Rowen says government has failed people of Falinge

Rochdale's MP Paul Rowen has hit out the Government, saying that they have failed to do anything for unemployed people in Falinge.

In a House of Commons debate on unemployment in the UK, Mr Rowen described how three quarters of people in Falinge are on benefits.

He said that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions James Purnell MP was aware of the situation in Falinge following a visit to Rochdale earlier this year.

Addressing the Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions, he told the House: "Does my hon. Friend agree that that illustrates the fact that the Government have patently failed to do anything to get those people back to work?"

Rochdale's Parliamentary candidate Simon Danczuk has hit out at what Mr Rowen said in the debate, arguing that his comments were 'uncooperative, antagonistic and shallow'.

Mr Danczuk said: "“We are facing very tough economic conditions in our town and all our MP can do is make grand gestures and oppose for opposition’s sake. He has done nothing to try and find local solutions to this problem. Most worryingly is the fact that he is deliberately trying to break bridges between the Work and Pensions Secretary, James Purnell MP, and Rochdale.”

Mr Danczuk believes that Mr Purnell held fruitful discussions with a number of Falinge residents during his visit to Rochdale. Residents were also invited to email him and tell him what barriers they faced in getting a job. Such discussions, Mr Danczuk argued, were vital to informing Government of the needs of people in Rochdale so that policy reforms could help them get back into work.

He continued: “Tackling long-term unemployment is one of the most difficult tasks that politicians in Rochdale have to face up to and work constructively to create the right conditions needed to get people back into the jobs market.

“Our MP's stance is totally hypocritical in that on the one hand he boasts of the jobs coming in to Kingsway, which is supported by Government money, and then he stands up in Parliament and says the Government are doing nothing to create jobs in Rochdale.

“Paul Rowen should be encouraging our council to support local businesses more, working to attract the investment needed to create jobs and get his Lib Dem colleagues to make sure that areas like Falinge get the support from their council that they deserve.”