There has been much doom and gloom lately, so in this week’s column I’m pleased to celebrate a hattrick of good news.

First of all, I am delighted that the latest Boundary Commission proposals published this week to keep the hundred year old constituency of Stalybridge and Hyde intact. You might recall that there have been various false starts to redrawing the constituency map over the last few years. The Boundary Commission is charged with evening out the size of constituencies following changes to housing density and local populations, but their plans have twice been scuppered by General Elections after which they’ve been required to go back to the drawing board.

Their stated mission is to ensure all 650 constituencies have no less than 69,724 electors and no more than 77,062. However, in my view it must be done in a way which keeps communities complete. There have been several silly versions of the proposals, including one in which Hyde was oddly lumped in with Marple. Before this week, the last version suggested an Ashton & Stalybridge seat and a Denton & Hyde (plus Stalybridge South) seat. Very few people I spoke to felt happy with this plan, which would have chopped Stalybridge in half so one side of Mottram Road was in a different constituency to the other, which would have been madness.

I am relieved that the latest proposals keep all current eight wards in my constituency together, which makes sense. There are some chanmges elsewhere in Tameside, with Denton separating from Reddish and re-partnering with its former constituency mate of Gorton, and Ashton losing Failsworth but gaining Dukinfeld ward. You can view the proposals on the Boundary Commission website and have your say by 5th December.

Secondly, it’s good news that Greater Manchester Police is no longer in “special measures”. I know local police teams work extraordinarily hard, but there have clearly been some systemic problems across GMP in recent years, and residents of Tameside deserve policing they can have full confidence in. There remains a considerable way to go, but I believe the new Chief Constable is starting to make a difference, and I will keep holding them to account in the hope of rapid improvement.

Finally, I’m absolutely thrilled that Mossley-based carnival creatives Global Grooves have received funding for a further 3 years from the Arts Council England. From their starring turn in the Jubilee to their dedication to local programmes and events, this funding is highly deserved and I know that Leon Patel and their amazing team of artists and educators will put it to brilliant use.