Cllr Iain Lindley - Salford City Councillor for Walkden South Ward
The Wikipedia article for this year’s Council elections has just been updated - you can find it here.
Anyone under any illusions over the scale of Conservative progress in Salford over the past few years would be well advised to have a browse through the equivalent article from a decade ago - the 1998 Salford City Council elections. The contast is astonishing.
A couple of belated notes from last week’s Council Meeting:
Firstly some new challenges for me - I have been appointed as opposition representative on the Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Authority, and as spokesman for Planning matters on the new Salford Conservative Shadow Cabinet. I relish both roles and will be commenting in much greater detail on both positions over the course of the year.
Secondly, it was very clear over the Council Meeting that the ruling Labour Group have absolutely no intention of listening to the local residents who gave them such a bloody nose on 1st May. They intend to plough on regardless with their fingers in their ears - starting with the Building Schools For The Future programme.
There are two years until the next set of local elections, but local residents in 2010 will have a clear choice between a Labour Party which will have continued to ignore local concerns and a Conservative Party which listens to residents and stands up for local communities.
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%!)
Councillor Geoff Ainsworth (Weaste & Seedley, re-elected 2007) has left the Liberal Democrat Group and will now sit as an independent liberal. There seems to be some confusion over the political status of Swinton South Councillors Joe and Martin O’Neill.
I understand that Cllr Norman Owen narrowly retained his leadership of the Salford Liberal Democrat Group by 6 votes to 4. I doubt that is the end of the fun and games though…
(Apologies for the radio silence, I have been in Crewe & Nantwich)
I thought that Council Leader Cllr John Merry would be the first Salford leader to come under pressure from his Council Group, but instead it is Cllr Norman Owen, the Liberal Democrat Group Leader, who according to today’s MEN is facing a challenge to his leadership. I look on with interest…
It seems the Salford Labour website is stuck in a time warp on polling day. Perhaps they are sat in the Civic Centre trying to work out how to turn the clock back…
It was interesting to compare the attitudes of our local Labour MPs at the local election count last week.
Ian Stewart was his usual friendly self - I spoke to him briefly at the start of the night. It was very noticeable that he was the first person there to congratulate and commiserate Labour candidates (see the MEN video of the Irlam declaration) when the results were announced.
Barbara Keeley by contrast seemed almost invisible, maintaining a very low profile and being reportedly rude to any opposition activists who tried to say hello - something noted by Liberal Democrat Councillor Steve Cooke as well as at least one Conservative.
Yet Ian lost out to Barbara in the Labour selection contest for the new Worsley & Eccles South seat. Perhaps he will allow himself a wry smile if - as current polls suggest - Keeley is beaten by the Conservative candidate at the next General Election.
(Hazel Blears, incidentally, was not at the count, having been summoned to the television studios to give the view from the bunker)
Here’s a graph of the Citywide vote shares. It’s neck-and-neck between Labour and the Conservatives across the whole City of Salford.
Next year it’s the European Elections and there must be a real possibility that the Conservatives will outpoll Labour across the City. I doubt this has ever happened before - anyone care to let me know?
I know that your Conservative Councillors (now all 13 of them!) will continue to listen to the concerns of all local residents - from Kersal to Cadishead and from Langworthy to Little Hulton. Labour have no moral mandate to run this City any more and we will challenge their poor decision-making at every opportunity.
Is a Post Office near you closing?
On 10th June, the Post Office announces “Network Change” proposals for Greater Manchester. In real English that means “Post Office closures”. I’ll be taking a close interest in the proposals for Salford, as I’m sure will local residents across the City.
It’s interesting to look at the consultation programme on the Post Office website. With the solitary exception of Merseyside, all the English metropolitan areas have had the announcements on Post Office closures scheduled for this summer, after the local elections. What do all the metropolitan areas have in common? They all had local elections last week.
Doesn’t that tell you all you need to know about our spineless Labour Government?