Kim Leadbeater MP: Our area deserves to get its fair share of available funds from the Council and government

I hope everybody had a really good Christmas and New Year. I know these are difficult times with prices going up, while wages fall further behind. It’s clear from all the messages I receive that for many people there’s been less to go round this Christmas, but I was touched by the lovely video produced by Sam Teale and his team in Cleckheaton with the words “the magic of Christmas is made not bought”.

Kim Leadbeater MP writes: Children love Christmas, of course, and I’ve enjoyed visiting lots of events around the constituency where kids have got to meet Santa or play with the elves. And it was a real pleasure for me to see smiles on the faces of some very brave children in particular.

It was a very up and down year for Beau in Roberttown with her fight against neuroblastoma, but when I saw her last month she was doing really well and with her sister Redd was looking forward to unwrapping her presents.

And Zach in Hartshead had something special to celebrate with the news that ‘Zach’s Law’ will finally become a reality to protect young people with epilepsy like him from online harm.

I want young people to feel proud of our area. I’ve been listening to their views so I can play my part in delivering on their priorities. If we can provide decent jobs and training, affordable homes, safer roads, and a healthy environment then Batley and Spen can prosper and be the kind of place where they want to stay, and maybe bring up their own families in the years ahead.

Our towns and villages aren’t asking for special treatment, but they do deserve to get their fair share of available funds from the Council and the government. That’s why I held the Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove, to his promise to me to come to Batley and see for himself what a difference redevelopment in the town centre could make.

We want decent, well paid jobs for the area. But that doesn’t mean all developments will be good for local people. A decision is expected soon on the controversial Amazon warehouse scheme in Scholes. I hope it will be rejected because I believe as strongly as ever that it is too big, too polluting, too damaging to the local environment and would impose intolerable pressure on an already overburdened road network.

There are challenging times ahead, but I’m sure that if we continue to look out for each other and pull together we can look forward to a good 2023, so I wish you all a very Happy New Year.