News & Campaigns

PETITIONS:

  • Please sign this petition and help ‘Save Suffolk’s Children’s Centres.’
  • 23rd September 2019 I launched Rail Fares Petition

I do understand that Abellio bid for the Greater Anglia franchise on the basis of these astronomical fares, but that is not the fault of the passengers, it is the fault of the whole franchising system.  I do not see why my constituents should be penalised by a system of privatised rail delivery which does not treat Ipswich people fairly.  I will continue to work with Greater Anglia to do everything I can to help improve our rail services, but what I will not do is accept that the present price structure is fair.

Link: https://www.ipswich-labour.org.uk/ipswich_rail_fares_petition

NEWS:

  • 5th November 2019 Provision for special educational needs and disabilities in Suffolk Adjournment debate – Children in Ipswich with special needs are being failed by Suffolk’s Conservative County Council.
  • 31st October 2019 Our oceans are swimming in plastic and wildlife is at danger – I point out to the Government that they are not dealing with the main issue.
  • For several years the Highways Agency has promised to look at ways to reduce the number of closures on the Orwell Bridge and to work with Suffolk County Council to find better diversion routes when it does close. The Agency had been due to address the meeting of the Ipswich Borough Council Scrutiny Committee last Thursday to present the results of their studies, but they never turned up and the results have not been published.

It is way beyond time that the Highways Agency should have found ways to reduce the closures of the Orwell Bridge, and improve the situation in Ipswich when it closes, too. I am calling for serious efforts to reduce closures by wind, make the closures for maintenance less disruptive, and find better diversions for those times when the bridge does have to close. And I am also calling on the Highways Agency to join me in calling for a North Ipswich Bypass, as that would be the best diversion of all. The Conservative MPs in Suffolk are opposing it, the County Council is now sitting on the report, and the Government has repeatedly refused to meet with me to discuss it. I am not going to let this issue be kicked into the long grass – it is essential for the future of Ipswich that something is done.

Letter to CEO Highways England
Letter to CEO Highways England
  • 30th October 2019 I point out that lack of government financial support after the Grenfell disaster has left people living in unacceptable conditions in St Francis Tower – Theresa May’s ‘answer’ doesn’t fit with the facts.

 

  • 29th October 2019 I tell the Government their Environment Bill doesn’t provide the powers or the resources to deal with the Climate Emergency effectively – but we will put forward constructive proposals to improve it, not stand in the way.
  • 24th October 2019 Westminster Hall debate on The Sixteenth Report of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Plastic food and drink packaging
  • 17th October 2019 I slam the Government for their complete failure to deal with the housing crisis and identify the actions our Borough Council are taking

 

 

  • 1st October 2019 Statutory Instruments debate

I point out the dangers for food and environment safety of missing important regulations when we leave the EU.

 

I flag up Pesticide dangers if we leave EU without a deal and are pressured into a hasty deal with the USA.

 

  • 4th September 2019 – I show why Labour will not fall into Johnson’s dangerous no-deal election trap – no to no-deal now, yes to a General Election as soon as it is safe to do so.

 

 

  • 3rd September 2019 – School Funding in East Anglia Westminster Hall debate

I raise the issue of underfunding for SEND pupils in Suffolk schools – the Government and the County Council are failing our children:

I point out that the Conservatives may well not be in government when their so-called promises of extra money for schools are meant to kick in – #magicmoneytree :

Peter Aldous MP agrees with me that there is no longer any effective planning for education under this government:

 

  • 10th July 2019 – I speak for Labour in support of the Animal Welfare Sentencing Bill.  We need a comprehensive and effective Animal Welfare Bill in the future – in the meantime, let’s make sure people convicted of cruelty get meaningful sentences 

 

 

  • 10th July 2019 I remind the Prime Minister that her Party promised not to close any Children’s Centres and then closed them anyway. How can they be trusted again? – She couldn’t answer that.

 

 

  • 9th July 2019 I ask Minister whether he will meet with me and Suffolk Law Advice Centre to discuss what can be done to address the housing legal aid desert – and he agrees!

 

 

  • 8th July 2019 Suffolk Firefighters visited Westminster to speak to me about dangerous lack of firefighter crews in Suffolk – safety should come first but cuts are putting firefighters and the public in danger, and Suffolk is worse-off than Norfolk or Essex or Cambridgeshire
  • 27th June 2019 I show solidarity with Richard Ratcliffe in his hunger strike to secure liberty for Nazanin – his fight will help unjustly imprisoned people throughout the world.

Meeting Richard Ratcliffe

Meeting Richard Ratcliffe

Meeting Richard Ratcliffe

  • 26th June 2019 Incredible turnout for mass Climate Change lobby. Really pleased to meet so many dedicated residents of Ipswich.

 

  • 21st June 2019 I speak to Northgate School about respect on Jo Cox Day #MoreInCommon #GreatGetTogether

 

 

  • 6th June 2019 I intervene during General Debate on the Response to the Grenfell Tower Fire – Building regulations must specify safe materials but we also need to stop developers from bypassing the regulations altogether.

 

 

  • 4th June 2019 I lead for Labour on the ban of wild animals in circuses – it’s not just about welfare, it’s also about respect for our fellow creatures.

 

 

  • 30th May 2019 I attended Special Educational Needs and Disabilities March in Ipswich

 

Sandy attending Special Educational Needs and Disabilities March in Ipswich

 

  • 24th May 2019 I joined Ipswich schoolchildren at their #Climatechange demonstration on the Town Hall steps – we have 30 years to save our planet and every one of those must count

 

 

  • 22nd May 2019 attended End the Cage Age Parliamentary event organized by Compassion in World Farming:

 

Sandy attending End the Cage Age - Parliamentary event organized by Compassion in World Farming

 

  • 16th May 2019 I demand that MPs recognise so-called hunting trophies for what they are – bits of dead animals – and stop the import of endangered species

 

 

  • 14th May 2019 I point out that lack of funding and staff in our prisons is leading to failure to educate and rehabilitate prisoners, which leads to higher re-offending rates

 

 

  • 9th May 2019 I ask the Government how much longer they will allow recycling to stagnate in this country before they consider taxing incineration.

 

 

  • 7th May 2019 I tell the House of Commons that animal welfare IS an ethical issue – if we can’t respect animals how will we respect each other?

 

 

  • 1st May 2019 I join The Labour Party call to declare an Environment and Climate Emergency:

 

 

  • 29th April 2019 I point out the financial hardship faced by leaseholders in St Francis Tower who have huge bills hanging over their heads for removal of the cladding which they had no part in deciding – but is the Minister listening?

 

 

  • 24th April 2019 Interview at the Independent Carer’s Parliamentary event regarding Social Care funding:

 

 

  • 23rd April 2019 I speak up for better recycling for plastic – and not making unnecessary plastic items in the first place – to reduce climate change and to protect our invironment from pollution:

 

 

  • 1st April 2019 I call on the Government to reverse cuts to Police Staff so we can improve the ability of Suffolk Police to tackle violent crime:

 

 

  • 6th December 2018 European Union (Withdrawal) Act debate

Please follow this link to read my speech or watch it here.

  • Independent Bailiff Regulator

Sandy Martin MP tabled the following Early Day Motion 1632 on 13th September 2018:

“That this House is shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Jerome Rogers, a young bicycle courier who, after being aggressively pursued by bailiffs, felt driven to take his own life; notes the evidence from Citizens Advice of poor treatment at the hands of bailiffs across the UK; considers that the 24% increase in the number of bailiff issues since reforms to the bailiff industry introduced in 2014 demonstrates that these reforms have not worked; further notes reports of enforcement agents acting inappropriately towards Citizens Advice clients, refusing offers of payments, entering homes when they ought not to and charging disproportionate or inappropriate fees; recognises that people who are visited by bailiffs are disproportionately likely to be vulnerable, with half living in social housing, one in three having a long term health condition or disability, and more than a quarter being single parents with dependent children; and calls on the government to institute fundamental reform of the sector through the introduction of an independent bailiff regulator and an independent complaints process.”

  • The Great East Run

I will join the Great East Run half-marathon on Sunday 16 September, to raise money for the Ipswich Housing Action Group (IHAG). The regional half-marathon for East Anglia is again being run in and around Ipswich, and I am proud to be able to take part. I have never in my life run 13 miles and so the whole prospect is a little bit scary, but with the good wishes of all those who want to help the homeless behind me I know I can complete the course.

A summit of community leaders last year showed that street beggars in Ipswich, and anyone who is genuinely homeless, will benefit more from donations to charities such as IHAG which can provide advice, housing and other essentials, rather than from direct gifts of cash. That is why I am running in the Great East Run in Ipswich on Sunday 16th October in support of IHAG, and am asking you, if you want to help the homeless in Ipswich, to pledge your support by accessing my Local Giving page at https://localgiving.org/fundraising/sandysrunforhomeless.

Great East Run
Great East Run
  • Financial support for children’s hospices

Sandy Martin MP tabled the following Early Day Motion 1564 on 4th September 2018:

“That this House notes that across England, 40,000 babies, children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions rely on palliative care to enhance their quality of life, manage symptoms and provide their families with much needed help and rest; expects demand for children’s palliative care to grow as the number of children with life-limiting conditions increases; is concerned that the funding for services hasn’t kept pace with this demand and has become a postcode lottery; notes the NICE calculation that investing £12.7 million in end of life care for infants, children and young people, would release non-cash savings worth £34.7 million back into the NHS in England; and therefore calls on the Government to increase the Children’s Hospice Grant to at least £25 million per year, which would cover 14% of the cost of the clinical care provided by children’s hospices, equal to the contribution originally made by the Department of Health in 2006; address the funding disparity between children’s and adult hospices whereby children’s hospices currently receive only 22% of their funding from statutory sources, compared to 33% in adult hospices; and put in place a funded children’s palliative care strategy to ensure that seriously ill children can access the care and support they need, when and where they need it, in hospitals, children’s hospices and in the community.”

CAMPAIGNS

I try to personally respond to all campaign correspondence within 3 weeks. Below you will find copies of my responses to various campaigns, on subjects as diverse as Childcare Vouchers, Puppy Smuggling and Proposed Changes to Knife Laws.