It was a spooky start to last weekend as I helped at the Friends of Victoria Park spectacular Halloween event.

There were some fantastic costumes worn by people of all ages – and their pets. It was a great community event as ever– and I’ll look forward to attending your Christmas celebrations with my ward colleagues Cllrs Jane Slater and Steve Adshead.

On Saturday evening, it was an honour to attend the annual Black History Month Fundraising Gala with the Mayor of Trafford, Dolores O’Sullivan, and my colleagues Cllrs Aidan Williams and Bilal Babar.  It was a very successful evening hosted by the Caribbean and African Health Network (CAHN).

I would like to take this opportunity to thank members of the CAHN for kindly inviting me – and to congratulate them for organising such an enjoyable evening.

The event raised a lot of money that will allow CAHN to carry on their great work supporting people and raising awareness of health inequalities.

On Monday, I attended the Trafford Strategic Partnership meeting with executive members, Cllrs Rose Thompson, and James Wright.

Also in attendance were Trafford Council’s key partners who joined us to talk about the cost of living crisis and the impact austerity continues to have on public services including the voluntary and community sector.

There is no question people are currently living in a state flux, mentally, emotionally, and financially.

Therefore, it is vitally important that we make use of these sessions to develop policies that tackle these issues head-on.

Partnership work continues to be the most important route we can take to address the impact the cost of living crisis is having on so many of our residents.

On Tuesday, I was delighted to welcome Phil Korbel, co-founder of The Carbon Literacy Project, to Trafford Town Hall.

The organisation has made great strides in raising awareness of the costs and negative impacts of carbon dioxide and how to make changes -some big, some small- to help address the climate crisis.

Phil and I had a fascinating discussion and I look forward to working with him and his team in the future.

You can find out more about The Carbon Literacy Project by clicking here.

On Wednesday, I was invited to give a presentation to an audience in Manchester, to discuss the strategic plans and vision for Trafford.

There is too much to go into here, but it was great boast about some of the huge projects we are working on across the borough including the regeneration of our town centres, and the area close to Trafford Town Hall in addition to proposals for Wharfside in the north of the Borough.

I also provided an update on Places for Everyone and took part in a Q&A session.

Thank you to SEC Newgate for organising the event.

On Thursday morning, I chaired the latest meeting of the Greater Manchester Green City Region Board, where I joined councillors and council officers from across GM to hear updates from City of Trees and Transport for Greater Manchester.

We also given a progress report on our Solar Schools Campaign.

You may be aware the residents of Bucklow-St. Martins went to the polls on Thursday to vote in a by-election triggered by a recent resignation. I therefore spent Thursday afternoon and evening with my Labour colleagues campaigning on the doorstep – while sheltering under an umbrella!

The votes were counted and verified at Trafford Town Hall on Friday, and I’m delighted to say that our wonderful Labour candidate, Frances Cosby, was elected to represent the community.

I know Frances will do an excellent job and be a fantastic advocate for the residents she will represent.

You can find out more about Frances and the election result by clicking the links below.

• Labour candidate for Bucklow-St. Martins talks politics and passion for the area ahead of election
• Victory for Labour in Bucklow-St. Martins by-election

And finally, I just wanted to offer my sincere thank you to all the council officers who worked tirelessly to facilitate the by-election.  They make it look effortless, but I know from experience that a colossal amount of work goes on behind the scenes.

Thank you so much.

Have a great weekend.

Best wishes,

Tom.

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