Whalley Range branch Labour Party

Graph showing total public spending on transport per person by region.

Over the decade to 2022/23, each year:

📌London received £1,183 transport spending per person
📌The North: £486
📌The North East: £430
📌The North West: £540
📌Yorkshire & Humber: £441
📌East Midlands (lowest in the UK): £355

Despite promises made to the North & regions, it was a decade of deceit

North missed £140bn of transport investment over last government, research finds Independent analysis by think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research looked at Treasury figures between 2009/10 and 2022/23.

We're on a roll today... @ipprnorth.bsky.social in the @the-independent.com today on how the North has missed £140bn in transport investment over the last government

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

The £140bn chasm that shows how the North has suffered in 'a decade of deceit' The North got £140bn less than London for transport over 14 years

Analysis by @ipprnorth.bsky.social reveals the £140bn transport investment gap between the North and London over the last 14yrs.

Long term investment in the North’s rail network, integrated with local transport & house building plans, is key to improving connectivity and boosting prosperity.

A moving tram in Nottingham.

Public transport is the backbone of thriving communities and economic growth 💪🏡🌱

The Chancellor’s transport package announced last week is a “huge vote of confidence” in the transformative transport projects underway by our members.

#SpendingReview

www.urbantransportgroup.org/resources/ty...

Extending Free School Meals to everyone on Universal Credit would lift 100,000 children out of poverty, saving families £448 per year per child.

📚 Our report out today sets out a long-term plan to reduce child poverty: www.ippr.org/articles/get...

Genuinely good news. Extending FSM to all children on Universal Credit is long overdue. Will cut poverty and help improve concentration and health.

More than a third of under-fives live in poverty, equivalent to 1.2 million babies and toddlers in England and Wales.

On BBC Radio 4 Today, @bencooper1995.bsky.social calls for the two child benefit limit to be scrapped.

Migration misconceptions: what to watch out for as immigration tops the news agenda – Full Fact Ahead of the publication of new net migration statistics this week, here are some key points to bear in mind.

Immigration was top of the news agenda last week, and will likely be again later this week with new net migration figures due.

But understanding the stats isn’t straightforward. We look at some common migration misconceptions 👇

I welcome the UK signing a strong collective statement on Gaza and suspending trade talks with Israel.

However, words without actions ring hollow.

Today, I called for the Foreign Secretary to impose a full arms embargo on Israel and immediate recognition of the Palestinian State.

Will the government create a National Care Service? – Full Fact We take a look at Labour’s pledge to create a National Care Service, a proposal to overhaul adult social care in England.

The government has promised a fundamental reform of adult social care in England, with the establishment of a ‘National Care Service’. So what progress is being made?

Our latest Government Tracker page takes a look 👇

Shameless plug:

Total Votes Cast #LE2025:

➡️ RFM: 31% (+31)
🌳 CON: 23% (-23)
🔶 LDM: 17% (+2)
🌹 LAB: 14% (-8)
🌍 GRN: 9% (+1)
🙋 Oth: 6% (-3)

Changes w/ 2021 Local Elections.

The election results are a step back - the fault isn't with the public but politicians. There's plenty of hot takes but we need answers that put money in peoples pockets and into fixing public services.
Here's how we can be true Labour again www.instagram.com/p/DJML2MGIhb...

Talking trees coming to Manchester in UK's first AI-powered park

The garden is hoping to revolutionise how trees are cared for in cities

Just redrawing the local government map then plonking a mayor on top is not going to summon the regional growth fairy. You can’t just pick up the GMCA and put it down somewhere else. (On a side point, if any GM councils go Reform next year we will see in real time how resilient the model is.)

Great to see these bike hangars installed in Chorlton. It’s part of a trial across the city. #chorlton #bikehangars

We now have >250 wards/divisions reported and an increasingly clear picture of the Reform vote. It is higher in areas with fewer graduates, more people with no qualifications, areas where more people are employed in primary industries (e.g. manufacturing) and areas with more older people.

£5.4m to be spent mending potholes and pavements

Some roads to be resurfaced or reconstructed

The radical plan for a futuristic age-friendly neighbourhood in Manchester £1.5bn of funding has been granted to transform a hospital into a neighbourhood designed for people to thrive as they age

This looks v. interesting.

This isn’t rocket science but far too few neighbourhoods do it well:

“The humble bench – improved with armrests, numbered to aid in a medical emergency, or placed strategically for wellbeing and intergenerational conversation – can be transformative…”

How do we solve this? We recommend that the government introduces: - A new 'baby' element to Universal Credit, boosting the incomes of families claiming Universal Credit with a child under one by £293 a month - A new 'toddler' element to Universal Credit, boosting the incomes of families claiming Universal Credit with a child over one but under five by £156 a month - A Health in Pregnancy Grant worth over £480 during pregnancy

Around 1.2m babies + toddlers live in poverty, but the Child Poverty Strategy can change that

The government can lift over 140,000 babies + toddlers out of poverty - delivering greater economic security for families

My analysis for @thefabians.bsky.social shows how 👇

fabians.org.uk/baby-steps/

It’s time to depoliticise sustainable transportation How roads became 'Technical' and bike lanes became 'Political', and what to do about it.

Time to depoliticise sustainable transportation?
substack.com/inbox/post/1...

arguments for sustainable transport are perceived as political & ideological, whereas arguments for more road space are perceived as technical and rational- a necessary reaction to traffic growth & enabler of econ growth

eVisa guide - GMIAU A guide to the eVisa process, in English, Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Kurdish, Pashto, and Tigrinya.

📢 GMIAU’s free, pro bono-supported eVisa support sessions have been extended until the end of May. Help is available for anyone navigating the eVisa process—check the guide and details here: gmiau.org/evisa-guides/

Here’s the full text from Heidi Alexander’s first big speech. Focus is on how she thinks about transport & ambition for it:

“… by 2035, I want public transport to play a greater role in national life, becoming the easiest, most attractive choice… brilliantly and boringly reliable”

Sick pay and axeing zero-hours contracts will help economy, defiant Rayner insists Deputy Prime Minister hits back at criticism from business groups over Employment Rights Bill

Brilliant piece from AngelaRayner this morning as Labour's New Deal starts to raise wages with the increase to the minimum wage. 🌹✊️

"This is the change people voted for: Making Work Pay and putting more money in millions of people’s pockets."

inews.co.uk/news/politic...

This week, thousands of people in Swansea will have more money in their pockets because the state pension and National Living Wage are going up.

No one's pretending the cost of living is now solved. But we're on the right track 👇

Jeff Smith MP backs new measures to boost construction workforce and get Britain building New measures to tackle construction skills shortages to build 1.5 million homes, including 100s of social and affordable homes in Manchester Withington Will deliver up to 60,000 more construction w…

£600m of investment to get young people into the construction industry, allow experienced workers to pass on their skills, and support employers to offer industry placements.

This is the difference Labour in government makes.

jeffsmithmp.com/2025/04/01/j...

My bill will help co-operative housing play a bigger role in solving the affordability crisis Co-operative housing is housing done differently. Yet while it is commonplace abroad, and rightly so, it makes up a vanishingly small part of the U...

Co-operative housing is housing done differently. Yet while it is commonplace abroad, and rightly so, it makes up a vanishingly small part of the UK sector. Defining it in law will help change that, writes Labour MP @andrewpakes.bsky.social

Are cargo bikes the future of city logistics?

A recent study in London found cargo bikes to be 1.61x faster than the same service performed in a van. Further, cargo bike usage reduces carbon emissions, congestion and frees up parking space.

momentummag.com/cargo-bikes-...

Greater Manchester bus users can now use Bee Network 'tap-and-go' system Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham says the new system is a

unlimited travel on both buses and trams will be automatically capped at £9.50 a day, or £7.80 during off-peak times.