I’ve literally spent today with 150 Headteachers from every part of Leeds - this did not come up once.
School funding cuts, RAAC, Govt failure to properly support children with SEND, not being able to afford food, teacher workloads, teacher retention - all these came up however.
One of the biggest issues children and teachers grapple every day with is the impact of smartphones in schools.
So many schools have already done an amazing job in banning mobile phones.
Now, we’re changing the guidance so other schools follow their lead.
Manchester Marathon ✅
London Marathon ✅
Leeds Marathon ✅
3 Marathons in 30 days to raise money for the new Rob Burrow MND Centre here in Leeds.
Please sponsor generously!
🌹🗳️ Some news: I’m standing to be Leeds North West’s Labour candidate & MP.
So much of what happens here in Leeds is a result of bad decisions made in Westminster. I want to change that.
Watch my video to find out more, with updates in coming days!
The Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon done!
Tough course but phenomenal crowds throughout. Absolutely inspirational to see our city getting behind Rob & Kev. Please do sponsor to help raise even more money for the new Rob Burrow MND Centre here in Leeds.
🏃♂️
Manchester Marathon done. 🏃♂️ It only rained a little & a new pb at 4:58:12, 31 mins off my previous best! London Marathon next week, & Leeds Marathon in 4 weeks. All to raise money for the new
@Rob7Burrow
MND Care Centre. Please sponsor me if you can!
Huge congratulations to
@KatieJWhite
, Labour’s new PPC for Leeds NW.
While I’m disappointed to not be selected - we now have a candidate ready to be a fantastic MP.
Katie ran a clean & positive campaign - & I look forward to doing everything I can to help her get elected! 🌹
London Marathon done! 20 minutes slower than Manchester last week but significantly harder. Proudly ran with my
@HydeParkHarrier
place! Just Leeds Marathon now in my 3 marathon challenge, please sponsor to help raise money for the new MND Care Centre!☺️🏃♂️
Today a malicious e-mail was sent to a number of schools across Leeds. Throughout the day, safety advice was issued and I can confirm that an arrest has now been made. (1/2)
On my way to the start line for the London Marathon with my
@HydeParkHarrier
place! 2nd of 3 marathons I’m running in 30 days to raise money for the new Rob Burrow MND centre in Leeds. All sponsors gratefully received! 🏃♂️
Overall, seats on Leeds City Council before and after yesterday’s election:
🔴 Labour 56 to 61 (+5)
🔵 Conservatives 21 to 18 (-3)
🟠 Lib Dems 7 to 6 (-1)
🟢 Greens 4 to 3 (-1)
⚪️ Others 10 to 11 (+1)
Leeds named the best place to live in the North in
@thetimes
today, as if we didn’t know…
“Leeds is one of the greenest cities in the whole of Europe, it’s easy on the eye, and the people are lovely.”
Proud to have been shortlisted to be Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Leeds North West.
We need a Labour Government now more than ever - I’m the candidate with the strong values, local experience, and proven action.
Pledge your support here 🌹
Footfall in Leeds City Centre last week compared to last year:
Monday 36,901 - up 20.1%
Tuesday 33,751 - up 16.9%
Wednesday 38,032 - up 25.7%
Thursday 41,346 - up 27.3%
Friday 49,136 - up 35.3%
Saturday 59,587 - up 38.1%
Sunday 41,790 - up 66.7%
Leeds Labour have taken 2 seats from the Green Party, 2 seats from the Tories and 1 seat from the Lib-Dems.
First time we’ve been above 60 seats on the council in years! Proud of our campaigns and proud of the work we’ve done across the city. 🌹
Incredibly proud to be marching alongside LGBT+ colleagues and allies in
@Leeds_Labour
at Leeds Pride today! The absolute best supportive crowds.
🏳️🌈🌹🏳️⚧️
Thank you to West Yorkshire Police for acting so swiftly. Thanks to all our incredible teachers and school staff who have, as ever, acted with professionalism, and thanks too to all young people and families who have dealt so well with a disrupted day. (2/2)
Today in full Council,
@LordMayorLeeds
wore a splendiferous garment which is part of
@Leeds_2023
’s ‘The Gift’.
Designed by Keith Khan & made by Leeds designer
@masato_jones
, it has 33 unique motifs, representing and celebrating each of our 33 Leeds wards!
Absolute right decision from Leeds Pride here, handing sponsorship back after Frank Hester’s abhorrent comments about black women.
No place for this is today’s society whatsoever.
So proud of our whole team who’ve done phenomenally in being rated “Outstanding” by ofsted.
We’re passionate about supporting people across Leeds to thrive, so are delighted to the difference we’ve made through our adult skills provision & apprenticeships.
Brilliant news as education and training services provided by Leeds City Council have been rated ‘outstanding’ in an Ofsted report published this morning. Find out more
My open letter to all teachers, school staff and heads at the start of the summer holidays 👇🏻
You have done a phenomenal job this past year, thank you for everything you do!
In August, Kirkgate Market had over half a million visitors in a month for the first time this year. And has had over 3.7 million visits throughout 2023 so far! Such a phenomenal asset for Leeds.
We’ve accidentally fostered two 7-week old rescue kittens. Staying with us a week before they head off to a new home we’ve found for them. Please expect kitten spam. 🐈⬛🐈⬛
👶 Really proud to announce today that we are extending our business rates relief to nurseries.
🌹The Government have withdrawn their support so as a Labour Council we are stepping in to do what we can to help them survive the Tory cost of living crisis.
Delighted to announce that, (after the Government refused), we in Leeds will begin the feasibility work to not only rebuild the Broomfield South SILC in Middleton Park, but also create 100 new school places for children with SEND. (1/3)
Proud to announce that Leeds Pride 2024 will be held on Sunday 21st July, with more events the whole week running up.
As a Council we’ll be supporting the new Pride committee that’s currently forming & more announcements about the programme will be announced shortly! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
First date night in a while, to see ‘A Beautiful Thing’ at the
@LeedsPlayhouse
.
Was obsessed with the film growing up so very special to see it on stage. Definitely go & see it if you get the chance!
Been such an incredible & inspirational day watching this barn go up in 24 hours.
300 women & non-binary people skilled up in construction, watching the joy of people creating something, & really looking forward to events in the new space over the next few weeks!
#TheWOWBarn
🌹 Proud to be backed by local members & residents - as well as those who have known and worked with me here in Leeds over the past decade.
That support will help us win Leeds North West for Labour.
Join dozens of local people, support my campaign here:
69,421 train tickets were sold from Horsforth station ticket office in 2022, that’s more than 6x what the (often broken) ticket machine sold!
We’ve been at Horsforth station today talking to people about the proposed closure of the ticket office, sign the petition inside!
Loved speaking on stage at
@LeedsPride
yesterday - about how important it is for us as a Council to make Leeds an inclusive city for all LGBT+ people, and also to say thank you to
@ali_leeds
for all his years as Director! Already excited for Leeds Pride 2024! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Experts have hailed a 1,600-year-old cemetery unearthed about 200 miles north of London as a "once-in-a-lifetime" find that bridges the gap between the ancient and medieval periods.
Last doorknocking round in Selby & Ainsty done. It’s a massive Tory majority to overcome, but it’s been great to see hundreds of enthusiastic Labour volunteers out here. Waiting with anticipation for tonight! 🗳️🌹
Heartbroken to learn to of a serious event in Horsforth this afternoon. I know the distress and upset this will cause students and staff.
While there isn’t much we can say at this stage, an arrest has been made, and we will be supporting Horsforth School in every way we can.
Just finished the
@Marathon_Mcr
with a new PB of 4:54:11!
It was the 2nd of 4 Marathons I’m running in 40 days for the
@LordMayorLeeds
’ charity, the Women’s Counselling & Therapy Service.
Please do sponsor me & support this great charity here >
Hibiscus Rising by
@shonibarestudio
is in place & looking stunning!
A bold piece of public art, acknowledging our history while looking forward to a hopeful future.
Public unveiling on Meadow Lane will be at 11:30 on Saturday.
First of my 3 marathons in 30 days to raise money for the new MND care centre in Leeds is this Sunday in Manchester. (London & Leeds to follow!)
You can see how hard I’ve been training by the 2.5 stone I’ve lost, so please sponsor generously! 🏃♂️
Proud & delighted to see my ward colleague
@al_garthwaite
take her place as the new Lord Mayor of Leeds. Really excited to see what she does with her year!
Being gay can mean the death penalty in 11 countries.
For
@SuellaBraverman
to state that homosexuality isn’t a reason for asylum from these countries means she is content to send gay people to their deaths.
Progress is not linear, and these backward attitudes need pushing back.
Incredibly disingenuous and a shirking of responsibility from
@GillianKeegan
.
The DfE set our school repair budget.
In Leeds we have a school repair backlog of £66m and we are given £6m. While we decide how to allocate that £6m, it barely touches the sides.
'It is not the job of the Department for Education'
Education Sec
@GillianKeegan
tells
@DanielHewittITV
it is not the government's job to look after school buildings, as concerns mount over potentially dangerous Raac
Tomorrow, Labour members in Leeds North West will vote on who they want to be their Parliamentary Candidate.
I’m proud to have the backing of
@CWUnews
,
@ASLEFunion
,
@TSSAunion
,
@unitetheunion
, over 60% of our Town & City Councillors & members from across Leeds NW.
Vote Pryor 🌹
Watching Aaron on BBC4, as part of the
@Opera_North
/
@PhoenixLeeds
collaboration of Mozart’s Requiem. Very proud, and even without my bias I’d highly recommend! On BBC iPlayer for a while now I understand.
On BBC Politics North today, speaking about how despite a huge increase in need & demand for EHCPs, the Government have cut £34m from children in Leeds with SEND.
The whole country is in the midst of a full SEND crisis & the Government are burying their heads in the sand.
#bbcpn
Sadly there was a house fire in Hyde Park in my ward earlier this week.
One man has lost everything, but his incredible neighbours have set up a gofundme to help him get back on his feet.
Please contribute if you can & share this page!
Thank you!
The level of dishonesty in this clip from
@RishiSunak
is astounding.
Even his main point about potholes, the council would have fixed far more potholes if the Tories hadn’t cut Leeds Council’s funding by £2.53 billion.
‘Making sure Leeds is treated like London [for transport plans].’
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to BBC Yorkshire about transport concerns in the region.
There’s a lot of talk following Birmingham about why Councils are facing such financial difficulty.
Here’s a
@LeedsNews
article from 2021, detailing how the Government cut Leeds City Council’s core funding by 90%.
There’s the primary reason.
10k done. Just 4 short runs left before the Manchester Marathon in 9 days time!
I’m running 3 Marathons in 30 days (Manc/London/Leeds) to raise money for the
@Rob7Burrow
@mndassoc
centre! Please sponsor me here!
A huge thank you to all those who have helped us campaign in Headingley & Hyde Park this year.
🗳️ Polls open 7am!
🌹 Vote
@TracyBrabin
🌹 Vote
@Al_Garthwaite
🌹 Vote Labour!
Great to be at
@TracyBrabin
’s campaign launch this morning, for re-election as West Yorkshire’s Mayor. 🌹
Tracy has secured over 1,000 green jobs, capped bus fares & commissioned 896 new police officers. 👮
Re-elect Tracy for spades in the ground on West Yorks mass transit! 🚋
‘X mins quicker’ is often cited as the main benefit of HS2. The real benefit is that high speed journeys have their own tracks, therefore freeing up existing capacity for more frequent journeys.
Saying you can have HS2 but on existing tracks is a fundamental misunderstanding.
A special 3rd night of
@LightNightLeeds
, as
@MeanwoodRoad
hosts ‘The Path Between’ in & around
@MeanwoodFarm
! Absolutely stunning and incredible recycling & reuse of materials to make the installations!
Lovely
@WHMparkrun
this morning, and of course fab to be joined by
@TracyBrabin
!
I was volunteering as the 30 minute pacer, sadly ended up 8 seconds too slow. Straight off the my local Councillors’ advice surgery after this! 🏃♂️
Really proud that Leeds has made a commitment to end new cases of HIV by 2030.
We know that with treatment undetectable = untransmittable, and with drugs like PrEP, new HIV diagnoses are significantly down - so now is the time to push to end the HIV epidemic entirely.
For all Leeds schools - we will publish more detailed information when we can, but right now none of our schools have had any Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete identified.
We will continue to follow DfE guidance as more comes, & are continuing with more in-depth work. (1/3)
Today is Trans Day of Visibility. A day to celebrate our trans siblings in Leeds & beyond. We want Leeds to be an inclusive city, and if you’re out this evening look out for the trans flag flying on public buildings which will be lit up in the colours of the trans flag. 🏳️⚧️
🌹 Last week I let you know who I am & why I’m standing to be the Labour candidate for Leeds North West. But what I’ll do & how is important too.
Here are my pledges to members.
I’d love to hear your priorities for our area. Get in touch through
Finally tried Leeds Sauce with some chips last night. Would definitely recommend, the fruity/vinegary taste is not the same as brown sauce but I think if you like that you’ll like this. Need to try it with a cooked breakfast next!
Fabulous to have
@LordMayorLeeds
set us off on our Leeds Pride parkrun today and doing a lap of the course too! Great atmosphere & extra colourful today!
🏳️⚧️🏃♂️🏳️🌈
This week
@ScrutinyLeeds
looked at our school results. Leeds has produced some of the best Progress scores in the country for our children & young people.
Yet the teachers & school staff who helped achieve this did so while being under constant attack from the Tory Government.
Kitten update: They’re currently living in a crate in the office/spare room. I let them out so they could have the whole room for a bit, and came back after a couple of hours to find this.
Today I joined parents in their call for SEND reform.
Gov’t fund Leeds children with SEND less than children elsewhere in the UK & we’ve lost £34m since 2018.
There’s more we must do as a Council, but Gov’t cuts keep coming. Parents are angry & I was proud to stand with them.
Attitudes towards LGBT+ people in the press and in politics is increasingly hostile - and this is what that ‘casual’ hostility leads to.
Progress is not linear, and Pride must remain a protest. My thoughts are with those attacked & wishing them a speedy recovery. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
A Christmas
@WHMparkrun
with some of the loveliest people! ❤️
Really special to spend the start of the day surrounded by so many friends.
Merry Christmas! 🎄
🚂 HORSFORTH & GUISELEY STATION TICKET OFFICES SAVED!
Thanks to all who joined the campaign, signed petitions & wrote letters to fight to keep our railways safe & accessible.
This Government U-turn is a victory for rail passengers across the country!
Adel & Wharfedale’s
@LEEDS_2023
‘My Leeds Summer’ event today was incredible. 100s & 100s of people at
@RalphThoresby
, with stalls and events in every corner.
Great to catch up with Mr Carr, really good chat with
@CookridgeScouts
, and that
@Bettylawless
gets everywhere…
Targeting smaller sections of society is exactly what the Tories do when they’re in trouble - it comes from a place of weakness.
Growing up gay with section 28 in place, I know the lasting damage that that weak leadership causes.
The sooner we’re rid of this lot the better.
Finished the
@HydeParkHarrier
Summer Mile in about 7:30, so a small chunk faster than last year! 🏃♂️ Now on vehicle gate guarding duty where I’ve got both the key and the secret.
This past week has seen footfall in Leeds city centre pretty much back at 2019 levels on weekdays, but 14% higher than 2019 on the weekend!
While in Kirkgate Market we’re just shy of half a million visitors a month, hoping to break that barrier soon.
Great day speaking to Labour Party members across Leeds North West.
Listening to different priorities & hopes for the next Labour Govt makes me so grateful for pledges of support for my campaign to be our MP candidate.
That general election can’t come soon enough! 🌹🗳️
A pregnant teacher who goes on strike risks a double financial hit due to the way teachers’ maternity pay is calculated. I’ve today written to Secretary of State for Education,
@GillianKeegan
, to ask that this be fixed.
It is now confirmed that the teenage boy involved has passed away. All my thoughts are with his friends, family & the whole community around Horsforth school.
We will be wrapping round all possible support to the school and his classmates.
Heartbroken to learn to of a serious event in Horsforth this afternoon. I know the distress and upset this will cause students and staff.
While there isn’t much we can say at this stage, an arrest has been made, and we will be supporting Horsforth School in every way we can.
I wrote to the Education Secretary in 2018 about school building conditions.
The Government refused to fund the these necessary rebuilds. We as a Labour Council rebuilt Benton Park ourselves.
The Tories were warned and they ignored it.
@LeedsNews
Delighted that Yorkshire’s 9 new chess sets from Rishi means we have received the highest number of chess sets per capita.
If 100 people play a day, I’ll get my turn at some point in the next 17 years.
Can we have the £2.53 billion you cut from Leeds next?
Remember when the Government announced new chess tables for local authorities?
On average, one new chess table for each 1.48 million people in England. Here's a regional breakdown:
End of a long day working hard to get
@AbdulH4nnan
elected as the next Councillor for Headingley & Hyde Park. Thanks to all those who’ve helped throughout the campaign, and thanks to all those giving us such a warm welcome on their doorstep! 🌹