Stephen Twigg MP for Liverpool West Derby supports School children & activists petitioning for peace in Yemen

THE petition of more than 58,000 calls for action from the UK Government to use the power of its pen at the UN to bring peace to the children of Yemen. On Tuesday, 19 March 2019, Stephen Twigg joined more than 60 activists, including 24 School children, at Westminster, in London, to support the hand in of a peace petition to the Foreign Office. The activists want the UK Government to hear them standing up for the children of Yemen and turn political promises into practical change at the UN Security Council. More than 20 British School children aged between 11 to 13 years of age from Beverley High School, in Yorkshire and Ousedale School, in Buckinghamshire, both have been working with Save the Children, campaigning and fundraising for children in Yemen. They came together with activists from across the country to form a group of 60, staging a stunt in Victoria Tower Gardens that included an installation of a large pen containing thousands of regular sized pens, to illustrate the petition signatures. The children also used the pens to spell out:- 'words not weapons' on a board outside parliament. Following the stunt installation, the School children and campaigners walked to the Foreign Office in Westminster with a giant pen to present the printed names of the 58,000 signatories. Recent reports of increased fighting in Yemen, already the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, have cast doubt on the future of the Stockholm peace process which began in December 2018. The slim window of opportunity to secure peace in Yemen is now and Stephen Twigg joined British children and campaigners to show solidarity with the children of Yemen. Save the Children is calling on the UK to put children front and centre of its foreign, defence and aid policies, calling out allies when they commit atrocities against children, and implementing a clear strategy to protect children and their families caught up in conflict.

North Bound Coastal Road Closure raises many questions

OVER 20 March 2019 to 22 March 2019, the Coastal Road, Ainsdale, was closed, Northbound and for a time closed both ways. The work was to trim the vegetation on the side of the road, but many readers contacted us to ask why the work did not also include litter picking. All along the Coastal Road, the sides are full of items chucked from vehicles using it. Also others vented frustration, after being affected by very long delays, after what some readers have described as:- "very poor notification of the work." Some also asked the regular question:- "Why are these roadworks not displayed on the electric traffic notices that are on all 3 major roads into Southport. Instead they just show a meaningless air quality notice or a pointless advert warning drivers about using things like not using mobile phones or taking a break on long distances." But the major issue we spotted was the impact both on the Formby By-Pass and also on the traffic though Ainsdale and even Southport, attributable to the road's closure. This highlights worries about the impact of what many readers have said is:- "a lack of joined up thinking" when it comes to the road network and the Emergency Service, with Southport still not having an A&E for Children. All it takes is for a blockage on the Ormskirk route and a blockage on the Liverpool route, for a major situation to happen. And it is so easy to predict that this will happen, it is shocking!" Also the traffic issues have affected the likes of the 2 and x2 bus services, leading to more questions about how the network is managed and closures advertised. So what are your thoughts about this? Please email your views to:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com and let us know what you think

Lack of warning about the closure of the Coast Road ahead. Also Sign not displaying closure warning.

The 1st information notice, on the traffic lights of the Coast Road, for traffic heading into Southport.