Lib Dems refused place on Link4Life board

Rochdale Council has refused a nomination from the Liberal Democrats to appoint a member of their group to the Link4Life board because of personal and prejudicial interests.

The Lib Dems had nominated Councillor Andy Kelly for the position. However, the nomination was removed and instead Labour will take two of the three available positions.

When asked if another name could be put forward the Lib Dems were told no, but if situations improved it may be reconsidered in the future.

The Lib Dems do not have a 'right' to have a member on the board.

Councillor Lambert put the decision now to the behaviour of the Lib Dems and in particular their calls to create a cultural trust separate to Link4Life.

 Councillor Colin Lambert, said: “Since the formation of Link4Life it has been custom to ensure that each political party has been represented.

“It is wrong for a political party to put the authority at risk by putting forward a policy statement to go against the Council and Link4Life policy.

“If the Council had accepted a Lib Dem nomination, legal advice is clear, we could have been placed in the position where the council tax payer would have been paying money to indemnify their nomination against any action taken by another area of the council.

Legal advice given to the Lib Dems from the Borough Solicitor stated that because the group has a “policy position to establish a separate company to replace Link4Life” it is “questionable” whether any member of the group could be seen to be “promoting the success of the company.”

The Leader of the Liberal Democrats said the advice was “factually incorrect” and she had made a complaint however, she was asked to withdrawn the comments by Chief Executive Roger Ellis, which she did. She later said the factual errors were “sloppy.”

Councillor Ashley Dearnley, said: “It is a sad day when the minority group is not represented.”

The space Councillor Kelly was nominated for will now be filled by Councillor Cecile Biant.