Politically Thinking with Kim Leadbeater: Bringing communities together and improving lives
I have been even more proud of Spen Valley than usual over the last few weeks as I have been out in the community witnessing some truly brilliant work going on in our towns and villages to bring communities together and improve lives.
That included the amazing volunteers who ran events as part of the Jo Cox Foundation Great Get Together all over Spen Valley; I was really pleased to be able to attend events in Heckmondwike, Oakenshaw, Cleckheaton, and Mirfield. And that’s not to mention the Run for Jo at Oakwell Hall in Birstall which went amazingly well as always in a fitting send off to the Run in its tenth and final year. Thank you so much to everyone who was able to come and celebrate what Jo stood for and our communities.
Those of you who know me will also know how important I think sport and physical activity can be in so many ways. I don’t just mean the World Cup, though like many of you I’m sure, I’ve been watching as much as possible and cheering on England – who at time of writing have just put in a truly great performance in Mexico to advance to the quarter finals.
Local sports can and should be just as important as international tournaments. That includes events like the 24 Hour Cricket Marathon for Fred which was held at Mirfield Cricket Club and raised money for Candlelighters and Kids Cancer Charity. It also includes teams like Liversedge FC who have had an amazing season and who I was really pleased to visit both to celebrate their success and discuss the importance of grassroots sport.
People in Spen Valley don’t just connect with each other through sports though as you’ll know. Volunteers from the Cleckheaton and Spenborough Town Hall Group have been working on plans to reopen the Town Hall and give us back a place to come together and I look forward to continuing to support and assist them in any way I can.
There are lots of smaller communities that make up our home in Spen Valley and they include our schools, students, and teachers The Electoral Commission visited BBG Academy in Birkenshaw and I was delighted to be able to attend to help teach the children and young people about our democracy. It isn’t only older students who should be learning how our system works though and it was brilliant to see the very knowledgeable Mr Luby from Norristhorpe Junior and Infant School as part of the UK Parliament Teacher Ambassador Programme.
I hope that you can find some time to enjoy Spen Valley this Summer and thank you for reading.
Kim