MP to use Zoom to hold advice surgeries

Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon

Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon has been encouraging people to stay at home in order to save the NHS and save lives as the Covid-19 virus spreads wider.

And now he is leading by example by introducing remote working for his office team.

That doesn’t mean the pressure to support local people has lessened.

The opposite is true as local people need more help, support and guidance than ever before.

Mr McMahon's team also know that not all issues can be dealt with by email and so they will use ‘Zoom’ to hold video surgeries with constituents.

Mr McMahon said: “We were really conscious about coming up with a way to keep holding these crucial advice surgeries with constituents, just because the office is closed and staff are working from home, we’ve not stopped working hard for the people of Oldham West and Royton.

“We’ve been using video conferencing for meetings over the past week, it’s helped me stay in touch with my office and to carry on doing my job as an MP remotely.

"So, there’s no reason why we can’t make use of this to keep seeing constituents.

“We’re still here to help those who need us during this unprecedented time even if we can’t physically meet.

"Let’s all do our bit, we’re going to be able to give advice to constituents whilst we stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.

“Clearly not everyone can work from home and so we are pushing government hard to offer more help for the self-employed, be clearer about the advice for employees in non-key worker roles, and for agency staff.

“We are also calling on all businesses in Chadderton, Oldham and Royton to put their work force first and make sure no one is forced to work in condition which breach the advice offered by government.”

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