Conservative failure – Saddleworth Liberal Democrats

31Oct 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Tory plan to build on national parks and green belt rejected

Borough news

A request for local councils to put forward sites for building in national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty or green belt has been firmly opposed by Oldham’s Liberal Democrat team, with local Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani branding the policy “a disgrace”. Lib Dem Councillor Al-Hamdani immediately sought confirmation that the Council had no plans to take up the option – which would have opened large parts of protected land across the whole of Oldham up for development. The Council confirmed that they had no plans to apply for any new developments under this scheme. Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “I can’t understand how this Government thinks it can possibly be acceptable to abandon national parks and areas of outstanding national beauty.” Much of Saddleworth falls into the Peak District National Park, and…

31Oct 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Frustration as Conservatives block disabled access for Greenfield Station

Borough news, health and social care

An amendment to the forthcoming Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which would have delivered disabled access for Greenfield Station, and others like it, has been voted down in the House of Commons, with not a single Conservative MP supporting it. The only train station in the whole of Oldham Borough, the station has no step-free access to the Huddersfield-bound platform, making it inaccessible for anyone in a wheelchair, with a pram or with mobility issues. Local Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “It’s all very well making the right noises, but when it comes to putting their money where their mouth is, the Conservatives don’t deliver. “The Government keep passing the buck – whether it’s saying it will be part of the line upgrade, or Access for All, or whatever policy this…

13Jun 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Johnson must slash taxes now instead of making “empty promises”

Parliamentary news

The Liberal Democrats have piled pressure on Boris Johnson to help families by bringing in an emergency tax cut now. Speaking on a campaign visit to Tiverton and Honiton today, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said: "Families are facing record fuel prices and soaring bills, but Boris Johnson is still insisting on hammering them with tax rises. This is a government in crisis, too divided and weak to offer the help people need to cope with the cost of living emergency. "Instead of making yet more empty promises about tax cuts in the future, Johnson should listen to Lib Dems calls for an emergency VAT cut now to put money back into people's pockets. Every day that Conservative ministers fail to act means more pain for families struggling…

13Jun 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

NI Protocol: Govt must come clean and publish full legal advice

Parliamentary news

The Liberal Democrats have criticised Brandon Lewis' refusal to commit to publishing the government's full legal advice around its plans to overhaul the Northern Ireland protocol. It comes after Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael raised the issue in Parliament last week and demanded the government publish its legal advice in full. Liberal Democrat Northern Ireland Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: “The refusal to publish this legal advice looks like yet another attempt to cover up Boris Johnson’s repeated lies and law-breaking. The government must come clean and publish what legal advice was received and who from in full. “The public deserves full transparency over the legality of plans to rip up the Northern Ireland Protocol and risk a trade war with our closest neighbours. If Conservative ministers have nothing to…

13Jun 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

GDP fall: Barrage of tax hikes is leaving people to suffer

Parliamentary news

Responding to ONS data revealing GDP fell by 0.3% in April, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said: “The Government’s barrage of tax hikes and lack of cost-of-living support are leaving people to suffer, and now that’s translating into worrying economic figures. “The UK has the best universities, the best services sector and the best workforce – yet this Government is in such disarray that we’re headed for the lowest growth in the G7. Their incompetence is nothing short of dangerous. “Instead of giving speeches full of empty promises, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak need to start listening to people and give them real help with the cost of living.”

30May 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Six out of nine Conservative Councillors missing from Council meeting

Borough news, fairer council

Oldham & Saddleworth’s Liberal Democrat councillors have said local Conservatives have got questions to answer after six of their nine councillors failed to attend the first council meetings to be held after the local elections. Mark Kenyon, Liberal Democrat councillor for Grotton, Springhead & Lees, said: “I’m sure decent Conservative voters in this town will join the rest of us in wondering when Conservative councillors will actually turn up to do the job they’d promised voters they’d do – there’s important questions to ask about CAZ, Labour waste & the investment our town and districts sorely need.” Conservative deputy leader Beth Sharp, joins councillors Luke Lancaster, Dave Arnott and their newly elected colleagues Chris McManus, Robert Barnes and Lewis Quigg in skipping these first meetings held on Wednesday 25th May…

02May 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

New stats show 1.8 million crimes went unsolved in 2021

Parliamentary news

Four in ten crimes went unsolved by the police in 2021, new official figures show, with an average of 5,000 unsolved crimes every day. New figures from the Office for National Statistics show that overall crime was 18% higher in 2021 compared with 2019, driven by a 54% increase in fraud and computer misuse. Liberal Democrat analysis of new Home Office figures show that 1.8 million cases were closed by the police in 2021 without a suspect even being identified – 39% of all cases closed. Responding to the statistics, Liberal Democrats Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: “Crime is soaring on the Conservatives’ watch. They are failing our communities, making people less safe, and letting far too many criminals get away with it. “Boris Johnson and Priti Patel…

25Apr 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Shocking figures reveal one police station closed every two weeks since 2015

Parliamentary news

217 police stations and counters across England have closed since 2015, shocking new figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed. It's the equivalent of over one police station closing every two weeks in the past seven years under the Conservatives. The figures were obtained by the Liberal Democrats through FOI requests to every police force in England and Wales, with responses London and the South East, in particular, have seen a staggering fall in the number of police stations. Thames Valley Police, responsible for policing in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, has closed the most locations, with 23 stations and 44 counters closed since 2015. This includes 41 closures in 2016 alone. The Metropolitan Police is second in the country on stations closed, with 36 since 2015 – 31 of…

04Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Johnson and Patel misled on crime stats, official watchdog rules

Parliamentary news

The Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, Sir David Norgrove, has ruled that Boris Johnson and Priti Patel "misrepresented" crime statistics and presented them in a "misleading way". It comes after Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael reported the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary to the watchdog for falsely claiming that crime had fallen by 14% between September 2019 and September 2021, when the exact opposite had happened. Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael MP, said: “This is a damning verdict from the official watchdog. Yet more distortions from Boris Johnson and his Cabinet to play down the extent of crime. “When the Government’s record on crime is so bad that both the Prime Minister and Home Secretary feel the need to fiddle the figures, it is clear we…

26Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Johnson breaking police pledge as officer numbers fall

Parliamentary news

The Conservative Government is off track on its manifesto pledge to recruit 20,000 more police officers by March 2023, with new official figures showing the number of officers actually fell by 413 in December. A total of 11,048 extra officers have been recruited under the Government’s uplift in the 29 months since it started in September 2019 – a rate of 381 more officers per month. To meet the target of 20,000 by March 2023, that rate would have to increase to 597 per month over the next 15 months. Four police forces now have fewer officers than they did a year ago, according to the Home Office figures: Thames Valley (down 29), Gloucestershire (down 22), Warwickshire (down 12) and City of London (down 8). Responding to the figures, Liberal…