Labour success in Middleton

The winning Middleton candidates: Lil Murphy, Teresa Fitzsimons, Malcolm Boriss and Maureen Rowbotham.

Labour gained a seat from the Liberal Democrats in Middleton  - Labour candidate for East Middleton Malcolm Boriss overcame Liberal Democrat Irene Cooper and recorded a 405 vote majority over Conservative John Cardus. 

Mr Borris said: “We have had a great day after a long uphill battle. We have worked hard and Donna Martin, my agent, has pushed me all the way, she has done a brilliant job.”

Four seats were up for grabs in Middleton and three of them were won by Labour with Lil Murphy and Maureen Rowbotham retaining their seats in West Middleton and North Middleton respectively.

Councillor Rowbotham told Rochdale Online: “Of course I am very happy with the result. This year I hope to be getting more resources for my ward. We are stronger now in Middleton and Labour are now a force to be reckoned with in the town. Labour is leading the way in Middleton and we are going to show them in Rochdale how it should be done”

Councillor Murphy said: “I am very delighted with today’s result, it’s a great result for us and it’s another fantastic effort by Labour in Middleton.”

The Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Councillor Taylor spoke of his disappointment at the Middleton result. He said: "On what was overall a very good night for the Liberal Democrats, we are sad to lose Irene Cooper in West Middleton. She was a brilliant ward councillor and wil be badly missed."

Labour’s success in the town goes against the national trend, where the Conservatives appear to have made early gains. Labour insiders fear the party could lose a possible 200 seats because they say of the abolition of the 10p income tax rate and Gordon Brown’s perceived poor start as leader.

The Conservatives Teresa Fitzsimons retained as expected, winning the South Middleton seat by a large majority, 721 votes clear of her nearest challenger, Labour’s John Orford.
She said: “I’m delighted. Our majority was fantastic. The way the Conservatives have performed this year surprised me. The total number of votes in Middleton is close to were we would hope to be and hopefully we can improve on this in the next few years.”