1/ In advance of St Patrick’s day myself & Dame Karen Bradley MP led a brilliant debate with speeches from MPs across the house celebrating the strong cultural, political and business ties between Britain and Ireland and the immense contribution of the Irish diaspora in Britain 2/

https://twitter.com/rlong_bailey/status/1768997116368547943

1/ The current UK Corporate Governance regime is dysfunctional, ambiguous and unenforceable, yet despite scandals like Carillion, it still has no room for protection of employees and other stakeholders. Cases highlighted by @BFAWUOfficial demonstrate urgent reform is needed. 2/ Watch my speech in full and the debate here👇
parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/65…

1. Words fail me watching Gov press conference:There you have it. Complete refusal from Gov to provide sufficient financial support for what could be 6 months of destitution for many across GM.All for a plan that the chief medical officer is not confident will work @salford_mayor 2. Remember last week he said “I am not confident, and nor is anybody confident, that the tier 3 proposals for the highest rates, if we did the absolute base case and nothing more, would be enough to get on top of it,”

1. Sadly nothing at all today from @rishisunak for over 3 million people and businesses excluded from support so far and no action to improve universal credit & sick pay to an amount people can actually survive on. @ForgottenPAYE @ExcludedUK @ForgottenLtd will be devastated today 2. Action to protect jobs subject the the existing furlough scheme late and better than nothing at all but certainly not the grand industrial 'marshall style' plan the country needs to create and preserve jobs to guarantee full employment and training.

1. Two schools in Salford have reported outbreaks and we are only one week in. Wishing those affected a speedy recovery but despite staff heroically working to make schools as safe as possible, planning by Gov on dealing with outbreaks was a shambles.
manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-m… 2. Education Unions repeatedly called for a Plan B and were deemed obstructive: including employing more teachers, particularly NQT's to support blended school/home learning, looking for additional space to minimise disruption as well as ensuring IT access for all who need it.

1. Today the case of Julian Assange resumes in the UK courts. It is one of the most pivotal and worrying cases of our time. We should be extremely concerned. theguardian.com/media/2020/sep… 2. If Assange is extradited he could potentially face a lifetime life in jail for reporting upon the activities of powerful governments across the world. It will also set a dangerous precedent to deter any journalists exposing Government secrets who fear the same fate.

I've heard from countless distressed students, teachers and families across Salford. Significant downgrades in many cases and many university offers rejected. This has been nothing short of a postcode lottery.

https://twitter.com/ashcowburn/status/1294580746104057856

An algorithm that includes overall school performance in a grade has never been an appropriate way to grade students, indeed it contradicts the fundamental belief that individuals should be judged on their own individual efforts and abilities.

1.Today I retweeted an interview that my constituent and stalwart Labour Party supporter Maxine Peake gave to the Independent. Its main thrust was anger with the Conservative Government’s handling of the current emergency and a call for Labour Party unity. 2.These are sentiments are shared by everyone in our movement and millions of people in our country. I learned that many people were concerned by references to international sharing of training and restraint techniques between police and security forces.

1.Last night Gov's press release confirmed "the government has announced £700 million will be shared across early years, schools and 16-19 providers" less than an hour later it was changed to only going to primary and secondary & not till Sept...
theguardian.com/politics/2020/… 2.There were no further details on how early years or 16-19 would be supported, no comprehensive national education plan, no details on how Local Authorities could support summer provision. No outline of how Gov will scale up a tutoring offer for every pupil,

1.Tonight parents of children expected to attend school tomorrow across will be agonising about the choice they are about to make. Will they be safe? Am I doing the right thing? Will their teaching staff be at risk? Will our family be at risk? Will there be a spike in the R rate?

https://twitter.com/cyclingkev/status/1267155469229047809

2. To be in this position tonight, with less than 12 hours to go, when the Government hasn’t adequately reassured parents, despite their own sage advice requiring this, is unimaginable.

1/7 We know that the longer children are out of the classroom, the faster existing inequalities between children will widen which is why getting back to school when it is safe to do so is so important, 2/7 but as this survey shows a significant number of families are rightly concerned about sending their children back ifs.org.uk/publications/1…

Some observations on chancellors statement to protect workers and businesses so far:

1. Job retention scheme moving in right direction but no specific obligation to keep staff on, just a hope that businesses will do the right thing. 2. Business interruption loan interest free extended to 12 months - better but still there will be many biz who won’t want to take the debt on. Vat deferral, helpful but it’s only deferred - the liability remains. No increase on grants as requested, particularly by sme’s

This is right. We need to see the scientific modelling and guidance used by government — and why they are taking a very different approach to other countries. Ambiguity is causing concern to the public who just want to know they‘re doing the right thing.

https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1239116797611331584

On Friday: Chief scientist spoke of the aim being to reduce and broaden the peak, building up herd immunity.

Today: Matt Hancock says, “Herd immunity is not a part of it.”

Clarity of communication from government is urgently needed.

For those struggling to sleep tonight or just geeking out on budget analysis and need to get out more, here’s a choice collection of articles I liked today.Ask this: whose interests did today’s budget really serve? All outline the ground the left must occupy going forward.Enjoy😉 The politics of fundamental economic reform “politics is likely to centre....on the distribution of power within the economy: who has it, how is it exercised, to what ends. For the Left, this can be fertile ground if met with an ambitious response.”

tribunemag.co.uk/2020/03/a-bad-…

By ducking the bold measures needed to tackle the climate emergency, the Chancellor has blown the biggest opportunity for national renewal since the post-war era, betraying current and future generations. #Budget2020 #Budget2020 piles investment into new motorways without bringing down cost of public transport, offers derisory support for electric vehicles, loads costs for carbon capture & storage onto consumers & sets out measures that seem designed to let our biggest emitters off the hook.

Britain’s departure from the EU comes after what have been difficult years for us all. Many of us are rightly worried about the future. It breaks my heart that despite our bold manifesto & their record, the Tories used Brexit to convince people they were change candidates. Those of us who wanted to remain and reform raised the economic dangers of leaving but failed to understand that in communities like mine, people often couldn’t see how things could get worse. The call to “take back control” resonated where trust had eroded.

I’m delighted to make the next stage of the contest and I thank Unite, the Bakers Union and the Fire Brigades Union for their support as well as the thousands of supporters who have volunteered and attended campaign events across the country. As leader I will unleash our movement, take power back from the gentleman's club of Westminster and build an aspirational socialism that speaks to people's hopes and dreams.

I am absolutely delighted to be nominated for leader by the @fbunational. Heroic firefighters put themselves at risk to protect us every day, and their union embodies the values of our movement. The FBU has been critical to the development of our key policies. We’ve worked closely together on public ownership, and they were crucial to securing the manifesto commitment to repealing anti-trade union laws.

I support open selections for parliamentary candidates. Here’s why: labourlist.org/2020/01/long-b… It’s clear the current process doesn’t work for anyone. It pits members against MPs, encourages negative campaigning and shuts out ordinary members.

If you live in the North West, have a look at Labour's Manifesto for the North West, and find out what a Labour Government will do for our region.

labour.org.uk/wp-content/upl… Labour have a transformative manifesto for each of the nine English regions.

See Labour's Manifesto for the North East here:
labour.org.uk/wp-content/upl…

The climate movement has changed Labour Party politics forever.

Ours will be the most radical manifesto ever written, especially on climate. We are a constitutional democratic party with its roots in the labour movement.

Energy workers are understandably fearful and distrusting about the transition because they have been abandoned through past industrial transitions.