Lambert is new Rochdale MBC Labour leader

Councillor Colin Lambert

Rochdale MBC Labour Group has elected a new leader and deputy leader for the 2008/09 municipal year.

Councillor Colin Lambert has been elected the new leader of the Labour Party on Rochdale Council.

Councillor Lambert is a family man, married to Helen and they have two children Eleanor and Edward.

Councillor Lambert takes over as leader of the Labour group at a time when they are at their lowest number of councillors since the council was set up after boundary changes in 1974.

Councillor Lambert has held two previous positions on council, he was the cabinet member for Children Schools and Families, and for the last two years he has been the Chairman of Heywood Township.

The New Deputy Leader is Councillor Peter Williams. Councillor Williams is a family man with two children, he lives in Middleton and has been Chairman of Middleton Township. 

Councillor Lambert said: "We take over the Leadership of the Labour group at a time when we have shown that despite support being low at national level, the results in the local elections show that our core support has remained. We fought the local elections on local issues and we hope the controlling group will listen to the public voice on what is important to them.

"We will continue the argument for a 2% reduction in council tax for pensioner households and we continue to call for a weekly household waste collection and for transport improvements without it being tied up with the introduction of congestion charges.

"We want to see a street cleaner in every ward across the council and we want to see this investment in our environment in our neighbourhood.

"We set out our manifesto for the coming year before the local elections and we said that we needed to prove that we are listening and that the strength of the Labour party will be to prove we are listening and responding to local concerns from local residents on local issues.

"Can I start the new position by thanking everyone who voted in the local elections and I hope that we will give the people the confidence in our local party for them to continue to use their vote, and I hope we can increase the numbers of people who will vote in future elections, and by doing so strengthen local democracy."