Oldham’s resident narcissist and self-declared Oldham success story, Labour MP Jim McMahon, has doffed his hat to Jeremy Corbyn like socialist partner in crime Debbie Abrahams before him and accepted the post of Shadow Minister for Local Government & Devolution. We can now expect shadow national policy that reflects McMahon’s time as Oldham Council leader namely increasing the money spent on core voters, specifically those niche voters excused by location, demography or identity any fiscal contribution to the economic and financial instruments that power our version of a western democratised capitalist society. Jim McMahon’s lasting legacy at Oldham Council was policy involving a whole lot of borrowing with decades of interest payments with outcomes that won’t be realised for 20 years and public funds that won’t be recouped till our grandchildren retire if ever. Let’s not forget Jim McMahon’s so-called local government savvy and economic expertise saw his £10 million Oldham old town hall cinema scheme announced in 2012 consume over £36 million of local government public money by 2015. His “Our House” social enterprise rent to buy store declared bankruptcy just three months after opening with undeclared costs to Oldham Council. The Hotel Future scheme originally being developed by the Manchester Hoteliers Association is now over three years behind schedule and no longer has a private developer in place to fund it and if it continues forward will see the expense once again placed upon the Oldham public. When Jim McMahon stepped down as Oldham Council leader after five years in charge Oldham had experienced the lowest average pay in Greater Manchester for ten consecutive years, had the sixth highest birth rate in England, claimed the sixth highest average tax credit amount in the UK totaling over £170 million annually, had an annual £80 million housing benefit bill, had the third busiest A&E department in the UK and was experiencing the highest level of poor foreign migration ever recorded.
