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Published on February 26, 2008
in Walkden.
I’ve commented before about the danger posed by the huge gap between the train and platform edge at Walkden railway station. At best, it’s a huge inconvenience for anyone with even the slightest of mobility problems. At worst, it is a serious accident waiting to happen.
Northern Rail have now recognised this and taken decisive action by… erm, putting up a poster on the stairs up to the station.
This doesn’t actually solve the problem at all, and I hope it does not take a serious injury to spur Network Rail and Northern Rail into action on this issue. I suspect the real issue here is that no-one wants to spend the money - and posters are much cheaper than engineering works!
When the media is full of stories about apathy and lack of involvement, it is a real pleasure to see that the local community cares enough about an issue to stand up and do something about it. Everyone in Walkden and Little Hulton and indeed across Salford should stand up and applaud the four girls behind the Justice4George’s march which took place earlier today - what a terrific example they have set to their fellow pupils and local residents across the local area.
The march was a great success with around 2000 pupils, parents and residents showing their support. St George’s is an excellent school at the heart of the community and I am delighted that so many people from the local area sent a clear message to the Council that the school should remain open.
The Liberal Democrats over the Irwell in Manchester have found themselves in more hot water - following the defection of Cllr Faraz Bhatti to the Conservatives in January, Cllr Abid Chohan who represents Longsight ward has now followed him out of the exit door, this time to join the Labour Party.
I think we are due a timely reminder of what some senior Manchester Labour figures said about the defection of Cllr Bhatti last month. Here’s a quick hall of shame:
This is Manchester Labour Councillor Mary Watson. She represents the same Whalley Range ward as Cllr Bhatti, and this is how the Manchester Evening News reported her reaction to the previous defection:
Mary Watson, a Labour councillor who also represents Whalley Range, called for the ward to be given a chance to back or sack Coun Bhatti through a fresh poll.
“He was elected only very recently,” she said. “He stood as a Liberal Democrat and now has just decided to change his mind without asking anyone. It’s arrogant.”
Presumably Councillor Watson also thinks that Cllr Chohan is “arrogant” and should resign to face a by-election.
This is another Manchester Labour Councillor, this time Mike Amesbury who represents Fallowfield ward. He posted a comment on the MEN website saying this:
“Faraz Bhatti should now do the honourable thing and stand as a Conservative in a by-election”
It seems Cllr Amesbury is in much less of a hurry to post a similar comment about his new colleague Cllr Chohan.
Also the jury is still out on the leader writers at the Manchester Evening News who penned a lengthy leader column calling for a by-election. So far not a peep about Cllr Chohan - it will be interesting to see what they have to say over the next few days.
I’ve done a bit of a review of my blogroll. For those of you new to weblogs, that’s the list of links in the left-hand column of this website. I’ve culled some of the blogs that are either defunct or have not been updated.
If you have a suggestion for a site that you think should be added to my list of links, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment on this post.
Thanks as always to everyone who has a blogroll link to my blog on their website. If I’ve linked to you a reciprocal link would be greatly appreciated!
Chris Grayling In Salford
I actually managed to cram in two shadow cabinet ministerial visits yesterday. Before dashing off to Manchester to meet George Osborne, I was delighted that we had the chance to welcome Chris Grayling MP, the Shadow Work & Pensions Secretary, to Salford.
Chris met with Council officers as part of a fact-finding tour for his work and pensions brief, but he was also kind enough to take the time to discuss local issues with Conservative Councillors.
Chris’s visit is the latest in a series of Shadow Ministerial visits to Salford since the New Year. Personally I am delighted that the Conservative Party in Westminster is showing such an interest in the views of local residents here in Salford - a marked contrast to the ignorance and indifference shown by Labour Ministers to communities across the City.