'Cracks in communities still growing,' says MP

Oldham MP Jim McMahon

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MP JIM McMahon says "communities are still living very separate lives" in Oldham, 15 years on from the race riots that shook the town.

The spotlight was on Oldham as hundreds of white and Asian youths fought running battles with each other and police over three nights in May, 2001.

The events shamed the town and put Oldham in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Mr McMahon, MP for Oldham West and Royton, said many deep-rooted problems still exist.

Meeting

Mr McMahon said: "It is 15 years since the Oldham riots. Oldham is setting out a new vision where every community will benefit from a confident and vibrant town. But many of the deep-rooted problems are still here: low education and skills outcomes, low wages, poor quality housing and communities still living very separate lives."

Mr McMahon's comments came ahead of a meeting of the The All-Party Group on Social Inclusion, which Streatham MP Chuka Umunna launched in March with a cross-party plan to improve social integration.

Mr Umunna, who chairs the group, warned that not enough action had been taken following violent disorder in Oldham, Bradford and Burnley in 2001 and the subsequent Cantle report into their causes.

Mr Umunna said: "Fifteen years after the Cantle Report, cracks in our communities have continued to grow."

Mr McMahon added: "Though we're seeing progress locally, it's slow and has little support from central government."