Warren Mitchell
UK Independence Party
West Middleton Ward
My name is Warren Mitchell and I am the UKIP candidate for West Middleton.
I have lived in the area all my life and decided to get involved in local politics after years being let down by our Labour candidates. I feel like the area has taken a step back in recent years and the town has been let down by scandals, infighting getting in the way of Councillors doing their jobs and child grooming gangs.
I feel that this town needs a breath of fresh air, with new Councillors, with new ideas.
I am a firm believer in democracy and value for tax payer’s money, I advocate scrapping the Council's Cabinet style system, where a few select individuals essentially make decisions for the whole Borough, we have 60 Councillors yet only 9 members are on the cabinet. I don’t think this gives fair representation to the borough and I feel there are few too many voices.
I advocate reverting back to the old style committee system. You can find the list of cabinet members on the Councils website.
I would also like to see Councillors allowances and expenses cut sharply, I would also like to see our Councillors cut from 60 (3 per ward) to 40 (2 per ward) I think in a time of austerity Councillors and MP’s should be the first people to feel the crunch, after that we should be looking at Council waste and only then should we look at services, that should be a last resort. I cannot see any evidence of this from our Labour Councillors in Rochdale, the people of West Middleton deserve better and this would be at the top of my agenda.
I fully support the idea of having a referendum on Middleton and Heywood leaving Rochdale Council and having our own Council. A recent poll that 85% of people supported this idea and I would throw my full weight behind it. For far too long have Labour’s Rochdale Councillors ignored our wants and wishes. It’s time we kicked them in the ballot box and demanded we were heard.
I promise to put your wishes first and fight tooth and nail for the people of West Middleton. I want to see a strong, democratic, fair Council that represents true value for money. At the moment, I don’t think we are getting that. It’s time for change. It’s time to vote UKIP.
