What's happening in Beeston, Belle Isle, Cottingley, Holbeck, Hunslet, Middleton and Stourton
First things first. Happy New Year and let us hope it is a better one than 2022 – mind you that wouldn’t be too difficult! So what about New Year resolutions? One that would make a real difference would be free school meals for all children of primary age, and
The BBC is planning to make cuts to local radio which will mean that we lose distinctive Leeds content for significant parts of the day. Although BBC Radio Leeds will continue to have its own dedicated local programmes from 6am to 2pm on weekdays, after that time programmes will be
I can’t quite let this column pass without making some reference to the recent goings-on at Westminster and 10 Downing Street. I have been involved in politics for over 40 years and I have never known a time like it. We have had three different Prime Ministers in the space
The death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch in British history, put national life on hold as we remembered her seven decades of constancy, service and devotion to duty. It was a privilege to attend the church service at Leeds Minister to mark her life and her passing.
You probably have to go back to the 1970s to find a time when the pressures on family finances were so acute. Then, it was the trebling of oil prices; now it is the huge increase in the cost of gas and electricity. The cost of living is rising at
I recently attended a service at Leeds Minster to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War. Many of us remember it only too well. The shock of the Argentine invasion. The departure of the British Task Force. The sinking of the Sheffield. Brian Hanrahan’s famous report
70 years of service is a remarkable achievement by any measure. So, as we celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, I am sure we would all like to express our heartfelt thanks for her devotion to our country, and for the way in which she has carried out her
For several years now, the number of people contacting me about housing has been getting bigger and bigger. They are either desperate to get a council house, are in a private let but can no longer afford the rent, are overcrowded or have been waiting for ages to move. House
The war in Ukraine continues to dominate our television screens and newspapers. It is still hard to believe that in a modern European country people are being bombed, shelled, starved and displaced by another country that has decided to invade them. As I write, the situation in Mariupol is particularly
Although in our hearts we probably knew it was coming, no words can quite convey the profound shock we all felt when we woke up to discover that Russian forces had started their invasion of Ukraine. This is not a conflict in a far-off country of which we know little.