Bridget Phillipson

One step closer to rebuilding Hetton School

Hetton School sign

Commenting on news that Hetton School will be the only secondary school in the North East Priority School Building Programme to be awarded ‘first school status’, Bridget Phillipson MP said:

“The announcement by the Department for Education is an important step forward in a long campaign to rebuild Hetton School.

“First school status means Hetton School will shape the standards and priorities of the North East rebuilding programme . It will allow the Head and his team to have a greater say in the design and construction. I discussed this possibility with the Schools Minister, who agreed to consider giving Hetton School this status. He accepted that the condition of the school needed urgent attention.”

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Bridget Phillipson MP: “Wages have fallen and the cost of living is increasing”

Sun fmBridget’s latest MP diary is now available online. Bridget talks about the fall out from the Queen’s speech, the increasing cost of living and plain packaging for cigarettes.

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Bridget Phillipson: “the government’s plans for legislation let the side down”

16 May 2013

By Bridget Phillipson MP Last week, the Queen opened the new session of Parliament and announced the government’s plans for the year ahead. We certainly do ceremony and tradition well and Parliament was packed with visitors. Unfortunately, the government’s plans for legislation let the side down and were on the thin side. Britain faces big [...]

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Bridget Phillipson: “Queen’s Speech was a wasted opportunity”

8 May 2013

Houghton and Sunderland South MP, Bridget Phillipson has called on the Conservative-led government to change direction following today’s Queen’s Speech. Britain faces some serious challenges but after three wasted years of Coalition government, the Conservatives and Lib Dems, today’s Queen’s Speech was another wasted opportunity. With prices rising faster than wages, the economy flatling and [...]

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Bridget Phillipson: “Big Bus Campaign will strive for real change”

25 April 2013

Last year thousands of local people took part in my Big Bus Campaign to support an affordable and better connected transport system across our area. This summer, councillors on the Integrated Transport Authority will decide on one of two plans for the future of the bus network in Tyne and Wear. They will decide between [...]

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Bridget Phillipson: “over 2000 children in Sunderland miss out on free school meals”

25 April 2013

We’ve all seen in recent weeks newspaper headlines exposing the problem of food labelling and quality. However, another pressing concern also exists. Figures released by the charity The Children’s Society show that in the UK 1.2 million children living in poverty are missing out on free school meals. Across Sunderland, the charity have estimated that [...]

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Latest jobs figures shows the government’s plan A is still not working

17 April 2013

Commenting on the latest unemployment figures for March 2013, Bridget Phillipson said: “These latest figures confirmed what we feared. In Houghton and Sunderland South, long term unemployment is up and is continuing to rise. It’s shocking that the number of local people out of work and claiming Jobseekers Allowance for at least 12 months has [...]

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Sunderland MPs call for court facilities fit for the 21st century

26 March 2013

Sunderland MPs Bridget Phillipson and Julie Elliott have called on the Ministry of Justice to make clear whether plans to rebuild Sunderland’s courts premises will go ahead. The Sunderland MPs have written to Courts Minister Helen Grant MP calling for an urgent meeting after a Parliamentary question tabled by Bridget Phillipson revealed the Department had [...]

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£400,000 boost for Hetton School after rebuilding delay

22 March 2013

A Sunderland school has been promised an extra £400,000 by the Department for Education after a meeting between Houghton and Sunderland South MP, Bridget Phillipson and Schools Minister David Laws. The new cash was promised after local MP, Bridget Phillipson stepped in to raise concerns about delays in the government’s Priority Schools Rebuilding Programme where [...]

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Bridget Phillipson: “We need a bold and radical Budget that will kickstart our economy”

21 March 2013

By the time this column is in print, Chancellor George Osborne will have delivered his Budget on Wednesday afternoon and set out the government’s spending plans. I sit writing this late on Monday evening in the House of Commons library as we wait for more votes. Ever the optimist, I live in hope that the [...]

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