Conservative leader's column: a week to remember after the local election and coronation weekend

Councillor John Taylor, leader of the local Conservative party

John Taylor is the leader of the local Conservative party in Rochdale and a councillor for Wardle and West Littleborough.

This month he dedicates his column to discussing the local election and the Coronation weekend.

It’s been a very busy week with several months of campaigning culminating in the local elections last Thursday. Hot on the heels of our election results came the amazing and spectacular event of King Charles III Coronation. It has most certainly been a week to remember.

First of all, I would like to thank all those residents across the Wardle, Shore and West Littleborough ward who chose me as their elected representative on the borough’s council once more. It is both an honour and a privilege to represent the ward where I live and have done pretty much throughout my entire life. I feel a real sense of connection with the area and I am passionate about protecting and preserving the unique heritage and characteristics of our villages. I have been very vocal on those matters over the last five years and have no intention of changing my approach over the coming period.

As the conservative group leader my thoughts turn to the wider borough and I would like to congratulate my colleagues Mike Holly (Mayor elect) in Norden and Steve Anstee who is an excellent councillor in Bamford, both of whom have been re-elected. I would also like to thank our candidates who were not successful on this occasion but who displayed a steely determination, enthusiasm, passion and commitment to making a difference within their own communities. Their efforts have not been in vain and I will look forward to each of those candidates building support over the coming months. A strong opposition is in everyone’s interests as it pushes the controlling Labour group to deliver better services for our residents and helps us to hold them to account where they fall short of what is required or what can be achieved.

I was determined to provide residents with a genuine conservative choice in every ward across our borough, something I feel very strongly about and a policy I fully intend to maintain whilst I remain the group leader. Engagement with our community is in my view a crucial element of the democratic process and providing a political choice is integral to that process. I want everyone across our borough to believe their voice can be heard regardless of their political persuasion. Similarly, I thank everyone who actively engaged with the democratic process and exercised their right by voting, regardless of where they choose to place their “X” on the ballot paper.

Of course, the political landscape nationally impacts hugely on local elections and it is not unusual for any Government to lose popularity part way through a term in office.

A glance at any opinion poll coupled with election results up and down the country paints a very stark picture and one I hope our government will take cognisance of. I acknowledge how many votes were cast in protest this year but I take some comfort from the fact Littleborough Lakeside, the most marginal of seats, was lost by just seven votes. That ward in particular feels to be a political barometer and one where the national picture has a particular influence. I have no doubt it will be fiercely contested again next year and my thanks goes to John Hartley who was an excellent conservative candidate.   

No sooner had the votes been counted and announced than we were in the throes of King Charles III Coronation. And what a spectacular event coupled with an extended weekend it has been.

I am a huge supporter of our Royal Family and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole occasion from the Coronation itself to the local celebrations and “Big Help Out” volunteering activities across the borough. No other nation can deliver pageantry and ceremony remotely close to how we can as a nation. The whole occasion filled me with a sense of national pride and it was particularly notable how the overriding message from our newly crowned monarch was one of service to others. There is something really quite humbling about our head of state dedicating his life to the service of others and it certainly made me pause, reflect and reaffirm my commitment to service too.

On Sunday I had the pleasure of attending our civic service at Saint Chads Church followed by a wonderful event in Hare Hill Park, both of which I enjoyed immensely.

The whole Coronation weekend was drawn to a close on Monday by spending a few hours volunteering with friends at a local charity.