MP appointed Shadow Minister

LABOUR leader Ed Miliband has appointed Warrington North MP Helen Jones as the new Shadow Minister for Local Government.
Ms Jones (right) moves from her current role as Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons to take up the new role – and says she is determined to get her teeth stuck into the challenge.
She said: “I am pleased to have been asked to serve as Shadow Minister for Local Government as part of Ed Miliband’s Shadow Front Bench team.
“The Tory-led Government has imposed savage cuts to local councils across the country.
“Here in Warrington 21 per cent of the council’s funding from Government has been cut. This means that services that the community and some of the most vulnerable in our society rely upon will come under severe pressure.
“I am determined to get my teeth stuck into this new challenge and I will be working with my colleagues to hold the Tory-led Government to account.
“The new Shadow Cabinet and Front Bench team reflects the impressive blend of experience and emerging talent in the Labour Party.”
Ed Miliband said: “I am determined that my Shadow Cabinet not only holds this Government to account but speaks to the public and the country. Families across Britain are worried about how they will make ends meet, anxious about what the future holds for their children and tired of the way irresponsibility is tolerated across our society.
“My decision to appoint half-a-dozen members of the 2010 intake shows the talent that Labour has and the way in which this new generation can join us in taking Labour’s agenda forward. They will show how we aspire to be a government not for more of the same but to deliver a new bargain for the British people.”
Helen Jones has been the Warrington North MP since 1997, having previously unsuccessfully fought the North Shropshire and Ellesmere Port and Neston constituencies.
At last year’s General Election she held the seat with 45.38 per cent of the vote.
Former Warrington councillor Yvonne Fovargue, (left) who is now MP for Makerfield, also steps up as a result of Mr Miliband’s reshuffle of the Labour team.
She is to joining the Whip’s Office – a new role which recognises her contribution since her election in May last year.
Ms Fovargue has vowed that her No.1 priority will be to continue to champion her constituency in Parliament and the promotion will assist her in achieving this.
She said: “I am delighted to be invited to join Ed Miliband’s team in Parliament and to play my part in fighting the damaging policies of this Tory-led Government.”