Preston City Council Labour Leader - Plungington and Preston Central West. UK Senior Fellow (Democracy Collaborative). Unite and Coop Party member. Changemaker.

Joined September 2012
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This has been the toughest set of elections @prestonlabour has faced for decades and out of the 8 seats we defended we held half. All brilliant Labour women🌹. So gutted for comrades we lost caught up in forces outside their control which is no reflection on their hard work, talent and dedication. We remain the largest party by far with 22 seats out of 48 and I am confident our administration will continue with the radical zeal we are known for.
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Another fantastic Preston Mela today on Miller Park. This is one of dozens of events our @prestonlabour Council is supporting throughout the year by engaging with all our communities. A big shoutout to Gulab and the organising team and @hindleanna and council staff for making it a great day out ❤️.
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Matthew Brown retweeted
Work is underway on the cemetery gates. These improvements will help preserve and enhance the entrance, ensuring it remains a fitting and respectful gateway for visitors. Thank you for your patience while the work is carried out. @prestonlabour @prestoncouncil
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RT @prestonlabour: As promised in our manifesto, we are bringing back Council housing. Preston Lib Dems are opposing social rented homes d…
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Matthew Brown retweeted
Elon Musk could build hospitals. He could fund schools and universities. He could help eradicate diseases. Instead he uses his wealth to fuel hate.
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Matthew Brown retweeted
🌿As Green Week continues, I’m pleased to announce that @prestoncouncil is hosting a free screening of the People’s Emergency Briefing. I was keen to bring this event to Preston as part of my Climate Change portfolio and hope residents will come along and join the conversation. 🎟 Free tickets: visitpreston.com/article/129… #GreenWeek #Preston #ClimateAction
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Matthew Brown retweeted
You voted against scrapping zero hour contracts. You voted against banning fire and rehire. You voted against day one sick pay for workers. You said the minimum wage was too high for young people. Reform politicians openly say they don't like trade unions. You will always put the interests of your offshore crypto billionaire donors ahead of workers.
Reform is now the party of workers. Today I am inviting trade unions to apply for affiliation with Reform UK. We also welcome union leaders to attend our national conference in September and engage in discussions about the policies of a future Reform government.
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Matthew Brown retweeted
Thank you to the 140 honourable members of the U.K. Parliament for signing a letter to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper calling for accountability and sanctions against Israel, including a total ban on trading with the illegal settlements. Over to the U.K. government.
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Matthew Brown retweeted
As #GreatBigGreenWeek begins, it’s a good opportunity to reflect on the progress we’ve made across #Preston over the past year. We’ve launched the Preston Climate Forum, established a new Bus User Group, refreshed the Green Pledge, developed a new Climate Strategy, supported climate events across the city and strengthened partnerships with residents, community groups, businesses, University of Lancashire & Preston College. We’re also working to improve Preston’s Climate Action Scorecard performance and ensure climate action delivers real benefits for local people, from greener neighbourhoods and better transport to green skills and lower energy costs. Plenty more to do, but we’re building momentum and creating a greener, healthier and more sustainable Preston for future generations. 🌱🌍 #GreatBigGreenWeek #ClimateAction
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Matthew Brown retweeted
I have signed this letter in the hope that the government will at last act and bring forward a complete ban on trade with the illegal Israeli settlements as a start to a comprehensive sanctions programme.
Together with almost 140 fellow Labour MPs, I have written to the Foreign Secretary to call for a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements. Our group includes every Labour select committee chair. It’s time to be clear that settlements have no viable economic future (1/2)
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Matthew Brown retweeted
Fantastic launch to our #UKIndexofSystemicTrends at @NorthumbriaUni today. Clips of the contributions and transcripts of the speeches to be up on our website and socials soon. Watch this space!
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Matthew Brown retweeted
Buy back Royal Mail, 76% want public ownership It would cost around £3.6 billion Put households on the board and raise the standards This 500 year old institution worked well until it was privatised, it should not be owned by a Czech billionaire independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho…
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Matthew Brown retweeted
One of the main tenets of CWB and the #PrestonModel is public ownership. No profit, any surplus is reinvested in services that meet public need, not shareholder profit…
Your occasional reminder that public ownership is popular. vist.ly/563c6
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Matthew Brown retweeted
Every child deserves safety. Reports from human rights organizations have raised serious concerns about the treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli detention, including allegations of abuse. Accountability & protection for all children must come first. @prestonlabour
❗Research from Save the Children: Palestinian children are being physically, emotionally and sexually abused, humiliated and starved in Israeli military detention. The torture, and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of children, is getting worse. 🔴 More than half of the formerly-detained children we surveyed reported witnessing or experiencing sexual violence 🔴 99% reported physical assault 🔴 82% reported being forcibly stripped naked 🔴 94% reported being denied medical care 🔴 100% reported being denied contact with their families Read more: resourcecentre.savethechildr… @YvetteCooperMP, @HFalconerMP: the UK Government should publicly call for the release of all Palestinian children arbitrarily detained and call for an end to Israeli military authorities arresting, detaining and prosecuting children.
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One week back in the office and our @prestonlabour council has: ✅️Reopened the tram bridge with 5000 local residents in attendence. ✅️Helped secure £8m to redevelop the Park Hotel - out of use since 2011. ✅️Doubled funding for local community events. ✅️Been kindly acknowledged by Marie Curie for removing Council Tax for terminally ill residents. ✅️Welcomed Preston's Elevate Protection Services, as a real living wage employer, bucking the trend in a traditionally low paid sector. Over the coming weeks and months the pace of change will deepen with further major projects in the pipeline. #PrestonModel
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Matthew Brown retweeted
.@NYCMayor has unveiled plans to create a city-owned grocery in E Harlem Our Distinguished Snr Fellow Marjorie Kelly and Distinguished Fellow Anthony Cook write about the importance of enterprises challenging traditional ownership models @theprogressive progressive.org/op-eds/the-t…
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Matthew Brown retweeted
The Labour Party understands trickle-down economics doesn’t work. So why back trickle-down housing? Let developers build expensive homes and hope crumbs filter down. It's not worked in 40 years! We need a need-led approach: build social rent & affordable homes at scale.
I'm chairing the APPG for Council & Social Housing with @Shelter. 1.3M on waiting lists. 175K kids in temporary accommodation. Record homelessness. This didn't happen by accident; governments stopped building council homes. It's time to change that.
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Wishing Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating in #Preston and beyond today.
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Matthew Brown retweeted
Really good news for Preston and support with rising costs for those who work so hard throughout the year to bring these free events for everyone to enjoy! @prestonlabour
Windrush Festival, the city's Mela, Preston Pride, Caribbean Carnival and the ongoing Jazz and Improve Festival have all been given a big cash boost with their grants more than doubling. 💰🙌 @visitpreston @prestoncouncil blogpreston.co.uk/2026/05/ca…
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RT @prestonlabour: We promised more support for our established events; “Cabinet member for culture and arts, councillor Anna Hindle, said…
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Matthew Brown retweeted
SATURDAY = MAKERS MARKET DAY, FRIARGATE Join us as Friargate transforms into a celebration of independent businesses, street food, live music and community spirit! Saturday 30th May Friargate, #Preston 10am – 4pm Live music from Rosie and Jim, FREE kids crafting, incredible street food, a unique independent shopping experience…and loads more to explore! Whether you’re visiting for lunch, shopping local or bringing the kids for a fun day out, we’d love to see you there. Take a sneak peak of the line up here: themakersmarket.co.uk/.../pr…
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