Toby Perkins responds to possible closure of Chesterfield care home

Update 21.01.20 – Toby has arranged a meeting at The Spinney Care home for Friday 24th January. He will be meeting with Tanya Henson, Service Director at Derbyshire County Council, and management from the care home.   Derbyshire County Council have announced plans which could the closure of seven care…

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Toby Perkins’ Article in the February 2020 edition of Twist Magazine

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Toby Perkins: Why I’m backing Keir Starmer for Labour Leader

As I stood in my front room just before the exit poll on election night, moments before heading out to the count, I feared the worst. After six weeks of spending all hours campaigning – talking to people all across Chesterfield – it was clear to me that many people…

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BLOG: Concerns about Hasland Hall Community School

There has been considerable concern recently following the news that staff at Hasland Hall School had gone on strike in protest at behaviour and disciplinary standards at the school. I was already pursuing and responding to complaints from parents and staff concerning the school’s approach to Special Needs education and…

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BLOG: Why we need to reclassify synthetic cannabinoids as Class A drugs

Just over four years ago, I led a Westminster Hall debate on government policy on legal highs following a number of problems in our town centre. I worked with a number of organisations and with MPs across the House and legal highs were eventually banned completely in Early 2016.  I…

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BLOG: Toby Perkins MP shares his thoughts as Chesterfield commemorates the Centenary of the end of the Great War

This year sees the centenary of the end of the Great War and has renewed our focus on the sacrifice that was made by so many millions of men then, and which are still made today by those that serve in our Armed Forces. Remembrance Sunday in Chesterfield has grown…

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Statement from Toby Perkins MP regarding plans to create a subsidiary company at Chesterfield Royal Hospital

There has been much comment about the fact that Chesterfield Royal Hospital appear to be continuing with plans to create a subsidiary company and transfer 800 staff into it despite a Government announcement that all new plans should be paused. I have recently spoken to Lee Outhwaite, Finance Director at…

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BLOG: Breaking the taboo around suicide is vital to people getting help

September 10th was World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) . Not the cheeriest subject to be writing about, but nonetheless it references one of the most crucial issues facing the country and one which we must talk about to break the taboo. The statistics are becoming as familiar as they are…

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BLOG: Chesterfield Pride 2018 suggests we are making good progress here, and our society is all the better for it

This year’s Chesterfield Pride was the biggest and best yet, with over 4,000 people estimated to have attended the event at Stand Road this year, making it one of the fastest growing Pride events in the country. If you were lucky enough to be there you would have enjoyed music,…

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GUEST BLOG: Stan Tomkinson, student at Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School, asks the question ‘Grammar schools, do we need them?’

Earlier this year, the Conservative party announced their plans to spend an added £50million on grammar schools. This raised the very important question of whether we should still have grammar schools. The concept of grammar schools has been around since the 16th century, with the more recent concept of having…

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GUEST BLOG: Outwood Academy Newbold student, Lucy Parker, asks the question ‘Should people automatically get paid more just because they’re older?’

Earlier this year, the national living wage was raised to £7.83 an hour while the rate for people aged 21 to 24 trailed behind at just £7.38 per hour. My question is; should the national living wage be applicable to everybody and not just people in the over 25 age…

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Pubs are at the heart of our community – as we have seen during England’s brilliant World Cup run

The power of sport to galvanise a nation and bring communities together has been demonstrated once again this year- as has the role of our pubs in providing a focal point for that collective excitement. As a Football fan for the last 40 years, I can count the number of…

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Toby Perkins MP: Privacy Notice and Policy following introduction of GDPR

Privacy Policy I am the MP for Chesterfield. As your MP, it is important that I and my office can keep in touch with constituents about my work, take up casework on their behalf and ask for views on local issues. As a Labour MP I also have access to…

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BLOG: We all have a responsibility to prevent plastics from destroying our environment

Over the last 20 years, we have made huge strides on increasing recycling and making people more aware of the importance of conserving resources and reducing our impact on the planet. We are all used to separating our rubbish and ensuring recyclables are in our blue bin, it has just…

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The big wheel was a big success – let’s build on it

I felt a real twinge of sadness as I made my way to the train station on Monday 12th March and saw the Chesterfield Wheel being taken down. The Chesterfield Wheel has been a huge success that has brought in customers and visitors from miles around, with families coming to…

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GUEST BLOG: Cllr Helen Bagley, Cabinet Member for Homes & Customers, writes about Chesterfield Borough Council’s response to homelessness in the town

Hardly a week goes by without homelessness or rough sleeping hitting the national news. While Chesterfield doesn’t have the same level of problems faced by some of the big cities and towns we do experience issues too – and one person homeless is one person too many. The causes The…

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BLOG: The NHS is in crisis, and we must fight to protect it

For me, the National Health Service (NHS) represents one of the things I love most about the UK. The ideals behind its creation by the Labour Government in 1948 are quintessentially British: fairness, equality, empathy, caring for all. The basic premise that everyone should be entitled to good, free healthcare…

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How we’re tackling rough sleeping and antisocial behaviour in Chesterfield

Chesterfield is an attractive market town, but in recent months, visitors to our town have been alarmed by the amount of rough sleeping and street drinking that now diminishes that attractiveness. This was brought into particular focus this Christmas when David Fuller, a homeless man, died in an abandoned property…

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Chesterfield FC Takeover Response

Over the course of the last three to four months, Chesterfield FC secretary Ashley Carson and others have been updating me on a possible takeover of Chesterfield FC. That takeover appears to have broken down irrevocably. I am aware that there has been some distrust of the updates being provided…

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Toby Perkins responds to proposals to establish two new permanent pitches for Gypsies and Travellers in Chesterfield

Many thanks to all the constituents who have contacted me regarding the proposals to establish one or two new permanent pitches for Gypsies and Travellers in the Chesterfield borough. I will be writing back to everyone. People are understandably angry and concerned by the proposals and, whilst it is important…

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GUEST BLOG: Evelina Griniute, sixth form student at St Mary’s Catholic High School, gives her views on the impact of automation on the workforce for the next generation

In a world of astounding technological advances, where only a few years are required for previous technology to become viewed as outdated, automation and the development of AI are leading to questions: am I at risk of being replaced by a robot? Will my next taxi be a self-driving car?…

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