Thursday 19 January 2012

Keeping politics in the family. Local MP's wife nominated to stand for council!

She`s an ambitious and spunky young lady is Claire Reynolds (pictured), the wife of Jonny Reynolds the Labour MP for the constituency of Stalybridge & Hyde.

Some time ago, Northern Voices was told of Claire's ambition of becoming a member of the European Parliament, MEP. Unfortunately, Claire failed in her bid to become an MEP but now seems to have consoled herself, at least for the time being, in getting elected as a Labour councillor on shiftyside council, better known as Tameside Council in Greater Manchester.

At a Labour Party selection meeting, Claire won the nomination to fight the Stalybridge/Dukinfield ward at the next May elections. The sitting councillor, former Tory, Dorothy Cartwright, who joined Labour in 2010 after falling out with her Conservative colleagues, was up for election in May, but was deselected. She's now been nominated to fight the hopeless seat of Stalybridge South for Labour.

As a disaffected Tory who left her local party whinging about "back-biting and bullying", Cartwright is flogging a dead horse in trying to win this seat for Labour. Nevertheless, the contest should be interesting. Cartwright and the sitting Conservative councillor, Doreen Dickinson, are old rivals. We understand from sources that on a previous occasion, Dickinson commenced legal proceedings against the former librarian and teacher, which for some reason, were later abandoned.

As for Claire, some might see her nomination to stand for council as being yet again, another instance of the political cronyism which is endemic within Tameside Labour. Yet times are hard nowadays for many people and it must be a struggle trying to make ends meet as an housewife and mother, on an MP`s salary plus expenses and allowances. Though being a Tameside councillor doesn't pay as much as an MEP it's still pin money and with few job opportunities available for ordinary people today, can one really blame Claire for using her political connections to jump on board the political gravy train.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dorothy owes the Conservative Party over £300 in leaflets that had to be binned an non payment of her membership fee. As I understand Dorothy caved in and has a CCJ against her name.

Anonymous said...

Labour ditched Jean Brazil in Audenshaw to make way for Denton councillor Mike Smith's wife, Terresa.

Also Stalybridge North have Jim Fitzpatrick's partner, Janet Jackson who lives on the opposite side of Tameside in Hyde. This is all part of him building a power base to overthrow Kieran Quinn.