Tuesday 27 July 2010

Andy Burnham visits Colchester

Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham MP was in Colchester today, at the invitation of Colchester Labour Party. Mr Burnham was in the region as part of his Labour Leadership campaign tour.

The Shadow Health Secretary visited North Colchester Primary Healthcare Centre on Turner Road, to meet staff and senior NHS executives. He was given a tour of the centre, visiting podiatry and renal services and the Child Development centre.

He also visited the NHS Walk In Centre, making its first anniversary at the Turner Road site.

Andy Burnham then went to Colchester High Street to visit the town's SOS Bus. Despite the pouring rain, Mr Burnham spent nearly an hour talking with workers and volunteers and learning more about the vital work of this highly valued local project.

Colchester Labour Party Chairman Jordan Newell said:
 
“We are thrilled that Andy has chosen Colchester for one of his key leadership campaign meetings. Andy knows Colchester well, having been lobbied hard about local health services. Our new PCT Healthcare Centre – which was the 100th in country – is a testament to Andy’s tenure as Health Secretary and I am delighted to be welcoming him to our town”.

Mr Burnham ended his visit at Greenstead Community Centre, where he addressed a meeting of around fifty Labour Party members and supporters. Members came from across East Anglia to take part in the event, which was the latest in a series of Labour Leadership events hosted by Colchester Labour Party.

In his speech to Labour supporters, Mr Burnham accused the Tories of "taking the 'N' out of the NHS" and fragmenting local health services. He also said that Lib Dem support for "unbalanced ConDem spending cuts" meant that Bob Russell was "complicit in public service vandalism."

The Shadow Health Secretary is the second candidate for the Labour leadership to visit the town.