White Ribbon Day may have been and gone but for those of us in power its aims must always be a priority.

November 25th marked White Ribbon Day, the start of 16 days of global awareness raising and campaigning to prevent violence against women and girls. The campaign calls upon individuals, communities, and organisations to take a stand against misogyny, gender-based violence and abuse, while the White Ribbon itself symbolises the commitment…

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Statement made by Cllr Arooj Shah, Leader of Oldham Council to the meeting of Full Council, Wednesday 1st November 2023

I ask myself what kind of world have we created where advocating for the safety of children and other innocents has become an issue to be debated. An issue that is contentious. It absolutely isn’t – it should be incredibly simple because all human life is precious. The Prime Minister,…

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Oldham Labour welcomes root and branch early years review

Oldham Labour has been clear that the early years system – like so many other public services- is broken. Nurseries are closing down and many more are in financial crisis. Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association, said: “The more funded children that [nurseries] are taking, the more…

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Werneth Councillors support plaque to honour Marjory Lees

Werneth’s Labour Councillors celebrate 145th birthday of Marjory Lees, pioneering suffragist, activist and civic leader, with blue plaque on her home in Werneth Park Marjory Lees is probably best remembered for her gift of Werneth Park to the people of Oldham in 1936. Her home, now the Werneth Park Livelong…

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Oldham Conservatives slammed for lack of ambition

The Labour Party has slammed the Oldham Conservative Party for being out of touch and lacking ambition for Oldham and Oldhamers. As the local elections draw closer the Oldham Tories are coming into criticism for being opaque about their plans for the Borough. Literature seen by the Oldham Labour Party…

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IX Wireless donates £31,500 to Tory – Oldham Labour says planning rules need reform to give residents a say

04 Apr 2023

Oliver Dowden, Tory MP and at the time Culture Secretary endorsed IX wireless, the company installing poles and wires across the borough without any community consultation, at its launch. Directors of Cohiba Communications Ltd, the controlling company of IX Wireless include James Wharton, a Conservative peer and donor. IX Wireless…

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Werneth Park Multi Use Games Area brought into use for football and cricket by Werneth Labour’s funding success

22 Mar 2023

Werneth Labour Councillors have successfully bid for a £35,000 grant from Oldham Council’s Local Improvement Fund (LIF) to make the MUGA fit for purpose for football and cricket. Tennis will continue on the neighbouring MUGA. The grant will lever in £105,000 from the Football Foundation funding for Playzones to make…

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Oldham Women’s Labour celebrates International Women’s Day

15 Mar 2023

Members of Oldham Women’s Labour came together at Annie Kenney’s statue on International Women’s Day, 8th March, to celebrate the women who fought for the right to vote including Annie Kenney, Lydia Beckett and Marjory Lees. Parish Councillor Kathryn Phillips, Women’s Officer for Oldham East and Saddleworth Labour Party, laid some…

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Oldham Labour demands Government funds nurseries to provide meals for under 5s

10 Feb 2023

Evidence that children are arriving hungry at nurseries and other day care has been provided by a survey from the Early Years Alliance and the London Early Years Foundation. The survey found that just under half – 49% – of early years providers said families are showing signs of food…

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Oldham Labour’s Cost-of-Living Support Package

In September 2022, Oldham Labour announced an ambitious £3m package to help Oldhamers struggling with the rising cost-of-living thanks to this Tory Government. Oldham Labour’s message to Council Officers was a a simple one, we need to do all we can to help our residents because the Tories in Westminster…

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Oldham Council Leader urges ‘Ofgem to take urgent action to reform the use of prepayment meters’ to save thousands from the cold and dark this winter

31 Jan 2023

Citizens Advice (CA) published a report Kept in the dark – the urgent need for action on prepayment meters[i]  in January 2023. The report found that More than 2 million people are being disconnected from their energy supply at least once a month. 1 in 5 (19%) prepayment customers who had…

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‘Don’t take it out on us’ says Oldham Labour

12 Dec 2022

Oldham Labour Council’s Deputy Leaders have summed up the damage done to Council Services by Coalition and Conservative Governments since 2010. The National Audit Office estimates that between 2010/11 and 2020-21 government funded spending power in Oldham reduced by 53.7% in real terms, that in 2019-20 social care accounted for…

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Oldham Labour welcomes Parliamentary debate on changing childcare ratios

05 Nov 2022

A parliamentary petition against proposals to changes childcare ratios supported by Oldham Labour will be debated in Parliament on the 14th November. The petition, launched by Zoe and Lewis Steeper who lost their nine-month-old son Oliver because of a medical emergency while has was at nursery, has had more than 100,000…

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Oldham Labour urges pensioners to take up unclaimed Pension Credit this winter and offers help to make the claim

04 Nov 2022

Older people in Oldham face a harsh winter this year, with the cost-of-living crisis affecting older people disproportionately. Over three million households in the UK are eligible to claim Pension Credit, however, over 800,000 of these households don’t claim it. In Greater Manchester £70m in benefits were unclaimed last year,…

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Don’t Make Oldham Residents Pay for Government Mistakes – Council Leader’s Message to Chancellor

04 Nov 2022

Oldham’s Council Leader, Labour’s Cllr Amanda Chadderton, has written to the new Chancellor to demand that Oldham residents do not pay the price for the economic crisis made in Downing Street. On Monday 17 October, the fourth Chancellor in four months, Jeremy Hunt announced plans to cut public spending following…

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‘Government childcare plans put children at risk’ says Oldham Labour

04 Nov 2022

The government is again facing criticism over proposals for early years childcare. Those raising concerns include Oldham Labour’s Councillor Leanne Munroe, lead for Early Years at Oldham Council. Earlier this year the Government consulted on changes to the ratio of staff:children in childcare settings to allow more children to be…

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Oldham Labour slams Hunt’s failure to address “cruel inequality”

17 Oct 2022

Oldham Labour has criticised Jeremy Hunt’s failure to reverse damaging proposals targeting low-paid women, despite making historic u-turn on the Tories’ disastrous mini-budget. Having already u-turned on the plan to abolish the 45% tax rate for higher earners, Hunt today confirmed other plans would also be abandoned. The Tory Chancellor…

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Oldham Labour condemns ‘pushing children into poverty to reward the rich’ as Government struggles to make ends meet

16 Oct 2022

The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) published an assessment of what the Conservative Government needs to do to get the economy back on track after announcing unfunded tax cuts and other changes in the mini budget. The IFS estimates there will be a £63 billion black hole in the…

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Oldham Labour to declare Cost-of-Living Emergency

Oldham Labour will declare a Cost-of-Living Emergency at the full Council meeting next week. Oldhamers are facing an unprecedented Cost-of-Living crisis, according to the Office for National Statistics, 88% of adults in the Great Britain reported an increase in their cost of living in May 2022, due to a range…

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Saddleworth Member Survey

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Learning Lounge launched at South Failsworth Primary School

18 Jul 2022

The Learning Lounge was officially welcomed on the 7th July to South Failsworth Primary School by Oldham Mayor and Failsworth West Councillor, Elaine Garry. The old school bus has been transformed into a library, relaxed reading area and sensory space thanks to the PTA at the school which came up…

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