The actions by P&O Ferries late last week were a national scandal, the decision to fire 800 staff without notice was a betrayal of the workers that kept this country stocked throughout the pandemic.

Today the Labour Party will stand up for these P&O workers in Parliament, we will demand:

P&O workforce reinstated and legal action taken against P&O

Government contracts suspended

Fire and rehire outlawed

Workers’ rights strengthened

Tough words from the Government are not enough when they had the chance to outlaw fire and rehire in October last year and they blocked our efforts. These seafarers do not need meaningless platitudes from Ministers, they need action.

This is the cruel consequence of the Tory assault on workers’ rights. The threat of Fire and rehire as a negotiating tactic is causing workers, unimaginable financial and mental pressure. The Government must outlaw this pernicious practise.

A Labour government will strengthen employee protections and ban fire and rehire to give people the security they deserve for an honest day’s work.

For the third time in four months the Bank of England has moved to increase lending base rates. This will hit around 2 million households who are on either a tracker or variable rate mortgage. In addition, around 1.5 households are set to see their current mortgage deal expire, with a further 1.5m households joining them in 2023.

For average mortgages this means a further increase of around £25 for a tracker mortgage, around £1,000 a year higher than the start of 2022.

Taken with inflation, rocketing gas and electricity bills, mobile phone and broadband, and petrol and diesel families will quickly begin to feel the pressure as any headroom is swallowed by increased bills.

To make matters much worse the government is intent on hiking up National Insurance, Income Tax and Council Tax in April, sending many working households over a cliff edge.

This is a cost-of-living crisis made in Downing Street, and the Tories seem determined to make it worse.

The Tories have turned their back on Oldham and left it’s levelling up promise in tatters.

News that Phoenix House, the Department for Work and Pensions office on Union Street in the centre of Oldham is set to close marks a long and disgraceful programme of removing jobs from the town, at a time when we need support to recover from the pandemic.

There has not been any consultation with local Members of Parliament and follows on from the closure of the HMRC tax office in the same building only a few years ago. According to the PCS union, 168 jobs will be lost as a result of the latest round of cuts.

Taken together it shows a disregard for the town, and the importance of town centre workers supporting the local high street, spending money at lunch time and after work.

So far, the town has seen the closure of the Magistrates Court, the County Court, numerous police stations and custody cells, the HMRC tax office and now the DWP office. Together taking hundreds of workers out of the town.

Just this week it was reported that there were 5,270 unemployed claimants in Oldham West and Royton constituency alone, which was 7.9% of the population aged 16-64. This was 1,665 higher than March 2020, before the first UK lockdown began.

Worst still, the work previously done at Phoenix House will be moved to St Peters Square in Manchester City Centre, where office rents are some of the highest in the region.

The Tories never put towns like Oldham first, they have an agenda to strip back public services to the bone and drive a race to the bottom on living standards and quality of life for working people.

The government had information weeks before that a Russian invasion was coming, yet the Home Office has taken two weeks to get a system in place for processing those fleeing the war. Because of the Ukrainian restrictions on men of working age leaving the country,, those seeking sanctuary are most likely to be women and children.

The UK has some of the most advanced bio-metric and processing facilities in the world, that the government can’t seen to marshal quickly enough isn’t good enough.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority has released a statement on further delays relating to the independent investigation into CSE in Oldham.

I maintain the belief that the final review will be victim focused and robust.

I am concerned that this additional delay will be used to undermine the review. It’s evident from the previously announced delay, and coverage which followed it on social media pages, that false allegations of cover up and conspiracy will be repeated. But what ultimately matters is that the investigation is comprehensive, and if any failings are identified by organisations or individuals, they are fully explored and published.

I have been careful not to comment on the review until it is published, to avoid either pre-empting or prejudging it, but I can give an assurance that it is my intention to ensure, as I have always endeavoured, that victims are put first and foremost.

There are too many examples of victims not receiving the support they deserve, either because of individual professional judgement, organisational or political culture, systemic failure and at times the overwhelming demand not being met with adequate resources. If the additional time is spent securing justice, and I maintain confidence in those leading the review, then that must be allowed to conclude properly.

https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/news/update-on-the-publication-of-the-assurance-review-into-child-sexual-exploitation-in-oldham/?fbclid=IwAR2KHrKJkiwRcyk0QDs7ff1HdZU9P88A8W4wUTLuAuY8X_0ULZsLNXTue3g

Today was quite a moment.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy displayed his resolve over a video link to a silent House of Commons, which was showing rare cross party unity and purpose.

I took the opportunity last week to sign the book of support in Parliament on behalf of the people of Chadderton, Oldham and Royton, as well as sending a letter of support to the two local Ukrainian churches together with my colleague Debbie Abrahams.

Our words must be followed by firm leadership, including giving the people of Ukraine the means to defend themselves, humanitarian support and aide, and playing our part in providing refuge.

Labour has called on the Government to cancel its planned rise in National Insurance Contributions that will cost families an average of £500 per year from April 2022.

As well as energy bills going up, there is still going to be a devastating set of tax hikes coming in April.

According to the Resolution Foundation, “The average combined impact of the freeze to income tax thresholds and the 1.25 per cent increase in personal National Insurance contributions is £600 per household.”

Combined with the £444 increase in energy bills expected next financial year for a household that gets the Chancellor’s loan and council tax scheme, that means most households will still be more than £1,000 worse off in 2022/23.

That’s why Labour have long called for the National Insurance rise to be halted, so it doesn’t make the cost of living crisis worse.

Labour has also set out a plan to cut £600 off home energy bills, funded by a one-off windfall tax on oil and gas producers.

As this tax hike hits home, remember it started not on your street, but on Downing Street.