JimfromOldham

If we value the work social care workers do, then we should be prepared to pay for it

Last Saturday I wrote a twitter thread on social care workers, but I still had more to say, so I wrote an article that was then published in Politics Home here. Our nation is feeling the pressure of the COVID-19 outbreak, and as the country braces itself for the coming weeks and months, we willContinue reading “If we value the work social care workers do, then we should be prepared to pay for it”

Seeking Support for Local Newspapers

Last week I wrote to the Secretary of State at the Department for Culture Media and Sport highlighting that lots of local newspapers across the country are reliant on advertising for funding. The Governments steps to help business over the last few weeks have been really welcome, but in the cases of some organisations –Continue reading “Seeking Support for Local Newspapers”

Coming soon: Video Surgeries

I’ve been encouraging people to stay at home and save the NHS and lives as the Covid-19 virus spreads wider. And we are leading by example in my constituency office by introducing remote working for our team. But doesn’t mean the pressure to support local people has lessened, the opposite is true as local peopleContinue reading “Coming soon: Video Surgeries”

Volunteer and Make a Difference

There are so many ways that you can help out at the moment, volunteering doesn’t just mean being on the front line. There are four different ways that we can do our bit to help our NHS at this time through volunteering.” You can be a Community Response Volunteer and collect and deliver essential suppliesContinue reading “Volunteer and Make a Difference”

Stay at Home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.

The country and the government are preparing for a significant national crisis. The measures being proposed in the Coronavirus Bill, as well as economic and social measures already announced demonstrate the concern about will follow in the coming weeks and months. While many have recognised the importance of individual responsibility there are daily examples whereContinue reading “Stay at Home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.”

Greater Manchester Spatial Framework debate in Westminster Hall

Parliament debated the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework this week and I used the opportunity to press for government to step up and work with Greater Manchester to resolve the plans fundamental problems. Without movement and flexibility on the population estimates, which are widely accepted as being out of date and in no way reflective ofContinue reading “Greater Manchester Spatial Framework debate in Westminster Hall”

Public sector heroes

After ten years of austerity it’s about time that local government are seen as the heroes that they are. I was pleased to celebrate them at this critical time at the Dispatch Box. They have had to share a disproportionate burden of responsibility, for the cuts. We’ve asked them to do more and more forContinue reading “Public sector heroes”

Important update on the Oldham constituency office

Following the Covid-19 virus progressing and the government increasingly moving to large scale isolation measures my constituency office will make immediate changes to ensure we can continue to support constituents through what will be an extremely testing and protracted time. Steps have been taken to ensure remote working can take place and all staffContinue reading “**Important update on the Oldham constituency office**”