Jon Ashworth MP visits Cressall Resistors |
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Friday March 21 2014 |
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Jon visited Cressall Resistors, one of the world's foremost power resistor manufacturers.
Cressall Resistors, which is celebrating 100 years of successful business, is based in Jon’s constituency of Leicester South. The company offers an unrivalled combination of experience and expertise as well as the UK’s widest range of resistor technologies.
Jon stated: “This Leicester based business is key to the electrical industry, with almost all companies contacting Cressall at some point. It has an impressive range of customers and importantly for my constituents with exports increasing new jobs are created.”
Cressall’s customers include ABB, Siemens, Areva and Alsthom as well as major utilities such as Central Networks, Yorkshire Electricity, EDF and Scottish Power. The company also works with countless smaller specialists such as Street Crane, Digital Lift Controls and Computer Protek Systems.
Cy Wilkinson, Cressall’s Managing Director, commented: “Jon Ashworth’s visit was a great opportunity to discuss future projects that will benefit the local community. It also marks the celebration of Cressall’s centenary and the company’s success and growth, even in the most challenging times that we’ve been experiencing over the last 5 or 6 years.”
“We were very keen to show Jon around our business and explain in more detail how our modern approach to manufacturing and management have helped us increase productivity, grow our exports to over 57%, and create new jobs for the region.” |
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above and above right, Jon and Cy Wilkinson, Cressall’s Managing Director, on the factory floor, photo bottom right, Jon and Cy Wilkinson with a Cressall Design Engineer |
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Jon Ashworth MP visited Age Concern’s Catherine House to meet Asian Elders |
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Friday March 21 2014 |
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Jon called into the lunch club for a group of Asian elders.
Jon said: “I have been to the lunch club before, and once again I really enjoyed meeting people. This is a well used service offered by Age Concern and the food provided was amazing.”
Jon spent time meeting the elders at the lunch club including Gajendra Chhatrisha who commented: “It was really good to see Jon at the club again. It is good to see our local MP taking time out of his busy schedule to meet local people.”
Catherine House is the venue for a range of social care services that meet the needs of Asian elders. These services include transport to and from home to the centre, culturally-appropriate food, activities, social contacts and outings. |
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above, Councillor Manjula Sood MBE, Gajendra Chhatrisha and Jon, photos right, Jon with the people at the lunch club |
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The Budget – hugely disappointing for Leicester South |
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Wednesday March 19 2014 |
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Responding to Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget, Jon Ashworth, Labour MP for Leicester South, said: “This is a hugely disappointing budget for people across Leicester who are facing a cost of living crisis. We got lots of boasting from George Osborne today about how well things are going, but the reality is that average wages are £1,600 down a year since David Cameron became Prime Minister.”
“My own local survey of Leicester South residents reveals that across Leicester George Osborne’s confidence isn’t shared.”
“In Leicester local people are being forced to cope with deep cuts to local services and yet today George Osborne was forced to admit that even after these deep cuts, he will fail on past promise to balance the books by 2015.”
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“While economic growth has picked up, it turns out we have seen the slowest recovery for 100 years which means David Cameron’s government budget will borrow over £180 billion more than planned.”
“Today George Osborne should have taken measures to freeze energy bills, get our young people back to work, cut small business rates and expand free childcare for working parents. Instead we got a very disappointing budget and Leicester people remain worse off under David Cameron’s government.”
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Jon Ashworth MP takes part in Hindu Holi Festival |
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Sunday March 16 2014 |
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Jon Ashworth MP participated in the Hindu festival of Holi at the Spinney Hill Park celebrations organised by Leicester’s Hindu Mandir.
The festival of Holi marks the arrival of spring, and is celebrated widely in many parts of India, particularly North India.
One of the most popular ways to celebrate Holi is to pour coloured water and throw coloured powder at people, to mark the colourful nature of spring.
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Such Holi celebrations take place every year in Leicester, and are attended by people of all ages. Groups of families and friends begin the celebrations by offering prayers, and then throwing colours at one another.
Jon said: “I attended the Holi celebrations today and it was great! The atmosphere was really fun and relaxed, and there were so many people there. My daughter also really enjoyed getting covered with colourful powder!”
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Jon
Ashworth MP hosted his second Mental Health Summit |
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Friday
March 7 2014 |
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The Mental Health Summit was held at
the Queens Building, De Montfort University.
At last year’s Summit numerous organisations made
pledges with the aim of improving mental health
services in the City for service users and carers.
These pledges were reviewed as part of a listening
event held with service users and carers in October
last year.
Jon stated: “The Mid-Term Review in October last
year was crucial to my on-going work to bring
about better working relationships between statutory
and voluntary agencies, and service users and
carers.”
“I am very grateful to SUCRAN for analysing this
event. Its report is a very important stepping
stone in improving mental health services in the
City.”
The SUCRAN report was presented at the Summit
which will also heard from Peter Beresford OBE,
a Professor of Social Policy and Director of the
Centre for Citizen Participation at Brunel University,
and officers from the award winning Triage Car
Scheme run by Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
and Leicestershire Police.
Gabby Briner, Chair of the Voluntary Sector Partnership
Forum for Mental Health, said:
“The over-arching theme of this year’s summit
was early intervention and prevention. Local voluntary
and community organisations have a vital role
to play in delivering services which enable people
to access the help and support they need closer
to home, and preventing mental health crisis and
hospitalisation.”
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An aim of the day, and the workshops, was for
the organisations to commit to specific pledges
that can be monitored and reported back on.
Jon commented:
“I wanted specific pledges that will benefit service users
and carers to come out of the Summit. Hopefully these pledges
will reflect what was said last year by service users and
carers at the Review. If services are not meeting the needs
of the people who use and need them, then it has to be asked
why they are being provided." |
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left top, Councillor Cooke, the City Council’s
Champion Member for Mental Health, left bottom, Jon speaking at the Summit with Councillor Cooke in the
background, photo right top, Jon speaking
at the Summit with Councillor Cooke in the background, right bottom, Peter Beresford addresses the audience. |
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