I understand that Community Action Councillor Rick Houlton (Irlam Ward) is set to agree a deal to take the Liberal Democrat whip on Salford City Council.
Local residents in Irlam who voted Houlton in will feel very short-changed when they hear this news. The Community Action Party campaign in Irlam essentially consisted of two planks. Firstly, that they were a local small party who would not have to take a party line, and secondly that they were opposed to the congestion charge.
By joining the Liberal Democrat Group, Cllr Houlton is now effectively part of one of the “big parties”, and not only that but joined at the hip to a Liberal Democrat Party that supports road pricing and whose Salford Leader told Channel M News during the election campaign that the congestion charge wasn’t a big issue!
Cllr Houlton has been an Irlam representative for only two weeks but already he has broken his election promises and let local residents down. Only the Conservative Party in Irlam offers a real alternative to the Labour Party.
(For the record, the Liberal Democrat candidate in Irlam ward on May 1st secured only 161 votes - that’s just 5.76%!)
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