Delivering Christmas Wishes for a Future that Works for the Black Country

A few days before Christmas, the TUC Youth Unemployment campaign group set out on a special festive mission to deliver hundreds of Dudley residents' Christmas wishes for action on youth unemployment to their local MP Chris Kelly (Dudley South).   Little did we suspect that Mr Kelly would be harder to find in his own constituency than a prize turkey on Christmas Eve...

The team had a special TUC Future that Works Christmas card (above) to deliver to Chris Kelly which contained the signatures of hundreds of his constituents who had signed our petition calling for Kelly to commit to the TUC's Charter for a Future that Works .  
You can add your name here.

His constituents were concerned that cuts to public services, EMA and Connexions – that Chris Kelly voted for – have had a disastrous impact on young people in your constituency. Indeed Dudley South now has double the national average rate of youth unemployment. 

We wanted Chris Kelly to see how many people in his constituency were wishing for a Future that Works this Christmas,particularly as he had been unable to hear these concerns that were also raised at our recent Black Country Youth Unemployment Summit we held in Dudley at the end of November.  Unfortunately Kelly was not able to meet us in person, so we decided to deliver the card to the only Dudley address listed for Chris on his website:

  

The Beech Building, Waterside Estate, Primrose Hill, Cradley Road, Netherton, Dudley, West Midlands DY2 9RG

 However, when we arrived at this address, we found that 'the Beech Building' was the C Beech and Sons factory deep in the industrial zone of Netherton, not exactly the kind of local accessible location you might hope an MP would have in their own constituency. Determined to gt the message to Chris, the team decided to take a photo as close to Chris' constituency 'address'.  We then emailed Chris an electronic version of the card that night and posted the card to his office in the House of Commons so he will receive the concerns of his constituents sooner or later, even if he will read them from a cosy office in London...

Late in the day, Chris Kelly emailed to say that we should post anything for his attention to his House of Commons address.  This begs the question -  how can properly represent Dudley South when he has no place his constituents can find him in his own constituency?

But even belated Christmas presents are welcome so we hope Chris decides to give the hundreds of young unemployed people in Dudley the gift of employment and training this Christmas by signing the TUC Charter.  And Chris might also think about opening a public office in his constituency - a locked factory is not what young people should be faced with when they try to raise concerns about youth unemployment with their local MP.

Now there's just time for me to wish everyone a Merry Christmas from me and the team, thanks for a successful year's campaigning against youth unemployment in the Black Country and here's to a Future that Works in 2013!

Dwayne, Ashley, Fiona and Kim from the campaign group with Chris Kelly's Christmas card 

Rosa Crawford
TUC Local Organiser, Black Country Youth Unemployment Campaign