This week in Parliament

Another constructive week in Parliament and a lot happening that will have real impact in Oldham, Chadderton and Royton.

𝟭𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝘅 𝗠𝗣

Next week marks 10 years since the tragic murder of Jo Cox MP and it was an honour to participate in a Parliamentary debate this week on her legacy. Jo’s legacy still stands as a powerful reminder that we have more in common than that which divides us. She believed deeply in community, compassion and standing up for others – values that should guide all of us in public life. Her loss was felt across politics and across the country, and we continue to honour her by trying to do politics better: with more respect, more humanity and more focus on what unites us.

𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵-𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Great to catch up again with Sarah Harrison and Mathew Ball from the Building Societies Association in Parliament. We talked about the role mutuals play in helping people save, supporting first-time buyers, and strengthening local economies. Mutuals and building societies are owned by their members, not distant shareholders, and they have huge potential. It’s always good to discuss how we can expand home ownership and opportunity.

𝗖𝗼-𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀

I was delighted to be re-elected as chair of the Co-operative Party last week weekend, especially as we go into our centenary year as a sister party to Labour next year. I’m very proud to be a Co-operator as well as Labour.

Through the Parliamentary Co-operative Party, we’re continuing work on community energy and the local power plan, looking at how we can give communities more control over energy generation, lower bills, and keep more of the benefits local. It’s about practical co-operative solutions that put people first.

We have a particular focus on progressing co-operative housing and our core ambition of doubling the size of the sector.

𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

I was at Shared Health Foundation’s conference at King’s College London discussing the temporary accommodation crisis. In Oldham, 588 children are currently living in temporary accommodation. These aren’t just figures – they’re families and childhoods being shaped by instability. We need to keep telling that story and pushing for change.

𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 & 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆

We also voted on the Steel Bill to support the steel industry and strengthen domestic manufacturing by nationalising it. Steel matters not just economically, but strategically. It underpins national infrastructure, defence capability and thousands of skilled jobs across the country.

For too long we’ve seen the impact of underinvestment and global competition hollow out industrial communities. These measures are about reversing that decline and giving the industry a more secure future.

Backing British steel means backing British workers, supply chains and communities – and making sure we don’t lose the skills and capacity we need for the future.

𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

This week we passed the Draft Combined Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (Amendment) Order 2026, restoring the supplementary vote system for mayoral elections in England, recognising that was a single elected post it doesn’t sit along other directly elected counterparts as local councils and Parliament itself. A simple change allows the broader voting preferences to be taken into account for those who lead our combined authority regions

𝗥𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹

We are getting on with delivering the promises of a publicly owned railway and ensuring that the national links properly with regional and local transport connections..

The Bee Network has shown what’s possible when transport is locally controlled. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to raise the defunct Middleton Junction station in my constituency which closed in the Beeching review, and which now sits between important employment sites at Greengate, Broadgate and Foxdenton as well as significant new housing developments. We’ve pressed for Metrolink investment and will see a new station serving Royton Heyside at Cop Road, and I’ll continue to push for the orbital tram across Middleton, Chadderton onto Oldham and Ashton. You never know when an idea takes off!

𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

As we invest in our armed forces and continue backing Ukraine, I made the case that communities like ours should benefit too. We should be creating clear pathways into the armed forces, engineering and high-skilled defence jobs for young people locally. Defence investment must create opportunity at home as well as security abroad.

A full and important week continues back home with campaigning, constituency engagements and meetings.