"It's time for the disgraceful Danczuks to go" say Lib Dems
Rochdale Lib Dem leader, Councillor Andy Kelly is leading calls for the disgraced Danczuks to finally leave Rochdale. He was speaking after it was revealed that Simon Danczuk had re-employed Karen Danczuk to work in his office. Mrs Danczuk was sacked after questions were raised whether she was undertaking her work or even turning up for work. Hundreds of hours of overtime were also queried. The Lib Dems have claimed that Mrs Danczuk may not even be able to continue her job after Simon failed to advertise the job.
The IPSA (Independent Parliamentary Standard's Authority) rules are quite clear. Point 4 of their guidance to MPs for employing staff clearly states:
4. Advertise the vacancy and conduct appropriate assessments to ensure you have the best candidate for the role. (The Members' HR Advice Service in the House of Commons can provide advice on this stage - their number is 020 7219 2080.)
Now Councillor Kelly is calling for the Danczuks to finally end the media circus that continues to drag the town down. Councillor Kelly said: "I am quite frankly flabbergasted at this news. It is an absolute disgrace. I thought the Danczuks couldn't stoop any lower. It appears that they can. They are sticking two fingers up at Rochdale people and it's completely unacceptable. It's time for Simon to go.
"Whilst campaigning for the local elections, all people want to talk about is the Danczuks and these are not positive conversations. They are a disgrace and an embarrassment to Rochdale."
Dave Hennigan, who reported Simon Danczuk to both IPSA and the Police over his expense claims said: "We can find no evidence of any job advert. IPSA rules state that any taxpayer funded role should be advertised. IPSA rules also clearly state that an MP must employ the '... best candidate for the role'. Karen Danczuk's employment is clearly in contravention of this after all, why was she sacked? There are thousands of people in Rochdale who would jump at the chance to earn £12,000 for half a week's work.
"I will be writing to IPSA making these points, asking them to terminate Mrs Danczuk's employment immediately, withdraw any pending payments and force Mr Danczuk to re-advertise the role in the appropriate manner."