IT DOESN’T seem too long ago that we had the commons debate in Parliament, 3^rd November to be exact. But despite our frustrations on the day it is clear that a fire has been well and truly lit under the votes at 16 issue. It can’t and won’t be ignored. And now it seems there are whispers of support all across the Tory camp.

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Continue reading “Votes at 16: Our democracy has always evolved and a moment comes when the mood for change is undeniable”

IN FEBRUARY we marked 100 years since women were first given the vote, and this week we celebrate International Women’s Day.

We marked the day by inviting sculptor Denise Dutton to Oldham to see the site of Annie Kenney statue in Oldham town centre. Annie was a key figure in the suffragette movement, and prior to that lived and worked in Oldham. She was the only working class woman to hold a senior position in the ‘Women’s Social and Political Union’ (WSPU), which spearheaded the campaign for universal suffrage under the banner ‘Votes for Women.’

Continue reading “International Women’s Day 2018”

NATIONAL apprenticeships week is a time to celebrate this excellent opportunity for young people, and the work businesses do to help. I myself started my career as an apprentice, and I owe a lot to the opportunities I was given. But it is also a time for the government to reflect on how this career path can be significantly improved. 

Continue reading “National Apprenticeship Week”

I WAS delighted and honoured to host Dame Vera Baird QC, Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria in a  visit to my constituency today. Dame Baird came to show her support for the Annie Kenney Project, an inspirational role model herself I was delighted to present her with a limited edition of an Annie Kenney print donated by Manchester based artist Stan Chow.

 

Vera Baird is now the Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria. Vera, an Oldhamer herself I learned, used to live at number 95 Coalshaw Green Rd, in the Chadderton South ward of my constituency. Determined not to let the rain put us off, we enjoyed a lovely walk around Chadderton South visiting the home she grew up in, and Coalshaw Green Park whilst she shared some fond memories of her childhood.

YESTERDAY I asked the Secretary of State Sajid Javid a number of questions about the latest local government finance settlement. First, does it step up to meet the scale of the challenges facing local public services in England today?

Does it meet the challenge of 1.2 million older people who would have been entitled to social care in 2010 who no longer get the care they need?

Does it meet the challenge of huge increases in the number of child protection and looked-after children cases reported by the LGA?

After nearly a decade of Tory-dominated Government, does it begin to rebuild the essential community infrastructure that was taken away after the financial crash?

My view is that it fails on every one of those counts.

 

Continue reading “Again, councils barely get the crumbs from the table”

A CENTURY ago today the vote was extended to women for the first time in Britain. Although the act stopped short of giving the vote to all women, it paved the way for universal voting rights here in 1928.

The First World War was still raging across the globe when the act was passed in Parliament, but the role of women in the war effort had been recognised. So too had the long-fought and high profile campaign run by the Suffragettes – members of women’s organisations in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries who advocated the extension of the franchise, or right to vote, to women.

Continue reading “100 ago today women were first given the vote. What role did Oldham play?”

I was delighted to be asked to make the Opening speech for the Wayra Fair By Design acceleration programme.

Continue reading “Can technology and innovative business help low income households?”