Press Office of Liam McMahon MP

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Press Office of Liam McMahon MP

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Press office of Liam McMahon MP

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Re: Press Office of Liam McMahon MP

Post by Liam McMahon »

Wansbeck - Liam McMahon, the Labour Member of Parliament for Wansbeck and Member of the BEIS Select Committee, gave his thoughts on the Labour leadership election:

"The past few years of the Labour movement has been full of ups and downs. In 2017, we gained millions of votes and the road to government looks clear again, even if it's a bump road. But there have been plenty of downsides: we still have a way to go before we're fighting fit for government, our party has been rocked by an antisemitism scandal and it often feels like our party has been scarred by the same divisions I've seen across the country."

McMahon continued: "Those divisions have been stark in my own constituency in particular. It is a constituency that voted to leave, but still has thousands that voted remain within it. As Labour's vote share skyrocketed across the country, my majority has decreased as the Conservative vote rose even faster. The political differences between the constituents who once worked in the coal mines and their grandchildren that have to go down to London if they're to ever aspire to something are starker than ever.

But we do have shared frustrations: we're all frustrated as our mining towns that once powered not just the country, but the world, now only sends workers to package goods for Amazon. We're all frustrated that as global corporations and banks make record profits, shops and bank branches on our high streets shut shop. We're all frustrated wages have gone stagnant while tax cuts have been handed to the richest."

McMahon concluded: "It's through that route we can not just heal the country, but deliver the Labour government that will improve the lives of working people whether they live in Wansbeck or Watford. That frustration has been exploited by the Conservatives too effectively to sew division, but we need a Labour leader who'll utilise it to deliver change. Throughout this contest, Emily Greenwood is the only politician who hasn't just communicated a vision at all, but has communicated the vision that'll deliver that change I'm looking for. That's why I'm proud to endorse her as our next leader."
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Re: Press Office of Liam McMahon MP

Post by Liam McMahon »

Friends,

I believe in Open Labour’s cause: in the cause for a pluralistic, broad tent and pragmatic socialist movement. That is why I consistently champion the values Open Labour espouses both within the Labour Party and Parliament.

Open Labour was formed out of frustration when too many members had to witness the same vicious cycle we have through Labour's history. As always, Labour has been defined by its two extremes: a dogmatic left and a dogmatic centre. Those of us with pluralistic, diverse views were drowned out as we heard for or against us arguments: you are either for nationalisation or against it. You are either for Trident or against it. Those of us who are for a politics that is unashamedly left wing, but unashamedly pragmatic, something Labour’s two tug of war factions believe cannot co-exist, have been silenced for too long.

We know what the result of this factional clash has been. It’s seen members of the public alienated, a party divided and an antisemitism crisis that has rocked the party. Antisemitism is always a scourge, but when factional politics comes into it the rot grows stronger. Only a pluralistic politics can clamp down on antisemitism in the Labour Party, and that is the politics Emily wants to bring to the table.

For it is those qualities that drive us to the Labour Party. What else could it be? We clearly know, friends, that the Tories are not left wing – they wouldn’t dispute that. You only need to look at the cuts to the poorest people through cuts to the social care system, to tax credits and to domestic violence shelters.

But we know they aren’t pragmatic too, friends. What is pragmatic about giving billions in tax cuts to the biggest corporations while our high streets shut shop? What is pragmatic about leaving wages to go stagnant, reducing the spending power businesses and communities depend on? What is pragmatic about the policies that led to the slowest recovery in our history?

Friends, this is Open Labour’s chance to have that voice be the one the Labour Party uses to communicate with the country: to really sell pragmatic, left wing policy. There’s only one candidate that is pushing for a vision that is as left wing as it is pragmatic, that is pluralistic and builds coalitions – one that seeks to not just bring the Labour Party back together, but to bring Britain Back Together too.

It is a Labour Party that says everyone counts, and that everyone can contribute. And in building that Labour Party, we can build a Britain where everyone counts and everyone can contribute.

And Emily doesn’t just say that in words, but in action. It isn’t policy scrambled last minute with the aim to be all things to all people – its policy that aims to bring people together.

If you support a strong response to the climate emergency which sets us the ambitious but necessary net zero by 2030 target, ensuring we can implement green policies that create well paid jobs across Britain that create greener communities, Emily is with you.

If you support a politics that will put the NHS first and foremost, that rejects the Tory mantra of privatisation and outsourcing within our health service and Instead opts to invest in our health service at historic levels, Emily is with you.

And if you support a candidate that believes we achieve more when we cooperate with each other, not when we compete with each other, and that we need to bring a public ethos into essential services, whether it’s energy, water, buses or mail – Emily is with you.

Bevan’s vision of a government that works for people, providing for them from cradle to grave, is the vision Emily wants to carry with her into government. She’ll invest in early years all the way to creating a National Care Service.

And Emily will work tirelessly to restore our relationship to our European friends and allies. While we need to respect the mandate of the referendum, friends, through the Brexit talks we have forgotten that crucial fact. We do most of our trade in Europe, millions of Britons work, live and love in Europe and in Europe we share many of our values – democracy, the rule of law and solidarity.

Emily has laid out the vision for a post Brexit trade deal that respects the referendum result, but crucially rebuilds our relationship with Europe – only with a strong friendship outside the EU can we build a strong and dynamic economy. Only with a strong friendship outside of Europe can we take advantage of those links on the global stage. Only with strong friendships with Europe can we tackle global issues, whether that’s climate change, terrorism or holding multinational corporations to account.

And we’ll ensure Brexit works for the most vulnerable communities, millions of people in those communities crying out for change. We cannot accept the Tories’ proposition that we can leave the European Union and call it a job well done. We need to ensure the communities that voted Leave we real change as we forge a post Brexit settlement. That goes to the very core of the kind of deal Emily Greenwood wants to secure.

Open Labour’s values are crucial if we’re not just to build a better Labour Party, but if we’re to build a better country and a better world. It is time Open Labour doesn’t just hope Labour can forge a new path, but we can lead and take that path ourselves.

When I think about the values that drive me to the Labour Party, those values are values I see in Open Labour. And they’re values I see in Emily – not just in her, but in her campaign, in her words and most importantly in her actions. That is why I want her to be our next leader. I hope you’ll join me in fighting for those values to be taken into the heart of government, by voting for Emily Greenwood to become the next leader of the Labour Party so she can work tirelessly to bring Britain back together.
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Re: Press Office of Liam McMahon MP

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(Forgot to state, above is a speech Liam delivered to Open Labour in support of Emily Greenwood).
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Re: Press Office of Liam McMahon MP

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McMahon outlines his priorities as Shadow Home

Westminster - The newly appointed Shadow Home Secretary, Liam McMahon, today outlined the priorities he would be talking forward as Shadow Home Secretary, stating that in "previous years" Labour had "not listened to the concerns of the British people around crime and immigration."

He pledged to change this: "The Labour Party is a compassionate and social justice orientated party, so we've been too timid and have let the Conservatives take the narrative on matters of crime and justice," he stated. "But crime is a social justice issue. Take for example the matter of knife crime - we've seen it spike in towns and cities across the country to fuel the drug habits of the middle class who don't see the destructive consequences of their actions. Meanwhile, it is the most vulnerable communities that suffer from the blight of addiction and the crime that spirals as a result of that addiction. If we want our party to be one that is unashamedly tough on crime so that we're looking out and protecting the most vulnerable communities. It is not compassionate to let victims of crime down."

The Shadow Home Secretary criticised the Conservatives' approach. "The Tories' patriotism is about waving flags while outsourcing our jobs to Poland. I think their strategy on crime follows a very similar vein. William Croft will talk a good game in the fight against criminals, but sophisticated criminals don't fear a Home Secretary who talks a tough game: they fear a Home Secretary who'll be on top of their brief and following the tried and tested methods that fight crime and safeguard the individuals, communities and businesses they seek to exploit. That's the Home Secretary I aim to be."

McMahon said Labour's priority in the short term would be listening. "I'm clear where my priorities are, but I want to consider policy very carefully. We were on the money when we said in 2017 austerity had damaged our police service and crime has risen as a result of that, so the Tories have tried pinching our policy. We need to build on that policy and have a comprehensive and credible strategy to fight crime, though. I want to be listening to the British people, to victims of crime, to our police force and to experts as much as I can so the Labour Party has the right answers' to the people's priorities."
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Re: Press Office of Liam McMahon MP

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Westminster - The Shadow Home Secretary, Liam McMahon, launched Labour's campaign to see police officers get a 5% pay rise in the upcoming budget. He called on the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Home Secretary to commit to giving bobbies a 5% boost in their pay.

"We as a party have been absolutely committed to our public service heroes. And our police are no exception," McMahon said. "The police do everything they can to keep our streets safe, often putting their lives on the line to do so. We owe them an enormous gratitude. But just saying we're grateful and getting photo ops with policemen aren't enough. Since 2010, the public sector pay freeze has not just kept police's wages frozen, but have likely seen the cut of many of our police squeezed. That is why Labour is joining the Police Federation in calling for a 5% pay rise for our police officers."

McMahon however said the decision to boost the pay of police wasn't just the "moral thing to do" but the "practical thing to do", stating: "After u turning on their decision to take thousands of bobbies off the beat and fresh from their calls to waste police time to send them into school to do our teachers' jobs, the Conservatives think they can announce that they're hiring 25,000 police officers, walk away and call it a job well done. It doesn't work like that. When retention is an issue that has been raised and police officers are starting on salaries of just £20,000, if we want to make policing attractive as a career we need an immediate boost to police's wages."

McMahon finished: "I'm hoping the Home Secretary won't follow the example of her boss and use our police as photoshoot props without engaging with their concerns, but I remain pessimistic. But we have the opportunity to reward our public service heroes and the police for the service, restore cuts to pay and policing numbers inflicted by this government and make the target to exceed 2010 levels of policing an achievable one. A 5% boost to police wages is a no brainer."
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Re: Press Office of Liam McMahon MP

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Westminster - The Shadow Home Secretary lambasted the Conservative response to Labour's strategy to tackle knife crime, stating that the Conservatives were "soft on knife crime" and "had no real strategy to deal with knife crime."

He said: "I'm incredibly proud of the approach Labour has taken in clamping down on knife crime. Whether it's toughening sentences against those who carry or use knives, fast tracking sentencing for knife offences or expanding police powers so they can target those who have committed knife crimes in the past as part of a wider strategy to tackle knife crime, combined with investment in a National Violence Reduction Unit with strict targets to clamp down on knife crime, we have a plan to deal with knife crime at every level. The Tories have still done absolutely nothing except pedal back on their own regulations while calling it a job well done. They are letting victims of crime down."

The Shadow Home Secretary expressed his 'disappointment' in the Conservatives' criticisms of his strategy. "Stop and search powers, when used fairly, are a key tool for police in stopping crime. Labour doesn't want to scale them back but to expand them whilst ensuring fair use regulations stay in place. Right now, the law does not contain explicit provisions where officers could place personalised orders against repeat offenders which would allow them to more easily stop and search them without the complications of judicial reviews and the like. It is too vague. Labour's plan would ensure our police are better equipped to target, and prevent, prior offenders from committing knife crime on the street. I think it's sad the Prime Minister has to fictionalise laws that don't exist and Labour policy that doesn't exist in order to take a shot - he would be better off getting on with the job."

He stated the Tory response proved it was 'undoubtable that the Tories were on the side of criminals': "I wanted to give the Conservatives the benefit of the doubt and state their destructive policies - cutting our police, refusing to give the police force the funding it requested to tackle knife crime, was destructive ignorance. But their insistence that knife crime is a London only issues what criminals are plaguing towns and communities across the country, and their opposition to giving the police more powers, toughening sentences and fast tracking sentencing makes clear now more than ever that the Conservative Party are on the side of criminals. While Labour has a plan to clamp down on offenders at every level, the Conservatives are turning a blind eye and letting criminals off the hook."
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Re: Press Office of Liam McMahon MP

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Shadow Home Secretary urges government to reconsider 'soft on crime' bill

Westminster - The Shadow Home Secretary, Liam McMahon, commented on the government's recent Abuse of Drugs Act. He said after 'comprehensively reading it' he felt there were 'strong and weak points' to the bill.

"Drug use is unacceptable. It allows crime to fester and wrecks havoc on the most vulnerable communities," McMahon emphasised. "But addicts, often themselves exploited by criminals, deserve society's compassion and understanding, and should be supported in their fight against addiction. I think the aims of the bill are broadly right in trying to balance compassion to those blighted by addiction with intolerance to those who fuel it. However, the bill itself is riddled by incompetence and a soft on crime attitude - and it goes straight to the heart of the Prime Minister."

The Shadow Home Secretary elaborated further on his criticisms: "The Prime Minister in this bill has given drug traffickers, dealers and criminals a golden route into their illicit business by removing police stop and search powers outside of drug checking sites. This weakens police in the fight against drug crime, which we know stop and search is particularly helpful in preventing, and creates a loophole criminals will not hesitate to exploit. I am extremely disappointed, but we're used to seeing the Prime Minister show an incompetence and soft on crime attitude that leaves Britain less safe. Only moments after refusing to give police further powers to target repeat knife crime offenders with stop and search powers, he wants to let drug criminals off the hook too."

McMahon clarified that Labour would seek cross party support to redress the loophole urgently. "We will be fighting to ensure police retain their stop and search powers everywhere so that the Prime Ministers' drug checking sites don't become havens for drug criminals. We will also be seeking to double sentencing for selling drugs to minors, and establishing a Drug Crime Command Branch in the National Crime Agency so it can put a particular focus on tackling drug crime. Anything less will let the most pernicious criminals off the hook."
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Re: Press Office of Liam McMahon MP

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Government's encouragement of cannabis risks our children's safety, states Shadow Home Secretary

Westminster - In a statement to the press, the Shadow Home Secretary criticised the government's plans to legalise cannabis and statements it had made around the issue. "The British people want drugs off our streets and understand the harm they do to vulnerable communities and to children, in particular," the Shadow Home Secretary said. "Theresa May, who was elected in 2017, made clear that drugs should not be legalised and they did untold damage to communities. Conservative Members of Parliament who are arguing vociferously for this legislation had, only a few years ago, voted for the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. They are breaking their sacred promise to this country to be tough on crime."

The Shadow Home Secretary stated the Conservatives 'weren't even being soft on crime - they were actively encouraging it', outlining: "To compare drug taking to alcohol, and to in fact state it is preferable to drinking, is frankly an insult to millions of hard working Britons across the country who abide by the rules and like a drink. Anti social drinking and addiction is wrong but drinking is not criminal in and of itself and it does not inherently pose the risks of exploitation and criminality that cannabis carries."

"This insult to millions of Britons is frankly disgraceful. While the government handpicks studies to try and encourage our kids onto the street and taking drugs, our NHS and police work tirelessly to repair that damage. Our NHS is clear: cannabis is addictive, causes infertility and triggers mental illness including schizophrenia. It should not be promoted to children as this government is doing."

The Shadow Home Secretary laughed off suggestions legalising cannabis was 'smart on crime': "Cannabis usage is associated with crime because it encourages crime, not because it is illegal. In many of the States in America the Chancellor boasts of that are legalising cannabis, crime has skyrocketed. That is because those who take cannabis are criminals and cannabis encourages criminality. Attempting to reduce crime by stating criminals acts are no longer a crime isn't smart, it's manipulation."

The Shadow Home Secretary finished: "Instead of letting criminals off the hook, Labour knows to be smart on crime you have to be tough on it. That's why we promised harsher sentences against those who dealt drugs to minors and reforming the National Crime Agency so it had a dedicated branch to tackle drug crimes. I am hopeful we can retain these important policies and show the British people that while the government want drugs to get onto our streets and into our children, we'll be tough on crime and ready to protect vulnerable communities."
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Re: Press Office of Liam McMahon MP

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McMahon pushes for a "compromise" solution following the passing of the Education Act

Wansbeck - The former Shadow Home Secretary and Member of Parliament for Wansbeck, Liam McMahon, spoke to express his "disappointment" on the passing of the Education Act.

He said: "It is no secret I opposed a return to a grammar school system in England. I think it creates a system that exacerbates inequality instead of promoting opportunity, and I worry about the effect it will have in bright but poor kids in constituencies such as my own. I think that the Tories proposed going back to the 50s showed they have no new ideas for our kids, but I am absolutely furious that the Liberal Democrats have nodded this bill through. They have once again sold out the working classes and their own principles for a shot of relevancy. I hope they'll be deeply ashamed tonight."

However, McMahon called for a "compromise, cross party" path forwards. He said: "Parliament passed its verdict, and that must be respected. I'm unsure if a tug of war between grammars and comprehensives over the next decade, as I fear will happen, would be a sustainable path forwards and if that's the route the two main parties choose to take we'll let kids down. We must work to amend the education system the Tories and Lib Dems have forced us to return to and make sure working class kids aren't locked out of opportunity due to the tripartite system. I've been in discussions with Parliamentarians across parties and I know there's support - including on the Tory benches - for the banning of 11+ tutoring, support for quotas to get working class kids in grammar schools and to restore the nursing bursary. I will be promptly working on a bill and trying to establish dialogue with the government so we can see these improvements put in."

McMahon finished with. "As always, this is not the end, though. You can't just create grammar schools and call it a day. We need the government and Gavin Williamson to put in the hard graft to continuously improve our education system, make sure every child counts and make sure we can make Britain one of the best places to grow up in. I know that is what the Labour Party will continue to propose, and I will support them in that endeavour."
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