Today I was able to visit the site of the fire in Dagenham, see the scale of the fire and talk to ⁦Fire Brigades Union⁩ members. Attendance of ⁦Angela Rayner⁩ was very welcome and firefighters took the opportunity to set out their concerns.

Child poverty is a scar on our communities. 7 out of 10 children in poverty in the NE have 1 or more parent in work. Thank you Channel 4 News and CitizensAdvice Co Durham for highlighting the impact on families in Durham.

#Paralympic2024

Thanks to PCC Joy Allen, Durham Constabulary and Trading Standards for yesterday’s meeting on the impact that illegal vapes are having across the region. More to come on this.

Once again, a high rise block with flammable cladding has been destroyed by fire. Hundreds of thousands of people live in buildings like it. The day after, Matt Wrack visited the scene in Dagenham. The FBU will continue to fight for justice and action on the building safety

The The Labour Party government’s forthcoming Employment Rights Bill will ban the use of zero-hours contracts and other exploitative practices.  Workers and families need income certainty and security.

An absolute must read. Some parts of Co Durham bear deep scars when it comes to the cruelty witnessed during the miners’ strike. But, as expected, resilient communities are looking for ways to return from the destitution caused by 40 yrs of deindustrialisation and neglect.

Monday's The Northern Echo 🗞️ Special Echo investigation finds confiscated vapes from County Durham & Darlington schools were full of toxic chemicals & metals when tested by police Out of 35, only two were found to be legally compliant ✍️Phoebe Abruzzese #TomorrowsPapersToday

🥇🥈🥉👏🏻❤️ #ParalympicsGB

A welcome step. The stress which a one word headline from Ofsted causes for school communities is outrageous. We must protect the well-being of teaching staff and create positive working conditions to aid the recruitment and retention crisis.

Farewell to the peace doves 🕊️ . We’re so lucky that Durham Cathedral provides a stunning backdrop to some fab art exhibitions. I hope many people saw Peter Walker’s “Peace Doves” installation before it flies off tomorrow. The project brought communities together to express

We must learn from the Grenfell tragedy and we must listen to tenants, residents and frontline firefighters who raise concerns about residential and commercial buildings. Their views should never be disregarded. 💚 #GrenfellNeverAgain

Grateful to Kim McGuinness for taking the time to meet with County Durham MPs yesterday following my letter inviting her to speak to us. We discussed plans for improving buses and transport, as well as tackling poverty in our region.

There's no denying the strength of feeling against the proposal to make changes to the Winter Fuel Payment. I've written, again, to the Chancellor & Secretary of State for Work & Pensions with my views & asked them to pause the process & find other ways to recoup the public

Proud to support @NeilforPoole’s EDM. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Attended a powerful event this week with The Trussell Trust and Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Laura bravely shared her experience of losing her job and relying on a food bank to help feed her family. We need better job security and incomes that meet people’s needs and end the need for food banks.

The final medal count for ParalympicsGB at Paris 2024. 🇬🇧🇫🇷 #ParalympicsGB 🥇🥈🥉

"A grotesque ideology lies behind this horror story." Politicians' obsession with deregulation led to the Grenfell Tower fire, putting profits before lives. Every death was preventable. FBU general secretary Matt Wrack addressed this year's TUC congress as Trades Union Congress president.

Shocking that 2 much loved businesses next to my office were broken in to last night. My team has already been down to offer support. I'll be contacting Durham Constabulary to ask for updates as the investigation progresses & push to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me about issues with Arriva North East services recently. The routes which serve St Leonard's School have proved particularly problematic for some time now & I'm determined to find out why. I've requested a meeting with Arriva to discuss