Talking Politics by Councillor Christine Akram

I represent the Smallbridge and Firgrove Ward in the Pennines area of Rochdale, alongside Councillors Brenda Kerslake and Jean Ashworth. I first got involved in politics to make a difference in my area. That was in 1999 and there were huge problems with anti-social behaviour, youth nuisance and the lack of youth provision amongst others. I decided that I wanted to do something about this so I set up the Newbold Multi-Cultural Youth Club. This involved a lot of hard graft amongst many people but was certainly worth it. Unfortunately, due to a variety of reasons the club closed. The lottery money however enabled us to leave a building that now houses Surestart - making a positive difference to people's lives.

There are many issues that I have to deal with in my second period as a Councillor. These are not dissimilar to the problems that we faced back in 1999. We do work hard though for all the community of Smallbridge and Firgrove. I was delighted to see the recent positive results at Alice Ingham School in the Ward, a school that was recently threatened with closure. Thanks to the work of people like Mrs Sivills and all the staff and governors at the school, my ward colleagues Brenda and Jean and of course Paul Rowen MP it was saved. It was a good job too - as the school performed well in Maths, English and Science and made a positive contribution to Rochdale schools making the biggest improvement in the country.

The other recent good news was of course the fact that Stevenson Library will remain open. The Council are now applying to the Lottery Fund to make dramatic improvements to our libraries. I hope that some of this money goes to our library on Stevenson Square. Talking of Stevenson Square - the improvement of this area is one of our number 1 priorities.

I would like to take the opportunity to wish all readers a Happy New Year - there are many challenges ahead but we go into the New Year with optimism. So what will 2007 bring? Well for a start the lowest Council Tax rise for a decade. Council Tax is unfair - we know that and we will soon see a report by Sir Michael Lyons that will look at Local Government Funding. Also we have sorted out funding for the voluntary sector - giving them funding for 3 years so they can plan longer term.

Finally, Talking Politics has been slightly controversial - but I will not tolerate Councillors misleading you. The guilty person is Lib Dem Castleton Councillor Peter Davison who claimed that 'he won't qualify for his Bus Pass for a good few years yet'. I have it on good authority that Peter is about 60, so he will not have to wait as long as he claimed… In any case he walks everywhere anyway!