It is the week for the newly elected Manchester MP’s to be making their maiden speeches.

Earlier we had William Wragg on the links of his home constituency with Agatha Christie.

Now Salford’s New MP Rebecca Long Bailey who told of Marx and Engels supping in The Crescent public house while speaking in the opposition day debate on A&E facilities and regailing fellow members of Salford Royal hospital, flagship of NHS excellence.

Salford, she said,

“personifies the struggles of the working class and the Labour movement, it is Salford. Salford was pivotal in the creation of the trade union movement, with Salford and Manchester trades councils founding the TUC in 1868. On 1 October 1931, thousands swarmed to Salford town hall, where a violent demonstration took place. It came to be known as the battle of Bexley Square. They were protesting at the 10% cut in unemployment benefit introduced by the new national Government. Sadly, we face similar struggles in Salford and Eccles today.”

While the city has picked itself up from the Dirty Old Town of the 1930’s with the BBC and the Lowry, she reminded all that:

“life expectancy in the more deprived parts of my constituency is lower than the life expectancy of people living in the Gaza strip. Some 30% of children in parts of my constituency live in poverty. Our unemployment rates are above the national average and our wages for those in work far below it. Many families are trapped in a cycle of poverty and low-paid and insecure work. The gap between rich and poor is now growing at a faster rate than in the Victorian era. Evidence from the world over indicates that health outcomes are linked not just to material poverty but economic inequality. It reduces social cohesion, leading to more stress, fear, and insecurity, which places even greater strain on our NHS and public services.”

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