The endless denials & contradictions of what’s clearly stated in the Teesworks report have to stop.
No amount of spin will change the fundamental failings it reveals.
Here's a thread on why @BenHouchen must take accountability & step down as Tees Valley Mayor in May. 🧵1/5
Damage to public trust in Teesworks wasn't caused by me raising concerns about the project in parliament.
It's the fact that those major problems do exist, and the report identifies them.
One of those crucial issues is the lack of transparency. 2/5
Dec 13, 2023 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Yesterday, I was privileged to join MPs in a meeting with the heroic Professor Ghassan Abu Sitta.
He provided a harrowing account of his experience working as a surgeon in Gaza over recent weeks.
WARNING: the following thread contains very distressing details. 1/8
On one night alone, the doctor performed six amputations on children.
Due to Israel's blockade on medical supplies, he had to use vinegar and washing up liquid to sterilise wounds.
With no morphine available, he had to use paracetamol for painkillers after surgery. 2/8
Oct 18, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
The Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital was sheltering thousands of displaced people when it was bombed last night, killing hundreds of innocent Palestinians.
Following the airstrike, media outlets including the BBC pointed the finger at the Israeli Air Force.🧵1/5
In fact, the Israeli prime minister's social media advisor was celebrating the bombing as the work of the Israeli Air Force.
And just a day before, the Israeli army ordered staff in Gazan hospitals to abandon their patients, "or face the consequences". 2/5
May 24, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Michael Gove’s announcement of an independent inquiry into the South Tees Development Corporation and Teesworks falls way short of what is needed and what was demanded, which was an inquiry conducted by the National Audit Office, independent of government. 🧵 1/4
Instead, it is Michael Gove who will commission an “independent review” and it is he who will appoint the panel of people to investigate Teesworks and the STDC. 2/4
May 23, 2023 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
Today I asked the government whether @DehennaDavison has broken the Ministerial Code.
She wrote a letter informing me there was nothing untoward at play with the Teesworks project.
But as she's received a donation from a shareholder, she shouldn't be involved in the matter🧵1/6
Here's the minister's letter to me 👇 2/6
This important intervention from @The_TUC comes at a time of national emergency as the cost-of-living crisis continues to cause more and more hardship for hard-pressed families by the day. 2/6
Jun 15, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
The government's motion today on the rail strikes is a cynical attempt to shift blame onto working people.
It wasn't rail staff who caused the cost of living crisis, or created a dysfunctional privatised railway.
These were political choices of the Tories' making. 🧵1/4
In the face of the cost of living crisis, the pay of workers across the rail sector is lagging badly behind inflation.
Having got us through the pandemic, it's deplorable that these key workers are facing threats to their employment, terms & conditions, and pension rights. 2/4
May 11, 2020 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Through the years, the labour movement has fought for legislation which regulates & restricts the risks to which workers are exposed.
These aren't matters of morality or good practice, they are statutory duties enforceable in the last resort by criminal sanctions. [THREAD]
The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 require employers provide the suitable personal protective equipment (PPE).
In many businesses PPE may not be necessary against COVID-19 since the risk is minimal. But there are many jobs where it is crucial.
