Swings and a roundabout

Posted By: Dale Mulgrew
Date Posted: 12/05/2011

“In all things there is a law of cycles.”

Roman historian Publius Tacitus

So the local elections have come and gone.

Much has been written and said about how the LibDems fared last week. 

A tsunami of opinion swept into town and across the North West in protest. The national swing was difficult to overcome and casualties fell locally; good councillors like Keith Swift and Rosemary Jones. 

The resulting aftermath has seen more moves made than your average chess match.

It has not been pretty to watch; and I am sure most people would like the roundabout to pause for a while. This is so that local politicians can get back to what we were elected to do: to serve the people of the borough.

Spectators of local affairs will continue to question us all when it is clear that the motives behind such moves are not based purely on serving the electorate.

The current position of the LibDems in the political cycle enables us to reflect on what has happened and to renew our focus and determination.

The aim now is to put the past behind us and to unite behind our new leader - Cllr Wera Hobhouse.

Rochdale has a Liberal tradition. We need to rekindle the passion and commitment that saw Rochdale’s reformist sons become national figures - such as John Bright, Richard Cobden and Cyril Smith.

As a campaigning party we now need to listen, to consult and to put our progressive agenda forward.

We need to continue to devote our time to issues that continue to worry the citizens of Rochdale: the hospital, the town centre and the need for more jobs and greater prosperity.

If we play our part effectively, then when the political cycle changes we will be ready.