Vox on Jeremy Corbyn in Oldham

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.

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.

The venue hosted Jeremy Corbyn as he addressed a Greater Manchester crowd about the new party he is forming with fellow ex Labour MP Zarah Sultana. The unnamed group, currently known as ‘YourParty’ has over 700,000 members.

The event naturally attracted a sympathetic crowd who cheered on Corbyn’s ideas – which range from cutting the two-child benefits cap to ceasing arms deals with Israel.

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

“Best thing that’s ever happened to Oldham,” one older man called out, warning a younger man to be ‘very careful what you say’ as he speedwalked away.

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: “I’m going to vote for him. Because our current government doesn’t give a sh*t about anyone but themselves.

“In the last election I voted for an independent because I think there’s not much of a difference between Labour and the Conservatives. They say whatever they think will get them into parliament, and once they’re there, nothing changes.“For me the biggest issue is definitely Gaza. I think it is for a lot of the Asian community.”

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.

“Some people in the community still only vote for Labour, usually those who are particularly wealthy,” he claimed. “So I guess he’s hoping to win over the rest of us.”

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.

She said: “I’m a staunch Labour supporter, I believe in their principles. But it doesn’t seem to be working at the moment in Oldham.

“I 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’s what Oldham needs.”

Miranda spoke to the M.E.N. over the phone after being dragged into the conversation by her colleague, Sarah Price.
“Oldham is tearing itself apart at the moment,” the 54-year-old agreed. “And especially for the younger generation, they need something to hope for. There’s nothing here for them at the moment.”

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.

Bash, 29 and Jamzy, 29, (pictured above) 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’s Greater Manchester visit.

“He’s the only one who’s speaking for the youth,” Bash said. “Kids need something to believe in. Labour and Tories have been in power for so long – they want the same things. They don’t want change.”

“I actually like him, you know,” Jamzy agreed, after a brief reflective pause.

“He’s outspoken,” Bash chimed in again. “He’s the only one who speaks straight about the Gaza situation. That’s why he gets blacklisted. We need people like that, who’ll speak up.”

Trish, in her 70s, (pictured above) who was resting on a bench outside the Tommyfield Market on a shopping trip, was not quite as convinced by Your Party’s pitch – but believed a change was needed.
“I do think he talks straight. He says how it is, I think. But I don’t know if I would vote for him, though I think he would do a better job than Keir Starmer,” she said.

“There’s 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.”

But by no means everyone in Oldham is convinced by Corbyn’s offer.

“Corbyn turned me off Labour when he was leader. I’d voted Labour all my life,” another Sarah, 65, said. “I’m glad he’s set up his own party so I don’t have to vote for it.

“I don’t think he’ll 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?”

Online, criticism was even more vehement.

One former councillor, Jeremy Sutcliffe, said: “43 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.

“He’s achieved nowt. All gob and no delivery. A siren voice for the easily led.”

A local Reform UK group even called for him to be ‘blocked from speaking and refused entry to the town’, claiming he would be ‘detrimental to our community cohesion and cause division’.

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.

He later said: “They are areas that have been through the mill of the Thatcherite deindustrialisation of the eighties.

“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.

“We’ve had austerity and it’s still continuing. So it is about addressing those issues.”

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’.