Labour Councillor accuses Lib Dems of “desperate and shameful tactics”

Date published: 06 February 2008

Labour Councillor for Central Rochdale has accused the Liberal Democrats of "desperate and shameful tactics" after a letter from Councillor Zulfiqar Ali was sent to Rochdale residents wrongly claiming credit for road resurfacing in the Duke Street area. 

Councillor Ibrar Khan angrily responded to the letter by pointing out that he has spent the last year and a half discussing this issue with the Highways Department and pressing for funding to be made a priority for this area.

"Councillor Zulfiqar Ali has had absolutely nothing to do with this," he stressed. "Councillor Ali has simply had a meeting with the officers, asked which schemes had been passed for Highways Capital Programme funding and quickly sent a letter out to residents claiming credit for this. These roads are in very poor condition and are full of potholes. It’s only because of hard work by the Labour Group that they’re getting resurfaced. It is absolutely disgraceful for the Lib Dems to steal credit for something they’ve had no involvement with whatsoever."

He is now calling on Councillor Ali to prove that he’s made any representations on this matter before the schemes were passed for funding approval.

"I have a demonstrable record of involvement in fighting to get better roads for our residents and I challenge Councillor Ali to prove that he has done any work to achieve this," he said. "Councillor Ali is hardly ever seen by residents in this area, so for him to be claiming to be listening and acting on their concerns is nonsense."

In the letter, which is signed personally by Councillor Ali, residents are informed that funding for road resurfacing has been achieved "through my hard fought campaigning and with help from your local Liberal Democrat MP, Paul Rowen."

Arguing that such remarks were surely a sign that a local election was on the horizon, Councillor Khan called for Paul Rowen to take firm and decisive action to discipline members of his party that are bring politics into disrepute.

"Paul Rowen is happy to associate himself with Lib Dem councillors when there’s a photoshoot opportunity," he argued. "But he is quick to distance himself when they bring Rochdale into disrepute. In recent weeks we’ve seen a Lib Dem Councillor investigated for allegedly showing porn to a police officer, Rochdale Lib Dems refuse to condemn a council cover up of a critical Audit Commission investigation and now an attempt to claim credit for work done by the Labour Group.

"Is Paul Rowen happy for this kind of behaviour to continue? In the current climate, with calls for greater transparency and accountability in politics, I hope he will speak out and promise to cut out this activity in his party."

In response, Councillor Ali said: "This campaign started over four years ago in 2004 – way before Councillor Khan was even elected to the council. I went down with Jill Hodgkinson and other officers on a number of occasions to discuss the problems that local residents had raised with me. We drew up plans to get the roads resurfaced and I was delighted to announce to local residents that the work will be undertaken within the next few months.

"I know that Councillor Khan is new to local politics, maybe he just doesn’t understand exactly how the council system works yet? To bring Paul Rowen our local MP into this argument shows a severe lack of understanding. Paul has a record spanning years of taking action for Rochdale, both as a councillor and now our Member of Parliament, something he does not have.

"I would like to say congratulations to the local residents who helped me with this campaign. I know that sometimes the wheels of bureaucracy can move slowly but we got the result we wanted in the end.  I will continue to work hard for all the residents of Central Rochdale and am delighted that very shortly I will be able to announce other successes."