10Jun 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Davey: PM must abolish suspicion-less stop and search

Parliamentary news
Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey has written to the Prime Minister calling on him to abolish harmful section 60 suspicion-less stop and search powers. Black people are disproportionately likely to be stopped and searched by the police, and for suspicion-less stop and search the figures are particularly stark. Last year there were there were 4,858 searches of black people and 2,669 of white people, meaning that a black person is 47 times as likely to be subject to Section 60 Stop and Search as a white person. Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “Under suspicion-less Stop and Search powers, a Black person is 47 times more likely to be stopped and searched than a white person.  “On too many occasions stop and search seems to mean…
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01Apr 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Government must provide clearer guidance to remove crackdown confusion

Parliamentary news
Responding to the various reports of police action in response to the coronavirus crisis lockdown, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: "The fact that police forces across the country seem to be taking wildly different approaches to enforcing social distancing rules is incredibly concerning.  "Of course common sense must prevail, but we are in an unprecedented situation with controls being put in place that the country has never experienced before. The government have not put clear guidelines in place and the result is that neither police nor families are sure what they should be doing.  "The vast majority of people are trying to do the right thing. The government must make sure that the public have the advice they need to help stop the spread of the virus."
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25Oct 2019 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Oldham needs its fair share of 20,000 promised police officers

Borough news
More than twenty thousand police officers have been taken off UK streets over the last ten years.  Now the Government announces that thousands of new Police Officers will be recruited.  Councillor Howard Sykes MBE wants to make sure Oldham Borough gets a fair share of these replacement crimefighters.  The Liberal Democrat Leader on Oldham Council contacted Greater Manchester Police to see how many new officers Oldham Borough will get. “There have been many announcements both local and national about recruiting new Police Officers.  I want to make sure what we are hearing from the Government matches up with local people’s needs and expectations.” “As leader of the opposition on Oldham Borough Council, I want to ensure that we have enough officers on our streets to deal with the many issues…
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09Dec 2018 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrat plan to make Oldham town and district centre safer at night

Borough news
Liberal Democrat Councillors Hazel Gloster and Howard Sykes MBE will be proposing a motion at the next full meeting of Oldham Council (Wednesday 12 December) calling for the establishment of Safe Zones and for the ‘Ask Angela’ scheme to be adopted to help make Oldham town and district centres in the borough safer for night-time revellers. Commenting Councillor Gloster said: “When the Liberal Democrats were in power, we tackled the anti-social issues that resulted from problem drinking in Oldham town centre, issues that attracted lots of unwanted media attention with Yorkshire Street being dubbed ‘the  Wild West’ and I am pleased to say that things are now a lot quieter.  However, people do sometimes have too much to drink or they can feel threatened late at night, and we should…
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27Jun 2018 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Moor fires devastating Saddleworth

Borough news
It has been a very difficult week for Saddleworth, but as always during these difficult times the community has come together to help each other out. Our fire service has worked tirelessly with the Police, Mountain Rescue and now the Army. The Salvation Army, Tesco, residents and others have been looking after our emergency services. They have done a great job in sweltering conditions, and not helped at all by the acts of nature. In recent weeks we have seen some great collaborative working – at Dovestones Reservoir marshals have been appointed to work alongside the Police to ensure that people behave responsibly and they have been very successful. At this time we need to show our support to all those trying to keep us safe, check in on those…
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14Jun 2018 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Saddleworth Councillors back moves to tackle moorland fires

Borough news, Saddleworth News
Saddleworth North Liberal Democrat Councillor Garth Harkness has welcomed recent discussions between local agencies to tackle the moorland fires that have occurred in Saddleworth in recent weeks.   Councillor Harkness said: “In recent months we have witnessed several distressing instances of fire-starting by malicious individuals intent upon destroying our beautiful countryside or irresponsible individuals recklessly using barbeques at the Dovestone Country Park. This is an issue that affects all of us as we all lose out when the landscape that we all enjoy so much is damaged, sometimes irreparably.”   “I am glad to see that the Greater Manchester Police is taking a firm line in apprehending and prosecuting, to the full extent of the law, offenders, some of whom are juveniles, and I welcome the recent initiative that a…
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31May 2017 by Saddleworth Lib Dems
There would be more nurses, teachers and Police in Oldham area under Liberal Democrats

There would be more nurses, teachers and Police in Oldham area under Liberal Democrats

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats plan for a brighter future, with pledges to reverse Conservative cuts and increase funding for the NHS, schools and police. The Liberal Democrats would put a penny on income tax for health and care would raise £18m for the NHS in Oldham enough to fund 107 more nurses and £7m for social care. An additional £36.37m of funding for schools in Oldham paid for in part by reversing Conservative cuts to corporation tax, would be enough to pay for 200 more teachers. Meanwhile an additional £15.6m funding for Greater Manchester Police would pay for 312 more officers, helping to cut crime and ensure a stronger police presence in the area. Other key policies in the Liberal Democrat manifesto include plans for a £100bn infrastructure fund to build more homes, improve road and rail links and install fibre-optic…
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