Good to be back in Westminster for the start of a new parliamentary session as the prorogation was ended by the State Opening of Parliament. Here’s a small taster of what I got up to

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴’𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵

From delivering the Hillsborough Law, to enacting Votes at 16, nationalising British Steel, and fixing the broken leasehold & commonhold system for good; the King’s Speech set out an ambitious legislative programme focusing on economic resilience, stronger public services, energy security, and restoring trust in politics.

𝗖𝗼-𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆

A good week for the co-op as Bills covering longstanding co-operative priorities were announced in the King’s Speech such as new measures to enhance financial services with new provisions for credit unions, protections against ticket touting, and commonhold to change the housing system for the better.

𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆

It’s been a long campaign across many governments, but now all councillors will get the protection for their home addresses they deserve. Legislation has now passed which removes ambiguity and strengthens safety in public life. A step in the right direction

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗞’𝘀 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗹

Pleased to offer my thoughts with Tribune on a democratic economic renewal with the co-operative movement at its heart. You can read it here: https://jimmcmahon.co.uk/…/the-uks-economy-needs-a…/

Now back up home to Oldham.

At the election, Reform sent out thousands of leaflets promising what they would do if they ran the council.

They went into the election holding just 3 seats. Even if they had won every single seat contested, they would still have been 8 short of a majority – meaning they would have had to work with another party regardless.

Now they claim they always promised not to “do deals” to run the council. Is it that they misled voters during the campaign, or that they simply can’t count?

There could be, of course, another explanation: perhaps Reform leader (and former Conservative) Lewis Quigg hasn’t been allowed off the leash by his “master in Mossley”. Who knows? Either way, it’s an abdication of responsibility.

Instead, they are now on track to hand control of Oldham Council to HMO landlord Kamran Ghafoor, still remembered by many over the King Street building collapse, and the Oldham Group. Is that really what Reform voters went out to support?

And then there’s the frankly pathetic line that Labour could still try to form a majority. Can you imagine the uproar these very same people would have caused had Labour attempted to cling on to control after such a devastating election result?

It’s all performative and highly personal towards local Labour leader Arooj Shah. It looks to me that they wanted to humiliate a woman they hounded relentlessly alongside the “Oldham Group” by removing her through a vote of no confidence. They weren’t just content with winning, they only really wanted a public humiliation. In fact, judging by their actions since, maybe they never actually wanted to govern at all. It’s the worst kind of politics.

What a sad state of affairs it is!

Great to be back in Parliament for today’s King’s Speech which set out an ambitious legislative programme of 35 Bills & Draft Bills focused on rebuilding Britain, backing working people, and delivering long-term national renewal after years of instability.

This new parliamentary term will focus on economic resilience, stronger public services, energy security, and restoring trust in politics through meaningful reform; building on successes from the last Parliamentary term such as the biggest upgrade to renter’s rights in a generation, delivering a new deal for working people and reforms to lift almost half a million children out of poverty.

Key measures announced today include:

Delivering the Hillsborough Law to ensure transparency and accountability for victims & families through a duty of candour for public servants

The Representation of the People Bill carried over to tighten political finance rules, strengthen our democracy and deliver Oldham-born votes at 16

Bringing British Steel into public ownership to protect vital home-grown industrial jobs and communities

Expanding apprenticeships and creating more high-quality training opportunities for young people and workers in every community

A crackdown on late payments to support small businesses and protect cash flow on our high streets

A Draft Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Bill to modernise taxi laws to reduce ‘out of area’ taxis as well as to deliver in response to Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation & Abuse

Clean-up our water industry and improve the critical infrastructure behind by creating a new, independent, & integrated water regulator through a Clean Water Bill – building on the Water Act already passed by this Labour government

Strengthening UK energy security, cutting bills for the long term, and accelerate the transition to clean, homegrown power through an Energy Independence Bill

A European Partnership Bill to deliver our renewed commitment to practical alignment and cooperation with the EU where it benefits jobs, trade, energy security, and national growth

Implementing our 10-year NHS reform plan focused on reducing waiting lists, moving from analogue to digital, expanding preventative care, reducing bureaucracy, and brining services closer to communities through an NHS Modernisation Bill

A Leasehold & Commonhold Reform Bill to give homeowners greater rights and fairness while capping ground rents, alongside a Social Housing Renewal Bill to increase long-term investment in social housing

Delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail turn-up-and-go railway services with up to £45 billion investment, alongside creating the publicly-owned Great British Railways to improve reliability, accountability, and passenger experience across the rail network through a Railways and Passenger Benefits Bill

A Police Reform Bill to strengthen neighbourhood policing, restore confidence in law & order and getting more out of taxpayer money through efficiency reforms

Action on ticket touting to protect fans from exploitation and unfair pricing

The work of change continues with a clear focus on delivering security, fairness, and opportunity for communities across the country like Oldham, Chadderton & Royton.

I have written an article as part of a series brought together by Tribune group of Labour MPs, making the case for a new democratic economy with co-operatives and community ownership at its heart.

The UK’s economy needs a democratic renewal.

The UK’s economy is in need of a democratic renewal. For too long, productivity has stubbornly underperformed, averaging around 0.5% a year since the 2008 financial crisis. Growth has been sluggish too, with GDP expanding at around 1.5% a year since 2010, while business investment remains among the lowest in the G7. The result has been an economy that struggles to generate rising living standards, build resilient public services, or a sense that progress is fairly shared.

At the same time, a culture of short-term extraction has too often trumped the long-term interests of the country. The shadow of privatisation in foundation industries, such as steelmaking, and utilities has failed even on its own terms.

Rather than creating a ‘shareholding nation’, it has given way to a model dominated by private equity and infrastructure funds, too often loading with debt, extracting value, and underinvesting in long-term resilience.

England’s water industry is a textbook example of how not to run a vital public service. Since privatisation, more than £80bn has been paid out in shareholder dividends. From being debt-free on transfer, the sector has accumulated over £70bn in debt, while customer bills have risen sharply and our rivers, lakes and seas are polluted with raw human sewage.

A similar pattern plays out across our economy and in our individual lives as we shift from being owners to consumers. Housing provides a stark example, with home ownership among young adults falling dramatically, with fewer than half of 25–34-year-olds now owning their home, compared with around two-thirds in the early 1990s. Today, around 4.6 million households rent privately, often with little security.

At work as at home, many people generate value they neither control nor share in. The top 10% now hold nearly half of all wealth, while millions of working people remain just a pay cheque away from crisis.

At its core, this is a question of ownership and power: who owns, who decides, and who benefits. Who decides if home is fit to live in? Who decides whether your workplace offers the pay, respect and dignity you deserve? That’s why alongside good regulation, ownership matters.

This is not a new challenge. In the smoke and clatter of the industrial revolution, the Rochdale Pioneers confronted similar forces. They built a different model based on democratic ownership, shared resources and distributed power. Their principle was simple. Contribution and reward should be linked, and when people build value together, they should share in the dividend.

Progressive politics has always been concerned with power: who has it, who does not, and how it is shared. The UK remains one of the most centralised countries in the developed world, and trust in politics has eroded in part because power feels distant and unaccountable. Rebuilding trust requires more than policy tweaks. It means changing who has a stake in the economy itself.

We know the challenges we face. We need a more productive economy, with the benefits of growth felt more by those who create it. We need to build 1.5 million new homes to meet demand, at a time when England alone faces a shortfall of more than 4 million homes and families languish on housing waiting lists. And we need to win public consent for a clean energy transition to secure supply and ensure affordability.

The good news is that we are not starting from scratch. The UK’s democratic economy, made up of co-operatives, mutuals, and employee-owned businesses, is already worth almost £180bn and employs around 1.6 million people. These organisations are more resilient, have higher survival rates, are rooted in communities, and focus on long-term value.

As we approach the centenary of the sister relationship between the Co-operative Party and the Labour Party, there are real signs of progress. There is a commitment to double the size of the sector, including creating a million new owners of community energy through Great British Energy. New rights for communities to protect and buy local assets, alongside increased support for credit unions and community-led housing, show what is possible when government actively backs alternative ownership.

Industry is moving too. The acquisition of the Co-operative Bank by Coventry Building Society, and of Virgin Money by Nationwide and its 16 million members, both widen ownership and ensure value is retained for members rather than extracted for short-term gain. But much more can be done.

First, this does not always require new spending. Co-operative and mutual must be afforded a level playing field, for example reforming the common bond rules for credit unions allows them to scale, serve more people and offer a wider range of services. But if we are serious about growing the co-operative and mutual sector, we cannot allow it to be easily unwound. Asset locks and stronger limits on demutualisation in financial services such as building societies, can help ensure that collective gains are preserved for the long term.

Secondly, we should rethink how government responds to economic failure. Too often, intervention comes too late and at far greater cost. When companies collapse, workers lose jobs and communities are hollowed out. Other countries take a different approach. In Italy, the Marcora Law enables workers to buy out failing firms and turn them into co-operatives, using pooled resources that would otherwise fund unemployment. Many of these businesses survive and repay the investment, creating a virtuous cycle. There is no reason the UK could not adopt a similar model.

Thirdly, we need to reshape the relationship between government and community. Across the country, people already show what shared ownership can achieve. The Co-operative Party’s Community Britain campaign has shone a light on the every-day acts which bind communities together. Community energy projects, local pubs, revived high-street shops, places of worship and community centres all demonstrate how collective action strengthens social and economic resilience. With greater power and targeted resources, Community Britain could go even further.

An economy that works for working people must give those who create value through their efforts real power and a real stake in the future, as part of a determined democratic renewal.

Jim McMahon OBE has been the Labour MP for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton since 2015 and Chair of the Co-operative Party since 2020.

I am deeply sorry for the wonderful Labour candidates who were unsuccessful. Across Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton, I could not have been prouder of the campaign, character, and commitment shown by those who worked tirelessly, including sitting councillors who have dedicated years of public service to improving our borough.

I also want to recognise the work of the local Labour leadership in attracting investment, regenerating our borough, and rebuilding local services. There is still a long way to go, but the foundations for that progress are firmly in place.

Politics can be unforgiving, but I hope those who stood will remember above all the privilege of public service and the difference they made to people’s lives. They should take real pride in that.

My congratulations to Cllr Fida Hussain in Werneth, Cllr Nazrul Islam in Chadderton Central and to Cllr Junaid Hussain in Medlock Vale on their successful elections. I know they will continue to fight for the local communities they have been elected to serve.

I am pleased the Labour Group has ruled out any working agreement with either Reform or Oldham Group. We cannot endorse or condone the political experiment of splitting the borough based on identity politics and grievance, it is a dangerous path to take, as Oldham knows only too well.

As an MP, I will work constructively with whoever forms an administration where it is in the best interests of Oldham. Equally, I will hold them collectively and individually accountable if they fail to deliver for local people.

Nationally we have to take stock of these election results. Working people have had their trust and patience tested to the limits. It is not that people are impatient for change, they have been patient enough over decades of decline in almost every aspect of life; at work, at home and in the communities they are rooted in. Security, pride and dignity has been compromised and the basics of life are fragile.

Labour, as the party of working people know this and we’ve acknowledged it, but we haven’t been bold enough at meeting the scale of the challenge, or rooting our response in the everyday reality faced by millions of working people.

That has to change. It’s why the Labour Party was founded, and it’s the reason we exist today.

This week’s local elections really matter.

On Sunday Politics yesterday morning I set out what’s actually at stake, not slogans or stunts but whether councils can keep delivering those frontline services people rely on every single day.

Lack of a solid control of the Council would mean chaos on your street.

If Reform take control in areas without the experience or serious plans to run vital services, it won’t be abstract it’ll hit real services such as bin collections, social care, housing, and support for the most vulnerable.

Local government isn’t a protest vote, it’s where decisions get made that shape daily life.

Watch yesterday’s show in full at https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002w1k4/politics-north-west-03052026, and most importantly, use your vote this Thursday

Great to be at Medlock Valley School yesterday for Kingfisher Learning Trust’s Festival of Learning and seeing friends & colleagues from the Trust as well as GMB, Unison & the NEU.

Seven schools all coming together with one shared purpose: giving every child the best possible start, no matter their background or the challenges they face.

What stood out? The commitment. Staff working across complex special needs and some of the most disadvantaged communities in Oldham, backing each other, sharing ideas and raising the bar.

This is what a strong, values led trust looks like. Collaboration, ambition and real care for every young person.

Thanks for having me and for everything you do day in, day out.