It has been a great last fortnight in government as Minister of State as we begin to deliver the change that working people across our country deserve, like constituents of mine in Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton.
Last week’s King’s Speech offered a bold and comprehensive plan to get Britain’s future back with measures to create wealth in every community, get Britain building, and hand power back to local people.
Our ministerial team went to Number 10 to meet with the Prime Minister to talk about our contribution to deliver the change the country voted for. Local government, our Councillors, Mayors and communities are central to our missions.
Angela Rayner and I took questions from councillors from across the country at the LGA forum, while we made clear that we were committed to resetting the relationship between local and central government.
We want to extend devolution not from the top down, but from the grassroots upwards, which is why Angela Rayner wrote to local leaders across England who still operate in devolution deserts.
I was also re-elected as Chair of the Co-operative Party last week. As part of the new government, the Co-op Party is determined to help drive co-operative growth and put bills that were in the King’s Speech into law which share power and ownership, protect and respect shopworkers, and ensure communities benefit from clean energy.
I ended this week at the launch of the Future Governance Forum where I spoke with the report authors about work on advancing the debate on devolution in England. This is an important time as we prepare the ground for the ground-breaking English Devolution Bill.
The last two weeks have been busy and inspiring, with big challenges to face head on, but with bigger opportunities that lay ahead too. Despite a difficult inheritance after 14 years of the Conservatives, we know that very exciting times still lie ahead.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 