16Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Government stats reveal care home covid cases triple in July

Government stats reveal care home covid cases triple in July

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has accused the Government of “leaving our care homes exposed” as statistics have shown care home cases tripled in July. The stats on Adult Social Care in England for August 2021 show: There were 14,660 positive Covid tests among care home staff in the four weeks to July 27, triple the 4,552 positive tests recorded among care home staff in June, analysis of figures from the Department of Health and Social Care have revealed.The figures are the highest since the pandemic was surging during the second wave in February of this year.2,047 care home residents tested positive in the four weeks to July 27, up from 596 the previous month. The figures also show 78% of staff in care homes have now received two doses…
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16Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Holidaymakers paying millions for PCR tests that aren’t checked for new variants, research reveals

Holidaymakers paying millions for PCR tests that aren’t checked for new variants, research reveals

Parliamentary news
Holidaymakers paid an estimated £26.7 million for PCR tests in July while only 293 positive tests were checked for variants, equivalent to around £90,000 for each sequenced result.Fewer than one in twenty positive tests are being checked for new variants from top holiday destinations including France (4.9%), Greece (3.5%) and Portugal (4.2%).Only one in twelve (8.4%) positive tests of arrivals from Spain and one in ten (10.2%) from Italy are being sequenced for Covid mutations.Liberal Democrats warn that “travellers are paying through the nose for a system that isn’t doing its job.” UK holidaymakers are paying out millions of pounds for PCR tests that aren’t checked for new Covid variants, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed. Analysis of the latest NHS Test and Trace data1 has found that arrivals…
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16Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Self-isolation relaxation: “Too far, too fast”

Self-isolation relaxation: “Too far, too fast”

Parliamentary news
Commenting on the Government’s plans to relax the self-isolation rules for under 18s and those that are fully vaccinated, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson, Munira Wilson MP said: “The Government is going too far too fast. There is certainly a need to rationalise the self-isolation rules for those who are double jabbed and under 18s, but not to scrap them entirely.  “As we head into winter the virus will only spread faster and we still need measures in place to slow the spread. There are still 3.8 million critically extremely vulnerable people who are at significant risk who have not yet had their booster jabs. Masks on public transport and sensible self-isolation rules will be key to keeping them safe and healthy. “The Liberal Democrats believe that the…
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16Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Afghanistan: A safe passage corridor for refugees must be secured

Afghanistan: A safe passage corridor for refugees must be secured

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to work with international allies to establish a safe passage corridor for all those in Afghanistan who need to flee the Taliban. The corridor would connect Kabul to an international border and ensure people could leave the country if they cannot use Kabul airport. Layla Moran MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, said: “It would be an unforgivable betrayal if Britain abandons the Afghan people to the barbaric terror of the Taliban. "Britain must not allow another Saigon to happen on our watch. "Safety from the Taliban should not just be foreign nationals, or the lucky few who made it in time to Kabul airport. “A safe passage corridor must be secured immediately between Kabul and an international border. The strip…
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16Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Kabul airport: Create safe corridor to offer a new escape route

Kabul airport: Create safe corridor to offer a new escape route

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to work with international allies to secure a safe corridor of land in Afghanistan, to allow more people an escape route from the Taliban to an international border. Layla Moran MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, said: "The scenes from Kabul airport this morning are heartbreaking and we must offer a new way out for those desperate to escape the terror of the Taliban. "A safe corridor of land from Kabul to an international border may offer an escape route from this murderous, tyrannical and barbaric regime. The government must make this their top priority today, and secure such a humanitarian corridor with international allies." "All those who need to escape the Taliban, especially women and girls, must be given the…
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13Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Welcome for new convenience store on former King’s Arms/Big Lamp pub site, High Street, Shaw

Welcome for new convenience store on former King’s Arms/Big Lamp pub site, High Street, Shaw

Borough news
Shaw Liberal Democrat Councillors are pleased to see plans progressing to build a new convenience store on the derelict King’s Arms/Big Lamp site, on High Street, Shaw. Local councillors and the Shaw and Crompton Parish Council have been consulted by the developer on the plans. For his part, Shaw Councillor Howard Sykes MBE is looking forward to seeing the site brought back into use.  “We have waited more than ten years to see the successful redevelopment of the site, and now I am delighted that we may soon see a new community store there to serve local residents.  Not only should this improve the retail offer in Shaw, but it will redevelop a major gateway site into the town centre, a site which for too long has been an eyesore…
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13Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Special congratulations due to pupils qualifying in most difficult academic year

Borough news
Despite the adversity faced by students learning during the UK’s worst pandemic in over 100 years, Oldham’s pupils are still expected to shine this week in their A Levels and BTEC’s, Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE could not be prouder of our future generation. “Hats off to all of our young people; they have stuck at it and performed magnificently, and I send to them all my congratulations on their amazing achievement,” said Councillor Sykes. "As life has changed for all of us, since March 2020, so too has life for students. They have had to adapt to learning from home via a virtual link with their teacher and with no personal contact with tutors and friends for long periods, and they have seen their school attendance…
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13Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Govt must guarantee sixth form places for GCSE students who get the grades

Govt must guarantee sixth form places for GCSE students who get the grades

Borough news, Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to provide emergency funding to schools and colleges to provide extra sixth form places for applicants who get the GCSE grades to meet their existing admissions criteria. With students achieving record GCSE results today, there are fears that some sixth forms will be forced to use “oversubscription criteria” to turn away applicants from other schools, even though they have met the usual entry criteria. Dr Lee Elliot Major, Professor of Social Mobility at the University of Exeter, has described sixth form admissions as “the Wild West of the education system” and warned about “the prospects of poorer pupils who will not necessarily be backed up by sharp-elbowed parents.” Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: “No one who has worked so…
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13Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liberal Democrats call on public to Say No to Labour’s Green Belt land grab

Liberal Democrats call on public to Say No to Labour’s Green Belt land grab

Borough news
Oldham residents can now have their say on Labour’s latest Places for Everyone plan and the Oldham Liberal Democrats are urging everyone to say No to Labour’s Green Belt and green land grab. Liberal Democrat Leader Councillor Howard Sykes said: “The Liberal Democrats tried at the last Council meeting (July 28) to seek Oldham’s withdrawal from Places for Everyone because it will still mean the loss of much of our precious and irreplaceable Green Belt, but Labour used its bloc vote to get it through.  Now the public can have their say in this latest consultation to say No to Labour’s latest version of Mayor Burnham’s Green Belt land grab." Places for Everyone is the successor to the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) which was derailed after Stockport Liberal Democrats…
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13Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Sykes backs call for Freeman award for Shaw’s Olympic gold medal cyclist Matt Walls

Borough news
Shaw cyclist Matt Walls has put his hometown, Shaw, and Crompton, on the sporting map through winning both Gold and Silver medals in cycling at the recent Tokyo Olympic games, and Shaw Councillor Howard Sykes MBE has backed calls for Matt to receive the honour of being made a Freeman of the Borough of Oldham. “Matt Walls has demonstrated that he is pure gold. He is an incredible athlete, an incredible ambassador for Shaw and for Oldham, and a tremendous role model to inspire young people in our borough to participate and achieve in sport”, said Councillor Sykes. “As a Borough we should do him the honour of making him a Freeman of the Borough. “We made hockey player Nicola White a Freeman when she became a gold medallist in…
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