Last week, I spoke in the debate on rail investment. I do think sometimes when connectivity is talked about, while the great powerhouses that are our cities are rightfully mentioned, our towns are too often ignored.
On a more local level, these projects, along with Labour’s plan to bring rail back into public ownership, present us with an opportunity to really bring forward plans to have an orbital tram route for the north-east of Greater Manchester. It could connect the Bury line to Middleton, Chadderton and Oldham (with a spur to Royton) and then through to the existing Ashton line.
Further to this, Oldham deserves better heavy-rail connectivity, after all, since the light-rail system was introduced, Oldham town centre has been without a heavy-rail station. Why can’t we have that national connectivity at Mills Hill, Moston and the currently defunct Middleton Junction station? Each could be joined onto the line Lumo have proposed from Rochdale to London Euston via Manchester Victoria line, and properly serve the people of Oldham, Chadderton and Royton?
We can create a multi-model public transport service that constituents of mine deserve, one that can revitalise local investment and reignite community ownership – ensuring the North is no longer undersold by their government.
This week, I spoke in Parliament regarding the HS2 phase 2 cancellation and the Northern Powerhouse Rail project.
I believe that generations to come will look back at this period of our history, when the Prime Minister woke up one morning and decided to cancel HS2, with regret and see it as a missed opportunity to really invest in the future of our country. Rishi Sunak, on a whim, ripped up over a decade of Conservative promises to deliver High Speed Rail to Greater Manchester through a high-speed line from London and has since dragged his feet about providing a high-speed line across the major cities of the North.
The double standards on display are shameful. Yes, the proposed £12 billion of investment in rail from Manchester to Liverpool is of course welcomed but London didn’t have to choose between HS2 and the Elizabeth line that cost £19 billion. If London doesn’t have to choose, why on earth should the north of England have to choose on the same basis?
We can create a multi-model public transport service that constituents of mine deserve, one that can revitalise local investment and reignite community ownership – ensuring the North is no longer undersold by their government. In the end, if London didn’t have to choose between its sub-regional investment and its national investment, why on earth should the north of England have to?
Yesterday, I met with Husam Said Zomlot, Palestinian Ambassador to the UK in Parliament.
I expressed the solidarity shown by the people from across the constituency who have long stood with the people of Palestine.
We discussed the humanitarian crisis which has led to the loss of tens of thousands of innocent civilians including children, and the desperate need to secure the safe passage of aid including medicine.
I shared the strength of feeling and also the significant charity work underway locally. Many local groups and constituents have worked hard to rally for aid and it’s essential it gets to civilians.
We talked about the announcement from Ireland, Norway and Spain earlier in the day to formally recognise the state of Palestine. Labour has called for the recognition of Palestine, which is essential in securing peace and viable two state solution.
I’ve talked before about the representations I’ve made in Parliament, some of which have been shared on social media, most recently calling out the current government supply of arms for use against international law.
We want to see peace; an immediate ceasefire, the flow of urgent aid, the release of hostages, upholding of international law, recognition of the remit of the international court (ICC), recognition of the Palestinian nation in its own right and not at the gift of any neighbour, action on illegal settlements and critically a path to a long term peace and security for both Palestine and Israel people.
I’ll contribute as I have in speaking truth to power, true to our shared values, and speaking for innocent victims wherever they are.
Today, I raised in the Chamber the rapidly increasing issue of HMO, houses of multiple occupation, development across Oldham, Chadderton & Royton.
This was previously an issue with our pub industry, where we saw pubs on mass being bought up and converted for a profit, losing those focal points in our communities. Even pubs which were just about profitable couldn’t compete with the inflated income the same building could attract as the building was carved up into single rooms.
We are now seeing good, quality family homes being bought up by landlords looking to make a large profit by converting these family homes into HMOs, making a profit per room far more than the regular monthly rents for a family home, which are already eyewatering. This also means that working families who want to buy are losing out because it then inflates the sales market too.
Tied into this supply issue is the Home Office contract with Serco, who currently have hundreds asylum seekers placed in private rented properties across the borough, as well as the temporary use of hotels. Our borough has always played its part in offering sanctuary, but it can only ever take a fair and proportionate number to other towns if it is to manage the knock-on impact of family homes being taken out of the system.
This is a very real issue with losing more family homes is further highlighted with currently 500 children being housed in temporary hotel accommodation in Oldham, with such limited supply of family homes leading to there being nowhere to go for these families and their children.
We are in a housing supply crisis, we need more family homes and to stop the ones we have being lost to HMOs.
The Governments response was to blame local planning authorities for allowing the developments to go ahead. This is weak, the Government know that Councils are legally bound by national planning policy and in reality the Government knows that it is their own legislation, the National Planning Framework 2019 that has watered down planning regulations and left communities and families wide open and defenceless against developers looking to make a quick profit. Local planning authorities are too often unable to stop a development without the real risk of it being overturned in appeal, with costs awarded against the council.
Today, I met with the Levelling Up minister to discuss the Levelling Up Partnership proposed for Oldham.
I’ve always approached working with government over the past 14 years with pragmatism and though I don’t shy away from highlighting where I feel we are being let down, I have a responsibility to secure the best possible deal for Oldham, Chadderton and Royton.
We discussed the schemes proposed by Oldham Council in and around the town centre, and the gathering of community voices and groups to develop plans across the constituency, including Chadderton and Royton.
Housing is a key driver for much of the development, ensuring brownfield first is realised by gap funding developments which may not otherwise be financially viable, and bringing forward infrastructure.
There are huge pressures on those wanting to get onto the housing ladder, or who may want to downsize, and there are 7,500 families on the housing waiting list. Of these 500 children are currently in temporary accommodation with whole families sharing single rooms.
In addition, I asked that partnership is used to support the urgent need to address crime and specifically organised criminal exploitation and the carrying of weapons.
I am keen to see a new police station with fully operational custody cells, ample parking, and ideally a centre for justice which includes a court room so that end to end justice can be delivered in the borough. The current building is well beyond its life, and the custody cells have been closed for too long with prisoners being transferred to Ashton or as far as Wigan for processing, and we know since the closure of the magistrates’ court and county court that there are no court cases held here.
Separately I raised the need for much better coordination across government, and that funding which is allocated is properly tested to ensure it is used to promote community integration across Oldham; through social, education, housing, work, and shared spaces. I believe that the focus on community cohesion needs to be sharper, especially as I witness division being stoked too regularly, and segregation at risk of becoming more deep-rooted.
I also raised transport connectivity and the need for better cross borough routes, in particular ones which join key employment sites together. I’ve raised before the orbital tram which would connect to the Bury line via Middleton, connecting through to Oldham Westwood, then from Oldham Mumps to Ashton.
These ideas take a long time to come to anything, but they need planning early to rule in or out what’s possible and could carry public support.
Finally, I used the opportunity to mention the funding application for AVRO FC and its community partners at Whitebank Road, and I sincerely hope this comes to fruition through the Community Ownership Fund.
I want to thank Oldham Council for the significant amount of work they have been doing to meet an extremely tight timetable to present schemes and a plan to government.
The three significant schemes in the headline bid include Northern Roots Learning centre for vocational education, Oldham Gateway, and Green Shoots enterprise centre.
It was a pleasure to join pupils from Coppice Primary School at the Education Centre in Parliament.
The programme for the day covered how laws are made, where power sits; and the role of government, parliament, the monarchy, and the judiciary.
During the Q&A we talked about a wide range of issues close to home such as green spaces and the environment (Coppice Primary created a lovely eco garden on disused land), to international issues and the conflict in Gaza which clearly had made an impact, where we talked about the impact on civilians.
The school do a great job of investing in pupils and they had an impressive programme in London planned, I hope everyone enjoyed it.
The conflict in Gaza has been an issue of significant concern to constituents in Oldham West and Royton.
News that the offensive into Rafah is underway will be a humanitarian disaster. With millions displaced the small area is now refuge to 1.5m civilians including 600,000 innocent children.
Labour’s ceasefire motion in February firmly stated its opposition to an offensive into Rafah, and I spoke at the time about the risk to children and other innocent lives. It was one of a number of contributions in the House of Commons I’ve made which focuses on the impact of innocent civilians, especially children who have done nothing to deserve the horror they are facing.
The government minister seemed to object to my observation about the different value given to a Palestinian child. It’s time to prove all innocent lives are equal.
I fail to see how any further loss of life will achieve the objective Israel set out especially the substantive call for the release of hostages.
The full text of that motion is below, and you can view the video of my Oral Question in February here:
That this House believes that an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah risks catastrophic humanitarian consequences and therefore must not take place;
notes the intolerable loss of Palestinian life, the majority being women and children;
condemns the terrorism of Hamas who continue to hold hostages;
supports Australia, Canada and New Zealand’s calls for Hamas to release and return all hostages and for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, which means an immediate stop to the fighting and a ceasefire that lasts and is observed by all sides, noting that Israel cannot be expected to cease fighting if Hamas continues with violence and that Israelis have the right to the assurance that the horror of 7th October cannot happen again;
therefore supports diplomatic mediation efforts to achieve a lasting ceasefire;
demands that rapid and unimpeded humanitarian relief is provided in Gaza;
demands an end to settlement expansion and violence;
urges Israel to comply with the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures;
calls for the UN Security Council to be meet urgently;
and urges all international partners to work together to establish a diplomatic process to deliver the peace of a two-state solution, with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state, including working with international partners to recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to rather than outcome of that process, because statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people and not in the gift of any neighbour.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 