‘We will not do business with Russia’ – council leader’s vow as Ukraine crisis escalates

Rochdale council boss Neil Emmott has vowed the authority will not do business with Russia in the wake of the escalating crisis in Ukraine.

His comments came just hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine’s Donbas region, followed by a large-scale assault from several sides of the country.

Councillor Emmott was speaking at the council’s annual budget setting meeting on Wednesday night.

He said: “We will not have any business with any company that is connected with the Russian government or with Russia whatsoever.

“And that’s in terms of our own purchasing as a council and also through STAR procurement [with Stockport and Trafford councils].”

He told the Number One Riverside meeting it was important to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine as the crisis unfolds.

“We do that this evening, not just in solidarity with the people of Ukraine but also with the considerable Ukrainian community we have in the borough of Rochdale,” said the council leader.

“People who came to Rochdale at the end of the Second World War and had families and descendants here ever since.”

Councillor Emmott told the meeting the council had previously opted not to enter into an energy contract with Gazprom because of its links with the Russian state.

His pledge was welcomed by Conservative leader Councillor Ashley Dearnley, who said that he could ‘be assured of our continued support not to see any funding going to Russia at this time’.

Councillor Danny Meredith, portfolio holder for highways and housing, noted that the previous 48 hours had ‘seen tensions escalate with Russia sending troops over the border’.

And he said it was imperative that cabinet members and scrutiny committees were vigilant when council contracts came up for renewal.

“We [must] make sure no Russian money comes into the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and especially into Rochdale itself,” said Councillor Meredith – a former scrutiny committee chair.

“I just want to make sure people are observant and we are scrutinising what we are doing in the next couple of years.”

Rochdale Council met at Number One Riverside on Wednesday night (23 February).

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporter