Ed Miliband Visits Blackpool
Gordon welcomed Ed Miliband, the shadow Energy & Climate Change Secretary and one of Labour’s leadership contenders, to Blackpool as he did a question and answer session at the Stanley Park Café. Ed also talked to voluntary, social enterprise and community group representatives across Blackpool about their concerns for the impact on their activities with further funding cuts both at council and government level threatened.
Ed Miliband underlined the importance of regenerating seaside towns like Blackpool – both for residents and for the tourist industry and tackled questions from an audience of about 60 people on everything from climate change, the ‘living wage’ and future opportunities for Blackpool’s young people at a time of employment and financial difficulties. He stressed the importance of Governments of whatever party continuing to look at the particular needs of seaside towns and praised Gordon for the work he had done with him and other Ministers previously in Government on the seaside town’s manifesto which had helped bring many of the new infrastructure investments for the town.
Gordon said after the visit – ‘I was really pleased that Ed was able to visit Blackpool and have a very broad exchange of views with people. I know from his previous visit earlier this year, talking to VI Form College students about climate change and conservation, how good he is at striking a rapport with people – and from the work we’ve done together for seaside towns I know that gives him a very good feel for Blackpool’s challenges in future opportunities.
As a former minister for the Third Sector he was particularly concerned – as I am – at people’s worries that cuts in grants, support and the redundancies at the council that help our very vibrant voluntary sector in Blackpool achieve so much will hamper the reconnection that we need to make and assist communities fight anti social behaviour and the like. I was glad he was able to see in Stanley Park a living example of how voluntary and civic groups working with millions of pounds of Lottery money are restoring it to its central role as a world-class amenity for Blackpool residents and visitors.’
