Tracy Gilbert
Main Page: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)Department Debates - View all Tracy Gilbert's debates with the Leader of the House
(4 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Tracy Gilbert (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab)
More than 70 organisations and novelist Irvine Welsh are backing the community-led bid for Leith to become the first ever UK town of culture. Can my right hon. Friend put in a word for Leith with Ministers at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and will he make arrangements for a written statement to update us on the timetable of the UK town of culture 2028 competition?
Sir Alan Campbell
I am sure Leith is a perfectly lovely town and a fine contender for town of culture; however, my hon. Friend invites me down a route I simply cannot take, because North Shields, a town in my constituency, has also put in a very strong bid—as has Chorley, Mr Speaker—and I do have to return to my constituency, so I have to be careful. None the less, I wish all the towns, including Leith, the very best in their attempts to be crowned the first town of culture. It is a great scheme and, win or lose, a great way to highlight the importance of our towns and the communities who live in them. I will ask the relevant Minister to update the House on the process as soon as possible.