Jim McMahon MP OBE

I became an Oldham councillor in 2003 and was elected Leader of the Labour Group in 2008. I went on to become leader of Oldham Council, and Chair of the LGA Labour Group. Following the sad passing of Michael Meacher MP, I successfully stood in the by-election of the Oldham West and Royton seat and was elected to Parliament in December 2015. Since October 2016 I have represented the Labour frontbench as the Shadow Minister for Local Government specialising in Devolution in England and Finance. In 2017 I was drawn successfully to present a Private Members Bill in Parliament, which has been one my favourite moments being an MP. Together with the Oldham Youth Council we presented the Bill for its Second Reading in November 2017 which aimed to give 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote together with civic and democratic education in schools. Although the Bill was ‘talked out’ it cemented the support of the Labour, Lib Dem, SNP, Plaid and Green benches. Following the Bill I was named the 2017 Youth Voice Champion by the British Youth Council. I am proud to live in the borough of Oldham. I moved to the borough when we were expecting our first son Jack with my partner Charlene. Becoming a father made me look at the world around me in a different way. I wanted to do my bit to make it make it a better place, and this motivated me to become active in local politics. Today Jack has been joined by our second son Harry… and our dog Lola.