Armed Forces Day

On Friday, with the Mayor, my fellow MPs Rob Marris and Ken Purchase and, most importantly, a number of local veterans, we celebrated Armed Forced Day.  Rain forced us to hold the event indoors but that mattered little.  The importance of the event was to draw attention to those who had served our country.  At the reception I ended up talking to two Polish ladies who had lived in Wolverhampton since the end of the war.  One had been taken prisoner by the Russians and sent to Siberia.  She had been transferred through Asia and Africa, ending up in England on the start of a postwar journey to a new life.  

We talked of the Poles who fought for Britain during the war, most famously as pilots during the Battle of Britain but in other roles too and it reminded me of the bond of friendship between the UK and Poland.  When I was growing up in Glasgow, the father of the family next door had fought in the Polish Army and been taken prisoner by the Germans.  Nazi Germany on one side.  The Red Army on the other.  Poland paid a heavy heavy price.  No wonder Poland so values its freedom and independence.

Earlier in the day I had held a coffee morning for local residents in the Ashley St/Fraser St area.  I had received a number of reports of problems and decided to bring the residents together to see what I could do to help.  I was told of break ins, racist graffiti, alleyways that serve as magnets for anti social behaviour.  There are few things more frustrating as a politician than seeing good decent people whose lives are being dragged down by this kind of thing.  I will visit the houses of those who spoke to me this Saturday to see exactly what has happened then will raise the issues directly with the police and local authority.  And my basic view of alleyways that give shelter to such behaviour is that it is usually better to haven them shut unless there is overwhelming public support otherwise.

Finally in Parliament this week the Prime Minister launched the Building Britain’s Future paper and the draft legislative programme for next year.  Top of the list was more social housing and I know this is an issue constituents care deeply about.  We need more houses for rent and this government is putting in the money to build more.  It’s a simple contrast between us and the Conservatives who think we are spending too much government money in this recession.  Building homes does not just benefit those housed in them.  It means construction jobs, supplies jobs and improvements in the local quality of life.  It’s the right thing to do at this time and the Labour Government is doing it.