16Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Tory sleaze U-turn descends into farce

Tory sleaze U-turn descends into farce

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Government's failure to endorse a Standards Committee report on rule breaches by former Conservative MP Owen Paterson, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP said: "This is a total farce. First, the Government scheduled this motion so there would be no chance for debate. Now, the motion hasn’t passed. "It’s insulting that, after two weeks of this scandal, the Government couldn’t even perform their sleaze U-turn successfully. This tells you all you need to know about the state of the Conservative Party. "It’s vital that the Government brings this back before MPs as soon as possible. Every day that goes by without this being repealed, the more embarrassing this whole affair becomes. We must move forward."
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14Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
What a stink! Biggest water polluter backed by Conservative MPs

What a stink! Biggest water polluter backed by Conservative MPs

Parliamentary news
The Oldham Liberal Democrats have been shocked to read that North West water company, United Utilities, has the worst record for poisoning our local rivers with raw sewage – and that Conservative MPs chose to back them in a recent vote in Parliament. Figures published by the Environment Agency show that in 2020 water companies discharged raw sewage into rivers in England more than 400,000 times last year. Untreated effluent, which includes human excrement, wet wipes, and condoms, was released into waterways through overflows for more than three million hours in 2020. The biggest offender was North West water company United Utilities which did so for 726,450 hours, almost one quarter of the total. “Thank goodness, Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger, the four animal characters from Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in…
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14Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Davey: PM has wasted COP26

Davey: PM has wasted COP26

Parliamentary news
Commenting on the conclusion of a deal at COP26 in Glasgow with only a commitment to 'phase down' the use of coal, Liberal Democrat Leader and former Secretary of State for Energy Sir Ed Davey MP said: “It sadly looks like the Prime Minister has flunked the chance for the UK to lead real progress in the fight against the climate crisis. His COP has barely been worth excess emissions caused by the flights to Glasgow. “We now need an urgent action plan to sort out the mess: we simply cannot sit and wait for COP27 and then COP28 after that. We need a global leaders’ summit within months to get China round the table and put the fossil fuel industry on notice once and for all. “Over the last…
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10Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Draft COP26 agreement is “kicking the can down the road”

Draft COP26 agreement is “kicking the can down the road”

Parliamentary news
Responding to the draft COP26 agreement calling on countries to strengthen their carbon-cutting targets by the end of 2022, Liberal Democrat Leader and former Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey MP said: “I fear this is more about kicking the can down the road and expectation management after a disappointing conference. “We can have as many COPs as we like, but until the West convinces China to cut emissions more quickly, these summits will continue to fail. “To keep the 1.5 degree target genuinely alive requires greater political will, stronger leadership and far more serious domestic and global action. “Otherwise beating the existential threat of climate change will be a pipe dream and the greatest failure of global leadership ever.”
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10Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Call for emergency visas to tackle ‘self-inflicted’ care staff crisis

Call for emergency visas to tackle ‘self-inflicted’ care staff crisis

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are calling for emergency changes to the immigration rules to make care workers eligible for visas, as the Government’s vaccine mandate comes into force, threatening to add to the 105,000 vacancies in social care. 60,000 social care workers could lose their jobs according to data from the National Care Forum and the Department of Health and Social Care. UNISON and the National Care Forum have warned that the “recruitment and retention emergency” has been caused by “low wages, staff burnout, and mandatory vaccination”. Under the Conservatives’ new immigration rules, which came into effect in January, most frontline care roles are not eligible for skilled worker visas, leaving no route for employers to recruit care staff from abroad. The Liberal Democrats are calling for that rule to be…
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10Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Council must keep its promise to implement national recommendations on abuse

Council must keep its promise to implement national recommendations on abuse

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence
Oldham Council are being held to account on their promise to implement any relevant findings of the Home-Office sponsored Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) by Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani. With the most recent report by the Inquiry covering child protection in religious organisations and settings, Councillor Al-Hamdani has written to the Council’s Managing Director of Children & Young People, and its interim Chief Executive Harry Catherall, to ask for an update on the work that has already taken place, and for what it has planned to do going forward. Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “The previous chief executive had confirmed that the Council would implement any relevant recommendations from the Independent Investigation, and I wanted to ensure that our incoming chief executive was fully aware of the work that…
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10Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader calls on government to close sex offenders’ loophole

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence
Two years on from the Oldham Liberal Democrats calling for the law to be changed to make illegal sexual contact between persons in ‘positions of trust’ and young adults in their care, Group Leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE has written to the Deputy Prime Minister calling for long-overdue action. In September 2019, the Liberal Democrats brought a motion before the Full Council in support the NSPCC ‘Closing the loophole’ campaign. The children’s charity wants the Position of Trust law changed to cover all roles where an adult holds a position of power, care or responsibility over a 16-or 17-year old and to make it illegal for that adult to engage in sexual activity with that young person, even in circumstances where this activity is mutually-consensual. The motion received cross-party support.…
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09Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
If the PM wants to make COP a success he should be turning to Beijing not flying to Glasgow

If the PM wants to make COP a success he should be turning to Beijing not flying to Glasgow

Parliamentary news
Responding to reports the Prime Minister will travel to Glasgow today, former Climate Change Secretary and Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “If Boris Johnson is really serious about getting a good deal at COP26 he should be going to Beijing not Glasgow. “There is still time for a good deal for the planet, but there is an awfully long way to go, especially to persuade China to go the extra mile. “The Prime Minister should therefore focus diplomatic efforts on President Xi - with the carrot of a climate progress dividend and the stick of new carbon taxes on Chinese imports into the UK and other western countries. “The UK must unite the West to get China into a better place. If Glasgow’s COP fails, we will…
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09Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Motion scrapping crony committee a “victory for democracy” says Chamberlain

Motion scrapping crony committee a “victory for democracy” says Chamberlain

Parliamentary news
Responding to the government tabling a motion to scrap its proposed new standards committee, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain, who led yesterday's emergency Commons debate on standards, said: "It is a victory for democracy and decency that the government has finally scrapped their crony committee for good. "This reflects the strength of feeling shown by MPs across the political spectrum at yesterday's emergency debate. "But this U-turn comes too late to undo the damage done to Boris Johnson and his government's reputation. People won't easily forget that the Tories tried to change the rules and undermine our democracy just to dodge scrutiny and protect themselves from future investigations.”
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09Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Pension Fund bosses refuse to speak to councillors on fossil fuels

Pension Fund bosses refuse to speak to councillors on fossil fuels

Borough news
After the Labour run Oldham Council removed any mention of divestment from a motion calling for the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) to stop investing in fossil fuel companies, the managers of the fund have refused to come and meet with councillors to explain why they are against the change. Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani proposed the motion, and following the amendments to it, accepted an offer from cabinet member Abdul Jabbar to have the GMPF explain their reasoning. However, GMPF then responded to say that they “have decided not accept such invitations for now”. Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “This is not acceptable. Oldham Council is among many public bodies which has accepted that we are facing a climate crisis. Yet our money is going into the largest pension fund of…
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