A quick round-up of my week in down in Westminster 
๐๐ญ. ๐๐๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฒ
It was wonderful to spend time with friends at the Irish Embassy this week celebrating St. Patricks Day, thank you for having me.
๐๐จ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ
Labour is boosting apprenticeships with the expansion of the Youth Guarantee. I started as an apprentice & I know they work. But in 2024 only 16% of vacancies were advertised in the two months as school leavers were finishing exams. If we aligned vacancies with the moment young people were leaving school, more would benefit and not wait months on end to be settled.
๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ
When we came to government, we said we’d drive a sea change in the way we approached the early years. This weekโs statistics show progress: childcare costs halved, working parents now saving ยฃ8,000 a year, and the cost of a childcare place dropped back to 2005 levels. That is fighting the cost-of-living in action.
๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
It was a pleasure to meet with Ukrainian MPs visiting parliament this week with the Inter-Parliamentary Association, many of whom we met during our cross-party delegation to Kyiv a few weeks ago. I hope they got a lot from their time in parliament.
๐๐๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ
By setting a new target for up to 50% of steel used in Britain to be made in Britain, Labour in government is backing homegrown industry and protecting our national security.
๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ข๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ
Proud to chair the Co-op Partyโs NEC this week as the government announced millions across our country are set to benefit from us widening access to affordable finance through reforms. It is excellent for our credit unions and for promoting financial inclusion, an important Co-operative Party priority.
๐๐ฐ๐จ-๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐
Here in Oldham, the two-child benefit cap affects 11,340 children, most of them in working families. The Universal Credit Act has now become law and the ending of the cap in April is set to lift almost half a million children out of poverty.
๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ
Members voted this week with cross-party support to pass the Grenfell Tower Memorial Bill successfully in the Commons this week. Funding this memorial is part of our solemn duty to honour the victims of this horrendous event, keeping the promise to survivors and the bereaved.
Plenty done so far this week and plenty more to get on with back in Oldham with meetings with important local groups.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 