Rough Sleeping is up, but it is only the tip of the iceberg

HOW LONG can a crisis of your own making be left to grow before you start taking responsibility? The latest stats show that rough sleeping has increased again in the last year. In fact rough sleeping has increased every year under the Tories. The facts are that the Tories have done too little to repair a broken housing market of their own making, and cut too deep into the support available to help low income households. 

Rough Sleeping Stats
Rough Sleeping is not just confined to London – it is a growing issue across the North West too. Ref: Homeless Link.

Continue reading “Rough Sleeping is up, but it is only the tip of the iceberg”

It’s time for a united democracy in the United Kingdom as Votes for 16 year olds in Wales shows the time has come for bigger change

NEW PLANS to give more young people a say in local democracy in Wales will be announced this week by the Welsh Government (Tuesday 30 Jan).

They reflect last year’s Welsh Government consultation on reforming the electoral system in Wales, which received almost 1000 responses.

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Continue reading “It’s time for a united democracy in the United Kingdom as Votes for 16 year olds in Wales shows the time has come for bigger change”

Almost half of children in Oldham are growing up in poverty under this Tory government

RESEARCH FROM the End Child Poverty Coalition has revealed that Oldham West and Royton has the 10th highest rate of child poverty in UK.

Almost half (45.58%) of children in Oldham West and Royton are growing up in poverty under a Conservative Government.  Continue reading “Almost half of children in Oldham are growing up in poverty under this Tory government”

Latest development at Hartford Mill is a strong reminder why action must be taken!

LATE LAST NIGHT our local fire and rescue service were called out to rescue two young girls from the roof of Hartford Mill. It’s the latest in a series of events that have all served to underline why action must be taken on the mill. 

Hartford Mill 1

Continue reading “Latest development at Hartford Mill is a strong reminder why action must be taken!”

Oldham Sixth Form College students say ‘aye’ to votes at 16

LAST WEEK I attended Oldham Sixth Form College to host a debate on votes at 16. I was humbled as it was a full house. I asked for a show of hands at the start of the session to see what the students thought of lowering the voting age to 16, and was delighted to see that by the end of the session the students had voted unanimously in favour.

Oldham Sixth Form College - votes at 16

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Over 1 million callers to the Universal Credit helpline are being forced to abandon their call

A GOVERNMENT response to a written parliamentary question which I put forward has revealed that over 1.3 million calls (12% of total calls) to the Universal Credit helpline were abandoned in the last 12 months.

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Continue reading “Over 1 million callers to the Universal Credit helpline are being forced to abandon their call”