I’m proud that a campaign started in Oldham back in 2017 has taken the journey from a Private Members Bill, to a campaign led by Oldham Youth Council , to a manifesto commitment, to now a Bill on the floor of the House.
Fitting for a borough which sent marchers to Peterloo to demand the right of working people to vote, and of Annie Kenney and the suffragettes who fought for the right of women to vote, and the seat of a former Prime Minister in Winston Churchill, home of former Leader of the Party in JR Clynes, and represented by two modern day Deputy Leaders of the Labour Party in Angela Rayner and Lucy Powell, that we take our responsibility to make democratic history seriously.
The Conservatives did their upmost to reduce the franchise and have fought against these changes to expand the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds, but a manifesto commitment was notice enough that we were determined to build an inclusive and fair democracy fit for the century ahead.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 