Labour & Co-operative | Serving the communities of Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton
Oldham Council have begun the consultation on greater powers over the increasing number of HMOs in the borough.
The Council is seeking comments on this Article 4 Direction from 6 October until 11:59pm on 16 November 2025.
Itโs welcomed progress and I urge local people to have their say 
https://bigoldhamconvo.oldham.gov.uk/oldham-hmo-consultation
Wishing everyone who was shortlisted and the ultimate winners congratulations for an amazing Oldham Business Awards at the QE Hall last night.
The spirit of the borough was on full display and the pride shown by everyone was really inspiring – and the huge successes life changing businesses are making to our community!
Well done to all and especially the hardworking organising team and their sponsors.
Post Office Ltd have confirmed to us – on the back of the recent announcement that the building of their permanent branch at the site of the current temporary reduced service will be completed next week โ that the new permanent branch will properly replace the former branch hosted by WHSmiths by including the reintroduction of all services at the new branch.
The temporary Post Office branch opened in June after work we did with the Council, and local stakeholders to save Oldham Town Centreโs branch after the one hosted by WHSmiths closed in May. As promised when the new branch was confirmed, a new fitted out permanent branch which is being built in the same unit as the current temporary branch has been confirmed to be completed next week.
This milestone represents the end of a long period of hard work. Back in 2019, when the future of the Crown Post Office on Lord St. was in doubt, we made it clear that moving our Post Office into a private franchise left it vulnerable. Even then, WHSmithโs long-term future in the shopping centre was uncertain. Despite thousands signing a petition, a Westminster Hall debate, and repeated warnings, our concerns were ignored.
Earlier this year, the situation we feared played out. Despite writing to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade in January to seek support to safeguard the future of the Post Office in Oldham; and to Post Office Ltd in March to receive assurances that there would be a continuity of a post office service in Oldham, we lost our service following the closure of WHSmithโs in May. Thanks to the hard work of the Council and Post Office Ltd., the loss of the town centre service was very short lived.
We believe that this solution has sufficiently mitigated further disruption since in the short term there was some continuity of service – albeit a bare bones operation – and in the long term, it has successfully ensured a stable future for the branch which looks to be even better than the one it has replaced. Services added to the current temporary services include digital & paper passport applications, SIA licence applications, DVLA applications & renewals, and MVL (car tax renewal).
The completion of a new permanent branch with a wider array of services and more secure future in its own unit which reverses the fading profile of the branch is a win for the people of Oldham and thanks to those who made their voices heard. The Post Office is a pillar of our community, we will continue to work with all partners to make sure Oldham town centre isnโt left behind when it comes to access to key services.
A secure long-term future for post offices, high streets and town centre more widely is still an ongoing battle we are committed to fighting so we can remake these areas and deliver more good jobs for local people. From our business rates reforms which give a permanent rate relief for services like the Post Office and helps businesses which operate at multiple premises; our successful campaign to make violence against shopworkers a standalone offence; and ongoing regeneration work of core civic & cultural institutions which encourage town centre visits: we are delivering for our chain high street retailers, that are essential for driving footfall for independent and smaller retailers.
๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ท๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐ between two great city regions
Increasing capacity to ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฒ๐
๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ & ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐
๐๐ผ๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ต across our city-region, already the fastest growing in the country
The North ๐ป๐ผ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ by Westminster
In her speech to the Labour Party Conference, the Chancellor confirmed that the government will push ahead with our plans to revive Northern Powerhouse Rail by starting with the East-West link between Manchester and Liverpool. With Labour in power at every level – a Labour-led Council in Oldham, a Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester, and a Labour government – we are focused on driving up living-standards in our borough and across the North of England.
Work of our Greater Manchester Mayor has meant so much progress has already been made over recent years in our local public transport network: delivering Bee Network buses to all of Greater Manchester, integrating ticketing between buses & trams, ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ยฃ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐น๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฝ in place, delivering ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น in phases in 2028 and 2030, completing an orbital tram route from the ๐ข๐น๐ฑ๐ต๐ฎ๐บ-๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฑ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ, announcing ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ set to be added to our line in North Manchester & Cop Road starting in 2030, and approval being given for work to begin on the development of a plan for an u๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐-๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
Government transport infrastructure investment and devolved local leadership are having a real impact.
A single London-style transport system for Greater Manchester which is clean, green, affordable, reliable, accessible & publicly owned is what we are creating. Now is not the time to be complacent, but instead to double down & go further.
Over many years as local MP in Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton, I have called for an extension to our tram route so it can serve more communities and connects differing areas without having to go via Manchester City-centre.
Encouraged by this progress, as your local MP, I will push for more by continuing to advocate for the reopening of Middleton Junction station (as is happening in Golbourne and Cheadle), and for ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ป & ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป. This proper orbital route which connects neighbouring towns properly and brings them into the wider network is the only way of getting the most out of Northern Powerhouse Rail for local people.
Greater Manchester is already the fastest growing city-region in the UK, and we are ensuring this growth is not held back by putting the infrastructure investment in place to attract more good quality and well paid jobs to our borough – one of the priorities we put forward for Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton at last years general election.
While the Tories promised but failed to deliver the project they announced over a decade ago and Reform are levelling down on every front by promising to scrap it all-together.
Only with Labour will local people get the investment in their future that they deserve.
Great to be in Liverpool over the last few days for this year’s Labour Party Conference, meeting with Labour & Co-op party members, activists, unions, and businesses to discuss the change we are trying to make and the national renewal we have begun to deliver. Thanks to everyone who worked tirelessly to organise & hold such successful events throughout.
It was a really positive conference for the Co-op Party and our Community Britain campaign. As Chair of the Co-operative Party, much of the time in Liverpool was spent continuing to spread the message on the successes of the Co-op Party’s Community Britain campaign.
With the recently announced Pride in Place Pride in Place Programme to give communities in our borough control over their own high streets; the enhanced Community Right-to-Buy being legislated for to give local people the right to own purchase cherished local assets that are at risk of being lost; community-led housing being part of the solution to the housing crisis; and community-owned energy now running through the just-announced Strategic Priorities for Great British Energy to roll out clean, green, community-owned energy owned by millions: the future of this country is community.
Chairing a panel with co-operatives & building societies association with Lucy Rigby on financial mutuals, we spoke about plans to build on current success which shows co-ops & mutuals have had a record-breaking year, proving theyโre not just resilient but thriving.
On the Youth-led panel with UK Youth, SOUK and Full Fact, young people asked questions about the future of democracy, countering misinformation online, devolved powers, empowering young people in our communities, and breaking down barriers to apprenticeships & opportunities for working class kids.
It is clear what country we are building and the next steps we are about to take on that journey. From a new ambition to put university places on a level playing field with gold standard apprenticeships; to the announcement of NHS Online to deliver 8.5 million extra appointments & end the 8am race to call the doctors; a school library in every primary school in England by the end of this Parliament; a new European Youth Experience Scheme; and ensuring there is guaranteed work for all young people. Weโre choosing investment over decline to put us on a path of national renewal towards a fairer country.
Ownership matters when it comes to growing our economy and driving-up living standards in the long-term interest. People want pride, security & dignity in the places they call home. For too long the only story has been of loss and decline. That has to change.
Youโve got to wonder what is in the minds of people who treat our borough like this, dumping hundreds of bags of rubbish across roads, fields and open spaces.
It is self evident that there is organised crime involved in some elements of this with โgrowing houseโ evidence being dumped, alongside the routine & unacceptable level of household & industrial clear outs which include anything from car parts to furniture.
This horrendous dumping has been reported along Crime Lane and continuing on to Stannybook Road.
The council works hard to keep on top of things at a time when resources are really stretched but ultimately tough action is needed. Itโs not right or fair on decent people who work hard to pay taxes to clear up the mess of others. But itโs also clear that there are repeated hotspots where there is a case for cameras, even temporary ones, to catch the culprits in the act.
Littering at Coal Pit Lane has also been reported, which is again an all too regular problem as passing drivers and their passengers treat the road as an open litter bin with many not living nearby but passing instead using as a cut through.
Oldham has been selected as one of 95 places to receive a share of the Pride in Place Impact Fund. That means ยฃ1.5 million over two years to make improvements that really matter to local people. More details will follow but this will real mean change for us in Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton
Revitalising local high streets and town centres.
Improving and creating public spaces where residents want to spend time.
And with Chadderton already selected for investment as part of an earlier round, and Oldham the focus of significant and much needed investment, I am keen to ensure that Royton sees it’s fair share, and also that investment is seen in neighbourhoods too.
This investment goes alongside new powers to;
Seizing boarded-up shops: Communities can take control of vacant properties to repurpose them for local use.
Blocking unwanted businesses: Local authorities can prevent the establishment of certain establishments, such as gambling and vape shops, on their high streets.
High Street Rental Auctions: Local councils can auction leases for long-term vacant shops, offering opportunities to local businesses and community groups.
And for communities to safeguard important assets;
Acquiring Beloved Assets: Communities have the right to purchase and manage cherished local facilities, including pubs and libraries, to prevent their closure.
Regenerating Community Spaces: Funding is provided to restore and repurpose underused spaces like disused churches, youth clubs, and civic buildings, allowing communities to own and operate these assets themselves
Jim McMahon OBE MP 