Dedicated Shirley nominated for prestigious parliamentary award
Date published: 22 January 2021
Shirley is pictured during the 2019 General Election campaign
Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon has nominated his constituency Office Manager, Shirley Buckley, for a Special Award for Connecting Communities at the Parliament’s People Awards.
Oldhamer Shirley has made the final shortlist of three ahead of the winners being announced on Monday (January 25).
The unique Openreach Special Award for Connecting Communities is designed to recognise the extra mile that people that work for MPs do to support their communities and society.
Shirley has been Mr McMahon’s Office Manager since he became the Member of Parliament for Oldham West and Royton in 2015, and before that she worked for Michael Meacher MP going back to the late 1990s.
Her commitment to social justice and equality shines through in her work ethic, and the fact that she gives her undivided attention to every constituent and case that crosses her desk.
One of Shirley’s many accomplishments over the years is the work she did in supporting Mr McMahon to secure a statue of Oldham’s own suffragette, Annie Kenney, now standing proudly outside the Old Town Hall in Parliament Square.
Mr McMahon said: “Shirley is the heart and soul of the constituency, she has helped literally thousands of people over the years and her dedication to helping me and the rest of my team is unquestionable.
“The truth is there are thousands of people in Oldham who Shirley has helped without them knowing that she was the one helping them.
"She has dedicated the last 25 years to trying to make the lives of Oldhamers better and she was vital behind the scenes in helping us bring Annie Kenney back to Oldham.
“She deserves every possible recognition and I’m so pleased that she’s made it to the shortlist for this award.
"She is integral to the way my constituency office runs and her support over the last five years has been invaluable.”
Shirley said: “I was quite shocked when I got the email to say I’d been nominated and shortlisted.
"Jim and everyone else in the office kept it quiet that I’d been put forward so I was a little taken aback and didn’t quite know what to make of it.
“I’m really pleased to have got this far, I don’t expect any awards for what I do.
"I just see it as doing my job."
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