Labour & Co-operative | Serving the communities of Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton
Putting power back into local communities is a priority of mine and of this government.
Our government’s desire is to take power out of Westminster and give it back to local communities across Britain like Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton – while working with local councils collaboratively to achieve better outcomes for the communities they serve.
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This is an historic moment.
With yesterday’s enactment of the Passenger Railways Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024, this Labour government is already fulfilling its manifesto commitment from the general election in July to start the process of bringing train services back into public hands, a change which represents the biggest overhaul of our railways in a generation.
These reforms are rejecting continued failure of deregulation which has seen services cut, investment dry up, and quality decline in services constituents of mine rely on. Instead, we are choosing to have more affordable and more accountable railways which can better foster in our borough more well-paid and secure jobs in the long term, a local priority of mine at the general election.
Local people for too long have had to bear the brunt of deregulation failure. However, with this new law, the Bee Network continuing to be rolled out across Greater Manchester, its integration deepening, and commuter rail services being set to join the network in a few years; communities across Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton can be confident that their local transport services from now on will be run in their interest as passengers and taxpayers, creating a more comprehensive network which they can trust.
As the former leader of Oldham council, I know all too well that local authorities have been struggling and that the whole system needs reform. After a decade of fighting alone they know have a government on their side.
That’s why this long overdue overhaul to council funding is vital in allowing all of us to fix the foundations and plan for the long term.
We are committed to move to a fairer funding system and intend to start that immediately, moving away from an outdated approach which has seen some councils doing all that is asked and more, yet still find themselves struggling to deliver services and balance budgets.
So this statement sets out our plans to start the process of ending wildly inefficient grants and directing valuable taxpayers’ funding where need is the most.
Ultimately we need to place prevention and reform across public services at the heart of the rebuilding of local government and delivering better outcomes. We know what is needed, because councils have been telling central government for over a decade. Now they have a partner to work with them to realise it.
On Friday the 29th of November the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will receive its second reading. The bill, if passed, would allow terminally ill people with 6 months or less to live to have the option to end their own life. This will be a free vote, determined by conscience instead of by politics.
I’d like to thank constituents who have written to me about this issue. I have weighed up both sides of the debate very carefully, and after much consideration, I have decided to vote against the bill. I believe we are not yet at the stage in this country to provide the proper safeguards to protect vulnerable people at the end of their life.
Ultimately, I believe it is not the states’ role to sanction when someone should die. It is the role of the state to keep people safe, and I don’t see that this bill will do that in its current form. I am concerned that the safeguards are not yet strong enough and the criteria could shift, potentially leaving vulnerable people more at risk. Agreeing to the bill, in its current limited form, would lay the path for it to go further in the future.
We need to focus instead on reforming our health and social care system so we can make people as comfortable as possible at the end of their life. We need to fund and reform palliative care and the hospice sector, extend provisions to ensure equitable access to services, and emphasise dignity in end of life.
I recognise people in my constituency and beyond will have real experience of this and feel very strongly one way or the other. I very much appreciate the emotional and complex nature of this debate and I hope that you will understand my decision.
A very happy Lancashire Day 
to everyone across Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton.
I was pleased to take part in a Westminster Hall Debate today where I made special mention of this day that marks our historic ties to Lancashire.
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We are determined to put high streets and town centres on a level playing field, baking in a permanent relief for retail, hospitality and leisure.
We’re ending the year by year cliff edges under the Tories, funded by a higher rate for warehouses over 500,000 (1% of properties).
Long term fully-funded stability.
You can see more on the clip on my Facebook page
It was great to be at Labour’s North West Regional Conference today in Chester, speaking on the housing panel and meeting organisations from our region.
At every level, Labour is determined in power to deliver positive change for local communities like Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton all across the North West
Thank you to those who came along to my advice surgery this week to raise their concerns on a range of issues.
If you are a constituent who would like to book a surgery appointment, please contact my office at jim.mcmahon.mp@parliament.uk.
