Rochdale & 'Fair Do's' in selection process

NV Editor:   Below is a description coming from Labour sources of how the Spotland & Falinge ward Labour Party in Rochdale went about setting out to select their candidate for the forthcoming local elections next May.  Clearly some people in the Labour Party think it is slightly skewed, and see it unfair to allow Rachel Massey's husband to have insider knowledge, which should he may be tempted to divulge  to his 'nearest and dearest' would give her an unfair advantage in the selection interview.

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To show you how bad the Spotland & Falinge selection was. Here is the post they have put on Twitter after the vote. As you can see they had already had posters printed out with Rachel’s name on it as the candidate before a vote had been cast.

 'HONESTY', 'INTEGRITY', & 'VISION'

At the Spotland & Falinge short listing meeting the week before, Rachel Massey’s husband, Phillip Massey – who is also on the panel of Labour candidates - was allowed to remain in the meeting when the questions to the candidates were being formulated.

Despite objections from the meeting Cllr. Liam O’Rourke who was chairing the meeting on behalf of Rochdale LCF ruled that he could stay. Commenting: “I’m sure that Mr. Massey will not divulge the questions to his wife”.

The response came back that this would not happen.

A week later at the selection meeting, it was commented upon that Rachel Massey’s presentation was very smooth, and seamless. Reading and barely lifting her eyes from an iPad containing prepared statements for each of the eight questions asked. Could it be that she had knowledge beforehand of the questions put to her?

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Cheerful Cherub by the Sea Side

  Merit Award for Tony Lloyd's Right Hand Man

 WHO PROPOSED LIAM O'ROURKE?

by Brian Bamford

 

 Simon Danczuk with young Councillor Liam O'Rourke

LIAM O'Rourke, who works in the office of Tony Lloyd MP for Rochdale, and is the cheerful cherubic councillor responsible for resources in the Rochdale cabinet, may well have friends in high places, but so far as the Labour Party rank and file is concerned he hasn't covered himself with glory.

At a meeting of Rochdale council on  the 28th, February 2013, the then recently elected Councillor O'Rourke said:  ''The implementation of decisions to make redundancies were helped by our relationship to the trade unions' (see Northern Voices; Thursday, 28 Feb. 2013)

Councillor O'Rourke came back quickly on NV to clarify this with the comment:  'Far from selling their workers a bitter pill, the [h]ard work put in by the council and the unions meant that people left in a manner that was satisfactory for them.'

To which a local resident Tony Jones, from Back of the Moss in a comment on NV responded:  
'Haha - So this is where Councillor O'Rourke is hiding out.  Most people in my ward had thought you had dissapeared.  No sight of you in the Heywood Advertiser, no sight of you in town with the exception of going off to Lourdes.  Would be nice to get a leaflet now and again telling us what we actually voted for your for. You have been a very bitter dissapointment for many I know who voted for you. -' 

Things have not changed for Rochdale or Councillor O'Rourke since then!

Last Sunday, the website Zelo-Street reported: 

'...what should have been an enjoyable weekend for the Rochdale area contingent was marred by what happened at the Merit Award Dinner, held on Friday evening at the Blackpool Hilton Hotel with guest speakers Barry Gardiner, Lavery, and Rebecca Long Bailey.  

Someone must have pulled a fast one, because Zelo-Street adds:

'The problem was that one of those awards went to Liam O’Rourke, a Councillor who represents Heywood North.  Why should that be?  Ah well.  My sources tell me “All nominees have to be nominated by their own CLP, and it has to come through their CLP Secretary.  He was never nominated by his CLP, nor or did it come from his Secretary”.'

So who proposed Councillor O'Rourke for the merit award?

No-one will say apparently.

This seems to be the latest piece of shabby politics in Rochdale, because we at Northern Voices have seen papers showing evidence of increasing poor governance involving people in control of the Rochdale Labour Party.

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