Rumbelow in Rochdale's Problematic Top Job

by Brian Bamford

ON the 15 OCT 2014, Dan Thompson in the MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS (MEN) announced that 'Rochdale council to fill its problem chief executive post.' At the time the now disgraced Councillor Richard Farnell, the then leader of Rochdale council, described the appointment of Mr Rumbelow, a former director for Manchester council, as a ‘major coup’.

Cllr. Farnell added: “He is one of the country’s most successful and dynamic chief executives. He has a wealth of experience in other chief executive and leading local government posts in the north west."

Then the MEN declared that 'The appointment of Steve Rumbelow, who has been chief executive at Burnley council since July 2006, is expected to be approved at a meeting of Rochdale town hall chiefs tonight' and that 'Steve Rumbelow expected to become the town hall's fourth chief executive in the space of three years'.

A giddy Cllr. Farnell enthused: 'He is one of the country’s most successful and dynamic chief executives. He has a wealth of experience in other chief executive and leading local government posts in the north west.

'Rochdale’s priority is bringing new businesses and jobs to the borough and Steve is recognised as one of the most experienced regeneration experts in the region.

'He has led the transformation of Burnley, which was recently named as the Most Enterprising Place in the UK.'

In 2014, Mr Rumbelow proclaimed that he was ‘looking forward’ to taking over the reins at Rochdale Council.

He added: 'I’ve been looking hard at the current challenges and issues ahead for the council and all our partner organisations. But what I’ve really been struck by is the commitment of councillors, officers and people right across the borough to do the best for residents, and develop new opportunities and prospects.

'Rochdale is well known for its pioneering spirit and I am really pleased to have been appointed to this role, and to be able to work alongside so many committed people.'

In 2014 Mr Rumbelow became the fourth chief executive of Rochdale council in the space of three years.

Roger Ellis took early retirement in April 2012 – a month before nine men were jailed over the town’s grooming scandal – and came under fire for taking a £75,000 redundancy package, despite the town hall failing vulnerable victims of sexual abuse.

Mr Ellis was replaced by Jim Taylor, who faced controversy 2013 when Rochdale council tried to give him a £40,000 pay rise – taking his salary to £170,000 – a move that was ultimately defeated by councillors following a huge backlash.

Hence, the role of Chief Executive in Rochdale has not been a happy one over the last decade or so, it's a troubled trade and we wish 'Two-Jobs Rumbelow' all the best in his multiple roles.

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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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Rochdale Labour Aim at Restoring Trust

 Leak of Motion for clean break with past politics

LAST Wednesday, the West Heywood and East Middleton wards agreed to move the motion below which raises concerns about the proposed reinstatement of a former Rochdale Labour leader, Richard Farnell, who many in the local Labour Party and among the public beyond who generally feel he was discredited by the finding that he lied under oath at the  Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).  

The tenure of the motion suggests that the people moving it feel that not only has Richard Farnell become totally toxic by his insistance that he was unaware of what was going on at Knowl View residential school, but that the culture created by Farnell's successor, Alan Brett, is now stifling any remaining remnant of decency in the body politic in Rochdale. 

The Heywood and Middleton Constituency Labour Party below urge a change of leadership to create a 'break with that (spirit of) Richard Farnell and Allen Brett, in order that trust and confidence in the local party can be restored'.

Wed 03/07/2019 21:59

 The Motion states:

'In light of recent press reports relating to Richard Farnell and Allen Brett, Heywood and Middleton CLP/ branch note that: Richard Farnell was suspended from the Labour Party when the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) reported its finding that he had lied to the Inquiry under oath; his replacement as Leader of Rochdale Council, Allen Brett (himself found to have brought the authority into disrepute) is reported to have said that he will be pressing for Richard Farnell’s suspension to be immediately lifted; the Executive of Rochdale CLP have apparently written to Labour North West Region in respect of the suspension, with their meeting minutes referring to selection meetings in September and the unfairness of Richard Farnell being “in limbo”. Heywood and Middleton CLP/ branch are of the view that: regardless of the outcome of Richard Farnell’s suspension, his behaviour at the IICSA and IICSA’s finding that he lied under oath, reflect very badly on the Labour Party in Rochdale; perceptions of Allen Brett’s behaviour compound this, along with his call for Richard Farnell’s immediate reinstatement; there is a risk as borne out by responses on social media, and in spite of the good work of many councillors and party members, that the Labour Party in Rochdale Borough loses trust and credibility in the eyes of the electorate. And so, (Heywood and Middleton CLP/ branch) call on Rochdale Council Labour Group to bring about a change of Rochdale Council leadership in a way that represents a clean break with that of Richard Farnell and Allen Brett, in order that trust and confidence in the local party can be restored.'

 Passed at West Heywood and East Middleton so far. On the agenda at Castleton branch next week.

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Comment on the importance of being a Blundell

 "What's picking a lock compared to buying shares?  

What's breaking into a bank 

compared to founding one?  

What's murdering a man 

compared to employing one?" 

 

From the 'Threepenny Opera' by Bertolt Brecht

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Before red banner Cllr. Blundell is wearing glasses looking
adoringly at his bearded mate

AN Anonymous comment  on this NV Blog questions the arguments of Rochdale Councillor John Blundell with regard to his views on homeless beggars.  'Anonymous' cites the finding of the End Child Poverty Coalition that 'child poverty in Central Rochdale (After Housing Costs) at a staggering 57.04% and for Rochdalr as a whole at 45% (some 14,198 local children)'.

 

Then 'Anonymous' asks what is the opinionated Cllr. Blundell's view on this problem given that statistics are now suggesting that child poverty is so significant?  

 

'Anonymous' must know that Rochdale's Councillor Blundell holds the cabinet position for Regeneration, Business, Skills and Employment under the Labour administration of his leader Cllr. Allen Brett.  Cllr. Blundell has some ideas about how to discourage homeless beggars based on his economic theories, and in an article written in Manchester Confidential in December 2017 he announced some of his simple text book views:

'The fundamental principle of economics is that people, or agents as we like to call them, respond to incentives.'   

Then Cllr. Blundell tells us:

'Often money is the means of incentivising people to do things they wouldn't opt to do otherwise, like work. Conversely it is also used to disincentivise things we like to do but shouldn’t, like smoking, which is heavily taxed.'

Last week, sitting in the Flying Horse pub, I remembered these words by Blundell as I watched him ensconced at a table outside in Rochdale Town Hall square stuffing himself in the company of a woman I believe to be the new Kingsway Labour Cllr. Elsie Wraighte.  What, I wonder, would 'disincentivise' the already pleasingly plump Cllr. Blandell from eating too much?

Or what was it that was incentivising last January when he became a non-executive director of the Manchester Airport Group?  At the time Cllr. Blundell declared : "I am ecstatic that I have been chosen to join the board at Manchester Airport Group as a non-executive director and look forwarding to being part of the major growth the Airport is currently going through.”

Indeed, the local beggars may wonder with the playwright Bertolt Brecht:  'Why be a homeless beggar when you can be a Labour Councillor and non-executive director like Councillor Blundell?'   After all, even when the councillor is an electoral fraud like Councillor Rana from Spotland and Falinge, or an unbelievable witness like Cllr. Richard Farnell, or a philanderer like the former disgraced Rochdale Labour MP, Simon Danczuk; a spirit of tolerance prevails rather than any attempts to 'disincentivise' their waywardness, and this  seems to have become very much part of the culture among the Rochdale councillors of all parties.  Indeed, recently  Cllr. Blundell even sort to defend the dalliances of Simon Danczuk saying what he did was 'Only Human!'.

Given their recent political history the Rochdale councillors, all of them, should really be asking themselves what kind of example they are setting to anyone?

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Just a Thought

by Les May

UNLIKE many Labour supporters in Rochdale, I found it difficult to get too excited about whether Richard Farnell did or did not know of the unsavoury goings on at Knowl View School in the early 1990s.

Having spent a good deal of time in unpicking the facts from the fantasy in Simon Danczuk’s book ‘Smile for the Camera’, I concluded that whether he knew or not would have made not the slightest difference to the outcome.   I saw no evidence of a ‘cover up’ by officers of Rochdale Council and felt that they had acted appropriately in a very difficult situation.  This is what I told the Police when I was interviewed as part of Operation Clifton.

I had a second reason for my lack of excitement.  Much of the public discourse failed to distinguish carefully between what the solicitors had to say both in, and especially outside the Inquiry and its official findings.   Just because a solicitor says something does not make it true however often it is repeated.

Had Farnell not stepped down as Leader of the Council in December 2017 the way that Councillor ‘Two Votes’ Rana was dealt with might have been different.   Although this councillor admitted committing two electoral offences the present Leader did not seem to think it was necessary to ask for his resignation from the council, though it should be said that an honourable man would have realised that this was the correct course of action without being asked.

After all Farnell ‘has form’ on dealing with councillors who do not come up to scratch.  Although Danczuk praised his help in the book and he loyally stuck with Danczuk long after the latter had passed his ‘sell by’ date.  it is reported that he had a quiet word with Danczuk’s wife when she proved to be less assiduous in her role as a Councillor than she should have been.

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Richard Farnell case 'insufficient evidence’!

THE police investigation into allegations that the former Rochdale council leader Richard Farnell committed perjury when he appeared at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) have now said there is 'insufficient evidence’ to take any criminal action against him.

Initially a report from the inquiry alleged Councillor Farnell had ‘lied under oath’ as he gave evidence about the town’s notorious Knowl View school, where children had been abused during a period of over than 25 years.

That allegation branded Councillor Farnell – who has always strongly denied he misled the inquiry – as ‘shameful’ in refusing to take responsibility for the abuse that happened under his watch when he was leader of the council from 1986 and 1992.

It said, at the time, that ‘defies belief’ that he was unaware of the events involving the school.


In May 2018 the Metropolitan Police received a referral from the Greater Manchester Police requesting the force reviewed an allegation of perjury by a witness to the IICSA.

Now after a long investigation the Metropolitan Police have told Councillor Farnell that they will not be taking matters any further following a ‘full review’ of the evidence.

The letter, signed by Acting Detective Chief Inspector Gail Granville states:   'Having carefully considered all the material gathered that was subject to review, I have concluded there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate to the criminal standard that you wilfully, that is to say deliberately and not inadvertently or by mistake, made a statement that you know to be false or did not believe to be true.

'As a result, no further action will be taken by the Metropolitan Police in relation to the allegation.'

Councillor Farnell, who stood down as council leader just weeks after giving his evidence to the inquiry, has welcomed the decision.

He said:  'I am really pleased that following a thorough 12 month investigation by the Metropolitan Police they have decided not to prosecute me for perjury.
'I have always maintained I told the truth to the inquiry and the Metropolitan Police’s decision vindicates this.
'There is not one scrap of evidence that I knew about the failings at Knowl View almost 30 years ago. The council’s most senior officers at the time  – the chief executive and directors of education and social services – all told the inquiry they did not inform me.
'The inquiry examined  over 100,000 pages of letters, reports and documents and not a single one was addressed to me or informed me about Knowl View.'

Referring to Operation Clifton, which NV took part – an investigation into the alleged cover-up of child sexual abuse at Knowl View, Councillor Farnell added:
' A previous two-year inquiry by Greater Manchester Police into allegations of a cover-up of Knowl View found there was absolutely no evidence to support this.
“The inquiry was handed a 16 page report of evidence proving beyond any doubt I was not informed about Knowl View which, bizarrely, they ignored.”
Councillor Farnell, who continues to represent the Balderstone and Kirkholt ward, said it has been "extremely stressful" to have the allegation hanging over him for twelve months, but thanked the police for a ‘thorough investigation’.
He added: “I was always confident it would come to nothing because I told the truth to the inquiry and all the evidence supports this.
'However, we must never, never forget the victims in this tragedy. It was only under my leadership that the council apologised for its failings at Knowl View.'

When he stood down as council leader Councillor Farnell blamed a ‘small minority’ of Labour members for ‘undermining’ his leadership following the hearing.

He was later suspended by the Labour party and still awaits reinstatment.

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Is Rochdale Labour Party 'a disfunctional bubble'?

NV Editor:   Last week the Rochdale Labour councillor, Kathleen Nickson, defected to the local Liberal Democrats claiming that she had suffered bullying in the Labour Party under its current leader Cllr. Allen Brett.  Cllr. Brett doesn't recognise her account, but he has just been subject to a disciplinary inquiry over his own conduct.  Meanwhile, his Labour Party colleagues have taken to recording what he says at private meetings of the Labour group.  In the story below The Guardian reporter quotes a solicitor as accusing the party of Cllr. Brett of existing 'in its own dysfunctional bubble' and having 'a problem at the political leadership level'.  That was last April almost a year ago, but since then things haven't got any better with one councillor, Faisal Rana, having been cautioned by the police for the electoral fraud of multiple voting.  

Read Tony Lloyd MP for Rochdale on electoral fraud:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWmHpSqdzNE 

*******

ON the 15th, April 2018, The Guardian journalist, Josh Halliday, reported:  'Rochdale's "toxic" political leadership must be overhauled for the town to move on from decades of institutional failure on child sexual abuse, the lead solicitor for victims at the official inquiry has said.'

A solicitor Richard Scorer, who was representing victims at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IISCA), said Labour had allowed Rochdale’s political leaders to act in a “dysfunctional bubble”.  And he added:  “If Rochdale is going to be able to move forward there has to be changes at the political leadership level,”.

That was when Richard Farnell, the former leader of Rochdale Councill, had just been accused of lying under oath.

According to The Guardian story, Farnell was branded “shameless” for his refusal to take personal responsibility for the abuse, which happened during his first stint as town hall leader between 1986 and 1992.

This former Labour council leader, Farnell, who was recently suspended by the Labour party amid a possible police investigation into perjury, has denied lying to the inquiry and insisted he was not informed about abuse at Knowl View during his time as leader.
  
The Guardians journalist, Josh Halliday, then reported:
'However, Farnell’s successor, the former deputy leader, Allen Brett, has also been criticised by some fellow Labour councillors for representing “no change” to the political regime. His appointment triggered the resignation of Donna Martin, the deputy leader, and two councillors from the town hall cabinet.
'Brett, a long-serving councillor who has held a number of senior positions on Rochdale council, previously backed Farnell over his evidence to the IICSA.
'Speaking after his appointment in December, he said people “should believe what has been said” by Farnell and that he hoped the inquiry would show that “what Richard said was true”.'

But at that time Brett refused to discuss the Rochdale abuse inquiry, or say whether he stood by his remarks on Farnell, when contacted by The Guardian.

In a press release at that time, Brett said he realised 'it was wrong of me to pre-empty [sic?] the inquiry'.   He said Farnell “should now personally reflect on the report” and apologised to victims who had been 'let down by people who should have been protecting you'.

But the solicitor Mr. Scorer said Brett’s pre-empting of the inquiry, as well as the fact Farnell stayed in post for two months after his much-criticised evidence, 'confirms the problem of the political culture' in Rochdale.

Solicitor Scorer then tried to describe the culture of Rochdalian politics up to that date in April 2018:
'In the very recent past the social services and education teams have tried to make improvements but I think what’s apparent from this report is that Rochdale still has a very toxic culture among its political leadership,
'Labour are now the controlling party.  They’ve allowed Rochdale to operate in its own dysfunctional bubble and that now needs to come to an end. They still have a problem at the political leadership level.'

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The Slow Death of an Institution

by ‘Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells’

A COUPLE of years ago the Rochdale Observer published a report of a march by one of those three initial right wing groups ostensibly protesting about the grooming of teenage girls by a gang of Asian men.  The then leader of Rochdale Council, Richard Farnell, castigated the paper because he objected to the prominence given to the report. He wanted powers to ban such marches in future ostensibly on the grounds that they ‘scapegoated an entire community’. In other words he did not think that the people of Rochdale had any right to know what was going on in their town if he did not approve of it.

A week later the ‘Your Views’ section of the paper devoted to letters sent in by readers carried a contribution praising the report and objecting to both Farnell’s attempt to prevent legitimate protest and his attempt to keep residents from knowing about it.

In 2014, Simon Danczuk published a book about the town’s former MP, Cyril Smith, who had died four years earlier. I will be charitable and say that the book was not very good.   It contained material taken from Smiths ghosted autobiography, material that was clearly derivative from a 1979 piece in Rochdale Alternative Paper (RAP) about Smith unsavoury antics at Cambridge House hostel, material that was later shown to be demonstrably wrong and a lot of assertions for which there was no evidence produced, but which had the effect of making any further claims about Smith’s behaviour unreliable.

Throughout the summer of 2014 the Rochdale Observer carried material, thought by some people to have been placed by an associate of Mr Danczuk, which tried to implicate the local Lib-Dems in a ‘cover up’ designed to ensure that other things about Smith did not become known.

Also throughout the summer the ‘Your Views’ section of the paper regularly carried letters pointing out the deficiencies in Danczuk’s book and why it was not a reliable record.

If Richard Farnell had been allowed to get away with his objection to the original report it might just have had the effect of making the editor a bit more cautious next time.  It wasn’t the Home Affairs Select Committee which challenged Danczuk’s fanciful stories about Smith’s supposed antics being covered up by Special Branch and of Westminster paedophile rings, it was letters in the ‘Your Views’ columns of the Rochdale Observer.

In recent years there’s been a competitor to the Observer in the shape of the web based media outlet Rochdale Online which included a vibrant ‘Letters’ section.  Whichever of these news outlets a letter writer chose one thing was certain its contents would be scrutinised by local politicians.

Sadly that is a thing of the past. The Rochdale Observer first cut down the space devoted to letters from readers, then reduced the frequency of the column to the point where some things are out of date by the time they appear. Rochdale Online went the whole hog and got rid its letters pages completely.

A liberal democracy like ours needs these self correcting mechanisms.  Politicians need close scrutiny. Ideas need to be challenged.   We are moving to a time when politicians and journalists will have a monopoly on the dissemination of ideas. Twitter and Facebook are no substitute for a vibrant ‘Letters’ page in a newspaper or its web based equivalent.   With both Twitter and Facebook it is easy to become locked into a world in which we only hear the views of people we agree with.

Contributions to ‘Letters’ pages in newspapers aren’t perfect.  They can be badly written, erudite, bigoted, idealistic, trivial, important, liberal, conservative, revolutionary or reactionary.   But in local newspapers they give people a sense of belonging because they allow them to have their voice heard.  Our society will be all the worse for their loss.

The Curse of Gesture Politics

by Les May

THE decision to posthumously strip Cyril Smith of his ‘Freedom of the Borough’ is unlikely to change the impression that Rochdale is a town where some strange things are allowed to go unchecked.

What it demonstrates is that Rochdale councillors are far happier with a symbolic gesture against a dead man who, more than 50 years ago at Cambridge House hostel, took an unsavoury interest in the genitals of a number of young men, than censuring a fellow councillor who has admitted to a ‘corrupt practice’ at the local election six months ago.

I don’t make reference to Smith in regard to Knowl View because the Danczuk book so muddied the waters that I doubt we shall ever have a true picture of Smith’s involvement, if any, in the unsavoury goings on at the school.  What we do know is that both the reports submitted to RMBC in the early 1990s dealt with sexual activity between the boys, some of it coercive in nature.

What will be of interest is whether the people behind the recent move against the memory of Smith will feel that they have to call upon Richard Farnell to be thrown out of the Labour party when the bill for ‘compensation’ falls on the desk of the Chief Executive, as it surely will.  Because of course that’s what the character assassination after Child Sex Abuse inquiry of Richard Farnell, was all about, upping the compo!

I remain unconvinced about Richard Farnell’s culpability as I don’t think whether he knew or did not know about the goings on at Knowl View would have made the slightest difference to the action taken to try to sort it out.  The same goes for Paul Rowen.  Hindsight is such a wonderful thing!

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How Often did Councillor Rana Vote Twice?

He only lacks a knowledge of English Law! 
by Brian Bamford

LAST night at Spotland Methodist Church in Rochdale during a meeting of a local Forum, a boisterous Councillor Cecille Biant vigorously defended the notorious Rochdale Councillor 'Two Votes' Rana and rounded on his critics.  She insisted that he was totally innocent politically, and why on earth should he be expected to understand that he shouldn't vote twice.  She said that the press had been harsh it its treatment of Councillor Rana, who had simply been supplied with two ballot papers because he was registered at two addresses - one in Norden and one in the Spotland and Falinge ward, and thought he could vote twice.

We were further told by a character witness sitting next to Councillor Biant, that Councillor Rana was a 'honest man' and a 'kind man',

The chairman (Phil Massey: Councillor Rana's Agent) urging the meeting to accept that the police had dealt with the matter and drawn a line under it, said:  'The police have decided that there was "no guilty intent" and that's why they have given him a caution'.  

Others present at the meeting argued that this was not the case, and that by accepting a police caution meant that Councillor Faisal Rana had accepted his own guilt, and had been forced to give an apology for his actions.

Faisal Rana was not available last night to give an account for himself.  Last Saturday, he sent an e-mail to Northern Voices which reads as follows:  '

'Thank you very much for your email. I will not be available from 16/8/2018 to 30/8/2018. I will reply to your email on my return.'

Faisal Rana's Twitter account now reads:

‘This account's Tweets are protected.’

Only confirmed followers have access to @FaisalRana48's Tweets and complete profile. 

It's extraordinary how the Labour Party establishment in Rochdale thinks it can hold to a spirit of moral minimalism when it comes to governance of the town.  A few years ago with the former Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk, the citizens of the town felt themselves to be knee-deep in degradation and filth, and that things couldn't possibly get any worse.  Then we were blessed with a council leader, Richard Farnell, who couldn't recall untoward events under his rule alleged to have taken place at Knowl View School for Boys, and has since been accused of perjury..  Then there was Council leader Allen Brett threatening the gerrymandering of funds against those areas of the town opposed to his rule and that of the Labour Party.  

In each of these cases the culprits have held onto their positions for as long as possible, thus ultimately compounding the damage to themselves and their party and in doing so continuing to undermine the image of the town itself.  So it shouldn't surprise us that now the self confessed election fraud Councillor Rana is a chip off the old block, and at present is hiding from the spotlight of publicity.

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Labour Leader Brought Council into Disrepute!

by Brian Bamford

THE leader of Rochdale’s Borough Council, Councillor Allen Brett, has now been found to have ‘brought himself, his office and the Council into disrepute’. This was the finding of an investigation into his conduct earlier this year before the local elections.

The investigation which was conducted by an independent solicitor, was launched in April after the local website Rochdale Online published an audio clip of comments he made at a local Labour Party meeting.

In the audio clip, Councillor Brett is heard explaining at an internal Labour Party meeting how a government grant of £12million is to be spent on the borough’s roads and footpaths.

Ending the two-minute clip, Councillor Brett can be heard saying:

‘

…the budget remains fixed at £12 million [inaudible]. I’ve been given an indicative list of where it’s likely to have [sic], but I’m not releasing it - because I’ll deny I’ve said this, and I’m very reluctant to say it even in this room –  if we don’t do [sic] successful in one ward, I might not spend any money in that ward. You can work that out, but I’ll deny I’ve said it; I will.’

This is followed, says Rochdale Online by ‘murmurs of “Milnrow” (a Rochdale ward) can be heard from others in the room as Councillor Brett says: ‘Because I’m not having, like I was canvassing yesterday, to be told in Milnrow…’

Councillor Brett has long been under criticism from a section of his party because of his long-term support for the notorious former Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk, and also his loyal backing for his disgraced former predecessor as Rochdale Council Leader, Richard Farnell, who was discredited in a recent inquiry into child sex abuse.

Shadow of Rochdale's Danczuk Dynasty survives

by Brian Bamford

ALMOST four years ago on the 3rd, June 2014, BBC News announced:
'Rochdale Council is set to have a new leader after a coup in the ruling Labour group.  Colin Lambert was unseated by former leader Richard Farnell at a Labour group meeting on Monday evening.

That brought a tweet from the then Rochdale Labour MP, Simon Danczuk:
'Good news for Rochdale that Richard Farnell is to be new council leader, commiserations to outgoing Councillor Colin Lambert.'

This 'good news for Rochdale' was to turn into sour milk as a bumbling Richard Farnell squirmed under cross-examination in the hot seat of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse in 2017.

In 2014, BBC Radio Manchester claimed there had been a long term plan to replace Colin Lambert as leader of the Rochdale Council following the local elections of that year.

At that time it seemed that the now disgraced Councillor Farnell was being pushed by the Danczuk mafia within the Rochdale Labour Party to take over the leadership almost against his will.  Sources inside the party suggested Farnell even then foresaw his own future downfall, and was in a state of distress at the thought of taking over at the top.

Councillor Farnell, we now know is suspended and in some disgrace, though still in receipt of his council stipend.  His close colleague and pal Councillor Allen Brett replaced him in December 2017.

Coucillor Brett was Simon Danczuk's Parliamentary agent and he is reputed to have praised Mr Danczuk in the following terms:
'Simon is someone with the qualities and skills to represent Rochdale in Parliament very well indeed.  He’s got a breadth of experience in the trade union movement and in business.  He’s a former councillor and because of his own upbringing, understands how difficult life can be for people and families in Rochdale.  I’m looking forward to working with him.'

Thus, yesterday's news that Councillor Allen Brett had been re-elected as the Leader of the local Labour Party and hence the Leader of Rochdale Borough Council, will be cause for concern for a large section of the party.  The day before Brett's re-election (6th, May) in a letter on Rochdale ONLINE, over a hundred  'grassroots members of the local Labour Party' from 18 wards in the borough of Rochdale, urged local councillors to vote for Councillor Jacqui Beswick as Labour Group leader which they claimed 'will give the fresh leadership to take the borough forward.'

Instead, the Rochdale Labour Party has just gone politically backwards.

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Who Pissed on Rochdale Labour Party's Chips?

by Brian Bamford

Damaging 'Off the Cuff' politics of Dancuk, Farnell & Brett

AFTER last Thursday's local elections, West Heywood's Labour Councillor Jacqui Beswick,  announced her bid to take over the leadership of Rochdale Council by standing against Allen Brett the current leader.  She said:  'I don't want to drag up the past difficult times', but 'the bad press' she insisted, won't have helped the Labour Party in Rochdale.

At this Sunday's AGM the future of the Rochdale Labour Party will be in the balance, when elections are to be held for leader.  Tellingly, Councillor Beswick told the Rochdale Online website:  'I believe in change!  Not from the top down', but from the ward membership upwards.

Councillor Beswick stood before for the leadership last November, when the disgraced Richard Farnell stood down, but she failed to get in.  What she didn't say yesterday, is that she didn't succeed because of opposition from her minority group opponents with special cultural interests within the local Labour party.  Northern Voices, at that time, was told by sources close to the Party, that she lost because she refused to parley with these minority  'clans' with unique influence in the party.

Yet it may well be to these forces, which Councillor Beswick may be eluding to below when she talks of 'an opportunity for a new broom to sweep out the old order instead it was consolidated with backers of the former leader who seemed in denial'.

Yesterday, in her Rochdale Online interview, Councillor Beswick declared:

'Recent events in Rochdale have shown there is a need for change in Leadership.  Some of us tried to make this make this point when the national party asked the previous leader to step down last November following his evidence to the IICSA enquiry.

'This should have been an opportunity for a new broom to sweep out the old order instead it was consolidated with backers of the former leader who seemed in denial.

'Timescales were deliberately short and instead Richard Farnell's close ally and deputy [Allen Brett] took over. 

'At this time the level of change at the top was not sufficient, which is why a number of cabinet members and a deputy resigned last December.

'Rochdale and its residents deserve better than this and especially after the IICSA report that has identified historic failings 

'I believe fresh Leadership is important to take the Borough forward. For this reason I am putting my name forward at the next group AGM with an agenda for change that says the old ways of doing things are not good enough for Rochdale.'

With Allen Brett as the Labour leader, and with the former disgraced leader still in the wings as a Rochdale councillor, the Rochdale Labour Party is tainted by the political ghost of the disgraced former Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk, to whom both were close.  All Danczuk's sexual peccadilloes, and the misdemeanours with regard to his expenses, have over the years soured the political atmosphere in the Rochdale Labour Party.  But, Councillor Allen Brett hasn't helped to clear-the-air by recently trying to dissemble his way out of what he said about being selective favouring Labour wards in spending the £12 million government grant on local road improvements, and then when caught out claiming this was just an 'off the cuff' remark.

This terrible triumvirate Danczuk, Farnell and Brett, all in the end pissed on the chips

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Cleansing the Stables?

by Les May

ON the evening of the local elections a lady who had spent the afternoon watching the antics of two Tory ‘number takers’ at a Castleton ward polling station described them to me as ‘a couple of daft lads’.  Later that day when the votes were counted one of those ‘daft lads’ came close to unseating the Labour incumbent, Aasim Rashid, whose majority was only 41 votes which was by far the smallest in any ward. How could this have happened?

It too easy to point to the report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and the subsequent resignation of Richard Farnell.  But I believe the problem goes much deeper.   Farnell made the mistake of supporting the gone, but unlamented, ex MP Simon Danczuk, for far too long.  From the last day of 2015 until Labour refused to endorse his candidature in mid 2017 Danczuk had the support of Farnell and his cronies, which included some of the people who still hold the strings of power in the Rochale Labour group.  As a result the present regime just looks like ‘Farnell Lite’.

Danczuk brought to Rochdale an unpleasant style of politics.  If Labour in Rochdale is to avoid any more election night scares in what should be a safe Labour seat, it is going to have to show that it has broken completely with the past.  That means clearing out of the seats of power all the councillors tainted by too close an association with Danczuk.  Are they prepared to do it or will short term ‘horse trading’ open the door to the Tories in the long run?

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Same Old Danczuk!

by Les May

A week ago in an article for Northern Voices, I wrote:

‘OSTENSIBLY Simon Danczuk’s 2014 book ‘Smile for the Camera’ is about the sexual peccadillos of his predecessor Cyril Smith. But a careful reading shows that the intent was to so closely associate Smith’s antics with the Liberal-Democrats that the party became permanently unelectable in Rochdale so securing a safe Labour seat for Danczuk for as long as he wanted it.’

http://northernvoicesmag.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/the-benefits-of-20-20-hindsight.html

A recently ‘leaked’ letter from Danczuk to the Chairwoman of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) tends to confirm my view.  Danczuk wrote:

‘Finally, I would like to point out that both local and national Liberal Democrat activists/representatives would have been even more aware of many of the issues regarding Cyril Smith though your inquiry appears, so far, to have been quite limited in regard to investigating such matters.  I was wholly convinced that key Liberal figures were well aware of Cyril Smith’s abuse but chose to do nothing. Perhaps this is something that deserves more attention.’

This is typical Danczuk.  As with his assertions in the same letter regarding whether Richard Farnell knew about the unsavoury goings on at Knowl View it represents only Danczuk’s opinion.  Just when did his conversations with Farnell about abuse at Knowl View take place?  Were they after November 2012?   If they were then should we not ask whether Danczuk only found out about Knowl View after he was contacted by someone who had been hawking around his story about a ‘cover up’ for years and had suddenly discovered someone to believe him?   As always he offers us no facts only vague generalisations implying that Farnell knew about Knowl View when what was actually commonly spoken of was Cyril Smith’s antics at Cambridge House.

I find Danczuk claim that he ‘thoroughly examined what went on at Knowl View as part of my research for the book’ difficult to take seriously, because the book is full of assertions made without evidence and when asked in October 2016 to provide real evidence he could not do so.

http://northernvoicesmag.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/

As for his attempts to smear Jim Dobbin with, ‘Relatively new to this town, I found these attempts to cover-up abuse very strange.  I was puzzled as to why local politicians like Jim [Dobbin], but also others, had not raised concerns when they had the power to do so.   At an appropriate time, I did put on record the abuse that Cyril and others committed.’  I find them beneath contempt because Danczuk’s idea of ‘an appropriate time’ was two years after Cyril Smith died, 33 years after his behaviour had been reported in Rochdale’s Alternative Paper (RAP) and a year after Danczuk had applauded enthusiastically at the unveiling of a Blue Plaque to him in 2011.  As for ‘the others’ we are still waiting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5iL2dDSyl0

If asked to choose between believing Richard Farnell’s version of what he knew about Knowl View and believing what Simon Danczuk’s says he knew, I’d believe Farnell every time.

If you want to know why follow the links below.

http://northernvoicesmag.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/operation-clifton-further-discredits.html

http://northernvoicesmag.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/nv-review-of-smile-for-camera.html

http://northernvoicesmag.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/our-long-running-crique-of-smile-for.html

Disgraced Danczuk Damns ex-Crony Farnell

IN a 'leaked' letter on Rochdale Online website it was revealed last weekend that the disgraced former MP for Rochdale, Simon Danczuk, had earlier told the Chairwoman of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) Prof. Alexis Jay, OBE, that he believed it to be 'inconceivable that Councillor Richard Farnell was not aware of what went on at Knowl View'.

Mr Danczuk wrote:  'The point here is that Councillor Richard Farnell has spent a considerable amount of his life in Rochdale and has been deeply involved in the Labour Party for many years, it would have been impossible for him not to have heard the rumours and accusations about Knowl View.'

Danczuk added:  'Also, Councillor Farnell is a very "hands on" leader and any of his colleagues would know that he would expect to be told if there was a problem, or there would have been adverse consequences for them for not having told him.'

Danczuk's damning of his former pal Richard Farnell, himself now a fellow battle scared warrior in the culture of political disgrace owing to the findings of Alexis Jay's Child Sex Abuse Inquiry, contrasts vividly with the support Councillor Farnell then leader of Rochdale Council, gave Simon Danczuk when he was suspended from the Labour Party in 2015.  In another leaked letter dated the 18th, January 2016, and drafted by Richard Farnell to the then General Secretary of the Labour Party, and copied to Jeremy Corbyn, Councillor Farnell wrote touchingly in support of Simon Danczuk MP:
'We (the Rochdale Labour Party's Executive Committee) would like assurances from yourself and the Leader of the Labour Party that Mr Danczuk will receive a fair and proper hearing by the Party in respect of the allegations made against him and that any decision will be based entirely on factual evidence. '

Indeed, the Rochdale Labour Party loyaly backed Simon Danczuk right up to the moment Mr. Danczuk cut-up his Labour Party membership card when he was deselected for the job as Rochdale's MP.

Councillor Farnell responding to Danczuk's damning statement told Rochdale Online:
'Mr. Danczuk's letter is all supposition and guesswork and that's the reason he was not called to give evidence as he has no knowledge of the events which happened 26 years ago....'

The current leader of Rochdale Council, who himself has now been accused of impropiety regarding his comments with regard to Council business, when asked failed to comment on Mr. Danczuk's letter to the Child Sex Abuse inquiry.

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Child abuse inquiry finds former Rochdale Council leader "lied under oath."

 "SHAMEFUL" - Ex-Rochdale Council leader - Richard Farnell

THE Labour Party have suspended former Rochdale Labour council leader, Richard Farnell, after he was found by the Independent Inquiry on Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), to have lied under oath. 

In the investigations first published report, Farnell was branded as "shameful" by the inquiry for refusing to take personal responsibility for the abuse - carried out by others, which occurred when he was first Rochdale Labour council leader between 1986-1992. The report describes Cllr Farnell as a person who "bullied and browbeat people" (which he denied) who was "bullish, self-opinionated, and unyielding."  It concluded that he was a person who was "prepared to blame others without acknowledging his own failures of leadership."

The report describes how for over 30-years, children were being sexually abused at Knowl View school, Rochdale town centre, the bus station, and the "notorious" Smith Street public toilets that were situated directly across the road from the Rochdale council offices.

The report says that the former Liberal leader of the council, ex-MP, Paul Rowen, who led the council in the mid-1990s, "bore considerable responsibility" for the school too, at best being "insufficiently inquisitive" about it and at worst having "turned a blind eye" by choosing to give its problems a "low priority."

In evidence given to the inquiry, Farnell claimed that he had only become aware of these concerns in the last "two or three years". Yet, fellow Rochdale Labour councillor, Peter Joinson, told the inquiry that Cllr Farnell had admitted in 2014 to having seen a copy of a report about the issue at the time, and by Mrs Cavanagh (head of Rochdale Social Services), who said she had "no doubt" he would have seen a copy of the report in 1992. The inquiry was also told that the then chair of education, Mary Moffatt, had also been aware of the allegations. The report therefore concluded:

"It defies belief that Mr Farnell was unaware of the events involving knowl View School..."

Councillor Farnell was once employed as a press and publicity officer (spin doctor) for Tameside Council where he was nicknamed Doctor Goebbels and sometimes, Mahatma propa-gandhi, for his abilities to spin a tale. Last March (2017), The Sun newspaper reported that as Rochdale council leader, Farnell, had "treated" himself to a 51% pay rise  - up to £47,304 from 31,224, while many Rochdalians saw their living standards fall and their council tax soar.  His nemesis, Cllr Joinson, was an elected Labour member of Tameside Council for seventeen years between 1987-2004. 

As a press and publicity officer, Farnell appears particularly accident prone.  If he has any future left in politics, he will have to do some explaining  to pull himself out of this mess which he has created for himself. At the time of writing, we understand Greater Manchester Police (GMP), are investigating 'possible offences' relating to the findings of the inquiry.

The Benefits of 20-20 Hindsight

by Les May

OSTENSIBLY Simon Danczuk’s 2014 book ‘Smile for the Camera’ is about the sexual peccadillos of his predecessor Cyril Smith.  But a careful reading shows that the intent was to so closely associate Smith’s antics with the Liberal-Democrats that the party became permanently unelectable in Rochdale so securing a safe Labour seat for Danczuk for as long as he wanted it.

It is something of an irony that the major casualty from the fall out from all the hares that Danczuk set running in the book is Richard Farnell, until recently Leader of Rochdale Council and a supporter of Danczuk long after the latter had reached his ‘sell by date’ as an MP.

Perhaps fearing that it will suffer in the May elections from the bad publicity the Labour party has suspended Farnell after the report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse said he had lied to the Inquiry.

It should however be pointed out that the report is quite liberal in its criticism of quite a number of the people trying to make decisions about how to deal with what was happening at Knowl View in the years around 1990.  Paul Rowen, who followed Farnell as Leader of the Council after May 1992, Ian Davey, Director of Social Services and Diana Cavanagh, Director of Education, are all criticised to varying degrees, which makes it all the more surprising that at one point the report refers to ‘some of Rochdale Council’s beleaguered officers’.

Twenty-twenty hindsight is wonderful thing especially when viewing events from a distance of a quarter of a century or more.  The sheer volume of detail presented in the Report of the Investigation makes it appear unlikely that any one person could have grasped the complexity of the issues at the time.

No doubt we shall be told ‘lessons will be learned’ and we shall hear even more of the new mantra of ‘safeguarding’, which seems to be a codeword for taking even more children into care when the money might be better spent on supporting their parents in their own home. Some of the children taken into care after the Middleton Satanic Abuse panic ended up at Knowl View for a time.

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Musical Chairs on Rochdale Council

COUNCILLOR Allen Brett, Coun Farnell’s deputy, got the job as leader of Rochdale Council, after he was nominated by Councillor Sara Rowbotham and seconded by Councillor Neil Emmott,  The motion for Allen Brett to become Coucil leader was also supported by Councillor Ashley Dearnley and a number of Conservaties.
For some this feels like Musical Chairs on Rochdale, and already two cabinet members have resigned as a consequence of the appointment of Councillor Brett.

Jacqueline Beswick and Peter Williams

In his resignation email, passed to the Manchester Evening News, Coun Williams praised Councillor Beswick as an ‘excellent and very experienced candidate’ and said the rejection of a female leader was an ‘important matter given Rochdale’s history’.  But he said the main reason for his resignation was Coun Farnell’s evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), writing: “For a leader to not be able to recollect so many specific questions about his knowledge of events at the time was a disgrace. So I cannot serve alongside the apparent successors. Yesterday was a sad day with no change, or acknowledgement on this issue.”

Speaking to the M.E.N. he added: “Richard Farnell’s deputy becoming leader means there is broadly no change in the regime so I am not prepared to continue.”

Coun Donna Martin also stood down from her role as deputy leader the day after Coun Farnell’s resignation.

It’s the second time Coun Brett has served as leader of Rochdale council, following a short spell in charge in 2005.

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No Double Yellow Lines for Rochdale Blacklist Co.

AT LAST night's full council meeting of Rochdale MBC held in the Gothic revival Town Hall, Tory Councillor Pat Sullivan tabled a question about problems encountered by the contractor maintaining the highways in Rochdale.  Councillor Sullivan's quiery was:
'Recently contractors [Balfour Beatty] were putting yellow lines down and were unable to complete the job as two cars were parked.  Should the contractor not put notes out the night before in order to make sure that the work can be completed?'

Even Councillor Ashley Dearnley, Leader of Conservative Group and Shadow Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, got involved.  These construction companies are not always competent themselves, the building firm Carillion which has a partnership with Tameside MBC once claimed it couldn't repair the leaking roof of Ashton Library because it didn't have a long enough ladder at its disposal.

In March 2015, Rochdale Council took out a Highways Maintenance Contract with Balfour Beatty until 2020.

The works Balfour Beatty will do includes jobs for the repair and minor improvement work to the Council's highways infrastructure, including it seems double yellow lines.

What was not mentioned at last night's Council meeting was that the Rochdale Council has a contract with a firm labelled a blacklister by the Information Commissioner's Office [ICO].

The ICO website states:
'During 2008/09 the ICO carried out an investigation into employment blacklisting in the construction industry.  As part of that investigation, the ICO seized information from a company called The Consulting Association.  Some of the information we seized amounted to a 'blacklist' of individuals who were considered to pose a risk to their employers if employed within the construction industry.'

No doubt Labour Councillor Allen Brett, the newly crowned leader of Rochdale Council (not to mention his predecessor Richard Farnell) has forgotten what one of their earlier predecessor Colin Lambert said in 2013:  'Rochdale MBC wanted no truck with companies who blacklist workers and trade unionists'.

Ofcourse, it was Colin Lambert's friend, the deceased Labour MP, Jim Dobbin, who in 2012 sponsored the early day motion:
'That this House is aware of the campaign led principally by the trades unions, the GMB, UNITE, UCATT and others for justice for blacklisted workers, many of whose lives have been ruined by the secretive and malicious practice which has denied them employment in their industry without them having either the knowledge or privilege of being able to see or challenge information listed against them; believes such practices to be fundamentally wrong and against the very principles of freedom and democracy; and calls on the Government to condemn such behaviour and consider introducing new legislation to prohibit such practices.'

These days with Rochdale Council still under the control of Farmell's Labour Party cronies like Councillor Brett, companies such as Balfour Beatty with a history of blacklisting trade unionists are now on easy street being awarded fat public contracts by uncaring Labour councils like Rochdale MBC.