Christmas messages from Wirral's civic leaders

In taking this opportunity to wish all my constituents a happy and more prosperous New Year, might I also make a plea? 

Many of you unfortunately will have had friends or relatives who’ve had to stave off hunger this Christmas by relying on a food bank.

When the school gates closed for the Christmas holidays there will have been some parents dreading the prospect of having to go two weeks without their child having a hot meal provided at lunchtime. 

I set up and then led an inquiry with MPs and Peers from all parties to root out the forces at work in people’s lives which bring about this situation.

On the back of our inquiry I will be lobbying for a fairer and more reliable benefits system that pays out on time, offers emergency payments when it doesn’t, and warns people with a ‘yellow card’ before sanctioning them.

Our inquiry also proposed a proper strategy to tackle low pay and a renewed effort to take on rip-off Britain, to stop the poor paying more for essentials. 

But might I also plead that you talk to friends, neighbours and colleagues across the town about how we can deliver more food and love to our fellow citizens who find themselves in dire need? 

Can we salvage more good food from local supermarkets and their suppliers before it gets thrown away as ‘surplus’?

How can we use this food to build relationships with people who might be lonely, homeless or suffering with a chronic addiction?

How can we provide hot meals for poor children during their school holidays? 

I know many local societies and voluntary organisations are stepping up to the plate. May we aim to build upon this an all-out fight back against hunger?

A New Year resolution: let’s make Birkenhead a hunger-free town. 

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Alison McGovern, MP for Wirral South, said: 

I would like to send my best wishes for the festive season to everybody living in Wirral. 

If I had to choose a single stand out highlight from the last year it would have to be the opening of our local River Park in my constituency. 

This is because I believe it brought great benefit to the community and in 2015 I will continue my efforts to support the park alongside partners. 

Alison McGovern, MP for Wirral South (pictured above) at the opening of Port Sunlight River Park with mayor Steve Foulkes.

Looking ahead to 2015 this is obviously going to a big year politically with the General Election in May.

I will be working hard to explain to people how a Labour government would make Britain fairer and how we will change things for people who have had a difficult four years. 

I will embrace talking about Labour’s offer for the election with my constituents and will be doing my best to ensure a Labour victory. 

Some of our pledges include scrapping the bedroom tax which has caused hardship for vulnerable and disabled people, raising the minimum wage, scrapping exploitative zero hour contracts, freezing gas and electricity prices until 2017 and supporting working parents with 25 hours of free childcare for three and four year olds. 

As the Shadow Minister for Children and Families I will be doing a lot to promote our childcare policy which will help make work pay and make a real difference to working parents.

These policies will be important in addressing the issues around people’s standard of living and the costs people face in their everyday lives. 

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Esther McVey, MP for Wirral West, said: 

Have you seen that wonderful TV advert, in association with the Royal British Legion, recreating the famous Christmas Day scene from the trenches during the first World War? 

Today, 100 years after that with so much going on around the world, and with images and information more widely available than ever before, there are times when we could be forgiven for only seeing the bad things.

But over the last 12 months, in Wirral West, I have been fortunate enough to see so much good that is being done by voluntary groups and charities in our community, helping so many people and wonderful causes. 

Wirral West MP Esther McVey pays her respects in West Kirby on Remembrance Sunday.

Over the next couple of weeks, most people in Wirral are taking a well-earned break from their jobs.

This year, that will include many of the people who have returned to work since 2010, nearly two million across the UK, including 728 in Wirral West sometimes after years on benefits, as well as the 2,840 young people in the constituency who have gained an apprenticeship since the last election. 

And, for those who are not taking a break - such as the staff at Arrowe Park Hospital and throughout the NHS, our police and, of course, our Armed Forces around the world, I hope you too have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas. 

As well as making their own lives and families' fortunes more secure, everyone now in work has helped to give Britain the fastest growing economy in the developed world. 

Of course, there is still more to do and that's why I will be working to make sure we stick to our economic plan in 2015. Everyone I meet wants the best for their families, their community and our country. 

Our only disagreements are how we achieve that. And, whatever our differences in this country, there is still much more that unites us than divides us.

So, in this season of goodwill, I send my very best wishes to everyone - including those in other political parties and their candidates - for a peaceful Christmas.

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Andrew Miller, MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston, said: 

In my last Christmas message as the Member of Parliament for Ellesmere Port & Neston I would like to thank your readers for all the support they have given me over the past 23 years.

It has been an honour and a privilege to serve local people and to help build this constituency into a thriving area with a growing local economy thanks to hard-working local communities.

I hope you think that I have made a difference - working with others to improve the constituency. 

Ellesmere Port and Neston MP Andrew Miller at the Royal Society of Chemistry event at Houses of Parliament.

These things are never really finished and further steps need to be taken to continue to improve the lives and life chances for not only Ellesmere Port and Neston, but the North West as a whole. 

Through hard fought negotiations we retain Vauxhall Motors who continue to produce the Astra.

At the southern end of Ellesmere Port there have been radical changes over the past 20 years, with the development of Cheshire Oaks, the Coliseum, Blue Planet Aquarium and the flag ship M&S store.

Over the years we have lost some employers like Cabot Carbon, Marconi, HH Robertson and Calor, but we have new businesses in their place like Encirc (Quinn Glass). In Neston the new Sainsbury’s and the Aldi Distribution Depot have also replaced some of the lost jobs. We have also seen the opening of Regatta and a number of technology based companies in Pioneer Park and, of course, the beginning of the Thornton Science Park. 

This year being the 100th anniversary of World War 1 we should remember all those who lost their lives in the name of our Country in that conflict and in others. We should also remember all those who suffer because of war and its aftermath.

Last but not least, spare a thought for all those who will have to work over the festive break to keep our essential services running including, the Police, Fire & Ambulance, doctors & nurses, care-workers and energy providers. 

I wish all of you a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. 

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Cllr Phil Davies, leader of Wirral Council, said: 

My thoughts are particularly with those who are alone at this time of year, to people who are out of work and may be struggling to feed themselves and provide a roof over their heads. 

I would like to give a special mention to public service workers who are on duty over the Christmas period and to thank them for their commitment and dedication. 

Thank you also to the hundreds of volunteers who help neighbours and friends who may find it difficult to get out to the shops or just make themselves a cup of tea. Let us hope that 2015 brings greater prosperity to the borough in terms of new jobs on key sites such as Wirral Waters. 

Wirral Council leader Phil Davies.

I am also hoping that we get more investment in our public services so that everyone, not just the rich, can enjoy a good quality of life. I also want to see a marked reduction in anti-social behaviour, for people to respect one another, and to take a pride in their neighbourhood. 

Finally, I want our young people to see a future in Wirral and the wider City Region and feel that they don’t need to move elsewhere to get on. 

May I wish all residents and businesses a very happy Christmas and every success in the New Year.

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Cllr Steve Foulkes, mayor of Wirral, said: 

As Mayor and Mayoress, we have been privileged to meet so many caring people and organisations during our year in office.

Our message is simple “Thank You” for what you do to make this a very special place to live.

Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to all Wirralians.

Mayor of Wirral, Cllr Steve Foulkes.