08Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Downing Street overhaul: Boris Johnson wasting taxpayers’ cash during cost of living crisis

Downing Street overhaul: Boris Johnson wasting taxpayers’ cash during cost of living crisis

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have written to Boris Johnson challenging him to set out the cost of the merger of Number 10 and the Cabinet Office into the new Office of the Prime Minister. The party has also challenged Johnson to rule out any public money being spent on renovating the Downing Street flat as part of this change, saying “it should be curtains for Johnson - not more curtains for Johnson.” According to the Institute for Government, the average cost of a departmental merger is £15 million. Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP labelled the sums as “staggering”, given the cost of living crisis which is now facing the country. Wendy Chamberlain MP, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip, commented: “The law-breaking Downing Street parties demand only one response - that…
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08Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Javid Statement reveals ‘years of suffering’ ahead

Javid Statement reveals ‘years of suffering’ ahead

Parliamentary news
Responding to Sajid Javid’s statement to the House of Commons on the government‘s proposals to tackle the backlog in NHS treatment, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: “Patients waiting for treatments in fear and pain have just been condemned to years of suffering with years-long waiting times ahead. “The Government has no idea how upsetting this will be to millions of people and clearly has no idea how to bring waiting times down. “Patients needed to see an ambitious plan to recruit the doctors, nurses and other staff our NHS desperately needs - instead all they got was a poxy waiting lists website. The government should hang its head in shame.”
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08Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
BP £10bn profits shows windfall tax is about “basic fairness”

BP £10bn profits shows windfall tax is about “basic fairness”

Parliamentary news
Responding to the news that BP has made £10 billion in the past year following surging oil and gas prices, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: "The truth is that this is about basic fairness. It simply cannot be right these energy companies are making super profits whilst people are too scared to turn their radiators on and terrified there will be a cold snap. The government has said that a windfall tax would harm investment but this is an absolutely bogus argument. These profits have come out of nowhere, no energy company was expecting them, no investor was either. "A windfall tax is the best way to get money to the people who need it quickly, but also to make sure there is some sense of trust and proportionality…
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07Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Former Shaw & Crompton Town Crier, Andrew Powell, has passed away

Borough news
“My colleagues and I are devastated to hear the news that Andrew Powell, Shaw & Crompton's Town Crier for 30 years, until his retirement from the voluntary role in 2018 has passed away suddenly,” stated Shaw Liberal Democrat councillor Howard Sykes MBE. “Andrew was very supportive to the community and the Parish Council and attended many events in Shaw and Crompton throughout the years and was loved by all. Young children were fascinated by him, often mistaking him for a pirate,” he added. As late as last week he was still to be seen walking around Shaw town centre with his wife and soulmate Win. “Andrew summed up everything that is good about Shaw and Crompton, he loved the place, loved the people and was selfless with his voluntary work…
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07Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Energy price hike: Lib Dems set out cost of living rescue package, to save struggling families in Oldham almost £1,000

Energy price hike: Lib Dems set out cost of living rescue package, to save struggling families in Oldham almost £1,000

Borough news, Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have set out a “cost of living rescue plan” that would save thousands of struggling families in Oldham nearly £1,000 this year. It comes after Ofgem announced a crippling rise to people’s heating bills, with the energy price cap set to soar by 54% to £1,971 in April. Energy bills for homeowners in Oldham are forecast to soar by an estimated £692 per household in April, according to analysis by the Liberal Democrats. Meanwhile, broadband bills are set to rise by 9.3% with inflation at its highest rate in almost thirty years. The Liberal Democrats warned that Rishi Sunak's proposals to deal with soaring energy bills will just be "spreading the pain over the coming years" while clobbering local families with tax hikes. The cost of living…
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07Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
So-called Conservative Government levelling up agenda is all fur coat and no knickers

So-called Conservative Government levelling up agenda is all fur coat and no knickers

Borough news, housing and development
The Conservative Government’s announcements on the "levelling-up" agenda included dropping targets for gigabit broadband across the country, on the heels of dropping high speed rail lines across the north. Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “The Government has abandoned crucial targets, and failed to provide the funding needed to meet these new ones. It is a fig leaf for a Prime Minister who everyone can see for what he is.” “If the Government is serious about levelling up, why has it just abandoned plans for local high speed rail? “Why is it loading the bill for social care on to local council tax payers, particularly those like Oldham? “Why did it abandon its target for high-speed broadband to 85% of homes by 2025? “Levelling-up is just the latest Tory buzzword…
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07Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Scrap ‘grossly unfair’ postcode lottery for energy bills

Scrap ‘grossly unfair’ postcode lottery for energy bills

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have today called for the scrapping of the regional differences in electricity and gas bills, which sees some households paying £124 more for their gas and electricity just because of where they live. Party leader Ed Davey said Boris Johnson's failure to scrap the differences showed he isn’t serious about “levelling up the country.” The UK is broken up into fourteen different pricing regions where it costs different amounts to get electricity and gas to people’s homes. This leads to people in the North of Scotland, Wales and South West England paying more for their gas and electricity bills than other parts of the country. Analysis by the Liberal Democrats based on those who use a high amount of energy - shows that households in North Wales…
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07Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Kwasi Kwarteng repeats Boris Johnson’s misleading claim that crime is falling

Kwasi Kwarteng repeats Boris Johnson’s misleading claim that crime is falling

Parliamentary news
Kwasi Kwarteng has this morning repeated dishonest comments made by Boris Johnson claiming crime has fallen in the UK, when it has actually increased by 14%, on BBC's Sunday Morning Show. He said that the Prime Minister was right to say that crime has gone down, because "on the doorstep people are saying progress is being made." The Liberal Democrats accused the Business Secretary of having "doubled down on a blatant lie." The UK Statistics Authority last week officially rebuked Boris Johnson and Priti Patel for misleadingly claiming that crime had fallen, following a letter of complaint by Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael. The misleading figures excluded fraud and computer stats which have soared by 47%, leading to an overall 14% rise in crime. The Liberal Democrats have…
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07Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liberal Democrats say residents will be safer, greener, and cleaner in their budget proposals

Liberal Democrats say residents will be safer, greener, and cleaner in their budget proposals

Borough news, environment, housing and development, road safety
Safer, greener, and cleaner, these are the watch words when the Liberal Democrats present their budget amendment proposals to the Policy Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday 8th February (6pm). Shaw Councillor Chris Gloster, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance and Green, is looking forward to presenting the budget amendment to the committee and believes that the Liberal Democrats have come up with sensible adjustments to the budget that will have no impact on council finances but deliver maximum impact to residents whose valuable input as to what residents want to see is at the heart of the proposals. “The Oldham Liberal Democrats want to make further efficiencies in civic centre bureaucracy to squeeze out more money for our priorities, and those of the public – more cash to spend on…
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07Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Over 90,000 children could miss out on top grades under government’s exam plans for 2022

Over 90,000 children could miss out on top grades under government’s exam plans for 2022

Parliamentary news
90,644 children could lose out on the top grades for GCSEs and A Levels this year due to Government plans on exam grading, new analysis by the Liberal Democrats has revealed. It comes as Ofqual is set to confirm arrangements today (Monday 7 February) for this summer’s GCSEs and A levels, along with details on what mitigations will be in place. The Chief Regulator of Ofqual, Dr Jo Saxton, plans to set the grading boundaries in a way that “reflects a mid-point between 2021 and pre-pandemic grading”. Analysis by the Liberal Democrats suggests this would mean 24,524 GCSE pupils missing out on grade 7,8 or 9, and 66,120 A-level students missing out on As or A*s compared to the grading system used last year. The Lib Dems have called the…
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