Bullying and name calling by councillors must end.

Cllr Andy Kelly, leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Rochdale Council has stated that the authority is facing repeated problems as those who step out of line face ‘no consequences’ for their actions.

Calling for breaches of the council’s ‘code of conduct’ to carry consequences, Cllr Kelly observed that light is being shed daily on more abusive behaviour by the Borough’s councillors. In March, he warned councillors had no place complaining about the public , while the council was ‘facing a record number of complaints about the conduct of councillors.

“It’s a long-standing bugbear of mine that councillors across the board – elected members – don’t observe the code of conduct, whether that be bullying, whether that’s the way they speak to colleagues, other elected members, the way they conduct themselves in public life and the way they think they can speak to people,” said Councillor Kelly.

“But they do that because they see there’s no consequence to their actions, there’s no punishment. And we see time and time again councillors being found to have broken the code of conduct.”

Councillor Kelly says his frustrations with the council’s handling of disciplinary matters date back to 2018, when Councillor Faisal Rana stepped down from his cabinet position after accepting a police caution for voting twice in the local elections. Councillor Rana said it was a ‘genuine mistake’ and he had misunderstood the rules.

In the same year, former leader Allen Brett admitted to bringing the authority into disrepute over comments about withholding highways funding from non-Labour voting areas. The one-time Labour boss said his remarks were ‘banter’ and was required to undertake further code of conduct training.

Back in March, councillors unanimously signed up to the Local Government Association’s Debate Not Hate campaign, which aims to improve support for local politicians facing abuse and intimidation.

Councillor Kelly says the situation is ongoing – and asks "What is the point in the training if the council is not going to impose serious sanctions on those who breach the code of conduct."