This is a once-in-a-decade opportunity for us to finally address the question of a fast train line to Manchester, preferably by reinstating the Todmorden Curve.

Regular readers of this column will recall this is something we have been working on for a while. Indeed when I first asked for the support of Burnley Labour Party to be their new parliamentary candidate after Peter Pike announced his retirement, it is one of the issues I said I would focus on.

In the four years since then I have held numerous meetings with Network Rail, which owns the track, and our local operating company, Northern Rail, as well as working with Burnley and Lancashire councils and the North West Regional Development Agency to see what scope there is to get improvements in this area. I've also run a petition and, down in London, I've raised the matter in parliament and also with Government ministers.

It seems entirely obvious to me that in order for Burnley to become more prosperous we need good train links to the booming cities. That way our people will find it easier to get good jobs without having to move away, and city folk will also start to look at living in our valley, with its easy access to beautiful countryside, and so supporting local jobs and services. And of course you need good transport links to encourage the tourists to come and have a look at our industrial heritage and new waterfront leisure sites. It has always seemed to me a nonsense that we are only 30 miles from Manchester but at peak times it can take an hour and a half to get there.

In the last couple of years, this issue has risen hugely up the agenda of local leaders. The councils have commissioned work from independent consultants to investigate the feasibility of reinstating the Todmorden curve; they have concluded that a fast train line from Burnley into Manchester Victoria is feasible along this route at a relatively modest cost. At the same time Network Rail has itself launched a consultation on how local train lines in the area can be improved, which provides us with the opportunity to get this issue sorted once and for all.

Now that we have a wide cross-section of support, we need to make our case to the authorities loudly and clearly, which is what I spent last Friday doing.

There's been a lot going on in Westminster this week. I was on my feet on Tuesday responding on behalf of the Government to a debate on the rising cost of living. There is no doubt that the combination of high food and fuel prices, plus the effect of the credit crunch on the UK financial markets, has made household budgeting harder for many families up and down the country. The important thing to remember is that these are problems that affect every country, originating from global issues outside our shores. Britain, with its relatively stable economy in recent years, is well placed to weather the storm.

But in the meantime, we are providing support to help the most vulnerable, such as an extra £10m. to support debt advice providers as well as postponing the planned 2p rise in fuel duty this April and the extra winter fuel payments this winter to elderly people. And of course all basic rate taxpayers will get extra money in their pay packets from September as we raise the allowances to return a little more to families in these difficult times.

I'll be back in the constituency today, Friday, for my usual surgery then over to Blackpool to speak to the annual congress of the Co-operative Movement tomorrow. See you soon.