Sunderland Echo column - Bridget Phillipson

Sunderland Echo: Only the Labour Party has a positive vision for our community and our country

In the last few weeks, the Tories have crashed the economy, appointed their fourth Chancellor in four months, and are now plotting to install yet another Prime Minister. This is a Tory crisis made in Downing Street, but it’s working people who are paying for it with soaring mortgage costs and…

Sunderland Echo: Working people will be left to pay the bill for years to come

Politics has, rightly, taken a back seat in recent weeks as our country has mourned the death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. But having received many letters throughout this deeply sad time, I know people’s worry about this winter’s cost of living crisis remains very real and very…

Sunderland Echo: Boris Johnson is turning our country into Backlog Britain

Boris Johnson is turning our country into Backlog Britain. People are having to wait excruciating lengths of time for everything from passports to court trials to GP appointments. The incredible public services that once made our country a great place to live are no longer working as they…

Sunderland Echo: Government leaving families to struggle with steeply rising prices and children at risk of missing out

We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. Families are being squeezed more than ever before, with hundreds being forced to make cutbacks. Soaring prices are also affecting our children’s opportunities and their development. Since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, the cost of afterschool clubs has…

Sunderland Echo: After 12 years of Conservative Government, almost two million people in Britain have gone without food for a whole day

This week marks 12 full years of Conservative government. And in the past month, almost two million people in Britain have gone without food for a whole day because they can’t afford to eat. We are in the middle of a cost of living crisis that the Tories…

Sunderland Echo: Education means opportunity and I want that for every child

This week in Parliament has seen the publication of a White Paper – a document setting out the government’s plans for new laws and spending – on education. It has been a little over two years since schools were closed to most pupils, and this should have been a…

Sunderland Echo: If we’re to cut crime we must also bring down poverty levels

Last week, I was delighted to join Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness for the launch of her “fighting poverty, fighting crime” focus for local policing. In January, Boris Johnson wrongly claimed that the Government had cut crime. Offences are rising and prosecutions are plummeting, and we need a comprehensive new approach…

Sunderland Echo: The young are the future but an afterthought to the Tories

I’m pleased to back National Apprenticeship Week, recognising the enormous contribution made by apprentices to our economy. Apprenticeships offer people a way to ‘earn while they learn’ and support employers to develop the skills of their workforce alongside filling skills gaps. This week I’ll be seeing firsthand what apprenticeships can do…

Sunderland Echo: It’s high time for Boris Johnson to do the decent thing, and resign

We have a Prime Minister who is up to his neck in scandals of his own making. From dishing out government contracts to friends and donors of the Conservative party, to lavishly refurbishing Number 10 with a party donor’s money, Boris Johnson continues to take the British public for fools.…

Sunderland Echo: The Government must use the Christmas holidays to vaccinate, ventilate and prevent further disruption to our children’s education

I’m delighted to be writing in my new role as Shadow Education Secretary in Keir Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet. Education is the single most important way in which we change lives for the better. I know that from my own life and I want that change to be available for…