09Jul 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liberal Democrat Leader seeks true cost to Council Tax payers of shopping centre purchase

Liberal Democrat Leader seeks true cost to Council Tax payers of shopping centre purchase

Borough news
‘What did it cost us?’ Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group and Real Opposition on Oldham Council wants an answer to that question in connection with the recent purchase of the Spindles and Town Square Shopping Centres. Councillor Sykes has submitted a request under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act to Deputy Chief Executive Helen Lockwood and Director of Finance Anne Ryans in order to drill down to the final bill for Oldham’s Council Tax payers. “Different figures have been bandied about in Council meetings and in media reports. I would like to know what the final bill is, and I am sure that our long-suffering ratepayers want to know too,” said Councillor Sykes. “The final bill is not just the agreed purchase price…
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05Jul 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
New disabled parking spots for residents

New disabled parking spots for residents

Borough news
The wait is finally over for 30 fortunate families who will be getting disabled parking spots in the next twelve months, some of whom have been waiting for years. Officers confirmed the decision this week, after years wrangling over funding, and lengthy delays while new qualifying criteria were eventually produced. Mark Kenyon, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Grotton, Springhead & Lees, took up the cause after being contacted by a frustrated resident over a year ago and has led a campaign to provide disabled parking bays. Councillor Kenyon said: “Despite welcoming the decision by this council to provide these 30 spaces, I’m also incensed that there’s at least another 30 families who have missed out. A disabled parking spot is not a perk to be won in a council lottery, it’s…
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22Jun 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Safer streets fund opportunity for Oldham

Safer streets fund opportunity for Oldham

Borough news
The addition of £25 million from the Home Office into the Safer Streets fund is an opportunity for Oldham to improve its work in schools to combat violence against women and girls, and combat public street harassment, says local Liberal Democrat councillor Sam Al-Hamdani With the opportunity to bid for up to £550,000, Councillor Al-Hamdani has written to Oldham Council to ensure that they apply to run a programme later this year, such as introducing educational and community programmes across the Borough. Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “Oldham Council already pledged to support Our Streets Now’s work to improve education in schools to combat harassment, and it is vital that we take every opportunity to change the culture around violence and abuse.  “The release of the Ofsted review of sexual abuse emphasized…
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11Jun 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader welcomes promise of Council debate on CSE review

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence
The Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has welcomed the commitment made by the Leader of Oldham Council to make ‘proper time (available) for consideration by councillors’ of the long-awaited report by the review team into historic child sexual exploitation issues at a meeting of the Full Council. Last month, Councillor Sykes wrote to the new Leader, Councillor Arooj Shah, to request that Councillors be able ‘to discuss this matter in Full Council at the earliest opportunity’. As the Greater Manchester Deputy Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner, Baroness Beverley Hughes, had previously said the report would be available by the middle of this year, councillor Sykes was hopeful that this would be at the July 14 Council meeting. In her reply, Councillor Shah could not confirm that…
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08Jun 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrats request debate on Child Sexual Exploitation review at July Council

Borough news, CSE
The Liberal Democrats want to see the promised report from the review on historic allegations of child sexual exploitation to be published in advance of the 14 July meeting of the Full Council and for time to be set aside to debate the report at the meeting. The Leader of the Oldham Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has sent his request to the Leader of Oldham Council and the Chief Executive on 25 May and yet has had no response or acknowledgement. In November 2019, Oldham Council and the Oldham Safeguarding Partnership commissioned the independent review from the Mayor of Greater Manchester. Two experienced investigators, Malcolm Newsam MBE, a childcare expert, and Gary Ridgeway, formerly a senior police officer specialising in public protection, are now working to finalise…
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11May 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liberal Democrat team pledged to be Real Opposition to Labour

Liberal Democrat team pledged to be Real Opposition to Labour

Borough news
At a Group meeting held on 8 May, the Oldham Borough Liberal Democrat Group appointed, unanimously and un-opposed, councillor Howard Sykes MBE as their Leader and councillor Chris Gloster as their Deputy Leader. Councillor Howard Sykes said: “I am grateful once more to my colleagues for their unanimous support for my work as Group Leader and delighted that Chris will continue to serve as my Deputy. It was great to welcome newly elected councillor Mark Kenyon from Saddleworth West and Lees to the team, and to welcome Diane Williamson back for Crompton. I was also more than a little pleased to be re-elected myself. It was a shame that Garth Harkness will not be with us. After last Friday’s results, the Liberal Democrats retain eight councillors and I know that…
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06Apr 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Davey: Vote to back a Liberal Democrat local champion in May

Davey: Vote to back a Liberal Democrat local champion in May

Borough news, Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has officially launched the Liberal Democrats Local Elections campaign in England. He has called on voters to back a Liberal Democrat local champion in May. Liberal Democrats have announced plans for a fairer, greener more caring country where there is opportunity for all. The party announced plans for a locally-led green transition, backed by £48bn pounds of investment. Leader Ed Davey also called on the government to help struggling small businesses by slashing national insurance contributions (NICs) for small firms by quadrupling the employment allowance from £4,000 to £16,000. Ed Davey delivered a speech at the Liberal Democrats digital launch where he said: "This has been a truly dreadful year. So many loved ones lost. So many families bereaved. So many businesses closed. Coronavirus is…
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31Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Covid letter ‘an absolute waste of Oldham Council Taxpayers’ money’

Borough news
The Liberal Democrat Deputy Group Leader on Oldham Council, Shaw Councillor Chris Gloster, is fuming at the cost of a letter sent to every household in the borough. The controversial letter, jointly signed by the Labour Leader of Oldham Council, councillor Sean Fielding, and Oldham Council’s Chief Executive, Dr Carolyn Wilkins OBE, relays what the council has been doing over the past twelve months during the Covid crisis, and concludes that by ‘working together and demonstrating that community spirit Oldham is famous for, we can get back to doing the things we love sooner’. Councillor Gloster is also the shadow portfolio holder for finance and knows how precious every Council Tax penny is. He railed against the waste of money sending out the letter represents: “To be blunt this is…
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27Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liberal Democrats oppose Labour’s new Green Belt homes ‘Places for Everyone’ plan

Liberal Democrats oppose Labour’s new Green Belt homes ‘Places for Everyone’ plan

Borough news
Despite Liberal Democrat opposition, Labour voted to take forward the so-called ‘Places for Everyone’ plan at Wednesday’s Council’s meeting (24 March 2021). The new plan will lead to thousands of new homes being built on Oldham’s Green Belt. Councillors considered a report to make an agreement to ‘prepare a joint development plan’ to replace the discredited Greater Manchester Spatial Framework and to delegate the Leader of the Council to sit on an oversight committee with the Leaders of eight of the other nine Greater Manchester authorities. All of these are led by Labour Leaders, other than Bolton which has a Conservative Administration. Stockport Liberal Democrats torpedoed the previous plan by voting against Stockport being involved with it at a Council meeting held there in December 2020. At Wednesday’s meeting (24/03/21),…
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27Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Time to retire fossil fuels: Liberal Democrats want pension fund to go green

Time to retire fossil fuels: Liberal Democrats want pension fund to go green

Borough news
Oldham’s Liberal Democrats are backing the Fossil Fuel Greater Manchester campaign in asking the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, the largest of its kind in the country, to go green and ditch investments in coal, gas and coal. Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, wrote recently to the Council’s representative on the board of the pension fund, Labour Deputy Leader Councillor Abdul Jabbar MBE, asking for his help in making this request a reality. Councillor Sykes explained: “In light of the long-term threat posed to our natural environment and humanity by climate change, Oldham Council has like many others declared a climate emergency and has set ambitious goals to become a carbon neutral local authority by 2025 and a carbon neutral borough by 2030.…
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