News from
Debbie Abrahams MP

For Oldham East and Saddleworth

November 2015

Syria  

I share the concerns that many constituents have recently expressed to me about possible air strikes in Syria by UK forces. 

Daesh (also known as ISIL) poses a threat both regionally in its main area of military operations and internationally through terrorism.   Labour agrees that we must act to end the threat from Daesh to the region and internationally. The tragic events in Paris and the continuing attacks on civilians in the Middle East and around the world have emphasised just how important this is to us all. I was pleased to invite the Shadow Foreign Secretary, Hilary Benn MP, to the constituency at the weekend to discuss the wider impact of foreign policy on local communities. We had an open and honest discussion with the Borough’s Interfaith Forum.

If the government now has a proposal to bring forward relating to air strikes against Daesh in Syria then – Labour have consistently said– we will consider it against the tests we have set. We need to be clear about what difference any extension of military action would make to our objective of defeating Daesh, the nature of any intervention, its objectives and the legal basis. Any potential action must command the support of other nations in the region, including Iraq and the coalition already taking action in Syria. And, crucially, it must be part of a wider and more comprehensive strategy to end the threat they pose. 

A vote may be called this week by the Prime Minister to extend air strikes. However I am not currently convinced by the Government’s argument for air strikes and I do not believe they have clearly made the case yet of what difference air strikes would make to defeating Daesh. You can share your views with me on this matter by emailing me on abrahamsd@parliament.uk or by contacting my office on 0161 624 4248.

Oldham Fairness Commission Conference

I am delighted the Oldham Fairness Commission will host its conference on Friday 29th January 2016.
 
I established The Oldham Fairness Commission (OFC) in July 2013 in response to the persistent inequalities that exist across Oldham borough. One outcome of the inequalities is that there is more than an 11 year life expectancy ‘gap’ between men who live in the most and least deprived parts of the borough. But many of these inequalities are not fixed or inevitable. The OFC has gathered evidence though oral hearings and written submissions and a full report was produced in March 2015 with recommendations to take forward.

At the conference, Commissioners who are made up of leaders from across the public, voluntary, community, education and business sectors will commit to the OFC recommendations and refine their actions plans to tackle inequality in our Borough.  Last I week I signed the Oldham Fairness Commission Charter with local MP, Angela Rayner and Labour candidate for Oldham West and Royton, Jim McMahon, to show our commitment to undertaking the recommendations of the OFC and making Oldham a living wage Borough.  To find out more about the OFC please click here.

I hosted a cross party meeting in Parliament to address the issue of ‘retentions’, the withholding of part of the agreed payment until the completion of a job which is a practice rife in the construction industry, often resulting in smaller companies losing money.

As part of my Be Fair – Pay On Time campaign, which was set up to highlight the effects of late payments on small and medium enterprises, I hosted the meeting for MPs so the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ (SEC) Group could brief them on the progress of the two amendments they have tabled for the Enterprise Bill in the House of Lords. Their amendments are designed to tackle this much hated and damaging system of retentions.

I was the first MP to raise the issue of retentions in a Parliamentary debate and I tabled amendments to address retentions to the Small Business Bill in the last Parliament. Rudi Klein, CEO of the SEC Group said “Without wishing to be over optimistic the Enterprise Bill is the best chance, so far, to address the retention problem in our industry.” We tell small and medium enterprises they are the back bone of our economy, and key to our recovery, so it’s time we started to do more to protect them from inappropriate late payment tactics from bigger businesses. Read more here.

Constituency Update

In addition to my regular advice surgeries I have been keeping busy locally this month.

I am delighted to be working with two local rugby league greats; former Leeds Rhinos and England captain and current Yorkshire Carnegie star, Kevin Sinfield MBE and former Oldham Rugby League and Great Britain international, Terry Flanagan on widening participation in sports. Councillors Shaid Mushtaq and Adrian Alexander are also supporting the project. We will particularly be looking at widening participation in rugby league and cricket both of which have great traditions in Oldham and Saddleworth. Sport can play such a key role in building social cohesion in communities and developing resilience in young people. We are looking forward to working closely with local sports clubs, schools and community groups from across the Borough. 

I also want to offer my congratulations to Kevin Sinfield for being nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Kevin is a true professional who gives back so much to his local community. He is also the first rugby league player to be nominated for this award - it certainly is well deserved. We can all support Kevin by voting for him by phone or on-line on the night of the show which takes place on Sunday 20 December. Find out more details of how to vote here. Good luck Kevin!

Our Borough remembered the Rt. Hon. Michael Meacher MP at a memorial service which took place today (Tuesday 1 December). It was a poignant service where we shared memories of all the great work Michael did for his constituency. We will miss Michael deeply. The upcoming by-election in Oldham West and Royton will take place on the 3 December and Labour MP and MEP colleagues and supporters from Oldham and Saddleworth and across the country have been working hard with our campaign team (including, Andrew Gwynne MP, Angela Rayner MP and me!) to support our excellent candidate, Councillor Jim McMahon. I wish him all the best on Thursday.

I have been continuing my visits to schools across Oldham and Saddleworth and it has been wonderful to meet with pupils and staff. I have had some great interactions including the odd tricky question or two from pupils – they have certainly been keeping me on my toes. Thank you to everyone for making me feel welcome.

In addition, I have recently hosted drop-in surgeries in Higginshaw, Derker and I am currently holding them in Sholver. The drop-in surgeries bring together the police, social housing providers, local councillors and myself as your local MP over a number of weeks. So far the feedback has been positive and I plan to continue this across the constituency.

Finally, I wanted to congratulate all the finalists at the Oldham Pride Awards – they really represent the best of our Borough and what we can all achieve when we put our minds to something. I also saw the same dedication when I attended the awards evening at the Oldham Point conference. Point are a local support group who work with families with children with additional needs. Well done to all those nominated.

If you are organising any constituency events and would like me to participate (ideally Fri-Mon), please e-mail abrahamsd@parliament.uk and we will do our best to fit you into the diary!