Ant & Dec top poll of celebs worried teens would turn to...

ANT AND DEC the presenters of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here and Pop Idol, who have helped to keep stressed celebrities calm and have comforted hundreds of rejected pop hopefuls topped the poll of one in four 11 to 16 year olds. 

The statistics further reveal that pop diva Beyoncé Knowles is the favourite celebrity for girls to share their worries with (28%), whilst boys would rather confide in David Beckham (22%) or Eminem (19%). 

The results are part of the new NSPCC initiative called 'Someone to Turn' to aimed at encouraging young people to talk about problems such as abuse, bullying and neglect. It is part of the NSPCC’s 'FULL STOP' campaign to end cruelty to children. 

The survey also reveals the influence that celebrities and popular soap operas have on young people. Nearly two out of three children (61%) think it’s easier to talk about a problem if they’ve seen a celebrity or a soap character going through the same thing. 

Mary Marsh, NSPCC Chief Executive, said:- “Knowing that somebody else, such as a character in a soap opera or a celebrity is going through a similar experience can help young people see that they are not the only ones having to deal with a particular problem and can help them think about the options available to them and the action they need to take.”

EastEnder’s Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan), conceived after her mother was sexually abused, has endeared herself to young people. One in six children (16%) would like to confide in Zoe whose popularity with young people is followed by that of Sarah Louise Platt (Tina O’Brien) from Coronation Street, who had a child when she was 13, and Lisa Hunter (Gemma Atkinson) from Hollyoaks who self-harmed.

Mary Marsh, NSPCC Chief Executive, said:- “It is important that soaps continue to tackle such issues sensitively, as they can heavily influence how young people deal with their problems.”

The NSPCC runs a free, 24-hour helpline:- 0800 800 5000. Young people who want to speak to a trained counsellor in confidence about any concern can also call ChildLine free, at any time on 0800 1111. 

Conservatives in Southport make schools, hospitals, pensioners and policing their priorities.

SPEAKING soon after the announcement of the Party's groundbreaking spending plans, Mark Bigley, Parliamentary Spokesman for Southport Conservatives, today promised that the next Conservative Government would make more money available for hospitals, schools and pensioners, and putting more police on the streets in Southport, their priorities. 

The Party could do this by adopting a wiser path for public spending that would also avoid the massive tax rises that independent analysts have said will come about if Labour win the next General Election. 

Mark Bigley, said:- "The Conservative Party will adopt a wiser path for government spending, making it grow less fast than the economy, so that we can avoid the tax rises a third-term Labour Government would bring, whilst focusing government spending on four key priorities. 

Those priorities are:-

1. More money for the NHS and more control for patients and professionals.

2. More money for schools and more control for parents and teachers.

3. The basic state pension rising in line with earnings paid for by reducing costs of means-tested benefits and phasing out the New Deal.

4. More Police on the streets, accountable to local people paid for by reducing the cost of the asylum and immigration system. 

Our priorities are schools, hospitals, pensioners and more police - the issues that the people of Southport have been crying out for some action on. 

There will be hard choices ahead, but I believe that it is time for an honest approach to politics in Southport. Experts say that taxes will need to go up after the next election unless Government spending is brought under control - but voting Conservative would avoid these tax rises and ensure that your money is spent on the things that really matter to you."

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