Andy Burnham – Saddleworth Liberal Democrats

21Feb 2023 by Sam Al-Hamdani

“Burnhams’ broken promise” slammed as PCSO numbers drop by 39% across Greater Manchester since 2015

Borough news

Leader of Oldham Councils’ Liberal Democrat Opposition councillor Howard Sykes MBE has hit out at Labour’s Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham after government figures confirm that Greater Manchester has 112 fewer Community Support Officers than in 2017, when Mr Burnham took office. Councillor Sykes said, “When it comes to policing in Oldham and across Greater Manchester, the buck stops with Mayor Burnham. He is ultimately responsible for policing. He has promised a PCSO for every ward in Greater Manchester, and he has failed spectacularly.” The Conservative government has a target to deliver 20,000 new police officers by 2023. But analysis of Home Office data commissioned by the Liberal Democrats reveals that Greater Manchester PCSO numbers have fallen by 316 since 2015, a reduction of 39.3%. Councillor Sykes said, “Far from 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…

01Nov 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

“No Confidence” in Andy Burnham’s handling of Greater Manchester Police

Borough news

Andy Burnham faces a vote of no confidence in his failed leadership of Greater Manchester Police, after Oldham’s Liberal Democrat group put forward a motion challenging his management of the force. In the review of historic child sex exploitation in Oldham, GMP refused to sign a data processing agreement to let the review team have access to information on nine of the 11 cases. Earlier this month, the Met police were issued with a damning report which found systemic racism and misogyny, and that hundreds of officers in the Met should be kicked out of the force. A freedom of information request from Oldham Liberal Democrats to GMP revealed that the equivalent information was not available from GMP, but that there were a minimum of 1,400 cases from 2017. Councillor…

04Aug 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Failure to investigate crimes highlight again GMP’s inadequacies

Borough news, domestic abuse and violence

Greater Manchester Police closed 141,010 cases last year without even identifying a suspect, new analysis by the Liberal Democrats has revealed. The party’s analysis of new Home Office figures found that of the 360,099 offences committed between April 2021 and March 2022 39.16% were not investigated. Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “These awful figures show criminals are getting away with victimising people on an industrial scale. The Conservative party love to talk tough on crime, but they can’t even get the basics right. “And on Andy Burnham’s watch, GMP has remained stubbornly in special measures, has been cited repeatedly for failing victims of domestic abuse, and failed to engage in the recent review into child sex exploitation in Oldham. “That is just part of the reason why we have written to the Home Secretary asking for…

23Jul 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Burnham must face further questions

Borough news, CSE

Liberal Democrats say Andy Burnham must come to Oldham to answer questions on Greater Manchester Police special measures Liberal Democrats call on Andy Burnham to come to Oldham to answer questions on Greater Manchester Police special measures. At a meeting of Oldham’s Full Council, Liberal Democrat councillors called on Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to come to Oldham to field questions from councillors on the state of Greater Manchester Police. Liberal Democrat Councillor for Saddleworth West and Lees, Sam Al-Hamdani said, “Politically accountability has been lacking throughout the time that Greater Manchester Police has been in special measures. Will the Leader of the Council write to Mayor Burnham asking him to come to Oldham to field questions from councillors on the ongoing situation affecting Greater Manchester Police – as he…

13Jul 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Clean Air Zone: More than £3 million spent on signs, Liberal Democrats reveal

Borough news, environment

Information obtained by Oldham’s Liberal Democrats has revealed that Transport for Greater Manchester have spent more than £3 million on signage for Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s Clean Air Zone. Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Leader, councillor Howard Sykes issued Burnham’s Mayoral office with a Freedom of Information request which asked how much money had been spent on CAZ signs to date. The £3.04 million sum was paid to the public works contractor McCann Ltd for the CAZ signs that are spread across Greater Manchester. A further £120,000 was paid to McCann for the ‘under review stickers’ that were used after the original Clean Air Zone was paused. Councillor Sykes said, “It is ridiculous that such a large sum of money has already been spent on signage when we still don’t know…

08Jul 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

50 questions for Burnham and council bosses

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence

Liberal Democrat councillors have said that the report into historic safeguarding and CSE in the borough is just the start of a rigorous investigation into what went wrong for Sophie and other children. They have submitted 50 questions to Council Chief Executive Harry Catherall, Greater Manchester’s Mayor Andy Burnham and to the authors of the report, Gary Newsam and Malcolm Ridgway. Mark Kenyon, Liberal Democrat councillor for Grotton, Springhead & Lees, said: “The report raises more questions than it answers. It was intended to give us all assurance that CSE was and is being targeted effectively. While these questions are outstanding, none of us can have that assurance.” Questions being asked include: why the reports authors weren’t allowed free access to GMP records, why only half of the 104 people…

02Jul 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Government must support no charging Clean Air Zone says councillor Sykes

Borough news, environment

Oldham’s Liberal Democrats are calling for the government to support a no charging Clean Air Zone as new plans emerge for the next phases of CAZ today. Liberal Democrat Leader and Shaw councillor Howard Sykes said: “Common sense has finally prevailed on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. We welcome the proposals for a no charging Clean Air Zone. The government must not impose charges on Greater Manchester that would hurt jobs during the cost-of-living crisis.” Councillor Sykes also said that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Andy Burnham had questions to answer. Councillor Sykes said, “Why has it taken so long to get to this stage? It was clear that a no charging zone was the common sense approach from the outset. So why has Mayor Burnham spent time and…

13Jun 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

‘Keep Clean Air Zone free’ say Oldham Liberal Democrats

Borough news, environment

Liberal Democrat Opposition Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE has called for common sense as Andy Burnham’s war of words with the government over the Clean Air Zone (CAZ) continues. The Greater Manchester Mayor is locked in a bitter stalemate with Conservative ministers after he rejected Government proposals to limit the Clean Air Zone to Manchester City Centre only. Councillor Sykes said, “It’s about time we had some common sense instead of bickering between Mayor Burnham and the Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats want to see people’s jobs and income protected at a time when many are struggling. Keeping CAZ free is the best way forward if we want to protect jobs during the cost-of-living crisis. “If the Conservative government force a charging zone on Greater Manchester then the area affected by…

22Mar 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Millions lost on failed PoliceWorks system – who will pay?

Borough news

Responding to the news that the PoliceWorks system – the failed part of GMPs iOPS computer system costing millions of pounds – will be scrapped, Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani called for those responsible to be held accountable. Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “We have waited years for GMP and the police and crime commissioner to finally step up and acknowledge this massive failure. Now they have accepted it, who is going to carry the can? “We have just seen a substantial increase in the Mayoral precept for every Council Tax payer in Greater Manchester. Is that money going straight from everyone’s pockets to cover this catastrophic investment in a failed IT system?” Councillor Al-Hamdani, who has raised the iOPS system at the last two Oldham Council meetings after repeated failures to…