12 years at St Phil's

Today was my last Sunday at St Phil's. I'm staying at Sacred Trinity and hoping to start a half time diocesan job very soon but St Phil's is going to have someone else full-time. Perhaps more about that soon. Anyway, here is my sermon that I preached today.

Well I’ve been at St Phil’s for 12 years and this is my last sermon (for the moment, anyway). I’m tempted to give you the words of St. Paul from todays reading: “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” The first bit may well be true, “the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin” but  I’m not going to claim that I have any special revelations. I’m certainly not looking for anyone to exclaim, as in the gospel reading that: “A great prophet has risen among us!”

To be honest, I’m an ordinary human being who most of the time is all too aware of my many flaws. But I’m also aware of the love God has for me despite those flaws. On my good days I’m very aware of God who is beside us, journeying with us through the ups and downs of life. I count it as an immense privilege to serve you in this place and count you as my friends. I believe that God has journeyed with us, sometimes a little frustrated by our failings but never abandoning us.

So, after 12 years a slave, I mean 12 years a Priest in charge here, what have I learnt?

St Phil’s people are the best! Is there anyone from Sacred Trinity here? I need to be careful… Salford people are the best! Anyone who isn’t from Salford here? But honestly you have been fantastic. Gareth Robinson when he comes is a very lucky man. Please do support him and work with him. The new look St Philip's will be much stronger if you are still involved.

I’ve been thinking about what the highlights have been and it’s strange but many of the things that stick most in my mind are the difficult times and we’ve had a few. I’ve been with people in illness, death and bereavement. I’ve been with people at happy times too: births, baptisms, marriages, new jobs and promotions but also I’ve journeyed with people through still births, divorce and separation, redundancy and unemployment. We’ve seen people come to faith and develop, we’ve seen people really grow through coming to church, through confirmation, through being part of this community, through discovering Christ at work in them. We’ve seen lots of people come and go. If half the people who started coming to church over the last 12 years were were still here today then we would have a really thriving church.

Wendy from South Africa, Suzie Dick from Huddersfield, Pete the student with his drums, Sarah from Ireland via the USA, Faye from Uganda. We’ve had fantastic young people from TFG, each unique but all of them contributing in different ways during their time with us. Lots more people have been part of the life of our community but have moved on.

Quite a lot have moved on to be with God. Thinking back to a few people that we miss I remember Jim Stock, Stubborn St Stephensian. When we wanted to put up a sign on Chapel St pointing people to the church he insisted it should have the full title of “St Philip with St Stephen”. That doubled the cost but Jim offered to pay it so we had the full name on the sign. Jim was always such a generous gentleman. It was a privilege to get to know him and to be with him as he died and to take his funeral. 

Mary Hickman, who I used to take communion to as she was bed-bound. Giving communion to Mary was often a lively affair with Elsie and Mo and often others there as well. There was gossip and chatter and loving support and a sense of God’s presence in the midst of it.

Harvey Ackerley who was a big character, who often drove us mad but was impossible not to love. I remember he was worried about security at the church and put a huge padlock on the outside of the door so it looked like it was closed forever. We got him to take it off after Bishop Frank got locked in the church! We all journeyed with Harvey with his illness and the emotional roller coaster ride of his having a transplant or not. There were many times I feared I was visiting Harvey for the last time but he encouraged me more than I him.

Hilda Taylor, who for many years was Verger. We used to do a little verabal dance every time I rang her up: “hello Hilda, it’s Andy.” “Oh hello Rector”. I was always going to be “Rector” to Hilda. But she was so well known in the community and well into her 80s was busy mopping floors and opening the church. 

Stephen Banks, who although a relatively young man was too ill to work full time but was up for doing church admin a couple of mornings a week. I have fond memories of chatting to Stephen across the desk, hearing stories of the choir in the 60s and early 70s. I also remember how he’d sometimes nod off in mid conversation. Sadly Stephen’s illness got the better of him but he never seemed to let it dim his faith.

There are many, many more that I could mention, Doris McCuloch, John Wickes, Margaret Traynor, Alice Duncan, Norman and Pauline Millward. Just recently there have been too many losses but still we journey on with God and are now looking forward to the new challenge. 

This church is a very special community. The building is valued by so many people in our community and much wider. The gigs that have happened here have given us a wide profile. the community work that we do means that lots of people appreciate and value us. I’ve loved doing the camera club with the diverse bunch of characters we get at that. 

So what have I learnt?

• More about looking after a grade 2* listed building than I might have liked! More about looking after and serving real Ale than some might think I should!

• Everything takes longer than you think it will.

• You can’t please all the people all the time.

• You can please some of the people some of the time. Enjoy it while it lasts!

• They’re more likely to be pleased if you enjoy their company and you’re more likely to enjoy their company if you get to know them.

• It’s essential to give people a warm welcome. 

• There is space for everyone in God’s church.

• We need to help people explore issues of faith and to be explicit about our faith but we also need to allow people to join in and find their faith and understanding growing as they go along.

To quote from Frank Sinatra: “Regrets - I’ve had a few”: We should have introduced a nave alter earlier, we didn't get more reordering done, I didn't follow up people more.

I'd like to tell you that I've changed but I haven't. My office at home is still a mess, as is the vestry when I've not been tidied up after, I still get more excited about a new idea than persevering with the plan. I still get easily distracted.

I am still the flawed human being that I was when I came to you and I still need God’s help every day. I still need the help and support of a loving Christian community around me, just as you do too. We all journey on into an unknown future that will have joys and troubles in but we journey with God. The Christian message is of a God who has got stuck in with us in the messiness of life, who came amongst us in Christ and understands our pain, our temptations, our failings and still reaches out to us in love. At my induction 12 years ago one of the hymns we had was One More Step Along the World I Go, a little cheesy and quite old but I think I wanted to put a marker down, with a song popular in schools, that children were welcome and I do actually love that song, a celebration that God is with us and a prayer for courage, love, faithfulness. So in all the changes of life:, in all the unknowns ahead: pray; love; support one another; know that God is with you. 

“And it’s from the old I travel to the new.

keep me travelling along with you.” Amen.

I'm standing for election to Archbishops' Council.

You can only vote if you're one of the clergy on General Synod.

This is what I've said in my 100 words that we're allowed:

I’m currently Priest in charge of two parishes next to Manchester City Centre. Ordained 27 years, I’ve served in Manchester and Salford in areas of change and regeneration; I spent 10 years as an elected councilor whilst Team Rector. My current churches are in an area where young adults are in the majority. I’m passionate about the church creatively and inclusively engaging with our communities so all can know the transforming love of God. I’ve served on Archbishops' Council Finance Committee, been chair of our Diocesan House of Clergy and understand the fears, joys, struggles and passion of ordinary parish clergy. 

Here is a little more information about me...

Current Post: Priest in charge of two parishes next to Manchester City Centre.

Experience: Ordained 27 years, Urban, Inner City & City Centre, elected politician for 10 years, team leader, community activist, chair of house of clergy, lots of regeneration and change, AC Finance Committee, ecumenical in thought and deed.

Interests: Liturgy, Music, Cycling, Urban Planning.

Church Tradition: Mixed. Grew up evangelical learnt to appreciate other traditions, especially Liberal Catholic: Inclusive, Creative, Anglican.

Passion: about the church engaging with our communities so all can know the transforming love of God.

Archbishops’ Council Priorities: To support parish ministry, to build effective healthy churches serving communities in a variety of ways. The current Renewal and Reform agenda musn't try to come up with "one size fits all" solutions but at the same time all of us must recognise the need for change. We need to be listening; to our people; our communities; to scripture & tradition and to the Holy Spirit. 

On Sexuality (the current difficult issue!): I believe it is possible for us to have a generous, creative church that genuinely includes all people, where same-sex marriage can be celebrated but there is also space for conservatives. If in the current Anglican climate this puts us into difficulties with some more conservative parts of the world church then we will have to make difficult choices. We may have to choose between being faithful to the Gospel in our context and upsetting some of our Christian brothers and sisters. This country needs a confident, loving, inclusive Anglican church making the love of God real in our communities. We need to really listen to each other but we also need to start healing the hurts of our gay sisters and brothers and find a way to move forward.

So, if you are on General Synod and are clergy, then you can give me a vote. Please consider giving me your first preference vote, as who you put at number 1 has the most impact.

with love and prayers

Andy

My election address for General Synod (but only Manchester Clergy can vote!)

I am Currently Priest in Charge of Sacred Trinity Trinity and St Philip’s, Salford. I’m also Borough Dean of Salford and Chair of the house of Clergy.  I count it a privilege to have been elected to represent the diocese on General Synod 5 years ago and during that time I have been elected onto Archbishop’s Council’s Finance Committee and am also serving on the committee of the Church and Community Fund.

I was ordained in Manchester 27 years ago and some might suggest that I’m not very adventurous in still being here. I’d like to think that I’m someone who is passionately committed to the urban church and understands the need for commitment and longevity of service. Although I’m originally a southerner, half my life has been spent in Salford and Manchester and I have been passionate in speaking up for the urban, northern church. We face challenging times in the church. In many parishes congregations are getting older and smaller. It is vital that we address the problems and find ways to increase stipendiary vocations and grow stronger churches. We need to ensure that this is done in a way that is culturally and contextually appropriate and not in a way that is imposed from London. This will mean some tough decisions and so for example not all of our current church buildings will survive.  We can’t just bury our head in the sand and hope the problem will go away. Ultimately it is God that brings growth but we need to be attentive to what God is telling us. I bring insights from 27 years of inner city ministry and now have experience of ministering in growing churches in a community that is predominantly people in their 20s and 30s. It is essential that we engage this younger generation in church life and although this isn’t easy it is possible.

I am passionately committed to the church being inclusive and voted for the legislation to allow women to be bishops. I am nervous of the discussions that we will have on sexuality but believe the church must be able to find a way to recognize and value the ministry of the gay community, both lay and ordained.

I have 10 years experience as a Labour Party councilor on Salford City Council and this gives me additional insights that I can bring to the role. I’m not easily pigeon holed and haven’t joined any of the particular groups on synod such as the Evangelical, Open Church or Catholic groups. I enjoy insights from the various traditions in the church and hope to listen for the voice of God in the mix that we are.

I hope that you might be able to support me to represent our diocese on General Synod again. I am of course very happy to talk more if you want to contact me.

Yours hopefully,

Andy

Andy Salmon

6 Encombe Place, Salford, M3 6FJ

Landline: 0161-834 2041

Mobile: 07990 585037

Email: andy@salfordchurch.org

Twitter: @salfordrev

web: www.Salfordchurch.org

Hadrian's Wall Path

I've just got back from walking the 84 miles of Hadrian's Wall Path. The Wall was built in 122 AD on the orders of the Roman Emperor Hadrian although it is rumoured that he did very little of the actual hard graft of construction. The path is a much more recent innovation (2003) and traces the route of the wall from Wallsend, just East of Newcastle to Bowness-on-Solway on the Cumbrian coast. In it's middle section the route is absolutely stunning with fantastic views across Northumberland. In many places the wall can be seen and there are various forts along the way as well as many mile castles, which seem to crop up every mile or so.

Michaela and I decided to do the walk from East to West, which is the most common way. Most guides seem to think that finishing in Bowness is preferable to finishing with a walk through Newcastle, despite the risk that the prevailing wind will be against you. On balance I think they're right although day 3 for us was hard work with many steep hills to climb and the wind blowing strongly against us.

We cheated a little and had our main luggage transported each day by the very efficient Walker's Bags. This meant that we could have luxuries with us but not have to carry them each day. It makes a big difference. We booked ourselves into a B & B each night and did the walk in six days which works out at about 15 miles a day allowing for getting to the B & B each night.

Day one was largely flat along the Tyne through Newcastle and then a little rise up to Heddon on the wall where we stayed at Heddon Lodge and ate at the Swan. The accommodation was lovely with the best breakfast of the trip. Day two was more rolling hills to Humshaugh where we stayed at the Dovecote and ate in the village pub. The accommodation was again lovely, more quirky and very friendly.  Day three was the start of the more dramatic and challenging part of the walk with fantastic views but also hard climbs. On this day we got the wind blowing strongly against us. At Steel Rigg we descended to the Twice Brewed Inn where we stayed, ate and joined in a pub quiz! Decent accommodation but very slow at breakfast time with a lot of guests in. Day four was again some serious climbs and descents but fortunately the wind had dropped. feet and legs were getting tired now and our accommodation at Abbey Bridge in Lanercost seemed a long time coming. The room was lovely and we ate there with 6 Dutch people, which made a change as the previous two places we'd been with (2 different groups of) Flemish Belgians! Day five we were back to more pastoral scenery with plenty of mud and cows as we walked to Carlisle. Here we stayed in the County Hotel which was our cheapest accommodation (and felt like it!). It was perfectly adequate though and we ate out at a very nice Malaysian & Thai restaurant. Day six was walking through Carlisle and their very fine park and out past the marshes to Bowness and the end of the wall. There wasn't any wall left to see and the feet were seriously battered by now but the way was fairly flat, if muddy, and we got safely to the end. We got lovely accommodation at Wallsend Guesthouse and a decent meal in the only pub in town.

This was the first long distance walk that I'd done and a few reflections I might offer would include:

1. It's really nice not having to come up with a plan for the day. We'd planned it beforehand and we had to get to the next stop. the only choices were about whether and where to stop for a break. The routine of getting up, having breakfast, setting off walking was somehow reassuring.
2. There were times when I thought it would be good to have taken a bit longer. Our timetable was perfectly doable but there were really interesting things to see along the way which I didn't linger over because i still had a lot of miles to get through.
3. Pain can take over all your thoughts. I started the walk with raw heels where they'd been rubbed by new shoes - they got worse. My feet have grown since I bought my walking boots and the right boot was too tight. When my feet were really hurting it was hard to think about anything else. Pain does take over.
4. Having said that, it is amazing how the human body heals itself and how having walked 15 miles the day before you're able to get up and do it again.

So what next? If I had the time I'd love to do the Coast to Coast or the Pennine Way or Offa's Dyke although they would all take a lot longer or maybe I'll do the Camino de Santiago sometime...

Living Below the Line

This week Michaela and I are "Living Below the Line". 1.2 billion people in the world live in "extreme poverty", which is defined as living on £1 per day or less. That £1 per day has to cover food, housing, education, everything! For us we are limiting ourselves to £1 per day on food and drink for 5 days. I know it's not the same at all but the idea is that in solidarity with the world's poor we get a hint of what it may be like and raise some money to combat poverty.

You can find out more about Live below the Line here: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/uk/the_cause  We are raising money for Send A Cow who give people in Africa the resources to produce their own food. (They don't only, or even mainly, send cows!)

This is the food we bought for the week:

The rules are that we're not allowed to accept gifts or eat anything that isn't in our £10 of shopping. We are allowed to drink tap water. We're clearly not going to starve but this kind of limitation does focus your thinking quite a bit.             So today was day 1 and for breakfast I had a bowl of porridge and a cup of black tea. For lunch I was in a meeting with a group of people and we went to a café. They all had a nice lunch and I had tap water and a banana that I'd brought with me! For tea Michaela cooked a nice chickpea curry which we had with rice. There is half the curry left to have on a jacket potato another day. It was a decent curry but could have been improved by adding garlic and some more spices but all we have is some basic curry powder. I'd have loved to have some mango chutney on the side and maybe make some raita too. Afterwards a little sweet something would have gone down well but that wasn't an option. I'm not sure that I've learnt an immense amount but I have been reminded of how much we take for granted when we're amongst the wealthiest in the world. 

If you wanted to donate you can do so here: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/team/6-encombe-place

Holy Week and Easter on Iona

One of the first things I did with my sabbatical was to go to the island of Iona for Holy Week and Easter. It has been a fantastic privilege to spend Holy Week as a recipient instead of as a leader and to do so on an island so steeped in history and prayer made it even more special.

Iona is a long way away off the west coast of Scotland. It is where St Columba and his 12 companions brought the Christian message to the north of Britain and for a long time was a centre of prayer and pilgrimage. In the 20th century there was a revival of prayer and christian pilgrimage on the island through the work of the Iona Community. They have the Abbey on Iona as a base and most of the buildings were rebuilt by them. They are a dispersed ecumenical community throughout Scotland and the world but constantly offering hospitality at the Abbey. I was able to take my family with me and we joined with over 30 others to be a temporary community for Holy Week. The resident community come from all over the world and are a mix of people who have been there for 2-3 years, people who have just arrived and will be only staying for 8-10 weeks and various shades in between.










The Abbey

The island is only small but really beautiful. It is a tourist destination but only for limited numbers. It took us about 8 or 9 hours from Manchester, including 2 ferries and so it is fairly isolated. During our stay we experienced all types of weather including a storm that was bad enough for them to cancel the ferry for the day.

Living as I do in a big city it's easy to largely ignore the extremes of nature but on Iona I felt much more in touch with the weather and more vulnerable. There are also no street lights so on the clear nights the stars looked fantastic!

The community put on a full but relatively relaxed programme. There was prayer in the Abbey at 9 am and 9 pm each day and a variety of sessions that we could join in. We also could go to the art room and make things to decorate the church for the services. We also worked in small groups to prepare stations of the cross for Good Friday. There was also plenty of time to explore the island.

In the craft room I made a large hand out of chicken wire. This wasn't anything I'd ever done before but was very satisfying and the hand was used in the Abbey for the Good Friday service.

The weather for our Good Friday outdoor Stations of the Cross was not great but it was very moving as we started on the jetty and moved through the village and up to the Abbey

One of the things that struck me during my stay was the way that the resident community all had a turn at leading the worship. They were a good model of the way in which all people can take part in leading worship and certainly something I want to do at home in Salford is to get more people involved in leading worship.

On Easter morning we assembled for a dawn service at 6 am. Due to the lack of street lighting on the island it was very, very dark and dawn really was fantastic. After the service I watched the sun come up over the hills of Mull. It was a powerful combination of liturgy and nature. The glorious weather that we had on Easter Day was almost as if it had been planned specially.

Watching the sun appearing over the hills of Mull and the Sound of Iona.

There are plenty more photos posted on Facebook if you want to see more.

Easter in the Abbey.                                                             The hand is transformed. 

If you haven't visited Iona, please do think about doing so. It isn't very easy to get to, it isn't cheap but it is very, very special. 

Big thanks go to all those who shared Holy Week and Easter with me - A very mixed group of people but a privilege to be with you all at such a special time in such a special place.

Christ is risen...                   

He is risen indeed, Alleluia!

What I'm learning during my sabbatical (part 1)

The first thing I've learnt is not new but something I keep forgetting and it's the simple rule that "almost everything takes longer than you think it will".

Yesterday afternoon I was just going to do one thing but first I had two small, quick things to do. I never even started on the main task!

God Unknown

I'm currently on Sabbatical (study leave) for 3 months, which is a fantastic privilege. Because of family commitments it's not easy to go away for a lot of the time but we have spent Holy week and Easter on Iona (which will be my next post). I've also enjoyed going to church as a normal punter, having a relaxed pace and having the time to read.

This book is one I've been reading.
It's a good read and nicely thought provoking. By Ian Mobsby of the Moot Community in London, it's an exploration of the Trinity. He accuses the church of neglecting the importance of the Trinity and sees "Emerging Churches", such as Moot, as calling us back to a more balanced Trinitarian approach.  It is certainly true that in many churches one person of the Trinity is emphasised to the detriment of the others and that this leads to unbalanced theology and practice. It is perhaps not only in Emerging Churches that there is a renewed emphasis on the mystery of the Trinity but he has important things to say about how a fuller Trinitarian Theology can speak into our current cultural setting.

I haven't finished reading the book yet, so might well have more to add but some key words and thoughts are:
Apophatic: An emphasis on the mystery of God, where we talk of what God isn't, and get to understand God by personal experience rather than logical reasoning.
Perichoresis: The mutual, loving relationship of the three persons of the Trinity. A dance of love, that invites us in.
Panentheism: God's active presence in all of creation (Not the same thing as Pantheism, which limits God to being the same as nature)

Ian makes good use of Rublev's Icon of the Trinity, which has spoken to many of the importance of the mutual interconnectedness of the persons of the Trinity. Ian has found this Icon to be very important in many Fresh Expressions of church, although in my experience it has a wider appeal and usage than he credits. He has some challenging things to say about our current post-modern cultural setting where "spirituality" is viewed positively but traditional forms of church are not. There are very positive opportunities for the church if we are able to seize them but also dangers. We certainly need to speak in new ways, which are often actually old ways. Ian speaks of the Ancient: Future Church as one that doesn't use modern, rational arguments but rediscovers the mystery of God and invites people in to experience the more complex Trinitarian God who is Creator, Redeemer & Sustainer.

We live in interesting times. The internet has radically changed our relationship with information, we are more defined by what we consume than what we do, we are loathe to commit but keen to try out. In this milieu the church needs to find new ways to authentically discover more of what God is doing in God's world and share this with others. Ian Mobsby has some useful thoughts for us and I certainly think that diving into the mystery of the Perichoretic Trinity needs to be at the heart of what we do.

Changing face of Salford

I've been in my current post for a little over 10 years and although I realise that this part of Salford has changed a lot in that time I forget just how much. I've dug out some photos from early 2005 that I took from the tower of Sacred Trinity Church and taken the same view today to compare. The changes are striking.

 Looking North

Looking towards Victoria Station

Looking West 

St Philip's Church tower was there, then it wasn't!

   Quebec Building

 North again

Silver Jubilee of Priesting

This year it is 25 years since I was ordained priest and I have been in active ministry ever since. I held a little gathering recently and reflected on what I have learnt in 25 years. It largely isn’t great.

I have learned that I have not got any better at what I do but I have learned to cope with my failings, perhaps a little better.

I have learned that however often I tidy my office at home it will always get messy again.

I have learned that even if I write reminders in my diary I always prepare at the very last minute

I have learned that I forget a lot of things and my memory is not getting any better. I meet people in Sainsbury’s and know I know them but can’t remember their name. Often I remember just after they’ve gone.

I sometimes forget to turn up to meetings but not very often.

I have learned that our buildings are a blessing and a curse – I love showing people round, I love the “wow”, I love being able to go on the roof at St Phil’s… I don’t love the constant feeling that I need to work on a funding bid and having to unblock the toilets and put the chairs away and I know it shouldn’t always rely on me but when I’m the one who is here and the toilet is blocked right now, I unblock the toilet!

I count it a privilege to be with people at profound moments in their life. To be with people as they die and to visit a new baby.

I still sometimes cry after a funeral and occasionally during it. I still love doing weddings and am immensely grateful for my own marriage. I love doing baptisms in all the crazy ways they come to us, the gorgeous little babies, the screaming babies, the toddlers who don’t co-operate, the youngsters who ask big questions, the adults who really commit and the adults who aren’t sure but want to be baptized.

I have learned that it is usually good to say yes and usually bad to say no but sometimes I should really have said no. Perhaps it is okay to say no to doing a wedding on Christmas day! But I hope that I always remember the primacy of Love. I believe in a God of love who is at the heart of everything and calls us to love. I have grown to love the community I find myself in and its people. Yes I sometimes get annoyed but I try to remember to love people and usually the more you get to know them the more you love them.

So thank you for putting up with me. I am constantly in need of your forgiveness and the forgiveness of God but despite my own failings I have loved doing what I do. I pray that sometimes God has been at work in me and that somehow together we make the love of God a little more real.

An open letter to those who aspire to be MP for Salford & Eccles

At the moment the Labour Party in Salford is busy selecting the person to be the candidate for Parliament at the next election. Hazel Blears is stepping down and Hazel has generally done a good job with inevitably a few mistakes along the way. I could write about Hazel's record but that would need another post. As a Labour Party member in the constituency I will have a vote on who could replace Hazel and I'm thinking about how to use it. I thought I would write a few thoughts and ask the candidates how they might address the issues that I think are important.

To start with there are some priorities that I expect all the candidates will emphasise, therefore these are important but won't be the deciding factor in selecting a candidate.  I'll make it clear that I believe all the candidates, as Labour Party members, will be keen to promote greater equality and fairness, they will be in favour of Opportunity, Education and the National Health. They will all want greater investment in public services, particularly for the benefit of the poor and vulnerable. They will all want a "sound economy" to pay for these things. The Labour Governments of Blair and Brown had some fantastic achievements and as a long-term resident of Inner City Salford I know very well how much better life got under a Labour government. We had investment in Education, Surestart, much improved policing with reduced crime. We got shiny new hospital facilities and innovative regeneration of challenging housing areas. There was still a lot to do and many mistakes were made along the way, and not just the Iraq War. As we look back the Labour Government was good for the people of Salford.

So what do I want from the next MP for Salford? First and foremost I want someone who cares passionately about the people of Salford. I want someone who will not be seduced by London. Governments generally are far too dominated by the needs and desires of London and the current Labour Party is not showing enough willingness to tackle this. The economy of London has a cancerous effect on the economy of this country and it is time for this to change. Londoners get far higher public subsidy than the rest of the country and this has to change. I hope that our next MP will be willing to challenge unfair distribution of public subsidy to London but we Northerners (Okay I was born in London, but I've lived in Salford and Manchester for 26 years and now count myself as an adopted Salfordian) can't just winge about the North/South divide. We need to work together to build our own vibrant economy. The economy of Salford and Manchester is doing well but many places in the North are doing a lot less well. We need to work together with Liverpool, Leeds, Hull, Newcastle and the places inbetween. We need better, faster train connections to other Northern cities before we improve the link to London.

I love living in the city but I want to live in a city that feels safe, well-connected, fair and designed for the benefit of all. Salford has over the years been improving but I want to see the improvements accelerated and I'd love to see government supporting this. So; First of all we need at least the same level of investment in public transport that London gets; we need need to be able to organise public transport for people with well organised routes that are strategic and not just organised for private profit. We need simple ticketing that allows multi-mode travelling and at a reasonable price. We need to get away from the idea that buses are for the poor and build a bus, tram and train system that gives a serious choice to everyone. We also need to tackle the problem of aggressive motorists and insist that those who consistently break the speed limit will lose their licence. That means a lot more monitoring of speed and strict action. I walk across the A6 every day and sometimes many times a day. It goes through the heart of my community and it's wonderful that it is limited to 20 MPH but many motorists ignore the speed limit and this should not be an option. Over many years the investment in roads for cars has been huge but we now need to invest more in making our cities safe for walking, cycling and public transport.

It is fantastic that people are moving back into the city but in my community that mainly means new apartment blocks for private rent and at fairly expensive prices. We also need affordable housing. I want to live in a vibrant mixed community where people have genuine choices about where to live. We need a lot of investment in house building and I'm not idealogically tied to allowing councils to build council houses again but we need to ensure that there is affordable rented housing and a mix of housing types in every community.

Finally, politicians aren't held in high esteem by the public and I think it's important that our MPs help build trust in politicians again. The days of deference are long gone but trust is built by honesty, integrity and understanding. I want an MP who will be honest about mistakes as well as successes, I want an MP who will challenge in Westminster and who knows what it is like for ordinary people in Salford. So, I want to know how our prospective MPs propose to stay in touch and safeguard themselves against the corrupting influence of Westminster.

So I might summarise my questions to those who would be MP as:

• How can the economy of Northern England be strengethened?
• How would you build local democracy?
• How would you like to devolve power away from Westminster?
• Would you be in favour of English Regional Government or strengthened City Regions?
• How can we get investment in Public transport for the benefit of all?
• How will we tackle the curse of the private motor car without alienating too many voting motorists?
• What are the priorities for house building? How can we get more affordable rented properties?
• How do you intend to stay in touch with the lives of ordinary people?

And a couple of slightly cheeky questions to finish...

• How often do you use buses?
• How often have you cycled in Salford?