Season's Greetings from Debbie Abrahams MP

Debbie Abrahams MP, for Oldham East and Saddleworth

Season's Greetings

I want to wish you all season's greetings. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.

It has been another busy year and I have provided some details below on the work I do throughout the year. I am honoured to represent Oldham East and Saddleworth and I am looking forward to 2018. We certainly have a lot to do!

My constituency office re-opens on Wednesday 3 January 2018 at 9am.

Constituents requiring urgent support for issues such as homelessness can email me on abrahamsd@parliament.uk or leave a voicemail message on 020 7219 1041.

Please be aware this email address and phone number will be checked intermittently.

Oldham Foodbank

Oldham Foodbank is expecting its busiest Christmas ever as the number of families needing emergency supplies continues to rise. It is unacceptable that so many families have to rely on foodbanks to get through the festive period.

I joined forces with staff and volunteers from Oldham Foodbank and Tesco, in Huddersfield Road, to appeal for donations.

Last Christmas, there was a 47% increase in the number of three-day emergency supplies handed out by Oldham Foodbank, according to Trussell Trust figures.

I am grateful for the wonderful work Oldham Foodbank and other foodbanks in Oldham do to support our community; the generosity of people who provide food makes their work possible.

We know that the Tories' botched Universal Credit roll-out, and its freeze to social security are causing misery, as well as contributing to the foodbanks' demand.

Labour is calling on the Government to pause and fix Universal Credit, and lift the harmful social security freeze.