'Rochdale is in the headlines for wrong reasons'

says Richard Farnell

Cleavage Politics on Rochdale MBC

RICHARD Farnell has shown a skill for stating the obvious when he claimed the other day that  'Rochdale is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons', adding gruffly 'and I will not allow a tiny minority of people to drag us down.' 

 

Mr. Farnell went on to say in the Rochdale Observer that 'I have the overwhelming support of Labour members who are getting fed up with the constant political smears.'

  

Chris Jones in the same issue of the Rochdale Observer writes:

'Coun Richard Farnell, who ousted ex-leader Coun Colin Lambert last week, told disenchanted councillors who didn't like his take-over of the ruling Labour party to keep quiet or quit the party.'

 

Mr. Jones continues:

'His (Farnell's) coup, which was backed by a majority of Labour councillors, has intensified the already simmering division within the Labour group between Coun Farnell who is backed by Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk and the dethroned former council leader Coun Lambert.'

Meanwhile in his Letter from Parliament on Rochdale ONLINE today Jim Dobbin MP for the nearby constituency of  Heywood & Middleton writes:
'Councillor Colin Lambert, who has run my parliamentary constituency office in Heywood for the past seventeen years, lost the leadership of the council in unfortunate circumstances. It is recognised across the borough that he had been a strong leader and gave it some real direction. He had the respect of council staff, trade unions and the business community. He also had cross party support. He did not deserve to be ousted in this way. I know he has had a huge number of phone calls recognising his contribution.'
 

The trouble is that with Colin Lambert out of the way, and with the floodlight of public interest falling upon Richard Farnell, who now seems to he may have some skeletons in his own history, will this lead to more trouble in the Kingdom of Rochdale?  Is Simon Danczuk safe if more flack starts to fall on his favourite Farnell?  Will Simon stand-by Richard if everything starts to go pear-shaped?

 

The folly of last week's great coup at Rochdale MBC by the supporters of Richard Farnell and Simon Danczuk begins to look increasingly like Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth; as Farnell trembles and is said to be suffering nightmares; Danczuk's Lady Cleavage comes to the fore; and Guido Fawkes gets in on the act.  What's it all suppose to mean?  As with the earlier bacon butty performance belittling Ed Miliband's difficulties in mastication techniques, is it now being suggested that Ed Miliband's wife has the lesser cleavage and is Simon after the leadership of the Labour Party based on the dimensions of his own wife's cleavage?