Eric Pickles tells Rochdale Council to stop infighting

Rochdale Council’s Lib Dem infighting has caught the eye of Whitehall, with Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, telling councillors to stop squabbling.

Rochdale Council has had a wave of councillors leaving the Liberal Democrats, largely due to disagreements with the management of the party.

Rochdale Labour MP Simon Danczuk said in the House of Commons: “The Secretary of State’s failure to stand up for councils in the CSR is having a devastating impact on jobs and services in Rochdale. Provision for the homeless, community centres, adult care and many other services are being cut. The situation is so bad that six Liberal Democrat councillors resigned last week, and yesterday the Liberal council leader stood down.
“Because of the Secretary of State’s cuts, the local authority is in turmoil. When will he stand up for local government?”

Mr Pickles replied: “I should have thought that the hon. Gentleman would congratulate the coalition Government. We recognise that a number of authorities are more dependent on grant than others. We face a particularly difficult task in relation to Rochdale, as we must bridge just short of £6 million that the Labour Government took from the Working Neighbourhoods Fund, but we will certainly seek to provide that cushion.

“My advice to the hon. Gentleman is ‘Go back to Rochdale, put a bit of lead in their pencil, and let them get on with protecting front-line services rather than fighting among themselves.’”

So far, seven Lib Dem councillors have left the party, remaining in the council as independents. This has changed the layout of Rochdale’s council from having more Lib Dems to having more Labour councillors.

Greg Couzens, Pat and Ted Flynn, Peter Davison, Doreen Brophy Lee, Barbara Todd, and Naim Mahmood, have all defected from the Liberal Democrats. Irene Davidson has also stepped down from her post as leader of the council, although she remains a Liberal Democrat.