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%!)
How have Salford’s MPs done in the last two days of voting by MPs in regard of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill?
Spare Part Siblings…
Blears voted for.
Stewart and Keeley did not vote.
Animal/Human Hybrids…
Blears voted for.
Stewart voted against.
Keeley voted for.
The ‘need for a father’ consideration…
Blears voted against.
Stewart voted for.
Keeley did not vote.
Lowering the abortion limit to 12 weeks…
Blears, Stewart and Keeley voted against.
Lowring the abortion limit to 16 weeks…
Blears, Stewart and Keeley voted against.
Lowring the abortion limit to 20 weeks…
Blears, Stewart and Keeley voted against.
Lowering the abortion limit to 22 weeks…
Blears, Stewart and Keeley voted against.
Introducing ‘informed consent’ (counselling to women considring an abortion)…
Blears, Stewart and Keeley voted against.
Well what a fantastic day had by all. Who said democracy was dead. I suppose every one as seen the cap videos.And how can you work with a party that will be fighting you in 2010.Little shocked how bad LABOUR are hurting. The fire and brimstone flowed free today. The CaP man sat silen tand the labour stalwarts smelt blood. I expected the rubbish of derick but it will be a cold day in hell before i worry about him and his bluster.Got home looked at the paper and shock horor you don’t give a story and no longer have you stepped down for party unity and offer your support to the other candidate. And its a free way split and you recive no votes. well i have fixed my differences with the boss look forward to two years of fighting labour and hope i can get into Swinton North quicker than you this year.
Well it appears that this post is yet more spin.
As I understand it the newly elected CAP councillor approached the Lib Dems asking to take the party whip, but was shown the door.
So where does the truth lie?
My understanding is that the Liberal Democrat Group were perfectly happy to accept Cllr Houlton until shown evidence about their less savoury methods of campaigning.
Either way, the point in the article still stands - having been elected as an “independent voice” Cllr Houlton is now happy to take instructions from one of the established parties. He has broken his election pledges already.
if any offer was made it was not to my knowledge. But lets not forget i was out of the picture for the past two weeks. Yes you could be right ian but maybe he feels they could work on the lines of wigan.
I stand by my comments i will not work with a party that will be putting out candidates against us. One thing to remember though this man was elected to stand and in a democracy he must be allowed that right.
Joe
On your last point Joe, I agree up to a point.
Labour seem to think that they have a divine right to be elected in Irlam and that the voters have somehow made a mistake - they think the electorate really wanted to vote Labour after all and they only lost because of some sort of strange unhappy accident. They’ve taken this attitude in every ward they’ve lost since I’ve been involved in 2004 (including your ward and my ward) and the net result in most cases has been even heavier defeats in the years to follow.
That said, there’s a big difference between arrogantly assuming that your candidate deserved to win, and holding the new Councillor to account for his actions and election promises. Cllr Houlton promised to be an independent voice for Irlam and to oppose the congestion charge - and now he wants to go along with an established party grouping in the Liberal Democrats whose position on the congestion charge is at best ambiguous. There are an awful lot of local residents in Irlam who put their trust in Cllr Houlton to stand up for them - and he has let them down already.
As for the Wigan alliance, well that is a sham grouping that exists for two reasons only - firstly neither the Wigan Liberal Democrats nor CAP have the resources to fight across the entirety of Wigan borough, and secondly to deprive the Conservatives of the official opposition status. I rather suspect that grouping will come crashing down in the near future. It certainly deserves to do so.