Welcome to Oldham Part II
Where white people should be worried & the asians worried more
At the time Jim McMahon was first elected a Labour Councillor in 2003, his Labour Party run Oldham Council was inspected by the Audit Commission. Describing Oldham Council as ‘ungovernable,' a government code word widely believed to mean corrupt, the Audit Commission ranked Oldham Council as the second worst Council in the entire country. If only the Audit Commission was still around to inspect Oldham now. I think Jim McMahon’s Labour Party run Oldham Council would do one better and manage to claim that bottom place with ease.
Shortly after the damning Audit Commission report, the entire Council was up for re-election. At the time, the town elected 11 Black & Ethnic Minority (BAME) Councillors. 15 years later this has nearly doubled and there are now 20 Councillors from BAME backgrounds. All but one is of Pakistani & Bangladeshi background. They now make up a third of Oldham Council. Most of these are representatives of the Labour Party.
During this 15 year period, Jim McMahon has successfully navigated himself through the ranks from a new Councillor to becoming the youngest Leader of the Council before finally exploiting a loophole to become the town’s MP. He now uses his safe seat our town has given him as a platform and operates as a Player at Westminster. Leading Machiavellian plots to usurp a democratically elected leader and strategically voting against the will of his constituents, Jim from Oldham has become quite the politician.
At the same time, he has also maintained a strong (some would say controlling) influence in Oldham Council. Worried members of the public, politicians and public officials have all confided with me their concerns that Oldham is run by Jim McMahon through his strategically placed stooges. The Leader, the Deputy Leader, the Chief Executive of the Council, are just a few that questions have been raised about regarding how they secured their positions.
Where over promoted councillors or under qualified Council Officers earn in excess of £100,000 in senior roles, questions are increasingly being asked of their connections to Jim McMahon MP
I do not believe that I am alone in thinking there is a clear correlation between Jim McMahon’s rise to power, the almost doubling of Asian Councillors and the escalating concerns from across all sections of our community regarding decisions made by his stooges that run Oldham Council. The corruption that the Audit Commission made reference to all those years ago when declaring Oldham Council as ‘ungovernable’ has through my eyes been ramped up to an entirely new level.
Since my return, the sentiment is the same everywhere I go in this town. Black, White, Brown, Muslim, Christian, Hindu or Atheist, all share with me examples of how they believe that Oldham Council is corrupt. That they all piss in the same pot. That those in positions of power are there because Jim put them there. They share with me stories of politicians and officers who stepped out of line were ruthlessly made an example of and how all dissent is silenced. What people are describing is no different from what I’ve witnessed first hand in parts of Eastern Europe, Africa and South America. We had a name for such arrangements.
A Kingpin & His Cartel?
In my experience, a significant factor in the increasing levels of fear and resentment in our town is a direct consequence of the way in which Jim McMahon’s Oldham Labour Party engages with Oldham’s two main Asian communities — the Pakistanis & Bangladeshis. Oldham Labour has always effectively secured the Asian vote. Even when there was only a handful of Asian councillors and White Councillors still represented people in these predominantly Asian areas, the turnout in these wards was still high — regularly above 90%. The Asian community in Oldham consistently turn out in large numbers to vote and they have overwhelmingly always voted Labour.
Many of you will be aware that from being one of the highest paid Council leaders in the country, the working-class Jim McMahon went on to claim close to £250,000 in expenses in his first year as MP. This was in addition to his c£100,000 salary package and also separate to the c£25,000 a year he pockets from renting his Oldham home whilst living lavishly, compared to the vast majority of his constituents, in his swanky tax payer funded London mansion. Jim McMahon knows that for him to maintain this privileged position he needs to keep the Asians on side.
I’ve previously shared how as the demographic of the town have changed and the White working-classes have turned away from participating in the democratic process, the Asian vote has become all powerful. Jim McMahon and his stooges know that whoever controls the Asian vote also controls the town. My observations are that this is something they are prepared to do by any means necessary and regardless of cost and that Jim McMahon’s rapid rise has only been possible through the support of the Asian Councillors and the Muslim vote these Councillors control.
To secure this support, I believe that there has been an exchange between Jim McMahon & his Labour Party run Oldham Council and these Asian Councillors. Many of these Asian Councillors are leaders of powerful Asian Cartels or their proxies. How much of what I share now with you is entirely up to you to believe.
In many parts of Oldham, councillors are elected not at elections but at the selections. Here party members meet at their local branches to decide who will become their prospective candidate. In the Asian communities, these branches are tightly controlled by members that consistently belong to the same tribal group. Leaders of these groups usually also control all the key civic spaces and businesses in the community. It is a Cartel and like all Cartels, they know how to maintain their power base.
Those who emerge from the Asian communities to become councillors are rarely there because of their politics or any sense of civic duty. They are there as representatives of their Cartel. Over the last 15 years, Jim McMahon, first as Leader of Oldham Council and later as MP of the town (possibly unknowingly — I don’t know) has come to a series of arrangements with these Cartels. One that is mutually beneficial to both. Once you understand the nature of this relationship then you can make sense of why the absence of integrity by many of the Asian Labour Party Councillors an irrelevance.
Through the exploitation of ‘tribal’ factions, our town has recreated a colonialist system where one Asian community is played off against another and then the Asians collectively played off against everyone else. It is not an accident that the majority of the Asian councillors elected from these communities are nothing more than vessels of Jim McMahon. They vote as he or his proxies tell them to do. In return, they continue to enjoy the support of Oldham Labour Party and Oldham Council regardless of any indiscretions.
Criminal record, nah that’s fine. Involvement in dodgy businesses, we can overlook that. Can’t read or write in English, even better! The exchange appears to be that as long as the members of the Cartel support the right politicians, then community resources will be directed by the Council towards the organisations controlled by them. As a bonus, all of their indiscretions will be ignored or covered up.
So what do I think is the nature of this arrangement? What do the Cartels provide in exchange for having their representatives elected to the Council and resources directed their way? From what I’ve been able to so far identify, Jim McMahon and his Oldham Labour Party controlled Council receive the following in exchange;
A block vote in the town hall by an every growing number of Asian councillors that vote exactly as they are instructed. These Asian councillors don’t care about the destruction of the green belt (This link shows one of the Asian Cartel Councillors sat next to the Chair of the Planning Committee whispering in his ear). Nor are they concerned with the spending of £40 million in subsidising a cinema at the Old Town Hall that was meant to cost £10 million, or any of Jim’s other failed vanity projects as listed here. They already have in place what they want and are happy to play their part in this relationship.
Through the organisations that the Cartels control in the community, (such as Oldham Central Mosque which reluctant FOI responses by Oldham Council suggest has been secretly funded by Oldham Tax Payers), Jim McMahon and his White colleagues have complete access to the Asian communities. Here they are able to huge numbers and endorsed by the Cartels that run the communities. By showing off their White political friends, the Cartels also silence any dissent in the community. If the Cartels appear to have Jim and the leaders of Oldham Council in their pockets, what is the use of, for example, raising concerns about a grooming gang that everyone knows about?
Most importantly, the Cartels provide Jim McMahon and Oldham Labour with votes. Votes that keep them in power. 20,000 and rising at the last General Election by my calculation. At elections, the Cartels mobilise in a manner that would be the envy of any mainstream party. Boy, can they get the vote out! By any means necessary, if there’s a vote to be had, that vote will be Labour. At times, whether the voter wants to vote for them or not. It doesn’t matter.
My White friends call this exchange a bribe. Many of my Asian friends also call it a bribe. Politicians I know laugh at me when I ask them and call it ‘taking care of your core voters.’ They appear ignorant to the damage this is causing inside the community and ambivalent to what this looks like to the White working-class communities. After all, anyone see Jim McMahon and his stooges at Oldham Council undervaluing and then selling public land whilst providing 20 year interest free loans to help people in Limeside or Lees to build community facilities like they have the Asian Cartels in Westwood and Glodwick?
For as long as the Cartels are able to ensure that they can get the vote out they have the support of Jim McMahon and the Oldham Labour Party run Civic Centre. They can do whatever they want to do. There are rival Cartels, they have tried to infiltrate the Liberal Democrats and even the Conservatives but their influence in these parties and over the communities in Oldham is much less, especially as they hold no real power.
Any independent Asians that oppose this arrangement are sidelined and their lives and the lives of their families are made difficult. Even legitimate business owners or those in reputable professional roles outside of politics keep their silence. The Cartels are powerful. Key to their power, is their control of the voting process. As long as they deliver the votes, they have influence.
The Postal Vote Scandal
Modern day democracy was shaped by the sacrifices of working-class people. At the forefront of tackling corrupt politicians and rotten governments were the Chartists. They fought for political reform during a period in our history where corruption was rife and those who could vote did not enjoy the freedoms to vote for who they wanted. You may be asking yourself as to why the history lesson. It’s simple. One of the rights the Chartists fought for was the right to protect the elector in the exercise of their vote. Something every democracy in the world now does. When you’re at the ballot box, you cast your vote in secret.
This feature, a bedrock of our democracy, has been systematically destroyed by the Cartels that run the Asian communities. They have managed this through exploiting the postal vote system. Let me try and first give some context;
Postal voting was first introduced for people serving in the armed forces shortly after World War I. It was extended to certain categories of civilians in 1948. Postal voting was made available under certain conditions in 1985, and for God only knows why, on demand in 2000. Since 2000, people who are quite capable of making their way to a polling station, are able to vote by post. Almost immediately the system was abused.
Here is an example of an early clumsy way in which the postal vote system was abused. Measures to counter this were introduced in 2007. They included safeguards to verify the identity of postal voters . Unfortunately, the authorities either do not understand how postal vote fraud works in some Asian communities and/or just are not interested.
Gone are the clumsy frauds of the early days. It is now a sophisticated operation. In fact, it’s big business. This is how postal vote fraud run by the Cartels operates in the Asian communities.
Regardless of capability to turn up at the polling station and vote, people that are employed in businesses run by the Cartels, owe the Cartels money and/or are in any way influenced by the Cartels are encouraged to register for postal votes. Once the postal votes arrive, they are collected and taken to a central place where they are completed.
Heads of families ensure that every eligible member of their families register for postal votes (large families and extended families usually mean votes are in double figures sometimes even in their hundreds). Often seen as a matter of pride through which they cement their positions in the Cartels or used to curry favour with them at a later date, they present their postal votes. Women in particular find themselves disenfranchised through this process.
Postal votes are bought and paid for from other minority communities, particularly from those who do not care who wins elections. For example, I’m informed that the entrepreneurial members of our Romanian communities are making a killing at election time.
Postal Votes subsequently become a currency, they are traded across wards during times of local elections and just like real currency, the value fluctuates. One postal vote in one ward can be exchanged for 3 or 4 votes elsewhere depending on how close the election is. Likewise, come General Elections, postal votes are traded across towns and cities. I have no reason to doubt those that have shared with me how sometimes postal votes are exchanged for votes, other times in exchange for cash, favours or even drugs. Remember I mentioned that these Cartels operate along tribal lines and these tribes have members across the country.
A 2015 House of Commons Briefing on postal votes found ‘turnout among postal voters has been higher than among persons voting at polling stations. At the 2015 general election, turnout among postal voters was 85.8%; turnout among persons voting at polling stations was 63.2%.’
I’m certain that if the figure was published for Pakistani & Bangladeshi heritage voters, the postal vote turnout figure would be over 99% and that they would be over represented than any other group that applied for postal votes.
It is worth noting that whilst no official figures exist that breaks down the ethnic origin of those who use postal votes, in the 2017 by election where Jim McMahon got himself elected, over 25% of all votes caste were postal votes. This was an astronomically high figure. I’d bet my football season ticket that the majority of these were cast by Asians voting for Jim.
Which brings me to as clear an example as I can find that demonstrates the link between the Council, Jim McMahon MP and the Asian Cartels.
Jim McMahon MP, Coldhurst Labour & Oldham Council’s Secret Funding of Oldham Central Mosque
Oldham Central Mosque is run by one of the Asian Cartels that I make reference to. They also control the local community centre (OBA Millennium Centre) and the branch of the Coldhurst Labour Party. 2 of the Labour Ward Councillors are also Directors of the OBA (Oldham Bangladeshi Association).
Here is an interesting article from immediately after Jim McMahon’s election victory. It alludes to a link between Oldham Central Mosque and postal vote fraud. Notice Oldham Central Mosque’s claim ‘that it does not permit political activity on its site.’ This is a complete lie. Jim McMahon is a regular visitor to this Mosque. There is clearly an association between Oldham Central Mosque and Jim McMahon. Jim attends this mosque more regularly than many Muslims I know.
Locally, Oldham Central Mosque is also known as Oldham Labour Mosque. Nearly all of the Management Committee members are also members of the Coldhurst branch of the Labour Party. Additionally, at the time of Jim’s election, 2 of the ward Councillors (both Labour) were on the Mosque Management Committee. The 3rd Councillor, Jim McMahon’s Deputy Leader, just happened to be the brother of the Mosque Secretary.
Here is a twitter post by the Assistant Branch Secretary of the Coldhurst Labour Party. It clearly shows Jim McMahon celebrating his election victory with the Cartel that run Oldham Central Mosque. Yes, that’s right, at the same Mosque that claims it does not permit political activity and therefore in no way involved in any form of postal vote fraud.
As demonstrated, there is a clear and obvious relationship between Jim McMahon and Oldham Central Mosque. If my analysis is to be correct, linking Politician to Asian Cartel to a rotten Council, Oldham Council would need to fund this community anchor point. Well here you go. Make of this as you see fit.
The evidence from the emerging scandal here demonstrates Oldham Council being forced to admit that they lied and sold the land the mosque is built on to members of this Cartel below market value on payment terms where Oldham Council Tax payers did not receive payment until 20 years after the land was sold (interest free)! You’ll see the Council squirming and hiding behind technicalities as they attempt to not answer the Freedom of Information request in full.
As far as I’m concerned, selling public land to build a mosque at below market value that Oldham Council then does not receive payment for until 20 years later is as good as funding the mosque. They might as well have openly given it a grant. But they weren’t allowed to do that!
Below is an extract from the Ritchie Report post the 2001 riots in Oldham. As can be seen, it is claimed that the Council funding of mosques is a myth. Knowing what we know now, this is not a myth. The Council appear to have identified various loopholes through which they are able to financially support mosques in Oldham. I have found examples of other mosques in Oldham where the Council have in some way financially supported them with tens of thousands of pounds. The most recent is very recent. You have got to ask yourself if they were doing this in 1997?
Extract from Myth Busting section of the Ritchie Report
I’m sure it is just a co-incidence that;
this mosque regularly hosts Jim McMahon
when hosting politicians, only hosts Labour politicians
is managed by Asian Oldham Labour Party members including local Labour Councillors
is used as a base from which members of the mosque management committee canvas for votes with Jim McMahon in the local community
You can begin to see the interconnect between all three.
The Labour run Council funds the Cartels to set up and run key community anchor points including mosques and community centres.
Jm McMahon uses these community anchor points to access the Asian community and galvanise their support.
Leading members of these Cartels, who run these venues, just coincidently happen to be councillors and/or related to them and vote in line with Jim McMahon’s Oldham Labour instructions.
These Cartels, through these community anchor points, run their postal vote operations and ensure that the Asian vote is delivered to the politician that looks after them the most. Now who could that politician be?
I have no doubt that what is taking place in Coldhurst is also taking place in other Asian parts of Oldham. Remember, he who controls the Asian vote, controls the town.
I genuinely struggle to see how what I have described is not known by Jim McMahon MP. After all, he has a keen interest in the democratic process and has been campaigning to lower the voting age to 16. Surely someone who wants to ensure equal representation can also see that the actions of these Cartels is actually disenfranchising people and their vote is being taken away from them? Maybe his continuing silence regarding the postal vote scandal is because he benefits from what is taking place. Someone should ask him. Don’t forget, over 25% of all votes cast when he was elected were postal votes…
Regardless of any complicity from Jim McMahon or otherwise, the postal vote scandal is a racket. It needs to stop. It is a systematic characteristic of a ‘rotten borough,' the type of corruption that the Chartists from towns like Oldham gave their lives fighting against over 100 years ago. People should not forget, at the time the Chartists were considered Enemies of the State and prosecuted because they challenged the Establishment and their power base.
I started by sharing why I believed the Asians should be worried more than White people. This is the reason why I believe this.