Labour & Co-operative MP for Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton | Chair of @CoopParty | 🇬🇧 UK Gov | Minister for Local Government, Devolution & Regional Growth
Oldham, England
Joined June 2010
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Congratulations to @andrewpakes_ on this important appointment #coops 🐝
🐝 "This is the co-operative moment."
From the Rochdale Pioneers to the ambition to double our movement, @AndrewPakes_ sets out his vision as the Government's new Co-operatives and Mutuals Champion in @PoliticsHome.
I’m sorry to hear of the death of Lord Bryan Davies of Oldham.
Lord Davies represented Oldham Central and Royton as its Labour MP from 1992 to 1997, and held a number of senior parliamentary and government positions, including serving as Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords.
He was always very kind when we spoke during my time as council leader, where he always maintained an interest in the borough, and that continued from my arrival as an MP over a decade ago.
My condolences to his family, friends and former colleagues. May he rest in peace.
Jim McMahon OBE MP retweeted
This week we launched Hope on the High Street, our plan to rebuild the places people care about.
Backed by £125m to tackle derelict buildings, £65m to secure community ownership of important assets, £10m for high street rental auctions and £10m regional co-operative development.
Backed a budget which means;
🎯 Around 70,000 additional high-street businesses will pay no business rates.
🎯 Around 110,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties will see their bills fall in 2027/28.
🎯 Half of all qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England will pay no business rates.
Real action to deliver growth in every postcode. @mhclg #highstreets
Read more assets.publishing.service.go…
This week we launched Hope on the High Street, our plan to rebuild the places people care about.
Backed by £125m to tackle derelict buildings, £65m to secure community ownership of important assets, £10m for high street rental auctions and £10m regional co-operative development.
Backed a budget which means;
🎯 Around 70,000 additional high-street businesses will pay no business rates.
🎯 Around 110,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties will see their bills fall in 2027/28.
🎯 Half of all qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England will pay no business rates.
Real action to deliver growth in every postcode. @mhclg #highstreets
Read more assets.publishing.service.go…
Today we updated Parliament and local leaders on the review of Local Government Reorganisation and the next steps in delivering the programme.
This confirmed ‘minded to’ decisions for;
📍East Sussex and Brighton and Hove, the two unitary proposal including boundary changes requested by Brighton and Hove City Council, except for the parish of Falmer.
📍The one unitary proposal in Gloucestershire.
📍The three unitary proposal in Oxfordshire, including boundary changes.
📍The two unitary proposal in Warwickshire.
📍The two unitary proposal in Worcestershire.
We also outlined how we will support councils with the release of funding to recognise the work done to date.
All elections in 2027 will be on the current boundaries, with Shadow Unitary elections to in 2028, and vesting in 2029.
We will return with further updates before Christmas.
Read more; gov.uk/government/news/local…
@mhclg #localgov
Jim McMahon OBE MP retweeted
This is fantastic news. We know devolution is working for West Yorkshire so it’s great to see this rolled out across the country. Congratulations @andyburnham @JimfromOldham and @AngelaRayner and thank you for your commitment to leadership.
Devolution is growing to another level.
Alongside the #budget26 we published the Fiscal Devolution Roadmap 👇
🎯 Mayors to receive a share of locally generated income tax from April 2028.
🎯 100% business rates retention across local and regional government by the end of the decade. With Mayors receiving a 20% share from 2027.
🎯 Powers for all strategic authorities to introduce an Overnight Visitor Levy.
🎯 £1.5 billion investment borrowing facility for mayors from April 2028.
🎯 £150 million extra capacity funding for strategic authorities.
🎯 Read the roadmap here: assets.publishing.service.go…
#FiscalDevolution #LocalGovernment #Devolution #RegionalGrowth @mhclg @hmtreasury
Devolution is growing to another level.
Alongside the #budget26 we published the Fiscal Devolution Roadmap 👇
🎯 Mayors to receive a share of locally generated income tax from April 2028.
🎯 100% business rates retention across local and regional government by the end of the decade. With Mayors receiving a 20% share from 2027.
🎯 Powers for all strategic authorities to introduce an Overnight Visitor Levy.
🎯 £1.5 billion investment borrowing facility for mayors from April 2028.
🎯 £150 million extra capacity funding for strategic authorities.
🎯 Read the roadmap here: assets.publishing.service.go…
#FiscalDevolution #LocalGovernment #Devolution #RegionalGrowth @mhclg @hmtreasury
We have announced £285 million of capital grant funding for Good Growth Funds in 2027 to 2028, giving mayors and local leaders greater flexibility to invest in their own growth priorities.
Here are the allocations;
Tees Valley - £8.39 million
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough - £11.09 million
West of England - £14.49 million
York and North Yorkshire - £9.96 million
East Midlands - £26.97 million
Hull and East Yorkshire - £7.45 million
Greater Lincolnshire - £13.27 million
Cheshire and Warrington - £11.90 million
Cumbria - £6.03 million
Greater London Authority - £54.11 million
1/3 #Budget26
Funding for emerging strategic authorities
Devon, Plymouth and Torbay - £5.70 million
Lancashire - £7.27 million
Greater Essex - £8.76 million
Hampshire and Solent - £9.37 million
Norfolk and Suffolk - £7.85 million
Sussex and Brighton - £8.01 million
Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland - £5.34 million
2/3#Budget26
Staffordshire and Stoke - £5.35 million
Thames Valley - £9.10 million
Kent and Medway - £8.78 million
Wessex - £8.69 million
Hertfordshire - £5.61 million
Surrey - £5.68 million
Cornwall - £2.66
Funding retained for remaining areas
For places where there is not currently local agreement on the right footprint for future devolution, £23 million of funding is held in reserve. Funding will be allocated to individual places as and when agreement is reached on devolution footprints.
Read more gov.uk/government/publicatio… 3/3 #Budget26
Co-operatives can play a bigger role in driving local growth and putting power and opportunity in the hands of communities.
Today we’ve published the Strategic Authorities we are inviting to be part of our £10m Regional Co-operative Development Programme:
📍 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
📍 Cheshire and Warrington
📍 Cumbria
📍 Devon and Torbay
📍 East Midlands
📍 Greater Lincolnshire
📍 Greater London
📍 Greater Manchester
📍 Hampshire and the Solent
📍 Hull and East Yorkshire
📍 Lancashire
📍 Liverpool City Region
📍 North East
📍 South Yorkshire
📍 Sussex and Brighton
📍 Tees Valley
📍 West Midlands
📍 West of England
📍 West Yorkshire
📍 York and North Yorkshire
#cooperatives
Read more gov.uk/government/publicatio…
Today we’ve announced 60 places who will share £125m to tackle derelict buildings and bring them back into use.
This is part of a wider programme which includes £65m for Community Ownership, £10m for High Street Rental Auctions and £10m for Regional Co-operative Development.
gov.uk/government/publicatio…
Knowsley — £1.55m
Leicester — £3.00m
Mansfield — £1.07m
Middlesbrough — £1.44m
North East Lincolnshire — £1.51m
Nottingham — £3.00m
Oldham — £2.38m
Pendle — £1.00m
Plymouth — £2.56m
Preston — £1.55m
Redcar and Cleveland — £1.32m
Rochdale — £2.24m
Rotherham — £2.63m
Salford — £2.80m
Sandwell — £3.00m
Sefton — £2.71m
South Tyneside — £1.43m
St Helens — £1.79m
Stockton-on-Tees — £1.96m
Stoke-on-Trent — £2.57m
Sunderland — £2.71m
Tameside — £2.27m
Tendring — £1.50m
Thanet — £1.36m
Torbay — £1.32m
Wakefield — £3.00m
Walsall — £2.79m
Wigan — £3.00m
Wirral — £3.00m
Wolverhampton — £2.66m
Read more here gov.uk/government/publicatio…
Devolution is growing out!
The government is now in the final stages of agreeing 10 new devolution agreements:
Mayoral Strategic Authorities for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay; Hertfordshire; Lancashire; Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland; Stoke and Staffordshire; Surrey; Thames Valley (Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Swindon); and Wessex.
A Strategic Authority for Kent and Medway which will be Mayoral if the area’s Local Government Reorganisation outcome is compatible with this and Foundation if not.
This adds to Cheshire and Warrington; Cumbria; Sussex and Brighton; Hampshire and Solent; Essex and Norfolk and Suffolk.
And a single Foundation Strategic Authority for Cornwall.
Well done to all the local leaders and MPs, businesses and partners who have made the case and done the hard work on the ground!
#budget26 @mhclg
Delighted to see the HMRC mileage rate will be permanently increased to 55p, reflecting the increased cost of using a car or van for work. 🚙🚐🚗
A niche campaign I pushed as a constituency MP from the backbenches with the support of Unison and the RAC Foundation, saw it adopted ahead of a fuller review and backdated to April, now it’s confirmed as continuing.
Great news.
1. Making higher tax-free mileage rates for nurses, care workers, self-employed tradespeople and others who drive for work.
2. Extending parental pay to more than 150,000 more parents per year.
3. Ending the Carer’s Allowance cliff edge so unpaid carers no longer lose their entire allowance simply for earning a penny over the Weekly Earnings Limit.
4. Removing import tariffs on more than 100 products, helping lower import costs on family favourites.
5. Rolling out hundreds more Post Office drop boxes, making it easier to send and return parcels.
Good growth starts with empowering local leaders who know their communities best. 👏
£285m for local growth in 2027–28, an additional £150m to strengthen local capacity, and a planned £1.5bn borrowing facility will help mayors and strategic authorities invest in homes, town centres, jobs and infrastructure.
Find out more… theyworkforyou.com/wms/?id=2…