This is the website of the Whalley Range branch of the Labour Party. The ward is located in south Manchester and includes parts of Manchester Gorton and Manchester Central parliamentary constituencies. You can contact the branch team using this link.
Covid-19 – mutual support and help in Whalley Range
A quick update from the three Whalley Range Labour councillors (Aftab Razaq, Angeliki Stogia and Mary Watson) :
These are of course very challenging times for all Whalley Range residents. We hope you can remain safe and well as we move through this uncertain period.
Some people have asked us about local neighbourhood ‘mutual support’ groups to help us all cope in the current crisis. We are encouraging anyone who would like to get involved in this way to join and engage with the Whalley Range COVID-19 Facebook group. You can check there to see if a local WhatsApp support group has been set up for your street, and follow the listed links to join it – or if your immediate neighbourhood doesn’t have one yet, of course you can set it up.
Alternatively, for any individual who is keen to offer help directly, Whalley Rangers have organised a short questionnaire so that they can be safely matched with residents who may need help or just a reliable point of contact (ie someone to ‘look out’ for them).
Unfortunately we have been advised that we should no longer hold face-to-face advice sessions, so these are suspended for the time being. But please be assured that we are still working hard for you – you can always contact us by phone or email, follow the links on our web page here.
And more generally – let’s look out for each other, be kind, and follow official advice. The Council has a web page of useful information here, where you can also sign up for updates.
GM bus consultation – our councillors’ response
The public consultation on proposals by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to bring the region’s bus services back under public control has now closed. The three Whalley Range councillors (Angeliki Stogia, Mary Watson and Aftab Razaq) are all strongly in favour of the plans – you can read their submission to the consultation here.
Whalley Range Labour candidate Assia Shah says “Angeliki, Mary, Aftab and I will continue to push for the improvements we all need to our public transport infrastructure, including better buses. We’re looking forward to hearing about the outcome of the consultation and the next steps in this process”.
Today is Election Day – vote Labour for a better future
This is the most important election that many of us can remember. Every vote counts – don’t waste the chance to have your say. Four things to remember:
- You don’t need your polling card to vote – just go to your polling station and give them your name and address
- Polls are open until 10pm
- If you’ve got a postal vote but haven’t sent it back yet, you can complete the voting pack and take the sealed envelope to any polling station in Manchester before 10pm
- If you don’t know where your polling station is or you need a lift to vote, visit our polling station finder.
General Election 2019 – make sure you can vote
As you will certainly know by now, a general election will take place in the UK on Thursday 12 December.
While Labour supporters will embrace the opportunity to ditch a failed Tory government and hopefully put Labour back in power, the timing of the election will bring problems – short daylight hours, cold weather (or worse), winter break holidays, the distraction of the pre-Christmas season and (for students) the ending of university term may all conspire to lower the turnout. So please make sure that you and everyone you know who backs Labour will be able to use your votes – feel free to pass on this information to anyone you know who might need it:
Continue readingBuses for people not profit – have your say now
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority have published their proposals to change the way our buses are run, putting the needs of the public ahead of the bus companies’ wish to maximise their profits. As part of this process, they have launched a formal consultation open to everyone.
Assia Shah, who will be Whalley Range Labour’s candidate in 2020, says “The big bus companies will be fighting back and lobbying hard, so it’s vital that the rest of us make our views known if this change is to become a reality. Even if you’re not a regular bus user at present, a ‘London style’ bus franchising system can bring many environmental and social benefits for the whole population – including reduced traffic congestion”.
Continue reading