The decision by the Lib Dems, Tories, and the self styled Oldham Group to reject the Places for Everyone plan is a betrayal of our borough and its people—putting at risk the very green spaces we fought so hard to protect.
Without a plan, the balance of power now tilts in favour of developers. And let’s be honest—do we really trust private developers, HMO landlords, and cynical speculators to do the right thing and prioritise brownfield first? That’s not what we’ve seen. Across Oldham, communities have been crying out for regeneration of derelict industrial sites, yet many remain untouched. Instead, without a framework in place, our greenbelt—protected under Places for Everyone—is left exposed to speculative development.
The Lib Dems have, yet again, done what they do best—playing the politics of opposition rather than taking responsibility, backed by the property developer and HMO landlord led Oldham Group. And as for the Tories, we’ve seen time and again how they play both sides—stirring up controversy over planning issues like IX Wireless while their MPs happily accept cash donations from the very same company.
It is Labour working to draw funding to bring brownfield sites in the borough forward, releasing pressure for other sites, and making schemes which wouldn’t otherwise be viable possible. And it’s Labour determined to end the scandal of temporary accommodation which sees 690 of our children denied a safe, secure and affordable home.
And it is Labour that has stood up for what is right. Was Places for Everyone perfect? No. Were there difficult choices and trade-offs? Of course—meeting housing need in a borough like ours will always require compromise. But at least it was done openly and through consultation. Residents knew what sites were being considered and, crucially, they could be confident that our most valued greenbelt was protected.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙡 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝, 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨.
The motion will be responded to by the Government. As a constituency MP I am not involved in this aspect because of the conflict of interest as it relates to Oldham.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 