This week Tony Lloyd signed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons, in doing so pledging his commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and honouring those who died during the Holocaust.

Friday January 27th marked the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentration and extermination camp which is the site of the largest mass murder in history – and in the weeks running up to the day, the Holocaust Educational Trust placed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons, giving MPs the chance to honour those who were persecuted and killed during their Holocaust and encouraging constituents to actively speak out against prejudice and bigotry today.

In the weeks around Holocaust Memorial Day, thousands of commemorative events will be arranged by schools, faith groups and community organisations across the country, remembering all the victims of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. This year, people will also be encouraged to take a stand against racism and prejudice today – and to speak out against hatred wherever they encounter it.

Tony Lloyd: Does the Secretary of State accept, as a number of his Back Benchers do not, that this is fundamentally a question about what type of society we want to be, and that when we see executives being paid 75 times more than the lowest-paid people in the company, that is not about economic efficiency or incentives, but immorality?

Link to full debate.

The reception, held on 13 Decemeber 2011, raised awareness of meningitis and septicaemia. Dr Hilary Jones and Dr Nelly Ninnis from St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, were available to speak to guests.

Tony Lloyd joined Labour colleagues, including Harriet Harman MP, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Yvette Cooper MP, Shadow Women and Equalities Minister to mark White Ribbon Day and show support for the White Ribbon Campaign’s work to reduce violence against women.

The White Ribbon Campaign is the largest global effort of men working to end violence against women. White Ribbon Day falls each year on 25th November, the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Violence Against Women.

Child Care Costs | Oral Answers to Questions – Work and Pensions | Commons debates

What estimate he has made of the potential effect on the number of women leaving work of his planned reduction in refundable child care costs.

I am not sure that the Secretary of State’s message has been conveyed to the public. Many working families are very concerned both about the high price of child care and about the fact that it is rising, and believe that they will be worse off as a consequence of the changes that are being made. How does the Secretary of State propose to ensure that his message gets across, to Labour Members as well as those on the Government Benches?
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Parliament heard passionate pleas for the Palestinians to be granted recognition as a state and admission to the United Nations as MPs prepared for the conference season. Almost 100 MPs of all parties have now signed a Commons motion calling on the UK to back the Palestinian state and polls show that 71% of UK voters believe Palestine should be recognised as a state.

Middle East minister Alistair Burt told MPs at a special one-hour debate that the Government still has not made up its mind how to vote – saying it depended on the exact wording of the Palestinian motion which is expected to be tabled next week. The Palestinians can apply to the UN General Assembly for recognition as a state, giving them the right to attend UN meetings and join UN organisations, or they can apply to the UN Security Council for full membership.

This week former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw backed the Commons motion tabled by Labour’s Ann Clwyd calling for Palestinian admission to the UN. In a letter to MPs he said:

“I did this because of the urgency of making it clear both to the Government and to my constituents how important it is that we, as a country, make the right decision on this.

“I’m as firm as anyone about Israel’s rights to security, as a sovereign state. We all understand the fears that Israelis have for their security, but it will not enhance their security to deny the right of self-determination permanently to the Palestinians. The World Bank, the UN, the EU and the IMF have all assessed the progress of the Palestinian Authority and judged it to be ready for statehood.”

Picture below are: (in the front row, left to right) Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru), Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour), Jeremy Corbyn (Labour), Cathy Jamieson (Labour), Bob Russell (Liberal Democrat(, Joan Ruddock (Labour), Sir Gerald Kaufman (Labour), (back row) AlexCunningham (Labour), Lisa Nandy (Labour), Ian Mearns (Labour), Virendra Sharma (Labour), Tony Lloyd (Labour), Andy Slaughter (Labour), Nia Griffith (Labour), Alan Whitehead (Labour, (middle row) Lyn Brown (Labour), Ann Clwyd (Labour), Jim Sheridan (Labour), (seated) Ann Begg (Labour).

Tony Lloyd MP has attended an event at the House of Commons organised by The Royal British Legion to highlight the importance of supporting bereaved Armed Forces families. At the event Tony was told about the Legion’s work to improve the welfare of the Armed Forces family in the local area.

Andrew Meek, the Legion’s Regional Manager for the North of England said, “Many people don’t realise that we spend nearly £1.4 million a week on helping both the serving and the ex-Service communities, including their families. The Legion is currently celebrating its 90th Anniversary Year, and campaigning for the Armed Forces family is as important to us now as it was in 1921.”

Health service workers and users are obviously very cynical about David Cameron’s recent pause for reflection on the Health and Social Care bill. Concerns that the NHS is being turned over to private providers are huge and growing. Profit not patient care is the driving force behind the planned changes. The Government is a million miles away from the public on this issue and we need to make sure that they know that.

It’s under threat and now is our chance to save its future.

We need to make sure that the strength of public feeling on this issue is fully understood. Local Lib Dems think that enough has been done to the Bill to get the public back on side, we know that is not true.

What can you do?

We need to build an alliance of people opposed to the changes to make the Government listen. Please share this post with your friends, family and neighbours and encourage them to pass it on too. If we keep the chain going we can make sure our voice is heard.

Contact your MP and ask them to oppose the Bill as it passes through Parliament, you can find out who your MP is here.

You can also contact any Member of the House of Lords, the Lords will play a vital role in scrutinising the Government proposals and could block the passage of the Bill in to law. Find out more about writing to a Lord here.

You can also download a model letter that you may wish to use. Please do feel free to amend the letter to include your own personal experiences and views as personal letters do tend to be more powerful.

MP’s met with social workers at the Houses of Parliament to hear some very difficult accounts of how many social workers are being forced out of their jobs at a time when family breakdown, mental illness and distress, and abuse of children and adults is more likely to occur with the pressures of Benefit cuts and rising prices.

Ruth Cartwright, England Manager at BASW (The British Association of Social Workers) said: “We are delighted to have the backing of Tony Lloyd MP as we continue to oppose cuts which directly affect vulnerable people and social work posts. Last year 94% of BASW members warned the government that upcoming cuts would have an adverse effect on vulnerable children, they didn’t listen and we now know this to be true. It is time for the government to start listening and taking responsibility for what these cuts will do to vulnerable people.”