Labour getting more desperate by the day!

4.06.22pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 1st Jun 2006

Paul Rowen MP with Leader of Rochdale Council - Cllr. Alan Taylor and Cllr. Andrew Garner (Bury)

Rochdale MP - Cllr. Paul Rowen has responded to Labour dirty tricks by saying "they should concentrate on their job of representing their own areas." They put out a Press Release calling for Paul to stand down as a Councillor. Paul has announced that he will not be seeking re-election next year when his term of office comes to an end, but says for the time being he will continue to represent Rochdale in the Houses of Parliament and Milkstone and Deeplish at Rochdale Council level.

Paul said, "It is quite obvious that the Labour Party are getting desperate, they are on the run and their poor election results locally reflect this. Their campaign in April and May was largely negative and this call is another example of the politics that people in the Rochdale Constituency conclusively rejected last month. The election results in Milkstone and Deeplish showed us that residents are happy with their local team - Cllrs. Angela Coric, Mohammad Sharif and myself."

Paul has confirmed that he gives all Council Allowance to charity, he said, "I will be quite happy to provide people with a list of charities that have benefited if requested. I find the behaviour of former Council Leader, Cllr. Allen Brett hypocritical. He was quite happy to combine his former role whilst drawing other huge salaries from roles in the GMPTA, the Co-Op and his businesses including planning consultancy and his gyms. At the same time he was trying to abuse his position as Council Leader to force through Councillor's Pensions to continue to look after himself when he retires next year. I will not be dictated to by Labour, I am only accountable to the electorate. An Electorate that I am made a promise to in 2004 that I would represent them to the best of my ability for the full term that they chose me to serve."

The Liberal Democrat Leader of Rochdale Council - Cllr. Alan Taylor said, "Cllr. Paul Rowen MP is an excellent asset to have on the Council. He has the experience of representing Rochdale on the Council continuously for over 20 years. Labour tried and failed to make this an issue last year and I am not surprised to see the scurrilous Cllr. Brett behind this negative story. He was that busy last year in only ever year as Council Leader, that he not only lost Labour a batch of Councillors but also in his own ward of Balderstone and Kirkholt, the Labour vote collapsed, enabling the Liberal Democrats to gain an excellent Councillor in Dale Mulgrew."