19Jan 2023 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Voter ID “chaos” slammed as postal voters are exempt from identity checks

Voter ID “chaos” slammed as postal voters are exempt from identity checks

fairer council, Parliamentary news
Voters will have to produce photo ID before they will be allowed to vote in May’s local elections, but a loophole means that people who vote by post will not be subject to ID checks. Liberal Democrat councillors in Oldham say the change will lead to “chaos” at polling stations. Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE said, “The government is making it harder to vote by forcing people to bring photo ID with them to the polling station – something thousands of people in Oldham will not have.” “It couldn’t be clearer that there isn’t the time to implement this before May and most importantly, there isn’t the time to tell people about it. Regrettably, this will probably lead to voters being denied their right to vote and being…
Read More
19Jan 2023 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Labour Oldham Council’s “dismal” redevelopment record slammed after Prince’s Gate plans are axed

Labour Oldham Council’s “dismal” redevelopment record slammed after Prince’s Gate plans are axed

Uncategorized
Oldham Council’s long promised “game-changer” redevelopment of Prince’s Gate, Mumps in Oldham town centre has fallen through after more than eight years of delays. It promised to deliver a new hotel and “missing retail giants” to Oldham town centre. Gone has the promised M&S store and in 2019, the council entered a contract with Lidl acting as the developer for the site and to deliver a budget hotel as well as the supermarket. Liberal Democrat Opposition Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE said, “Prince’s Gate was lauded as a game-changer for Oldham but more than eight years and four Labour Leaders later it’s gone out with a whimper. Labour can add Prince’s Gate to long list of abortive regeneration projects they’ve championed over the years including so called plans for Hotel…
Read More
19Jan 2023 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Renewed calls for scrutiny of Northern Care Alliance after “appalling” discharge figures and 12-hour A&E waits

Renewed calls for scrutiny of Northern Care Alliance after “appalling” discharge figures and 12-hour A&E waits

health and social care
Oldham Council’s Liberal Democrat opposition have renewed their calls for greater scrutiny of the Northern Care Alliance (NCA), which runs NHS services in the Borough, after it emerged that only 4% of those who were fit enough to be discharged were actually leaving hospital in early January. Liberal Democrat Leader and Shaw representative, councillor Howard Sykes MBE said, “The added pressure these appalling discharge figures are placing on our health service is coming at a time when our A&E services are failing. Nearly 800 people waited more than 12 hours in hospital waiting rooms in December. People can’t get an appointment with a GP. It’s a terrifying time for a lot of people.” At a council meeting in December, councillor Sykes called for a ‘joint scrutiny panel’ to be created…
Read More
17Jan 2023 by Sam Al-Hamdani
No “paws for concern”: Dogs set to be allowed on trams permanently

No “paws for concern”: Dogs set to be allowed on trams permanently

Borough news
Leader of Oldham Liberal Democrats councillor Howard Sykes MBE has said he is “delighted” that the move to allow dogs onto Greater Manchester’s trams could be made permanent as early as this Friday (13th January). The trial period for ‘none-assistance dogs’ ended in October but as continued until Greater Manchester’s Transport could reach a final decision. The committee is due to meet on Friday and is expected to vote in favour of permanently allowing dogs on trams after an overwhelmingly supportive response to a public survey on this issue. Councillor Sykes – who is a long-standing advocate of the policy – said, “I’m delighted that the trial period has been such a success and that the feedback from passengers has been overwhelmingly positive.” “This will be a great step towards…
Read More
17Jan 2023 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrats call for free school meals for all primary school children

Borough news, health and social care
Oldham’s Liberal Democrat leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE has called for free school meals to be extended to all children aged 11 and under. Currently the policy is only in place for children aged up to seven, but child poverty is on the rise in Oldham and Liberal Democrat councillors are calling for all primary school children to be offered a warm meal at lunchtime. Councillor Sykes said: “Free school meals are a lifeline for so many families in Oldham. For some children, this might be the only warm meal they get in a day; and we know that a nutritious lunch helps children focus in the classroom. The problem is that too few children are getting this opportunity and in Oldham, where a disproportionate number of our children are…
Read More
29Dec 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

River blocked, action promised

Borough news, environment
Thornley Brook – the main river flowing through Grotton, Springhead and Lees – has been blocked in recent days by huge amounts of soil near Rhodes Hill, Lees. Action has already been taken, with local Liberal Democrat councillor Mark Kenyon meeting with the Environment Agency on site, who have already contacted the owners with concerns over the works. Mark said: “Thanks to the eagle eyes of a community already concerned about the Knowls Lane development further up the valley, this was reported to me on Boxing Day. I called the Environment Agency straight away and met them on site this morning. “The Environment Agency can see that someone has caused a real problem; there’s the blocked river and then there’s tonnes and tonnes of loose and unstable material ready to…
Read More
20Dec 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Outrage as outgoing Deputy Mayor gets specially created job

Borough news
It has been revealed that recently resigned Deputy Mayor Beverley Hughes is to get six months extra part-time work in a new “assistant deputy mayor” position, but which carries exactly the same pay (pro-rata) as the deputy mayor. Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “It’s one thing to have a good handover; it’s quite another to hand someone an ‘assistant’ role – on exactly the same wages as the full role – for six months. “This will simply be reviewed in six months’ time. Really? “If we need an assistant, there should already be one. Why has it just been created at this time? Is it poor organisation? Or is it an opportunity to give the outgoing Deputy Mayor a well-paid send-off?” The Deputy Mayor recently stood down after GMP…
Read More
20Dec 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Knowls Lane loss highlighted by woodlands research

Knowls Lane loss highlighted by woodlands research

Borough news, environment
Work has now started on the link road between Knowls Lane and Oldham Road, including the destruction of an ancient woodland site which was fiercely contested by residents and local councillors at the planning stage. New research has shown that it is likely that that was the only ancient woodland site in the area. Local archaeologist Jane Barker researched maps of all the local wooded areas of note, but none of them fulfilled the likely criteria for being ancient woodland. Jane said: “This just shows the importance of the ancient woodland at Knowls Lane, and how unjustified this decision was.” “Ancient woodland is so important to our country because it provides a local ecology that has been undisturbed for hundreds of years. It is rare, and often has not been…
Read More
19Dec 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Families in need are missing out on free food vouchers

Borough news
Liberal Democrats in Oldham have warned that “thousands of eligible families” are missing out on the governments ‘Healthy Start’ voucher. The vouchers are for pregnant women and families with children aged under four who are on Universal Credit. They can be used to buy milk, infant formula, fruit, vegetables, and pulses. But analysis from the Local Government Association (LGA) has revealed that 150,000 eligible households are currently missing out on support. Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE said, “Every year millions of pounds of vital Healthy Start vouchers go unclaimed and families miss out on free fruit, vegetables, and milk. With money tight for so many families right now, the government can and must do more to improve the uptake on this scheme.” “One of the main barriers…
Read More
19Dec 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Oldham must break free of ‘artificial housing targets’ after government U-turn and save our green spaces

Oldham must break free of ‘artificial housing targets’ after government U-turn and save our green spaces

housing and development
Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Opposition Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE has called on Oldham’s leaders to scrap ‘artificial housing targets’. Councillor Sykes was speaking after Housing Minister, Michael Gove MP confirmed the government would be scrapping the “mandatory targets” which have led to development plans being drawn up across Greater Manchester – including plans to build on Green Belt. Councillor Sykes said, “The government appears to have had a moment of clarity. Everyone can see that top-down housing plans are never going to work. Oldham now has an opportunity to scrap these targets which do nothing to deliver the housing we need in the places we need it. Local councils must be given the power to make the key decisions on local development. We can now save that green space for…
Read More