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Labour must act swiftly to lift children out of poverty
As she returns to Westminster, REBECCA LONG BAILEY MP calls on the new government to scrap the two-child benefit cap immediately to ease families’ financial strain that she sees in Salford

I WAS honoured and humbled to continue to have the opportunity to represent the great people of Salford, and as I busily packed my bag this week to begin a new term in Parliament, I listened, as I regularly do, to one of the rare songs that always brings a lump to my throat, a fire in my belly and gets me ready to champion the city I love.

It is a story about love, hardship and strength. A haunting melodic tribute to a city and its people, and a burning hope for their future.

The city is Salford and the song is Dirty Old Town, written by legendary Salford-born folk singer Ewan MacColl 75 years ago. It charts the confusion and loneliness of a young man walking through the nighttime streets of industrial Salford where life was hard, poverty was rife but pride was in abundance.

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