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. 

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

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.

Continue reading “Oldham Sixth Form College students say ‘aye’ to votes at 16”

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.

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

IT WAS great to catch up with members to talk about our priorities for 2018!

Continue reading “Looking ahead in 2018 – New Year Members catch up with a brew and biscuits!”

LAST WEEK I attended the Oldham Cancer Support Christmas Dinner, the room was full of volunteers , patients and their families coming together to celebrate the festivities.

Continue reading “Oldham Cancer Support Christmas Dinner”

LATE LAST night – following the Brexit vote – I spoke in the Commons on the failures surrounding the roll-out of Universal Credit (UC), as well as its indiscriminate sanctions.

It was encouraging to see the Government listen to the concerns of the majority, including their own MPs in last week’s budget. Some much needed tweaking was finally carried out that will make some difference to claimants currently at the mercy of UC. But it has come too late for many who have already borne the brunt of its failure to provide basic support.

Continue reading “Universal Credit is turning into the real nightmare before Christmas for too many families.”

YESTERDAY, along with my colleague Kerry McCarthy MP, I attended a meeting between Jeremy Hunt – the Secretary of State for Health – and the family of Layla Rose Ermenekli from Limeside in Oldham. The meeting was called to discuss the Government’s failure to provide Meningitis vaccine to all children.

Continue reading “Jeremy Hunt apologises for the death of Layla from Lime Side”

Early this week I was proud to welcome one of our local schools at the British Council in London. Limehurst Primary School in Oldham West & Royton has been awarded the British Council’s prestigious International School Award in recognition of its work to bring the world into the classroom.

Continue reading “Congratulations to Limehurst Primary School”