By Jonathan Reynolds MP
AS we enjoy a time of reflection through Lent, and approach Easter, my thoughts often turn to new life and new beginnings. Recently, there have been three very different types of new beginnings occupying my thoughts.
The first is the wonderful news that Nazinin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been released from Iran and reunited with her husband Richard and daughter Gabriella, who is the same age as my youngest child Seth and was a baby before her mum’s unlawful incarceration, and is now seven.
What that family has been through should simply never happen again. I can’t possibly imagine missing all those critical years of Seth’s life and when I met with Richard during his hunger strike the depths of their pain was obvious.
I want to thank each and every constituent who applied pressure for Nazanin’s release and kept the family in your prayers; Richard was absolutely clear that public support and kindness was key to their resilience and persistence.
Together, the family face the most incredible of new beginnings, having feared for years this moment may never come. Reacclimatising after that degree of trauma will no doubt be a long process, but if any family has proven they can survive the odds, it is them. You are rarely taken by surprise in politics, but for me Nazanin’s release was a moment of pure joy and relief that is worth holding on to.
Secondly, more locally, there are positive new beginnings in store for Greater Manchester’s buses. In March, after a judicial review brought by operators Stagecoach and Rotala, a judge ruled in favour of Mayor Andy Burnham’s bid to bring buses back under public control. This was followed by an announcement from that all fares will be capped at £2. Three years ago, I asked how the Prime Minister could justify some fares being more than double that of London, and I am thrilled to see this finally corrected.
For too long we have suffered from under invested bus services, and maddeningly, routes and timetables altered at short notice without consultation.
We can’t expect a completely new bus service overnight, but this is a new beginning for our buses that many have long worked towards, and I believe a more affordable, better joined up service will pay dividends not just to our economy but to our quality of life, and encourage more people on to our buses too.
Lastly, it’s a new chapter for my work as an MP as I am humbled and delighted to have been successfully re-selected as the Labour Candidate for Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley, Longdendale and Dukinfield. The process is rightly rigorous and I’m deeply thankful that every single local branch and affiliate has given me their backing.
Public life isn’t always easy but it is always a true privilege. 12 years since my first selection, I’m as grateful, committed and excited to improve our communities and our country as I was then.
Whatever new beginnings you are seeing this month – from welcome news, to fresh blooms, to new challenges in work or study – the very best of luck from me.
Most of all, a Happy Easter to each of you.