Sir Menzies Campbell visits Rochdale

Sir Menzies Campbell with Rochdale Online director Brad Journeaux and reporter Katie Hill

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Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell came to Rochdale today (October 12), having been invited by Paul Rowen MP. Sir Menzies' visit to Rochdale is primarily to act as guest speaker at the Liberal Democrats annual dinner at Rochdale Town Hall this evening, and in an interview at Rochdale Online offices he spoke of his appreciation for Paul Rowen and the tremendous amount of work he has done both for Rochdale as a town and also for the Liberal Democrat Party, commenting: "Since Paul Rowen gained his Parliamentary seat in 2005, it is no coincidence that Rochdale council is now run under overall Liberal Democrat majority control. Mr Rowen is a very hard working politician, one of the hardest workers I know."

Mr Rowen said of Sir Menzies' visit: "We are delighted to welcome Sir Menzies Campbell to Rochdale to continue campaigning on issues such as health, crime and a better deal for our town." When questioned about the ‘better deal’ scheme, Sir Menzies commented: "I am full of praise for the scheme, and its policy of creating local area committees. It allows for a better response and focus from councillors to the needs of local people.”

Sir Menzies was keen to address the people of Rochdale, he said particularly because of the long tradition of the Liberal Party in Rochdale: "I am extremely happy to visit constituencies like Rochdale because I hold dear the importance of local government. Rochdale was a crucible of 19th Century liberal thought and key to the parties modern day successes."

Sir Menzies also acknowledged the town’s long heritage of influential and charismatic Liberal Democrat politicians, citing names such as Cyril Smith and John Bright, "for those old enough to remember"!

Sir Menzies was quick to point out that he was baffled by Gordon Brown’s recent reverse on calling an election, stating: "I just can’t understand it.’ Under no illusion that Labour had planned for such an event, Sir Menzies wondered if Mr Brown’s decision wasn’t "tactically inept", adding, "he should never have allowed himself to be trapped into that position". Sir Menzies also explained that though he had been slightly kinder to Mr Brown in the face of more vociferous criticism from Conservative leader Mr Cameron during Wednesday Prime Ministers Questions, he agreed with the sentiment.

With recent policy talk of inheritance tax dominating the political climate, Sir Menzies re-iterated a Labour initiative regarding income tax, during Mr Brown's last budget as Home Secretary – where the headline grabbing 2p reduction in income tax masked over the abolishment of the 10p rate - as a reason that Labour cannot be trusted to handle the important issues correctly. Sir Menzies thought this issue was of particular importance to Rochdale people, while encouraged with the process of re-generation of the area, he still felt that many less well off households, ineligible to apply for tax credits, would actually end up paying more tax than before. He said: "It’s not fair to have a society as staggered as that."

Sir Menzies ended by commenting on why the people of Rochdale, especially he said young people, should support the Liberal Democrats, he explained: ‘When the next election is called, three key principles will be at the heart of my bid for Government – bringing the troops home, tuition fees, and council tax reform. The Liberal Democrats are also the only party with ‘serious proposals’ regarding the environment."

And finally, offering a brief insight into his love of sport before leaving for the Town Hall, Sir Menzies described how he often met with Sir Alex Ferguson in his North East Fife constituency, where the United manager frequently comes to relax with a game of golf at St Andrews. Sir Menzies praised previous United players such as Ruud Van Nistlerooy and David Beckham, adding it was a shame neither was any longer at United, and he doubted either left for purely footballing reasons, but that even without them he believes "United play the best football in the country on their day".

Due to Sir Menzies busy schedule, he was unable to spend as much time in Rochdale as he would have liked, but commented that he hopes to visit again soon to see for himself the major regeneration that the town is undergoing.