Labour & Co-operative | Serving the communities of Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton
Social media was meant to be a movement of the people; a way for us to connect, organise and be heard. That potential is still there.
But let’s be honest: it’s been deliberately designed not for the public good, and too often it puts profit before people.
The Online Safety Act is a step forward, but it doesn’t go far enough. Too many people are still being exposed to abuse, misinformation and dangerous content.
We can’t settle for half-measures when people’s safety is at stake. Tech companies must be held to higher standards, and government must be prepared to go further.
We owe it to families, young people and everyone online to get this right.
See my intervention in yesterday’s Westminster Hall debate on online safety on my Facebook page.
Great to be up in the Oldham Events Centre in the Joe Royle Stand at Boundary Park yesterday for a really positive roundtable discussion about the next steps for the SportsTown project.
This is a project we have supported & championed for a long time and its impact is clear by the wider ranging and high number of stakeholders that Latics have been working with including Oldham Council, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, universities and others.
Transformational growth is on its way through the new 3,000 seat stand, university centre, wellness suite, 4,000 seat multi-sport arena, outdoor 3G sports domes, and upgraded grass pitches.
We talked through the next steps, the investment needed, what other surrounding institutions can be brought into the project, and how we make sure local people are at the heart of the plans. Plenty of work ahead, but the ambition is clear and the partnership is strong.
None of this would have been possible without the ownership of the club by the Rothwell family and the energy & dedication they have injected into the project, and the leadership of CEO Darren Royle.
Oldham deserves big ideas backed by real action, and Sports Town is exactly that.
Oldham has 𝟲𝟯𝟯 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, too many families priced out of the community they call home, trains running on Victorian rails, and barriers holding back the new schools, hospitals, GP surgeries and police posts we need.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆 – 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
That’s why we’ve pushed ahead and delivered. The 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹 has cleared every stage in Parliament and is now ready for Royal Assent. And it matters for Oldham – boosting housing, improving transport, unlocking development, and creating decent skilled jobs.
This landmark law means:
𝟭.𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀
𝟭𝟱𝟬 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 this Parliament
𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 to hit Clean Power 2030
Key changes include:
Quicker approvals for infrastructure, from clean energy to transport
Smarter planning with better environmental outcomes
Stronger council powers, including fairer land purchase rules
Better planning for big, cross-region projects
For Oldham, it means putting the right power in the right place. The Council can now set its own planning fees, speed up decisions and shape development that actually works for our area, including tackling poor-quality housing and continuing the work already underway to slow the rapid rise in HMOs with the new Article 4 Direction.
With projects like the 𝗢𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗮𝗺 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 bringing 2,000 new homes on brownfield sites, and the Places for Everyone plan for our city-region, we can build the homes local people need 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗯, unlike what the local opposition were pushing for.
This Bill also cuts delays to vital national projects – reservoirs, clean energy sites, transport links – getting them built faster and supporting jobs and growth.
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗮𝗺.
Chadderton and Royton are both standalone towns which deserve a foundation of local services to support the local community.
That is why we are calling for the introduction of Banking Hubs in both Chadderton & Royton, so that local people can access the everyday banking services of which used to be provided by multiple high street banks, and these services secured for the long-term.
It makes sense to use the existing post offices in those towns as a base for further services.
Over the years, the erosion of high street banking has left gaps in accessible financial services. In Chadderton, the closure of the Yorkshire Bank in 2017, and in Royton, the closure of Lloyds Bank in 2021, have significantly impacted local residents and businesses.
I have written to the Department of Business & Trade to request the criteria to change after banking hubs were rejected for Royton, and are working closely with both Post Offices to secure the return of local high street banking services.
On this day seven years ago in 2018, local people from across our borough came together to unveil the stunning Annie Kenney memorial statue in Parliament Square.
Whatever else I’ve been part of in Oldham’s political and community life over the past two decades, I have to say this is what I enjoy most: grassroots community action, bringing people together.
Oldhamers stood proud together to celebrate someone who made a real difference not just to our community but to the who country by standing up for what she believed in.
That day coming together in the brilliant way that it did was the result of two solid years of fundraising, business events, sessions in schools, and the hundreds of hours spent by the amazing artist Denise Dutton, who I’d previously worked with on the statue in Failsworth of Ben Brierley now 20 years ago.
The result of this effort was truly stunning, and acts as a focal point for our town today, with flowers often left at her feet, and tens of thousands passing by every year to ask; who is Annie Kenney? Being able to play a role in keeping that story alive was the real prize.
It’s good to reflect on what we achieve together, and how lots of small acts when brought together can make such a difference to place we all call home.
It was definitely one of the proudest & most inspiring moments I’ve ever been lucky enough to be part.
I hope you enjoy revisiting these images as much as I have. It was quite a day!
Thanks to the Oldham Armed Forces Breakfast Club for having me at the Veterans Christmas Dinner yesterday at The Greyhound Pub in Royton, it was a pleasure to be there and support the event.
The team with Eddy, Viv, Carl, Nigel and many others do amazing work throughout the year with many events to support our veterans. It was a shame a flu outbreak meant we weren’t joined by Broughton House who I found really inspiring when we met at the event last year and I wish them all well.
It was a wonderful chance to be in great company, and to hear words ahead of Christmas and the New Year from the Mayor of Oldham, Chadderton’s own Cllr Eddie Moores.
Today we held our annual Christmas Stall in Oldham Town Centre, which along with our donation to Spark Oldham we do in lieu of Christmas cards.
Every year we try to spread some Christmas joy & hand out cakes, mince pies, sweets, hot chocolate & hot Vimto to those enjoying their Saturday in our town centre.
Thank you to everyone who came over to say hello – I hope you liked chatting with us as much as we did with you!
