To mark Armed Forces Day on 24th June, Toby Perkins, Member of Parliament for Chesterfield, has called on the Government to give our Armed Forces a better deal.

Toby, who is Chair of the Labour Friends of the Forces, said “I am delighted to show my support for our Forces, serving personnel, Veterans and their families, on Armed Forces Day. It’s wonderful that we have a day that recognises the hard work and bravery of the forces community but of course they deserve our support all year round.

Government are rightly quick to praise our Armed Forces, but too often the warm words aren’t backed up by actions. Service personnel have seen reductions in pay and conditions, redundancies, more and more deployments and inadequate support for them and their families during and after they serve.

“I’ll be attending The Chesterfield Cadets Armed Forces Day at Wallis Barracks on Boythorpe Road and I look forward to celebrating the day with the whole community”.

The Chesterfield Cadets Armed Forces Day will celebrate our Armed Forces and help raise funds and awareness for the Sea and other Cadet units. Chesterfield Sea Cadets is one of the oldest units in

the UK. A number of Armed Forces and community information stalls will be onsite, together with children’s rides, BBQ, Charity Stalls, food and tea stalls, with a flyover from a Battle of Britain aircraft.

Toby added, “Our servicemen and women stand up for us every day, it’s especially important that we stand up for them on Armed Forces Day. I would encourage my constituents to come along to Wallis Barracks on Sunday and show their appreciation for all our Armed Forces personnel and veterans.”

The Wallis Barracks are open from 10am – 4pm on Sunday and will include a march through town from 10.15- 11am. Two weeks later, the Staveley Armed Forces Day will take place at Poolsbrook Country Park on 7th and 8th July.