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Lib Dems boycott mayoral ceremony

Faye Adams
16/ 5/2008

LIB Dem councillors boycotted Wednesday’s mayor-making ceremony of Robin Parker.

They stayed away from the Town Hall in protest at attempts they claim Councillor Parker made to get Councillor Jean Ashworth sacked from her job as a nurse at Rochdale Infirmary.

Councillor Colin Lambert, the new leader of the Labour group, accused the Lib Dems of ‘childish gesture politics’.

But a defiant Councillor Alan Taylor, the leader of the council, said: "We’ve no regrets about treating Robin Parker in this way.

"At the end of the day, he tried to get one of our council members sacked.

"We gave the Labour Group ample opportunity to reflect on this and they refused."

Cllr Lambert said: "The unprecedented decision devalued the seat of the mayor and amounted to nothing more than pathetic political posturing and childish point scoring."

Cllr Parker had emailed bosses at Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust earlier in the year asking why they tolerated criticism about its reorganisation plans from Cllr Ashworth, a nurse for 30 years.

The Lib Dems asked the Standards Board for England to carry out an investigation, a request that was declined this week.

The Board ruled that it did not consider ‘the allegations disclose a potential breach of the Code of Conduct’.

After the ceremony, Cllr Parker said he welcomed the news, saying it was what he expected.

He refused to comment on the protest, saying he was keeping the mayoralty out of political debate.

The chains of office were handed to Cllr Parker in front of an audience of fellow councillors, dignitaries and family and friends.

The West Middleton councillor’s partner, Ann Jones, will be mayoress.

Cllr Parker told the audience that as a young radical in the Labour Party he had questioned the cost of the ceremony.

But after seeing that mayoral visits mattered to community volunteers working to ‘keep the borough ticking over’ he had pledged to take on the role.

He said he and the mayoress would be committed to supporting the social diversity of the borough and ‘do our bit to help different communities retain their own identities, but live together in harmony’.

Entertainment was provided by children’s dance troupes, the Langley Skylights and St Mary’s Bollywood Dancers.

Visiting dignitaries from twin towns in Germany and Pakistan also attended although some chairs were notably empty.

Milnrow and Newhey councillor Keith Swift and wife June were named deputy mayor and mayoress.