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.
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