Council Leader asks -'What's the point in Ian Duckworth?'

10.00.55pm GMT Fri 16th Feb 2007

Is this man an idiot?

Leader of Rochdale Council - Councillor Alan Taylor has refuted comments made by the failed ex-leader of the Conservative Group on Rochdale Borough Council. Speaking after the meeting of Full Council - Councillor Taylor said, "I felt that the Labour Group in the whole joined the Liberal Democrats in following the spirit of the new rules at Council Meetings. The Conservatives however chose to ignore the new start we are making and Councillor Duckworth's statement is indicative of their attitude - one of negativity and playground attacks. If only Councillor Duckworth would have put this energy into the Council Meeting, he contributed 30 seconds to the whole meeting and if I was a voter in Bamford I would be scratching my head saying what is the point in Ian Duckworth?"

The reason for the desktop lectern was to help Councillor Taylor and the Lib Dem Front Bench deliver their speeches and responses to questions to the Conservative and Labour 'Coalition' Opposition. The Conservative and Labour Groups failed to pre-submit most of their questions - many of them were technical and asked for figures so Cabinet Members had copious notes.

Councillor Taylor continued, "This facility is available to any Councillor in this Borough, they just have to speak to their Group Leader. In any case it's made of MDF, and the accusations of grandeur are incorrect. We want to make sure we are delivering a first class service to residents in this Borough - that means being organised properly for Council Meetings. The world of Ian Duckworth continues to surprise me - he claims he works for the people of Bamford Ward, but did not raise one issue at the meeting relating to his Ward. He's all bluff and no action but maybe his mistakes in the past have come back to haunt him and maybe his Leader will not let him contribute much to Public Meetings in the future."