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.”

A momentous and memorable day in the life of Trinity Church of England High as The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr John Sentamu, The Archbishop of York, led the opening celebrations of the new school. You can read more about the opening on the school’s website.

Tony attended Salford’s last ever game at The Willows, a sentimental moment for the team and also for Tony who was first taken to see a game there when he was a very young child by his father.

The charity will be allocating grants of £250 to help relieve retail people of immediate difficulties they are experiencing as a result of the riots. The emergency fund was set up after a request from the public to Retail Trust who wanted to help retail staff and their families whose lives are in turmoil. #highstheroes was launched on twitter by the charity and has attracted support from members of the public who are donating online and by text and many are organising events, raffles, auctions, parties, concerts and comedy nights, as well as running marathons and selling t-shirts in aid of Retail Trust’s #highstheroes fund.

The charity are calling for individuals and businesses to donate to the fund online www.retailtrust.org.uk, or by texting HSTH11 £5 to 70070 to help all the retail people in need.

Any shopkeepers, employees or retailers needing help to deal with concerns post riot should also call the Retail Trust Helpline 0808 801 0808 or visit www.retailtrust.org.uk

Hundreds of young people from disadvantaged communities across the North West visited Manchester on 26 August to have fun showcasing their sporting abilities at the StreetGames Summer Festival. By bringing sport to the doorsteps of some of the most deprived areas of the country, national charity StreetGames is helping to deliver the legacy of London 2012 today. The programmes encourage young people to stay out of crime, build their confidence, be more active and change their lives and communities for the better by putting their energies into sport and dance.

The North West Festival is one of a series of similar events taking place in major cities across the UK and which are part of Coca-Cola Great Britain and StreetGames’ three year partnership that aims to connect 110,000 young people with sport in Great Britain in the run up to London 2012 and beyond.

Thousands of young people’s lives have been changed for the better through StreetGames including Moses Pande, aged 18 from Wyttenshawe. From a deprived part of Manchester, Moses has been attending his local StreetGames project for eight months – his involvement has helped him get onto an NVQ course to obtain sports coaching qualifications.

He said: “Through StreetGames I have now been given a chance to gain training and qualifications – I hope this will enable me to gain work in the future”

Jane Ashworth OBE, CEO of StreetGames, added: “With the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games around the corner, StreetGames is improving the sporting landscape for young people living in disadvantaged communities. We want to ensure that everyone is able to benefit from the Olympic legacy regardless of their social circumstances.

“Our work with Coca-Cola Great Britain is improving the quality of doorstep sport through training and education. This gives coaches, volunteers and mentors the skills to grow and sustain sports participation in deprived communities.”

Manchester Chinese Archive has been named Volunteering Project of 2011 by the UK archive sector. At an award ceremony at the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester the volunteers who gave their time, enthusiasm and skills were praised for their outstanding commitment to a genuinely innovative and important community project. Tribute was also paid to the role of the Manchester institutions involved: Manchester Chinese Centre, Manchester Archives & Local Studies (MALS) and MOSI.

Tony Lloyd MP thanked the Archives and Records Association of UK and Ireland for giving their ‘prestigious’ annual volunteering award to Manchester volunteers.

The Manchester Chinese Archive project tells the story of the Chinese community in Greater Manchester. Over more than a year, a diverse group of volunteers conducted over 55 oral history interviews and undertook their own research. They photographed and filmed community events and catalogued photographs and documents which were donated or loaned by the community. An exhibition was developed – which is on show, free of charge, at MOSI until 16 January 2012 – as well as a website and digital photograph archive, a publication and a series of learning events.