Christmas Message from Andrew

1.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Sun 24th Dec 2006

am very pleased to a very happy Christmas and an enjoyable holiday. The run up to Christmas is a hectic time, so I am really looking forward to using the break to relax and reflect on what is important to me, my family and the constituency.

High up on anyone's list must be a safe, warm home to live in. You'd be surprised at how many Stockport residents are forced to live in cramped and unsuitable conditions, and with little chance of improvement. It can be heart-breaking to see the pressure those families face. I have spoken in Parliament several times about the urgent need for more social housing for rent, to get some alternative for those squeezed out of buying their home by rocketing prices.

One simple Christmas present the Government could give would be permission to the Council to spend the money it gets from selling council houses on building some new ones. Crazy as it sounds, it is forbidden to do so at present!

The Christmas break gives us quiet roads, too. An all-too-short taste of what we could have if Santa in Whitehall gives the nod to the tram and the missing road link! This year money has been spent on making our local shopping centres more attractive - though I'd still like to see Woodley included. Buses have got easier to use, and quicker, with those controversial new bus lanes and bus stops. But we still need the tram and the road to make a real difference locally.

This time of year is a good time to take stock internationally, as well. No-one with a spark of humanity can be unmoved by events in Darfur. Whatever our problems, there are so many others around the world far worse off than we can even imagine, for whom survival in the New Year is only fifty fifty. I hope you will respond to the charities' appeal for a helping hand.