The Government has today confirmed that 16 and 17-year-olds will have the right to vote at the next General Election. This is not just a policy announcement – it’s the culmination of years of hard work, campaigning, and belief that young people deserve a say in the decisions that shape their lives, all starting in Oldham.

Back in 2017, working closely with Oldham Youth Council, I introduced the Representation of the People (Young People’s Enfranchisement and Education) Private Member’s Bill to give 16 and 17-year-olds the vote. Although the Bill didn’t pass, I have been continually inspired by the faith, spirit and continued vigour of our young people as they seek to achieve their aim of extending the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds. And today they have won.

This moment belongs to the young people of Oldham. From writing the Bill to taking their case to Parliament, their determination has helped move this campaign from a local initiative to national policy.

I believe if you’re old enough to work or fight for our country and pay taxes, you’re entitled to have a say on how your taxes are spent. That principle has guided our campaign from day one: no taxation without representation.

I am incredibly proud that Oldham helped lead this change. From youth-led debates to parliamentary motions, this is proof that when young people organise, participate and raise their voices, real change follows.

Our new Market Hall & Events Space is almost ready to be opened to the public, meaning another part of our town centre regeneration jigsaw is almost in place.

The new indoor market hall will bring Tommyfield from the edge of town right into the heart of it, as the events space will do for the QE Hall, sitting between the shopping centre, Parliament Square & the beautiful Old Town Hall.

Not only will this drive more condensed footfall for high street businesses and market tenants, but also will have the significant advantage of being next door to new bars & restaurants, and have a closer connection to the Metrolink tram stop on Union Street.

Modernising infrastructure, tying together Parliament Square, bringing the town centre closer together, and renewing civic pride – this is what the regeneration of Oldham town centre has been all about.

The Council deserves credit for making this renewal happen, which will foster the creation of more good jobs while protecting heritage buildings & community venues – two priorities of mine for Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton at the election last year.

Thank you to all of those who have reached out over the last month to raise concerns about pavement parking.

The individual cases, recurring offences, and hotspot areas have all been chased up with the Council by my team so we can clamp down on pavement parking in Oldham, Chadderton & Royton. While this progress is encouraging, we know that wider changes are needed to truly address the scourge of pavement parking.

The Council have now confirmed with us that, in recognising the frustrations, they have now completed the process of bringing the parking enforcement team in house. This means that instead of having the enforcement done by an arms length company, it is done directly by the council to enable them to take 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, with 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 – enabling them to 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 such as Union Street, Frederick Street, Broadway, and around local schools to keep communities safe.

Further measures have been confirmed locally, including: new employment opportunities from our local communities to ensure a full complement of staff; and a review of parking policies and processes to give recommendations reform in the near future.

Along with these deterrent measures to clamp down on pavement parking, Labour in government is acting to improve parking availability as a way of disincentivising pavement parking. On Friday, the government announced a 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 to protect motorists by raising standards across the private parking industry.

Through improvements to independent oversight, transparency, and accountability for poor practice by private parking operators, we are striking a balance: protecting motorists while also enabling compliant operators to run efficient, value-for-money car parks.

We know material results on local streets & roads are the ultimate goal, therefore, we will keep pushing the Council to do more and continue building the case for change at a local, regional and national level.

Every town, city, and village have untapped talent and potential, but for too long opportunity hasn’t followed. We want to change that in Government by targeting thriving places with resilient communities and giving them greater local control.

After 14 years of decline, too many places have been left behind, starved of investment and left to suffer worsening deprivation. Our Plan for Neighbourhoods is about fixing that. It’s a 10-year commitment to making sure no area is forgotten in this decade of renewal.

We’re investing up to £1.5 billion to back communities and fight deprivation at its roots – no more sticking plasters or short-term fixes. By investing in stronger social capital, evidence has shown these areas will have higher educational attainment, lower crime and faster economic growth. This is a long-term plan to transform our communities and break down barriers to opportunity.

I am very pleased Chadderton is one of the first 75 neighbourhoods set to benefit from this fund, and we will see real change here in Oldham. But this is just the start – and I want to see opportunity opened across our whole borough.

This is about rebuilding Britain from the ground up – together.

See the clip from Oral Parliamentary Questions on Monday on my Facebook page.

It was great to see local legend Maggie at Zutti & Co. once again, a staple of Yorkshire St. in Oldham Town Centre for over 40 years, thanks for having me.

High street funding has given a real boost to safety in and around Yorkshire St. with the replacement of CCTV cameras. We know retail crime and anti-social behaviour hold back high street businesses, which is why we are legislating for a standalone offence for violence against shopworkers and introducing the neighbourhood policing guarantee.

Small businesses like Zutti & Co. are the beating heart of our local economy and the people behind them are so valuable. The pride they put into their work really shines through in the quality of product and service they provide.

Completing the regeneration jigsaw with a renewed Coliseum at it’s historic home, the near completion of the New Market Hall at Spindles, the near completion of the restored Old Oldham Library, and the reopened Egyptian Room are driving footfall. For the rebuilding of Oldham and it’s civic pride, the council deserves credit for a job well done.

More widely, we should embrace our town’s position as the gateway to the Pennines and be proud of our greenery by bringing more of it into the town centre.

This week marks a huge milestone, as yesterday the 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 had its first reading in Parliament. This is the culmination of our work to deepen devolution across all of England and give back power to communities, and it has been a privilege to be the lead minister on this Bill and yesterday move it to Parliament. For many a first reading can seem underwhelming, but it represents the starting of the Bill in its passage, eventually into law, so is a massively significant step in our journey to devolution.

Ahead of the Bill’s first reading, much of the week has been spent doing lots of 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨-𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐫𝐬, 𝐌𝐏𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 to get into the detail of what the Bill will mean in practice, and to answer all questions surrounding it. The interest and engagement everyone has shown on the introduction of the Bill is appreciated, and we can see that this will continue in parliamentary debate as the Bill progresses.

On Tuesday, our 𝐂𝐨-𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 before summer recess took place. The Bill is a massive moment for co-operators as we are seeing the things we have long campaigned for, such as the 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐲, become enshrined into law. It was, therefore, a nice opportunity to reflect with other Co-operative MPs on how far we have come on our policy priorities, and look into the future of more ways we can empower local people to take control of their areas.

Outside of the Bill, it was great to respond to an 𝐒𝐈 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞 on Buckinghamshire Council, Surrey County Council and Warwickshire County Council Regulations. This SI allows the conferral of housing and regeneration public authority functions to be exercised by Buckinghamshire Council, Surrey County Council, and Warwickshire County Council concurrently with the Homes and Communities Agency. A very technical debate, but very important in transferring power out of Westminster and into local communities, handing power to those with local knowledge and allow them to drive progress forward.

Participating in a 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 in Cambridgeshire was also very enjoyable. We know that to drive-up living standards far and wide we need a local government system which works for every community. Through our unitarisation reforms, we are delivering clearer lines of accountability, improved frontline public service delivery, and a more sustainable footing for local government finances.

We also announced upcoming reforms we will be making to Pension Schemes and Council Tax Collection. On the former, with over 6.7m members and assets of nearly £400bn, the Local Government Pension Scheme is already a force for good, and has so much more potential. A vital safety net in older age working people invest in. 76% of its members are women, 54% part time, and the average pension is £5,400 a year.

Parliament considered the 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 on Monday, an important moment for funds to pool and focus more investment in our regions, working alongside mayors and combined authorities, alongside other measures. Delivering for its members and the communities they live in.

On the latter, we are 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 so that it’s fair and to up to date. Proposals include: 12 month default repayment; reviewing enforcement practices and late payment fees; and updating support for carers and apprentices.

After a very busy but equally rewarding week, it has been great to be back up in Oldham and be able to be out and about in the constituency with such great weather.