http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articlearchive.php Recent Press Articles from Andrew Stunell en-GB Andrew Stunell http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/ Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/ (c) 2010 Andrew Stunell 2010-09-08T02:14+01:00 United Kingdom http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000047/police_schools_and_health_face_the_deep_squeeze.html Stockport's PCSOs are a welcome sight around the Borough, crime rates have fallen in the last year, and police partnership with the Council and other agencies is even beginning to sort out the mindless vandals that cause so much grief. 2010-03-03T07:01+00:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000034/the_true_cost_of_energy_waste__150_stockport_families_lost_a_loved_one_last_winter.html A shocking 37,000 people died in England last winter because of high fuel costs and poorly heated homes. Despite a mild winter there were more deaths than for 10 years. 2009-12-02T12:00+00:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000035/nuclear_power_is_too_little_too_late_too_expensive.html Our natural resources are running out. Climate change is threatening to destroy the very fabric of our planet. We need to rethink our future energy plans, and it is right that there should be a rigorous debate about how we are going to keep the lights on, and cut carbon at the same time. But nuclear is not the answer. 2009-11-09T12:00+00:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000033/for_some_pensioners_the_meltdown_started_early.html For most Stockport residents the financial melt-down started around a year ago. But for over a hundred and fifty local pensioners their financial melt-down started eight years earlier when the pension company Equitable Life went bust. Overnight their savings were worthless, and their retirement plans ruined. 2009-10-28T12:00+00:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000032/its_not_over_till_its_over.html The pundits are starting to say the Recession is over. That's not how it feels to many Stockport families - especially those with young people at home seeking work, or struggling with a mountain of debt. 2009-09-23T00:00+01:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000031/we_need_the_banks_to_invest_in_britain.html Stockport isn't in the same league as London as a world financial centre, but the impact of the banking melt-down hits us just as hard. Jobs are being lost, and homes repossessed in our town every week. Local businesses are starved of working capital, and the housing market has folded. 2009-08-19T00:00+01:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000030/thunderstorms_and_flooding__you_cannot_be_serious.html Stockport was hit by some of the most spectacular and torrential thunderstorms for a long time last week - leading to blocked roads, flooded cellars, and worse in many areas. Even my own garage took a hit. For some people in Romiley it was the third time their homes had been swamped in a year. 2009-07-15T00:00+01:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000028/british_fair_play_for_the_ghurkhas.html Last week's vote in Parliament to insist that the Ghurkhas got treated fairly put a smile on nearly everyone's face. It was, of course, exactly the right decision - as Nick Clegg put it devastatingly in his question to the Prime Minister that day, if they have a right to die for our country they should have a right to live in it, too. 2009-05-06T14:00+01:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000027/officially_stockport_is_now_manchester.html Over the years I have fought hard for some signs of commonsense from the Royal Mail and the Post Office as they closed down sub-post offices, and cut back on the services that those that remain could provide. 2009-04-01T00:00+01:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000026/now_theyve_run_out_of_trains.html Overcrowded trains and frustrated commuters have been a big feature of my in-tray since new timetables on our local rail services started last December. 2009-02-18T00:00+00:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000025/andrew_stunells_submission_to_the_berr_select_committees_post_office_enquiry.html Securing the future of the Post Office Network is a vital part of any strategy to give value to local communities, not only in rural areas but also in urban and suburban areas such as my constituency. I therefore very much welcome your inquiry, and hope that it can propose a wide range of practical steps to develop profitable trading through the Network that will find favour with the Government and Post Office very quickly. 2009-02-10T14:00+00:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000024/lets_have_some_common_sense_on_traffic.html There were many reasons why Stockport residents gave such a resounding thumbs down to the Congestion Charge. Perhaps the most important was that almost none of the schemes would do anything to cut congestion and pollution in the town itself. 2009-01-07T16:25+00:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000042/andrew_stunells_new_year_message.html Heart-felt Wishes for a Prosperous New Year. We've come through a turbulent year, with some 'highs', but too many 'lows' - wars and terrorism, financial melt-down, soaring fuel prices, and squeezed wallets. It is a good moment to take stock, and to resolve to change things for the better in 2009. 2009-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000022/lobbying_is_good_not_bad.html Westminster is too far away for me to get many casual visitors calling from Stockport - though constituents are always welcome to come and see it at first hand. 2008-11-26T17:00+00:00 http://www.hazelgrovelibdems.org.uk/articles/000036/curing_britains_hangover__with_tax_cuts.html Everyone in Stockport knows the credit bubble has burst - banks nationalised, home repossessions shooting up, and jobs lost as businesses shrink. 2008-11-12T12:00+00:00