As a Government Whip and an MP, Helen deals with a vast range of issues but the following are particularly close to her heart:
i) Climate Change
Helen was a member of the Pre-Legislative Scrutiny Committee for the Climate Change Bill, and thus helped to produce legislation that will achieve an 80% cut in CO2 emissions by 2050.
In the summer of 2008 Helen also set up a local climate change group to promote green issues in the constituency.
This group recently organised a Climate Change Fair in Barnard Castle, which brought together local people to debate and discuss climate change, and allowed local businesses to showcase their environmentally friendly products.
You can find out more about this event here, and if you would like to join the Climate Change Group please contact Helen’s constituency office on 01388 603075 or by e-mailing goodmanh@parliament.uk
ii) The Economy
After a decade of falling unemployment, the economic downturn has hit the Bishop Auckland constituency and the rest of the North East region hard.
Having worked at the Treasury for 17 years, Helen has monitored recent economic events closely, and voted both to take Northern Rock into public ownership and to support the range of measures the Government have put in place to help businesses, homeowners and the unemployed.
Helen has also highlighted the economic potential of the North East, and the high number of inward investment projects that have been secured over the last decade, including the recent opening of the Thorns and Berco factories (pictured, right) in Spennymoor.
The multi-million pound developments at Durham Gate and Tindale Crescent also promise to create new employment opportunities, and Helen has recently written to the developers of these projects to emphasise the importance of ensuring these jobs are available to local workers.
iii) MPs Expenses
Helen has publicly stated how angry and frustrated she is with some of the recent revelations about MPs expenses, and has called for an urgent and wide-ranging review of the entire allowances system.
For the past two years, Helen has published her total expenses claims on this website and when the House of Commons publish all MPs expenses in the coming weeks, they will also appear here.
iv) Children
Before becoming an MP in 2005, Helen worked for two children’s charities (The Children’s Society and The National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries) and helped promote children’s rights, children’s play and early years learning.
Helen has since championed a number of family-friendly initiatives, including the Government’s £235 million Play Strategy, the increase in paternity and maternity leave, the right to request family-friendly working hours, and the extension of free nursery places.
Helen has visited a number of Sure Start centres (see picture above) in the constituency, and has campaigned with the NUT and Compass to prevent advertising to children, and with the road safety group Brake! to reduce speed limits in Bishop Auckland, Cockfield and Evenwood.
v) Global Poverty & International Development
Helen has worked closely with Make Poverty History North East and the Christian Socialist Movement to emphasise the importance of international development and the UK’s role in eradicating global poverty.
She also recently visited Tudhoe Grange School to discuss this issue with local school children.
You can read Helen’s recent speech to Make Poverty History North East here, and you can find out more about the Government’s progress in fighting global poverty here.
