{"id":385886,"date":"2025-08-30T22:31:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T22:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/385886\/"},"modified":"2025-08-30T22:31:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T22:31:19","slug":"all-gob-or-a-voice-for-the-youth-what-oldham-thinks-of-jeremy-corbyns-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/385886\/","title":{"rendered":"‘All gob’ or ‘a voice for the youth’ – What Oldham thinks of Jeremy Corbyn’s visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some Oldham locals say \u2018straight-talking\u2019 Jeremy Corbyn has their vote – but others say he\u2019s \u2018a siren voice for the easily led\u2019.Jamzy (left) and Bash (right) believe Corbyn is ‘outspoken’. <\/p>\n

During the day, the Empire Suite in Oldham looks unassuming. Overshadowed by a busy mechanics garage on the industrial end of a street of terraced houses, the wedding venue sits back from the road, shutters down, quiet.<\/p>\n

Yet just days ago the Suite was abuzz with activity – a long queue snaking out of its front door, people in black and white keffiyehs handing out flyers, local political figures waving at familiar faces from the balcony.<\/p>\n

The venue hosted Jeremy Corbyn as he addressed a Greater Manchester crowd about the new party he is forming with fellow ex Labour<\/a> MP Zarah Sultana. The unnamed group, currently known as \u2018YourParty\u2019 has over 700,000 members.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Empire Suite during the ‘Evening with Jeremy Corbyn’ event, during which he spoke about YourParty.(Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

The event naturally attracted a sympathetic crowd who cheered on Corbyn\u2019s ideas – which range from cutting the two-child benefits cap to ceasing arms deals with Israel.<\/p>\n

But online, news of the independent Islington MP\u2019s first forays into Greater Manchester received a more critical reception. Curious about what the wider Oldham<\/a> public made of the borough hosting the YourParty figurehead, the M.E.N. went and spoke to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cBest thing that\u2019s ever happened to Oldham,\u201d one older man called out, warning a younger man to be \u2018very careful what you say\u2019 as he speedwalked away.<\/p>\n

The left-behind 24-year-old, waiting for his car to be fixed next to the Empire Suite two days before the event, said candidly: \u201cI\u2019m going to vote for him. Because our current government doesn\u2019t give a sh*t about anyone but themselves.<\/p>\n

\"MrMr Corbyn addressing a largely sympathetic crowd. (Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last election I voted for an independent because I think there\u2019s not much of a difference between Labour and the Conservatives<\/a>. They say whatever they think will get them into parliament, and once they\u2019re there, nothing changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me the biggest issue is definitely Gaza. I think it is for a lot of the Asian community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young man, who was of Asian heritage, added that he believed Corbyn was coming to Oldham because of the large Asian community there who had previously been hardline Labour supporters – but have turned away from the party over their stance on Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people in the community still only vote for Labour, usually those who are particularly wealthy,\u201d he claimed. \u201cSo I guess he\u2019s hoping to win over the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Empire Suite a few days before the event took place. (Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

But others thought there was another reason Corbyn might have chosen to visit Oldham. Miranda Parker, who spearheads the Dare to Know theatre group in Oldham, believes it’s to do with locals being disillusioned with the local authority, which has been Labour led for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cI\u2019m a staunch Labour supporter, I believe in their principles. But it doesn\u2019t seem to be working at the moment in Oldham.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been a great believer in Jeremy Corbyn. I think he goes back to what Labour really means – improving lives for working people. And I think he would re-galvanize Oldham – and that\u2019s what Oldham needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miranda spoke to the M.E.N. over the phone after being dragged into the conversation by her colleague, Sarah Price.<\/p>\n

\"SarahSarah Prince, an Oldham local who supports Corbyn’s ideas for the new party. (Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

\u201cOldham is tearing itself apart at the moment,\u201d the 54-year-old agreed. \u201cAnd especially for the younger generation, they need something to hope for. There\u2019s nothing here for them at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both women who work with the theatre group that supports working class actors also hoped for more arts funding under a radical new government – crucial for giving young, working-class creatives a path into the industry.<\/p>\n

Bash, 29 and Jamzy, 29, also believe YourParty is the only group giving young people some hope. Visiting Oldham Mumps to pick up a rental car, the Manchester residents were excited to hear the news of Corbyn\u2019s Greater Manchester visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the only one who\u2019s speaking for the youth,\u201d Bash said. \u201cKids need something to believe in. Labour and Tories have been in power for so long – they want the same things. They don\u2019t want change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JamzyJamzy (left) and Bash (right) believe Corbyn is ‘outspoken’. (Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually like him, you know,\u201d Jamzy agreed, after a brief reflective pause.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s outspoken,\u201d Bash chimed in again. \u201cHe\u2019s the only one who speaks straight about the Gaza situation. That\u2019s why he gets blacklisted. We need people like that, who\u2019ll speak up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trish, in her 70s, who was resting on a bench outside the Tommyfield Market on a shopping trip, was not quite as convinced by Your Party\u2019s pitch – but believed a change was needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think he talks straight. He says how it is, I think. But I don\u2019t know if I would vote for him, though I think he would do a better job than Keir Starmer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Trish,Trish, in her 70s, who is worried about the level of division in Oldham. (Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of asylum seekers here, lots of hotels and HMOs. I find it a bit scary – not because I have anything against them, but because I think we are becoming very divided over issues like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

But by no means everyone in Oldham is convinced by Corbyn\u2019s offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorbyn turned me off Labour when he was leader. I\u2019d voted Labour all my life,\u201d another Sarah, 65, said. \u201cI\u2019m glad he\u2019s set up his own party so I don\u2019t have to vote for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019ll get a lot of support in the election because the things he promises just seem like pie in the sky thinking. How is he going to pay for it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AnAn ‘Oldham welcomes Jeremy Corbyn’ sign on the Empire Suite on the night of the event. (Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

Online, criticism was even more vehement.<\/p>\n

One former councillor, Jeremy Sutcliffe, said: \u201c43 years as a backbench MP. Never appointed as a PPS, never appointed as a shadow minister nor as a minister during a Labour Government. He’s never contributed to change things.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s achieved nowt. All gob and no delivery. A siren voice for the easily led.\u201d<\/p>\n

A local Reform UK group even called for him to be \u2018blocked from speaking and refused entry to the town\u2019, claiming he would be \u2018detrimental to our community cohesion and cause division\u2019.<\/p>\n

Speaking to journalists at the event, Jeremy Corbyn said he picked Oldham for one of his first events as he was invited by a local activist he has known for many years.<\/p>\n

\"CorbynCorbyn during the event. (Image: Jo Timan \/ M.E.N.)<\/p>\n

He later said: “They are areas that have been through the mill of the Thatcherite deindustrialisation of the eighties.<\/p>\n

“Many of those areas never totally recovered, have been replaced often by short-term and insecure working and a general lack of investment and continually an underfunding of public services.<\/p>\n

“We’ve had austerity and it’s still continuing. So it is about addressing those issues.”<\/p>\n

During his speech he spoke about tackling poverty, income inequality and climate change as well as bringing peace and justice to Palestine, Ukraine and Kashmir and fighting the far-right by demanding ‘real social justice and change’.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some Oldham locals say \u2018straight-talking\u2019 Jeremy Corbyn has their vote – but others say he\u2019s \u2018a siren voice…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385887,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,33944,528,10751,2465,1286,14984,285,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-385886","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-jeremy-corbyn","12":"tag-labour-party","13":"tag-local-elections","14":"tag-manchester","15":"tag-oldham","16":"tag-oldham-council","17":"tag-politics","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115120091113331644","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}