Civic Spaces & Uncivil Councillors by Anonymous

Begging's at epicentre of a Storm of Political Controversy!

FOR a council whose entire raison d'etre and long term strategic response for the town centre regeneration appears to be to barge their way to the front of each and every available queue for cash handouts, begging bowl in hand to everyone from the European Social Fund to Westminster freebies it rankles with me they should point the finger of accusation at others less fortunate who are effectively doing exactly the same thing. Was it Goebbels who said: accuse the other side of that which you are guilty?

As for councillor expenses - let's not go there!

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Recent media coverage of councillors calling for a Crackdown on begging so close to an election was entirely expected as it was a sickening and predictable re-hash of their previous political posturing whenever totally bereft of new ideas they opt for the easy target each & every time.

Blame someone else lest that electorate blame us is a tried and tested local mantra the world over and homeless people are seldom registered so no votes lost there then comrades.

Their views are not only repugnant but positively Dickensian. At a time when child poverty levels have been revealed to be at over 50% in some electoral wards it's nothing short of astounding that we do not have beggars on every street corner and bread riots across the Township as we did at the time of Peterloo!

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/140218/calls-for-crackdown-on-%E2%80%98criminal-element%E2%80%99-behind-increase-in-town-centre-begging-and-antisocial-behaviour

This Agenda Articles from the meeting in question are at:

http://democracy.rochdale.gov.uk/documents/s78129/Rochdale%20Town%20Centre%20Public%20Space%20Protection%20Order.pdf

The section from the RMBC Zoom Meeting can be found at :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=372kukolzdY

Perfectly legitimate working legislation already exists on the statute book to effectively challenge trafficked Begging separate to and totally independent of PSPO. The Vagrancy Act is also still being enforced locally despite Council saying it is not. One suspects they are hyper sensitive to the fact they are still having to resort to such antiquated legislation at all after their ' flagship PSPO ' was meant to be the ultimate solution to anti-social behaviour Town Centre. Clearly it is not or why else would there be a call for a 'crackdown' at all?

Local Anti Public Space Protection Order campaigners are currently liaising with Liberty ( who called Rochdale Councils PSPO 'unlawful' when it was introduced ) and The Manifesto Club (Manifesto Club) to formulate a formal legal challenge to this 'crackdown'. Vulnerable homeless people, the vast majority mentally ill, addicted, fleeing domestic violence, illegally evicted or complex variations of all have very limited support options due to Covid (though this is not limited exclusively to the pandemic and was a problem previously) face to face 1:1 support for drug ,alcohol, substance misuse virtually non-existent as is mental health support which has existed in digital form only since March 2020 - if at all! No internet connection or no phone then no support.

For example there is a local mental health charity which draws in hundreds of thousands of pounds in funding each year that has remained resolutely closed for over a year offering only digital support sessions (such levels funding should be able to afford and create Covid safe spaces for individual 1:1 mental health support pods in a few weeks never mind over a year!) No wonder people throw themselves off the tops of shopping centres in sheer anguish and despair!

The likes of Blundell should be targeting the total inability of many local support agencies to support those in need rather than those in need of support. As well as proactively advocating for the vulnerable and agitating for increased funding rather than indulging in shameless self promotion & cheap electioneering prior to May Elections. Some might recall our councillors have previous form on this bludgeoning of the publicly visible result of their abject failures to deliver a functioning welfare & Social Care system policies for the vulnerable when Blundell and Danczuk pulled this stunt some years ago - again as a diversionary Black Op when questions were being asked of the dodgy duos mismanagement of Town centre regeneration. Again Beggars were a convenient scapegoated for crass corporate failure & incompetence.

Blundell was at the time paying his landlord ( Danczuc) in gin to crash at his Westminster pad paid for by taxpayers dosh - allegedly! Whilst the former Mrs Danczuk left an unsightly and rotting empty business unit in the shape of Danczuk's Deli blighting The Walk for years with a far greater visible blight left behind by a high profile social climber than any downwardly mobile beggar waiting for a handful of small change from sympathetic shoppers cashing in their pensions or collecting their monthly Universal Credit payments.

The Majority of the Councils much publicised Covid response is being delivered by idealistic unpaid volunteers whilst paid staff remain safe 'working at home' (behind the lines via a laptop screen facility) totally disconnected from the reality on the ground totally and dangerously oblivious of the crisis levels needed on the ground.

Any visiting councillors to one of the numerous Soup kitchens across the Borough will educate all but the most stupid of our councillors that poverty, exploitation & socail exclusion are the primary driver of begging. Something they are clearly unwilling or unable to address as a council and one which is lacking entirely from any of their May 6 election promises. As a collective the council has also turned down 1,868 Covid support applications whilst having some of the highest child poverty & unemployment & low skilled /low waged local economy in GM plus consistently high levels of C19

Simultaneously our 'pro-business council' has all the largess and generosity of Croesus when it comes to business bailouts - especially just before May local elections ?

https://www.questmedianetwork.co.uk/news/tameside-reporter/thousands-across-greater-manchester-denied-500-covid-support-payments/

Instead of having another toddler stop and stamping his designer jackboots Blundell needs a 'crackdown' on his own aggressive begging from the public purse as well as independent scruiting of his political record on the failed town center regeneration leaving two empty Indoor Markets and virtually derelict Drake Street, a partially deserted Yorkshire Street and a defunct Outdoor market in his wake?

Two hundred and fifty million quid for this? We were robbed!

Perhaps if Councillor Blundell and those like him rolled up their delicate shirt sleeves or blouses and did some proper graft down at a local Soup Kitchen or Foodbank (we have a potential sixty strong workforce of councillors champing at the bit to play their part in supporting their Town during the Pandemic Response after all!) instead of angling for cheap media stunts or photo-bombing on the backs of those socially committed individuals and collectives doing the real community regeneration work people would have at least a little respect for the man?

Cllr. Blundell is not interested in Building Back Better, he is only interested in building his own councillor profile and political career and needs to be called out publicly for it.

Kicking someone when they are down is the dictionary and my own definition of bullying. Blundell is not only a bully but an ill informed braggart & clown who should be nowhere near public office or paid from the public purse for his ill informed and biggoted opinions. Replace the word beggar with jew, gypsy, traveller, black or woman and you might have a clearer insight into how repugnant and stereotyping his views are in actuality

Where Blundell a member of a charity rather than a council he would be on a suspension pending an independent investigation from the charity commission on breach of safeguarding policy - quite possibly by the police under potential Hate Crime legislation. That a councillor can seek to , and is allowed to do so by his Party colleges, aided and abetted by an entirely complicit local media commentariat, to criminalise and scapegoat an entire section of the community in such a way tells you all that you need to know about what lessons have been learnt from previous Rochdale safeguarding scandals from Smith to the Grooming Scandals. Once again we only have to scratch the thin veneer to see the ugly unvarnished truth beneath.

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MODERN TIMES & Homelesness by A. Wastling

MODERN TIMES ( Charlie Chaplin ) 1936 : The Tramp struggles to exist and retain his individuality with the aid of a homeless woman The Gamin who is fleeing the police after stealing a loaf of bread.A damning indictment on the desperate employment and financial conditions many people faced during the Great Depression . When millions were thrown on the scrapheap of mass unemployment after the Capitalist financial crash . The System attempts to crush The Tramp to the level of an anonymous and alienated cog in the production line factory system.Quite innocently The Tramp picks up a flag fallen off the back of a lorry and waves it aloft in an attempt to attract the attention of the driver only to find himself by chance at the front of a workers march and thrown in jail as a Communist agitator after a riot ensues after the cops attack the peaceful though noisy workers march. A masterpiece of silent cinema which also incorporates the Marxist Theory of alienation and imagery particularly when The Tramp becomes locked into the very heart of the machine he is tasked with operating as well as having an episode of mental breakdown due to the drudgery and repetitive nature of work on the ceaseless conveyor belt of the then novel factory Assembly lines. Some of Chaplin's earliest California friends were socialists and members of the radical International Workers of the World, the so-called Wobblies, all dedicated foes of capitalism. In some of Chaplin's earlier films the initials IWW can still be clearly seen chalked on the backs of doors on set

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Covid 19 How can you stay at home - when you have no home? - by Andrew Wastling

“There is only one way to solve this issue…crack down. Fine aggressive beggars and arrest them.”

Councillor John Blundell 2017

“Blundell’s comments are dehumanising, divisive and frankly just ignorant, only exposing his lack of knowledge and experience on the issue.

“The solution to begging, rough sleeping and homelessness isn’t fines, intimidation and social cleansing – the typical Labour way. It is fixing our broken housing system once and for all, ending luxury developments, guaranteeing genuinely affordable housing, getting people off the streets and preventing the initial causes.

“I will never understand why the Labour party seems to have such a problem with rough sleepers and homelessness – it’s just baffling.”

Former Manchester MP John Leech 2017

A 2017 Freedom of Information Request to Rochdale Council recorded 945 homelessness presentations, 205 homelessness advice presentations from people aged 16-25yrs for the same period with 65 homelessness presentations from people aged 16-25yrs recorded in the last quarter of that year. We also know also that the number of people waiting on the current waiting list for Social Housing in 2017 was 6,374 households.

Three years before the Covid pandemic began I calculated that if all of the people currently on Rochdale Councils waiting lists stood one person per step on St.Chads 122 stone steps they would have gone up and down our towns historic landmark almost 54 times with one family standing on each medieval stone step!

Moving forward to the pandemic outbreak , in 2020 B&B accommodation has been used locally for 384 clients, this includes 272 singles and 90 families.

Additionally the number of households open to homelessness fleeing domestic abuse throughout the pandemic was 159.

That there is a local housing and homelessness and domestic violence crisis there is no absolutely doubt whatsoever!

At the same time we know that Empty Homes Week (23rd September 2019 - 29th September 2019 ) reported over 216,000 homes in England have been empty for over six months. In all, over 600,000 homes are currently vacant. The latest statistics for Rochdale show that there were in 858 long term empty properties in 2017.

Rochdale Borough Housing proposals for massive urban vandalism with the potential demolition of 4 blocks at College Bank and 11 blocks at Lower Falinge, which include 395 currently occupied RBH social rented flats will only serve to remove further essential units from the Social Housing stock - or Council Houses as they were once rather quaintly referred to in certain circles!

Campaigners have long been concerned that attempts to exclude homeless people through draconian and overzealous use of Public Space Protection Orders will simply serve to criminalise and further marginalised already socially excluded individuals.The vast majority of whom should be in a place of safety receiving care for complex mental health , trauma or addiction issues rather than a magistrate courts prison cell.

Locally we know that 49 Fixed Penalty Notices have been issued since the introduction of the Rochdale Town Centre Public Space Protection Order. Consisting of Street Drinking – 7 Soliciting for money – 3 Anti-social parking – 7 Begging 32 . This was as of December 2020 as the second wave of Covid-19 began . It's also illuminating to note that nobody from the Council staff issuing these fines has bothered to record the number of people offered legal aid . Despite the fact Rochdale Council is at pains to point out that : vulnerable people will be offered support not just punishment.

Likewise although Rochdale Councils states nobody was issued notices or imprisoned under the decrepit and discredited 1824 Vagrancy Act it is not too difficult to find local homeless people who will tell you that they have spent a night in the cells under Vagrancy Act legislation just prior to Christmas. A public and significant corporate endorsement of the Christiam message at the heart season of peace & goodwill to all which even Scrooge would retch at?

With many people in the hostel environment having low or no immune systems requests from campaigners to prioritise the Townships homeless rough sleepers or sofa surfers for Covid-19 vaccinations have hitherto fallen on entirely deaf ears.

A recent written request to NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group to lobby local NHS Service Providers & GP Practices to prioritise the position of local homeless population on the grounds that:

Currently the homeless lie sixth in line for inoculation behind care home residents, health workers and older folks. They would likely be classed as, “vulnerable adults under 65” by medics, as their average life expectancy is just 45 years-of-age '. The only response to this so far has been that:

Details of the vaccine programme locally can be found on RBC Public Health site at http://www.rochdale.gov.uk/covidvaccine

In addition in response to further public questions , namely:

How many homeless people, rough sleepers, hostel residents have tested positive for Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic?

and,

Have there been any fatalities of homeless people attributed to Covid-19 in the homeless / hostel environment or on the street itself in Rochdale since the pandemic began?

There is now the familiar response that: 'The CCG does not have access to this data'.

Campaigners have also pointed out to Rochdale Council that FEANTSA the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless / Fédération Européenne d'Associations Nationales Travaillant avec les Sans-Abri has issued an international statement pointing out that:

'Homeless people are disproportionately affected by poor health with mortality rates 3–6 times greater than those of the general population. They are often at a higher risk of contracting infectious diseases and are especially vulnerable to respiratory problems due to compromised immune systems, poor nutrition and hygiene, and frequent overcrowding at shelters. Research has found that when homeless people are in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, they often have problems typically associated with much older people. Homeless people are at high risk of premature frailty and geriatric conditions. There is also a high prevalence of multimorbidity in this group.Research calls for a needs-based rather than an age-based approach for homeless health and it makes the case for homeless people to be included in the priority group for vaccines based on their specific health needs rather than their age. Although they are clinically vulnerable and have complex underlying health conditions, people experiencing homelessness often face barriers in accessing health care and consequently, their medical conditions are often underdiagnosed and their health needs, while multiple, left unmet. This makes them a high-risk group for COVID-19.'

Incidentally any Northern Voices reader who'd like to send a copy to their ward councillor to urge them to get a hurry on with the priority vaccination homeless people and other disadvantaged socio-economic groups can find the full FEANTSA statement at : Vaccine_Statement_Feb_21.pdf (feantsa.org)

Though don't expect a reply or even an acknowledgement anytime from them anytime soon!

In short a forty year old hostel dweller with a history of sleeping in the damp conditions of squats of skips with a bronchial infection, a drug user with a history of intravenous drug use with an impared immune system through HIV or AIDS, or a someone in their forties with the lungs of an eighty year old due to the reduced lung capacity of COPD or low or no immune system due to years of drug alcohol or substance misuse is not best placed to avoid the transmission of Covid 19 in the comunal conditions of a hostel, bed and breakfast, hotel or squat with shared showers, toilets and baths and cramped living conditions with limited opportunities to self isolation or quarantine.Homeless people have also experienced problems in accessing NHS GP services. As FEANTSA state:

'They are often at a higher risk of contracting infectious diseases and are especially vulnerable to respiratory problems due to compromised immune systems, poor nutrition and hygiene, and frequent overcrowding at shelters.'

It is self evident also that there will be no records locally of the number of transient or itinerant individuals not registered since they are by their very nature hard to reach and mobile.What is certain however is that they will not be getting an email, text, or a telephone call asking them to come in for a Covid vaccination - since officially they do not exist. No GP registration then no vaccine unless you are fortunate to be homeless in a progressive council such as Oldham or Liverpool that is.

But it is not the homeless alone who appear to be languishing forgotten and marginalised at the back of the vaccination queue People with learning disabilities were found to be up to six times more likely to die from Covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic, analysis shows. A report from Public Health England (PHE) found the death rate for those with a learning disability was 30 times higher in the 18-34 age group. Learning disabilities charity Mencap have said that the government had "failed to protect" a group already experiencing health inequalities.'

'The report highlighted that certain kinds of learning disabilities, such as Down's Syndrome can make people more vulnerable to respiratory infections. Adults with the condition have recently been added to the government's "clinically extremely vulnerable" list. Almost half of those with Down Syndrome who died from Covid-19 were living in a care home. The Down's Syndrome Association said priority must be given "to measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in these settings, including regular testing of care staff".

When asked if our local HMR CCG agreed with the findings of the Public Health England Report their response was:

The CCG is unable to provide opinion-based responses

Our HMR CCG it would seem are short on answers and long on the time taken in responding to them.

Whilst our Council is keener on sweeping the homeless issues out of sight and out of mind rather than dealing with the root causes. When considering the issues of local homelssness, rough sleeping, begging and the thousands of local families waiting without any realistic hope of rehousing please remember three things. Whilst this crisis is deepening local Housing provider Rochdale Borough Housing are in the process of moving ( in many instances frail & vulnerable residents ) out of their homes in three of the Seven Sister flats , Underwood, Holland Rise, and Mardyke , stating that:

'Over the past few months, we have been carrying out technical surveys, including the recent fire risk assessments, and although we still do not have the full detail of what refurbishment and modernisation work could involve, we do now know for certain that it would be extensive enough that residents would not be able to continue to live in their homes while the work is carried out.'

One can only marvel at the total lack of awareness & timing of this during a global health pandemic requiring social distancing and unnecessary travel; particularly of the elderly with possible underlying health conditions!

Secondly we should remember that just THREE people were recorded sleeping rough in Rochdale in November 2018 - a truly astounding 40% reduction from figures taken eight years earlier!

And, thirdly , we need to be mindful of the unavoidable fact that there are elements within Rochdale Council who would clearly spitefully and totally unecessarily rather scapegoat , dicriminate against , prosecute and criminalize the poor , mentally ill an marginalised than give them fully funded and functioning support services with which to treat them with basic human dignity to help them rise up out of their destitution and misery. As the great Angela Davis once said :

'Prisons do not disappear social problems, they disappear human beings. Homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mental illness, and illiteracy are only a few of the problems that disappear from public view when the human beings contending with them are relegated to cages.' ______________________________

Unpublished letter to Rochdale Observer & Manchester Evening News 14/01/2021

Dear Editor Rochdale Observer / MEN ,

Local Homeless People & Covid 19 Vaccine roll out

On 13 January Oldham Council teamed up with local GPs in a bid to ensure that rough sleepers and those without homes are inoculated against Covid 19. They are the first in the country to roll-out a programme specifically designed to vaccinate homeless people (1).

This progressive and humane initiative received favourable national publicity in the print media, online , on radio & television, (2), (3).

Could I please ask Rochdale Council through your Letters Page what plans there are, if any, for the scheme to vaccinate homeless people to be extended to cover homeless, rough sleepers & hostel & bed & breakfast dwellers in the Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale area?

As we know homeless people are at risk of Covid due to low or no immune systems & also at risk of transmitting it through the wider community through no fault of their own.

I am aware of one homeless person still sleeping on the streets of Rochdale & sofa surfing who should be screening because he has no Spleen and is on the NHS list for those at high risk of Covid 19. Is he a lone example or more typical of the local response to meet the needs of those without homes during the pandemic?

Founder of Homeless Friendly Dr Chauhan has pointed out that: 'As a health carer who has worked on the Corona virus front-line at care homes, I can absolutely see why older people and health workers need to be prioritised. But so too do the homeless. Each winter they face problems such as hypothermia, pneumonia and even frostbite. Does death from COVID-19 also now be added to that list of shame?'

Thank you

Faithfully,

Andrew Wastling

Park Court, Drake Street, ROCHDALE

m | 07786251801

APPENDIX:

(1).

'Homeless man gets Covid-19 jab in city council's rough sleepers vaccine drive', Daily Mirror( 13/01/2021)

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/homeless-man-gets-covid-jab-23311099?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

(2).

'Oldham launches one of the first homeless COVID-19 vaccine schemes', Planet Radio, (13/01/2020)

https://planetradio.co.uk/hits-radio/manchester/news/oldham-launches-one-of-the-first-homeless-covid-19-vaccine-schemes/

(3).

https://www.bigissue.com/latest/homeless-couple-given-covid-19-vaccine-in-oldham-world-first/

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Has Animal Farm Come To Rochdale? by Les May

IT would seem that my puzzlement about Councillor Blundell’s standard response to messages sent to his council e-mail address has been clarified and we now know we are in the land of ‘porky pies’. The fact that he has been allowed to get away with this for so long does not reflect well on either the Council Leader or the council officer responsible for Governance. Perhaps one of these people will be kind enough to tell us just how residents are supposed to raise with this councillor matters which are of concern to them; by snail- mail?

It’s not just Blundell who doesn’t want to be troubled by awkward questions. This is what someone received when he tried to raise questions about 'Two Jobs Rumbelow' with Councillor John Hartley:

Dear Mr ****, Sorry I missed your call today as I was giving my services as a volunteer at the vaccine centre which I think was far better use of my time than speaking with you on the telephone. Now regarding your constant emails, all I am going to say is that the council decision was made in an open and transparent manner and you could have been at that full council meeting as a member of the public to check it out had you of wished to do so. I am not your councillor and do not wish to make any further comment on this matter and I will not responding any further.

Regards XXXX.

A borderline rude response from someone who seems to have an inflated sense of his own importance.

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Curious World of Councillor Blundell by Les May

ON November 2019 I tried to bring something to the attention of Councillor Blundell using his Rochdale MBC e-mail address John.Blundell@Rochdale.gov.uk. Back came the response:

'This email is checked periodically due to lack of suitable access.'

Though it struck me as rather strange that a (supposedly) active councillor who, even if he did not have internet access at home, could certainly access e-mails from his Council office, should be using this as an excuse for not responding, I did not pursue the matter further at the time,

Quite by chance someone mentioned in a recent telephone conversation that they had received an identical e-mail within the last few days when they had tried to bring something to the attention of Councillor Blundell. Which struck me as rather odd.

Odd, because there hasn’t been any face to face Council meetings for some time and I think we must assume that Council business meetings are being transacted via an Internet based tool like Zoom. Which raises some interesting questions.

Is Councillor Blundell still drawing his full allowance whilst not being able to transact any Council business due to ‘a lack of suitable access’? Or is he taking part in these virtual meetings and his response to people who try to contact him using his Council e-mail is in the realms of being a bit of a ‘Porky Pie’, intended to shield him from having to answer any potentially embarrassing questions?

Over to you Councillor Blundell?

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Rochdale Market: Is there going to be a reprieve?

 Shy Councillor John Blundell & the Regeneration of the Town Centre
by Brian Bamford

EARLIER this week stall-holders on Rochdale Market were looking forward to a possible temporary reprieve after the Council had threatened closure of the Market next Monday, two days before the next full meeting of the Council. Since Councillor Blundell, the Cabinet member responsible for Regeneration, took the decision to give Rochdale's 178 year-old market the chop under this latest Council attempt at regenerating the Town Centre, the authorities seem to have been shocked by the local uproar among the public and in the media.

Following a slot on last week's consumer program 'You and Yours' on Radio Four, one local councillor told NV that Cllr. Blundell was under pressure and was now 'changing his tune'.

'Unlike you Brian I don’t fraternise with the opposition.'

NV contacted the good Councillor Blundell:

'as the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, can you tell me how you propose to use the former Santander Building which is now housing the current indoor market stalls. What does the council intend to do with the building after the stall-holders have departed?'

To which minutes later the e-mail reply from the Cabinet member for Regeneration & Business came back:

Councillor John Blundell:

Mon 30/09/2019 10:39

Dear Brian,

'There has been no attempt to fill that building until now due to it being occupied by the cafe and market. The council are now looking for alternative uses – I am all ears to anybody who wants to submit any proposal to the Council including a market. I will have officers look at this, to get a professional opinion, and I will then decide how to proceed.

'I will not be discussing these with you as these are private conversations that we will hold with businesses and other potential occupiers.

'I won’t be contacting Cllr Paolucci. Unlike you Brian I don’t fraternise with the opposition.'

Well! Well!  Does this not show how transparent, tribal and trite our politicians are these days?

'Why would I share any of this information with you?'

LAST Tuesday, I again e-mailed Cllr. Blundell to confirm what was going on:

Dear John,

'Yesterday, I spoke to the stallholders on Rochdale Market and they said there is to be a reprieve for the local market for a period of 6-months? I was also told that you had been down. 'Furthermore, it was said that you are awaiting the completion of the new market centre?  Does this mean that once that is finished you will be relocating the current stall-holders to that location?  As you must be aware there has been some recent publicity about local markets, has this had some impact on your change of mind?'

Yours sincerely,

Brian Bamford

And Cllr. Blundell's further reply was:

Hi Brian,

'Why would I share any of this information with you?'

John

  Followed by yet another frantic e-mail from the noble councillor:

'I have asked you to stop emailing me several times.

'Please stop.'

As the Cabinet Member for Regeneration & Business, Councillor John Blundell, is a public figure paid by local citizens. Does he not feel he ought to answer questions from a member of the public or the press?  Or is he just shy by nature?

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Councillor Richard Farnell quits Labour Party

'EL GORDO' - Richard Farnell - Suspended by Labour

COUNCILOR Richard Farnell, a former leader of Rochdale MBC, has quit the Labour Party saying he had 'no confidence he would receive a fair hearing' over his suspension in April 2018 for allegedly lying to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse, over historical abuse allegations at Knowl View School.  Cllr. Farnell also added that after 44 years as a Labour member, he could no longer 'support a party led by Jeremy Corbyn'.

Councillor Farnell has always insisted he told the truth to the Inquiry, and following a long investigation by the Metropolitan Police it was found that there was 'insufficient evidence' to prosecute him for perjury.

Former Rochdale council leader Richard Farnell confirmed on Thursday (18 July) that he has resigned from the Labour Party.

The Balderstone and Kirkholt councillor said he had resigned 'some time ago' because he had 'no confidence he would receive a fair hearing' over his suspension, and that after 44 years as a Labour member, he could no longer 'support a party led by Jeremy Corbyn'.


In a series of parting shots at his old party Cllr. Farnell issued a statement to the press:
'We have the most inept and unpopular Tory government in living memory, yet Labour came a miserable fourth in the European elections and our support is down to just 18 percent in recent polls – the lowest in our history. Any decent opposition would today be polling over 50 per cent and on course for a landslide victory.
'I fear for the future as Labour is being destroyed as a credible party capable of winning power. Our country and millions of people need a mainstream Labour government. They are being betrayed by a toxic leadership making the party unelectable and in danger of extinction.
'I have no quarrel with the local party and our MP.  I will continue to support the hardworking members of the Labour Group on the council who are doing an excellent job in maintaining public services in the face of swingeing cuts from the Tory government. I will not be joining any other party.
'The second reason is that I have no confidence that I will receive a fair hearing in dealing with my suspension. The party’s disputes unit has been proved to be chaotic, incompetent and politically biased.
'My 15-month suspension is unjust and has gone on far too long. I have on three occasions asked for progress to be made only to be completely ignored. Only after a complaint was lodged by my local party did they eventually write to me. Too little, too late.
'I have 16 pages of evidence that proves beyond any doubt that I could not have been told about events at Knowl View. I told the truth to the Independent Inquiry; and the Metropolitan Police’s decision to clear me of allegations of perjury vindicates this.
'I am grateful for the support I have received from scores of party members over recent months.  In many ways, I feel I am letting them down by resigning, but for me, I have reached the end.
'Enough is enough.  Like thousands of others right across the Labour Party, I cannot remain a member of an intolerant and hard left party led by an incompetent leader.'

Councillor John Blundell, a spokesman for the Rochdale Constituency Labour Party, said: 'I am sad to see Councillor Farnell resign.  We wish him well.'

Others in the local party and elsewhere were unhappy about his staggeringly poor performance at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse, and thought he may have departed sooner.  But Cllr. Farnell has followed in a recent tradition of local politicians like the notorious former MP Simon Danczuk, who hang on well past their sell-by date.

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Lies, Damn Lies and Labour Councillors

by Les May

AT first sight it might seem that the most important political development in Rochdale in recent days is the decision of two well known Labour figures to join the Brexit party.  But any crowing from Labour’s opponents may be short lived.  If it’s members get their way it’s raison d’être will vanish on the first of November.  Only if they fail will it have any further reason to exist.   Either way it looks like a move into a political cul de sac.

Of more long term significance is the decision of Councillor Jacqui Beswick to resign the Labour whip and sit as an Independent.

She is reported to have taken the decision due to the way the party had handled false allegations against her. She has said ‘I believed that after the local elections my complaint would be dealt with, sadly that wasn't the case and I have been told recently that it could be quite some time before that happens’.

There is rather more background to this story than is apparent from this statement.

About six months ago I attended a meeting of people with a background in the Labour movement,  Labour activists and supporters, and some with a Trades Union background.   Most lived in the Heywood and Middleton constituency.  Also present at the meeting was John Blundell who represents a ward in the Rochdale constituency.   From the start it was clear that there was some antagonism towards him and his presence was not welcomed by a majority of the people at the meeting.

A number of people at the meeting were aware that another Labour councillor had made serious allegations against Councillor Beswick and wanted to discuss the matter further. The unwelcome Councillor Blundell managed to block any discussion by suggesting that repeating the allegations might be construed as defamatory and that the allegations were ‘under investigation’.

There were a lot of people at the meeting who will remember what Councillor Blundell said and a recording of exactly what he said may exist. I don’t think anyone present will believe a word he says in the future and it may be that some will conclude that he was lying.

The treatment of Councillor Beswick by the Labour leadership of Rochdale council looks very much like what is known in trades union terms as ‘Constructive Dismissal’.  A Labour councillor has a right to expect that when allegations are made against them they will be investigated by the party within a reasonable time frame. The failure to do this is analogous to a ‘repudiatory breach’ in employment terms.

There exists a significant lack of trust in the Labour leadership in Rochdale amongst many people who are otherwise solidly behind the Labour party. Labour politics in Rochdale has been described to me on a number of occasions as ‘a cess pit’. The treatment of Jacqui Beswick will do nothing to sweeten the smell from it.

More details can be found at;

http://northernvoicesmag.blogspot.com/2019/05/labour-party-strange-allegations.html

http://northernvoicesmag.blogspot.com/2018/06/brave-new-world-hatching-eggs.html

Cllr. Rana commited the crime, did he do the time?

 

by Brian Bamford & Les May

with help from Carl Faulkner

Last year Allen Brett Rochdale's council leader said Cllr. Rana had ‘stepped away’ from his cabinet responsibilities.

ON the 16th, August 2018 businessman and big time Rochdale landlord, Cllr. Rana, was said to have 'stepped away' from his responsibilities as assistant to the finance portfolio holder Labour leader Allen Brett. It must be a cosy relationship.   In August last year Cllr. Rana was outed as a vote swindler by Carl Faulkner for falsely claiming two postal votes, Council leader Brett was quick to defend Cllr. Rana.   

After expressing initial regret Brett said:  'Naturally I am disappointed in Cllr. Rana's error [but] he is a very talented individual who shares our collective passion to improve our borough.’

Now the landlord Rana, who duped the electorate in 2018, is now comfortably back in the saddle next to the boss-man Brett. 
 
Who says crime doesn't pay?

Cllr. Rana must be very talented to purloin two postal votes for himself out of the British electoral system and to now land a top job helping the Council leader Cllr. Brett to run the town's financial affairs. There are not many of us that could do that and get away with it.

Farooq Ahmed, who was in charge of finance in 2014, was not so lucky as Cllr. Rana; when a fellow Labour Councillorr Neil Emmott claimed he had been the victim of a homophobic remark from Cllr. Ahmed.  Cllr. Ahmed was alleged to have warned him to 'mind his back' in an altercation on Cheetham Street in Rochdale.  Cllr. Emmott was at the time working for the now disgraced Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk, who ultimately left the Labour Party under a cloud.   Cllr, Ahmed ended up leaving the Labour Party after he was convicted of a public order offence.

It's a strange world in which someone guilty of a public order offence loses his position as head of Finance, while a self-confessed election fraudster keeps his job.  Perhaps poor Cllr. Ahmed, who is of Bangldeshi origin didn't put his nose in the right place, or maybe he simply didn't own enough real estate in Rochdale.

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Rochdale Councillor proposes cashless society . . .

  many locals  are there already!

by Anonymous 

24/05/2019  

IN the current edition of Manchester Confidential  the 'economist & Labour councillor' John Blundell argues with some conviction, (and no little irony I feel), that : 

'There is a whole industry involved in the printing, moving and securing of the nation’s cash and hundreds of millions of pounds will be saved by its eradication. Surely this money can be put to better use by helping those excluded from what should be a human right: access to a bank account and access to credit.

Further to this, strict privacy laws must be introduced to stop the government from peering into the accounts of people trying to obtain benefits. This is so that the long term unemployed, those in unstable employment or people without great means can have rainy day funds that aren’t eaten up by the benefits office when signing on, or for any other reason one might need a private cushion.'

A 'private cushion' indeed ?  For too many of our local citizens a hand to mouth existence is little more than soggy piece of cardboard to sit on as their only cushion for the economic reality of a cruel & brutal  economic system .  

'Some Groups', Blundell continues enthusiastically , 'mainly the very young and the old, will find it difficult to adapt and will need greater support. Sweden – that country famed for its uncaring laws and state – expects to go cashless by 2023 and is sorting out the ills of its society now so that the poor, the old and the disadvantaged don’t have to be at the sharp end of cash’s demise.' 

https://confidentials.com/manchester/cash-vs-cashless-daft-and-discriminatory-or-smart-and-inevitable

Councillor Blundell appears oblivious to the fact that for many in Rochdale the  'cashless society' is already a daily reality.  Particularly for those sanctioned by the DWP or in the midst of the interminable six week wait for Universal Credit.  As my contribution to the ongoing debate on the demonization and criminalisation of the Boroughs homeless & vulnerable by elements within Rochdale Labour Party who appear to have little or no clear understanding of the national homeless crisis could I take this opportunity to urge Councillor Blundell to open his eyes and urge his fellow Labour Councillors to affiliate to the national Labour Homeless Campaign an excellent and humane organisation who's web page proudly proclaims , that :

' Labour Homelessness Campaign have met and heard the stories of people on the streets across the country.  In Manchester, we met Jess – pregnant, homeless, and with no access to homeless services. Within 10 minutes we met four more people experiencing rough sleeping. They described being ‘harassed’ by the police and being fined and taken to court under the Vagrancy Act.

Labour Homelessness Campaign are calling for an end to this draconian policy and the criminalisation of homeless people. The mistreatment of homeless people is everywhere. As Labour members, we need to tackle this within our own party, first by working where Labour are already in power to ensure shelter for all.

An inhumane ‘move them along’ mentality is growing. In Westminster, rough sleepers have been moved on from the little warmth they have found, as it is suggested they disturb MPs getting to work. Two policies are in effect to this end: the Vagrancy Act, and Public Service Protection Orders (PSPO’s).

A study by the charity Crisis showed that 73% of rough sleepers experienced criminalisation in the last year. Between 2014 and 2017, 6,518 people were found guilty under the nearly 200-year-old Vagrancy Act and punishments can range from a fine to up to six months’ imprisonment. There is little that feels so blaringly idiotic as fining those who are homeless for being on the street.

Much like this outdated policy, PSPOs also allow councils to fine people. At least 60 councils have them in place. When Manchester City Council recently launched their PSPO consultation Andy Burnham claimed “it’s not about criminalising people who are sleeping rough or people who have got nowhere else to go.” Yet it explicitly identifies “putting up tents, seeking charity and other behaviour associated with rough sleeping” as reason to be served a PSPO – behaviour that is inevitable for many experiencing homelessness.

Slapping fines on people experiencing homelessness is never the answer. Rather than driving people out of city centres with PSPOs, Labour local authorities should be defending the rights of rough sleepers to exist in public spaces like anyone else. As the Labour Homelessness Campaign, we advocate for an approach of care, not criminalisation.

Empty properties serve no value to society. We should be helping lives, not landlords. Homeless people need homes and the right to exist in public spaces. What is really damaging society after all: a tent for temporary accommodation, or 597 homeless people dying on our streets whilst houses stay empty? 

Perhaps  John and his fellow 'socialists ' in Rochdale CLP can after listening to informed opinion finally show some solidarity with the  Borough's homeless & dispossessed victims of over a decade of Tory Austerity and add their names to the Labour Homeless Campaigns Open Letter ? Which states :

End the criminalisation of the homeless

As Labour Party members, and supporters, we welcome the announcement by the Labour leadership that it will repeal the 1824 Vagrancy Act once the Labour party is in government, but more needs to be done to end criminalisation of homelessness. The Vagrancy Act makes it a crime to sleep 'in any deserted or unoccupied building, or in the open air, or under a tent, or in any cart of waggon, not having any visible means of subsistence'. People can be fined up to £1,000 and given a two-year criminal record under an act which specifically targets the most marginalised in our society, and thousands face arrest every year. 

The Vagrancy Act is just one segment of a system of criminalisation of people experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping. Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) can make it illegal to beg or sleep rough within a given area. A raft of other ‘anti-social behaviour’ measures, from Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) to dispersal orders, give police and councils powers to move rough sleepers on, or give them a hefty fine. A study by the charity Crisis showed that 73% of rough sleepers experienced some kind of criminalisation in the last year. People experiencing homelessness can be intensely vulnerable. Too often these measures trap people in a cycle, faced with fines they cannot pay and with a growing mistrust of those official council services they should be turning to for help. 

No more can we threaten to fine people who have nothing. No more can we accept legislation which targets rough sleepers as criminals, when they are far more likely to be victims of harassment, violence and abuse. We're calling for an end to the Vagrancy Act, and for councils and police forces to cease using all measures which ban begging and rough sleeping or target those experiencing homelessness. 

Homelessness is effectively a criminal offence. We’re demanding a different approach.'  

On the day that Britain's 'Plastic Thatcher' was forced from office the history books will recall no doubt less the crocodile tears of a failed PM but the shaming statistics published within hours of the Premiers resignation speech ,stating : 'child homelessness has increased by a staggering 80% since the Conservative Party came to power in 2010 ' (The Independent ) and that:

'Thirteen of the 15 local authorities worst affected by homelessness are run by Labour.

 'Labour councils are faced with an enormous challenge but also an opportunity for radical, empowering, socialist homelessness policies. This is an opportunity to show what socialism in power can mean.' (The Fabian ).  

History is as we know an unruly and at times unpredictable student. However their can be little doubt that the future - if there is to be one - will not look back with grace or particular favour on the outdated attitudes and actions of many within our local political class who will be held up to critical scrutiny & opprobrium for their inoffensive & insensitive views on the homeless in the same way we look in contempt with those in the past who were apologists for the hated means test , the Workhouse and the dumping of the poor or the infirm on the other side of the County Parish Boundary. It really is time Rochdale Council got with the programme and heeded calls from progressive voices such as Labour Councillor Shaista Aziz who wrote in the latest edition of The Fabian :  
'The Labour Homelessness Campaign is a grassroots group of Labour members who are acting in solidarity with people experiencing homelessness. We’ve seen the incredible work that’s being done on the ground by overstretched homelessness services. But we’ve also identified a problem: for many experiencing homelessness, there has been a breakdown of trust with officialdom.

As a Labour councillor, it has been saddening for me to speak to rough sleepers who do not believe their Labour council or official homelessness services are on their side.  It has been maddening to talk to grassroots homelessness campaigners around the country who have found themselves campaigning against the policies of their Labour council.  While I know as well as anyone the incredible pressure austerity has put on council budgets, it’s time for us to start listening to these voices.

People on the streets are often treated like criminals, all too often by Labour councils.  The 1824 Vagrancy Act means rough sleepers or those begging can be fined up to £1,000, imprisoned and given a criminal record.  Thousands of people are prosecuted under the act every year – most for ‘aggressive begging’.  The definition of ‘aggressive begging’ in some local authorities includes begging within 10 metres of an ATM.

In addition to this, a raft of antisocial behaviour legislation is used against people experiencing homelessness. Public space protection orders (PSPOs) can make it illegal to sleep rough or beg in certain areas.  We’ve worked with people handed community protection notices (CPNs) threatening £20,000 fines for sleeping rough.  Criminal behaviour orders (CBOs) and dispersal orders can also be used by councils and police to drive rough sleepers out of certain areas. Seventy per cent of criminalisation experienced by rough sleepers isn’t formal application of these criminal orders but rather informal ‘moving-on’ or threats of further action.  When we use these orders we are driving the very people who have nowhere else to go out of our public spaces.

This is why the Labour Homelessness Campaign is campaigning for an end to all forms of homelessness criminalisation.,

When we wonder will the penny finally ever drop with Rochdale Councillors like Blundell and those like him ?

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