may require staying in both.
This is a firm test that I am committed to holding the Government’s Brexit deal against when it comes before Parliament for approval. If the Government’s Brexit deal does not meet this test, I will vote against it. Securing a new and strong relationship with and perhaps within the Single Market is not only vital for jobs and the economy in St Helens and the UK, but also for ensuring a continued close partnership with the EU. In my view it is the only feasible way to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland
I share the understandable and growing concern that the Government’s internal conflicts could lead it to an unacceptable countenance of new trade barriers between the UK and the EU. Not only would that be bad for jobs and the economy, it would also be bad for people’s rights. There should be no lowering of common standards, deregulation or divergence from the rights and protections that the UK helped to shape as a member of the EU. However, I fear that this is the likely path ahead under the Government’s plans.
It is also vital that strong transitional arrangements are secured on the same basic terms as now, including within the Single Market, to avoid a cliff edge for our economy between Brexit day and the implementation of our future relationship with EU. Unfortunately, key aspects of the transitional arrangements negotiated between the Government and the EU remain ambiguous and unresolved.
The amendment to which you refer was one of several to be made to the EU Withdrawal Bill in the House of Lords, in a series of defeats for the Government. It is unclear when the Government will bring the EU Withdrawal Bill back to the House of Commons for consideration of those amendments. This is a vital piece of legislation and I can assure you that I will be looking at each amendment carefully. In the meantime, I will continue to keep pressure on the Government to secure a Brexit deal that works for jobs, the economy and rights.