Latest news with #BayoAlaba
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
South Essex MP welcomes landmark £1.5 billion defence contract extension
A south Essex MP has welcomed a landmark £1.5 billion defence contract. Bayo Alaba, MP for Southend East and Rochford, praised the long-term contract extension between the Ministry of Defence and QinetiQ. He said this will help support jobs at the MOD Shoebury site, which is operated by QinetiQ. Mr Alaba said: "Extending this partnership means certainty for hundreds of local jobs. "I visited the MOD in Shoeburyness recently and had the pleasure of meeting local people who worked there. "I was impressed by the work they do, so I'm pleased to see the Labour Government's vote of confidence in them. "By extension, this is good news for the economy in Shoebury and Southend." As a former soldier, Mr Alaba said matters of defence hold personal significance for him. He also expressed hope that the contract will continue to offer opportunities for young people through apprenticeships and graduate schemes.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
MPs applying pressure for more play-off tickets
Labour politicians in Southend-on-Sea say they will "keep the pressure on" to persuade Wembley Stadium to release more tickets for the National League play-off final. The allocation for the Blues and opponents Oldham Athletic have been increased to 21,500 tickets each, not including packages that include coach travel. But two MPs and a council leader said they "continue to implore [Wembley] to allow more fans into the ground". The stadium says it is concerned about safety and has pointed out that no London Underground trains are stopping at Wembley Park station due to engineering work. An extra 2,722 promotion final tickets went on sale at 12:00 (BST) on Monday. Following a meeting with Wembley Stadium, the club said it had secured an additional 1,059 tickets along with 1,663 tickets that will be sold as part of coach packages. A spokesperson for the club said: "We remain committed to pushing all stakeholders to find a solution to the capacity issues." The two Southend MPs Bayo Alaba and David Burton-Sampson, together with Southend-on-Sea City Council leader Daniel Cowan, said they had been "working hard over the weekend trying to build support for our campaign to increase the ticket allocation". In a joint statement, they said: "We will continue to push for more, as we want to ensure the final allocation is meaningful and maximised." Southend United said it was told the capacity was increased for both clubs because extra train services had since been scheduled for Wembley Central and Wembley Stadium stations. The club said it was confident it could sell more than 35,000 tickets. "We are still pushing all stakeholders to think creatively and to find solutions that can safely increase the capacity further," a club spokesperson said. Former Southend, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and England striker Stan Collymore posted on X, to say he had spoken to the Mayor of London's office about the issue. The mayor's office was hopeful that supporter capacity would be upped to at least 60,000 following the next safety meeting on Tuesday, he told his followers. A Wembley Stadium spokesperson said "the safety and security of fans" was of "paramount importance". The engineering work at Wembley Park could not be moved to another weekend, they explained. Transport for London said it had arranged for more Bakerloo line trains to serve Wembley Central. Chiltern Railways will be putting on extra services to Wembley Stadium. The final is due to kick off at 15:00 BST on Sunday. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. National League final ticket allocation increased MP talks to ministers over play-off tickets row Tube station closure to clash with Wembley final Transport for London Wembley Stadium Southend United
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Southend MPs keep pressure on for more play-off tickets
Labour politicians in Southend-on-Sea say they will "keep the pressure on" to persuade Wembley Stadium to release more tickets for the National League play-off allocation for the Blues and opponents Oldham Athletic have been increased to 21,500 tickets each, not including packages that include coach two MPs and a council leader said they "continue to implore [Wembley] to allow more fans into the ground".The stadium says it is concerned about safety and has pointed out that no London Underground trains are stopping at Wembley Park station due to engineering work. The two Southend MPs Bayo Alaba and David Burton-Sampson, together with Southend-on-Sea City Council leader Daniel Cowan, said they had been "working hard over the weekend trying to build support for our campaign to increase the ticket allocation".In a joint statement, they said: "We will continue to push for more, as we want to ensure the final allocation is meaningful and maximised." Southend United said it was told the capacity was increased for both clubs because extra train services had since been scheduled for Wembley Central and Wembley Stadium club said it was confident it could sell more than 35,000 tickets."We are still pushing all stakeholders to think creatively and to find solutions that can safely increase the capacity further," a club spokesperson Southend, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and England striker Stan Collymore posted on X, to say he had spoken to the Mayor of London's office about the mayor's office was hopeful that supporter capacity would be upped to at least 60,000 following the next safety meeting on Tuesday, he told his followers. A Wembley Stadium spokesperson said "the safety and security of fans" was of "paramount importance".The engineering work at Wembley Park could not be moved to another weekend, they for London said it had arranged for more Bakerloo line trains to serve Wembley Railways will be putting on extra services to Wembley final is due to kick off at 15:00 BST on Sunday. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
