15Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Lib Dems call for urgent reinstatement of disabled parking spaces

Borough news
Oldham Liberal Democrats are calling for the Council to urgently pass the review of disabled parking spaces across the borough. After no funding for the bays for the past year, resulting in a backlog of requests, the bays are now being held up by a review of the policy on who qualifies. Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “We need to be ensuring that the most vulnerable people in our community are properly looked after; and not processing any disabled parking bays for nearly 18 months is reprehensible.  “I have residents in my ward who applied in March 2019, and are still on the waiting list. They will continue to be so until this review is finished. A budget has been allocated, but it cannot be spent until the new…
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14Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Planning errors undermine public confidence in Council

Borough news
After a blunder on the dates for the public to respond to a planning application at the former Fytton Arms pub led to the application having to be deferred in the middle of the meeting, it has emerged that other similar problems have been happening in recent weeks.  Mark Kenyon, a Liberal Democrat campaigner in Saddleworth West and Lees, said: “Exactly the same thing happened on a planning application in Springhead at the end of May. Fortunately, one of the residents responded to the error, and let us know. We were able to speak to the planning office, and on that occasion at least, residents were able to get their voice heard. “This has happened at the same time as we have had problems with the consultation dates on a…
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14Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Lib Dems welcome Government’s “screeching u-turn” on Huawei

Parliamentary news
Responding to reports that the UK's mobile providers will be banned from buying new Huawei 5G equipment after 31 December 2020 and they must remove all Huawei 5G equipment from their networks by 2027, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Daisy Cooper said: “Liberal Democrats welcome this screeching u-turn from the Conservative Government. It is the right thing to do on grounds of national security and human rights and for our industrial strategy, but it's disappointing it took US action to make the Government to do the right thing. "The Government should now invest in developing this kind of technology here in the UK. Ministers must also prioritise maintaining strong partnerships with our European allies and Five Eyes to ensure any security risks are dealt with swiftly.…
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14Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Reward our Covid-19 frontline workers properly

Borough news
Saddleworth West and Lees Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani backs a Liberal Democrat idea to support frontline Covid-19 workers in Oldham Borough.  At the next full meeting of Oldham Council (15 July), he will propose an amendment to a Labour motion on care workers.  The Liberal Democrats in Oldham believe the administration motion does not go far enough.  They want to reward frontline Covid-19 workers for their bravery and professionally.  Not just financially, but also with the award of a pandemic service medal from the Government. Councillor Al-Hamdani says: “These workers should receive an additional payment for every working day they have spent on the front-line of this crisis.  The Liberal Democrats would pay these workers an extra £29 per day.  It would be backdated to the start of the…
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14Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

This is local electricity, for local people!

Borough news
Oldham Liberal Democrat Councillors Dave Murphy and Chris Gloster are supporting the Local Electricity Bill. This is supported by over one hundred and fifty Members of Parliament.  Local authorities can play a central role in creating sustainable communities. The Local Electricity Bill would allow Councils and local community groups to work together to generate electricity from renewable sources to supply local homes, schools and businesses. Money received by Councils from the sale of local renewable electricity can be used to help fund measures to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions and to help fund local services and facilities.  Councillor Murphy said: “We are calling for the Council and our local Members of Parliament to ask the UK Government to enact this legislation. If they did so, it would make the setup…
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14Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Government must be more ambitious to save the economy

Parliamentary news
Responding to this morning’s monthly GDP estimate from the ONS, showing that the economy grew by only 1.8% in May – lower than the 5.5% forecast by economists – Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “Regrettably this dashes any hope of an early recovery and is bad news for millions of people experiencing real financial hardship. It confirms fears that the Chancellor’s plans just aren’t ambitious enough to rise to the scale of this economic challenge. “The way out of this recession is through a serious Green Recovery Plan that will create millions of jobs, tackle climate change and radically reshape our economy. “Just as crucially, our economy is still threatened by Brexit. If Boris Johnson is serious about rebuilding, he must avert a new crisis by…
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14Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Free television licences for over 75s? Not any more…

Borough news
The Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council is furious with the Government.  Councillor Howard Sykes has previously written to the Secretary of State of The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on this issue, seeking a continuation of free television (TV) licences for the over-75s.  Now the Conservative Government is going ahead with charging those over-75s and more than three million households will be required to start paying the £157.50 licence fee from the start of August. For many who live alone, the television is their sole companion.  Not just a source of entertainment, the television allows people to stay informed on current Government advice in an ever-changing situation.  Councillor Sykes comments: “Millions of pensioners have spent lockdown at home with TV. It…
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13Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Lib Dems table Bill to introduce ‘X’ gender option on passports

Parliamentary news
Ahead of International Non-Binary People’s Day [Tuesday 14th July], Liberal Democrat Equalities Spokesperson Christine Jardine will present a Private Members’ Bill in the House of Commons to require the Government to introduce an ‘X’ gender option on passports. Christine Jardine’s ‘Non-gender-specific Passports Bill’, supported by Stonewall, would “require the Secretary of State to make non-gender-specific passports available to non-gendered, non-binary and other people who do not identify as, or exclusively as, male or female.” This change would bring the UK into line with other countries such as Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Denmark, Germany, India, Netherlands and New Zealand that already include non-binary gender options on passports, as well as 18 US states that allow residents to mark gender ‘X’ on their driving licence. In 2016, Parliament’s cross-party Women and Equalities Committee…
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13Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Stop clothing waste, meet clothing need, say Oldham’s Liberal Democrats

Parliamentary news
Oldham Liberal Democrat Councillors Garth Harkness and Diane Williamson are concerned that a culture of ‘fast fashion’ prevails in the UK which leads to the over-production and over-consumption of clothing At the same time, they can also see that people on low-incomes in the Borough are sometimes unable to afford the clothing that they need for themselves and their families, and that workers in the clothing trade are badly exploited. At the next meeting of the full Council (15 July), Councillors Harkness and Williamson are proposing that Oldham Council works with representatives from the clothing manufacturers and retailers; the trades unions in these sectors; and campaign groups to develop a strategy to end clothing waste, meet clothing need and tackle the exploitation of garment workers in this Borough. Councillor Garth…
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13Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Government’s destructive immigration plans will cause chaos and confusion

Parliamentary news
Responding the publication of further details about the Government's points-based immigration system, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Christine Jardine said: “These Conservative immigration plans will be a disaster for the small businesses that power the UK economy, just as they are struggling to survive the coronavirus crisis. “Key sectors like construction and hospitality, already facing enormous challenges, will face staffing shortages. The existing social care crisis will get even worse as there is so little time to prepare for this new system. “Given the shortage of time and the mountain of red tape that everyone including the Home Office will face, far from restoring public confidence in the immigration system, this will just cause chaos and confusion. “Liberal Democrats will oppose Priti Patel’s destructive policies and continue our fight for…
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