New chairman for Heywood and Middleton Lib Dems

Heywood and Middleton Lib Dems have announced that Councillor Peter Rush has been elected as the first ever Heywood-based Lib Dem Chairman of the Constituency.

Councillor Rush will take over from outgoing Chairman John Heyworth in January after being unanimously voted in. Long time Middleton Campaigner Tony Coogan, will continue as President.

Councillor Rush said: "I am pleased to have taken over as Chairman at this exciting time for the Liberal Democrats. We have more Councillors than ever before in this Constituency with nine and we are pushing for even more. These next few years are vital to the party and I want to take us to even greater heights in our area. We are a diverse team that work hard for local residents and will continue to do so.

"I would like to thank my fellow members for backing me. This party is definitely the fastest growing party in our area and I was delighted again to see another one of our candidates, Malcolm Bruce, elected back in May's local elections.

"We have campaigned on some big issues for our area this year such as the inclusion of the linking up of Heywood Railway Station to the National Rail Network in the TIF Bid, saving our post offices, increasing recycling and more recently saving Post Office Card Accounts that this Government want to take away from our Post Offices. We will continue to campaign on the issues that really matter to fellow residents."

Heywood & Middleton Parliamentary Candidate Wera Hobhouse said: "Peter will make an excellent chairman of our group and I know he will continue to work solidly for Heywood North and the whole constituency. Peter has always put people before politics and as Parliamentary Candidate at the next election I will continue to give him my full support."