William Howarth
Independent
Rochdale Constituency
As people are aware Rochdale for a long time has had to endure time after time failures in protecting the town's residents, specifically children.
Following the GMCA review into Operation Span the following was finally revealed. I had informed the town of this over the last few years and it is now a written fact and there for all to see.
Both Rochdale Council and Greater Manchester police knowingly ignored the abuse of children and for this, there must be accountability.
If elected as your Member of Parliament I intend to take both Rochdale Council and GMP to court for the failures.
Also, I will be campaigning for both the investigation into Knowl View and Cambridge House and Rochdale grooming cases to be reopened.
The GMCA report revealed 100s of paedophiles roam the streets of Rochdale which needs to change and if elected change it will.
The recent issues in the town with housing associations, RBH and private landlords within the borough are just not going away despite recurring apologies for failures to attend to tenants' damp and mould issues, there seems to be no change.
I began a support group for these tenants and this issue is still ongoing.
After the death of Awaab an innocent child and the hospitalisation of other children within the borough, I will be looking at returning control of Rochdale to Rochdale Council making RBH redundant. I will also be ensuring any of those suffering with damp or mould get the correct legal advice. I will be holding local private landlords to account under Awaabs law.
Social Care
From higher level to OAP care Rochdale is struggling to find support leaving a lot of people alone and destitute. I am looking at putting a panel together to find a way we can help all those affected by social care issues.
Mental health is a field I have been involved with for some time. The wait times currently being handed out in Rochdale are far too long and the town has an awful suicide rate as a result of poor services. Again I hope to create a panel to both shorten the wait time and offer more support.
Council Spending
I have discovered that in Rochdale Council 10 employees earn over £100k a year with the top salary being £170k.
I find this abhorrent as we see many families in the town struggling. Working families are having to choose between heating or eating and paying council tax whilst executives rake in the taxes as wages and all the services are cut because of a lack of funds. This is another reason that spending within the borough needs to be looked at.
Millions have been spent on three sets of flats in the town centre but not for social housing.
Income is approx £250 million per year for council tax and business rates. Are Rochdale council taxpayers and local businesses getting what they pay for?
Public Protection
More than ever we need to have reform on public protection in this town, case after case of child abuse, and returning paedophiles.
Now, thanks to the GMCA Review into Operation Span we know that 100s of paedophiles are on the loose in the borough.
This accompanied by the lack of policing... I am sorry to inform you that Rochdale is an unsafe place as it stands under this current regime.
Burglary and sexual crimes are at an all-time high. The police did not attend over 45% of calls and people are waiting up to four days for the police after assaults.
There is a serious problem with GMP and no signs of it getting any better the same can be applied to Rochdale Council and there is no quick fix for this.
If elected as your MP I will be requiring the government ministers to place both GMP and Rochdale Public Protection department under special measures and force top-down reform of children's services.
If a business owner in the borough has a shoplifting incident and calls the police they will only act if the theft is over £200. This is outrageous and I will be putting an end to it if elected.
I will also be making sure the number of police in the borough will be significantly raised. The majority of our police officers do a fantastic job, it’s the leadership that is getting it so wrong.
The Rochdale 3... as we know the degenerates who were convicted for abusing children still reside in the town as we await the pending appeals to their deportation. As MP I will be joining Nick Buckley in taking the home office to court to have the Rochdale 3 deported once and for all.
Youth Enhancement
Rochdale is lacking in things for children of all ages to do safely. I intend to build a panel to look at ways we can do something about this along with grooming, drug and knife awareness.
I also believe it is necessary to build a parent network to keep children safe and we will be looking at ways of doing this.
As we have all seen on the news as violence erupts around the world I have to share my opinions on these conflicts with you.
I myself am pro-life and an advocate for peace on earth. Nobody should have to fear the dropping of a bomb upon their home.
If international law is broken then people must be held to account. However, wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe draw a wedge between Rochdalians. Whatever your preferences if elected I will always vote against ANY military action in another country.
However, I would reflect if it was to defend our great country by voting differently.
NHS issues
It is getting harder and harder to book a GP appointment and almost impossible to get a dentist appointment. Today in modern-day Britain no one should be without healthcare and I believe out of the £250 million a year, that Rochdale Council get for council tax they could do more to assist with this.
As I mentioned previously, mental health is a real concern within the borough. I will be looking at talking with the NHS, third parties and counselling services to speed up the wait times... waiting months for support can be the difference between life or death and I really believe we must act swiftly on this.
Immigration
Rochdale has become a dumping ground for immigrants from all over the world. I of course expect us to offer assistance in supporting other nations in times of hardship but the rate we have done so compared to other parts of the UK is beyond excessive. Rochdale will have no choice but to decrease the volumes. I am not suggesting we don't help but set a limit that's fair to Rochdale.
In education, I believe that SRE is a problem and will be meeting with schools to see where it can be changed.
Rochdale has a good academic setup although I believe more can be done to support those who have children with SEN issues. As it stands the process takes far too long and leaves both child and parent needlessly suffering.
Sport in the borough used to be huge. We will be looking at supporting youth teams throughout the borough and widening the reach to appeal to all of the borough's children.
Final Word
There are many more issues I tend to stand for socially. I am Rochdalian through and through. I am a council estate lad who has been in the public eye for the last 20 years helping hundreds of survivors and people under the breadline and I am the founder of Parents Against Grooming.
VOTING FOR ME IS A VOTE FOR ROCHDALE... LET'S MAKE ROCHDALE GREAT AGAIN.... Vote for a real people's MP Billy Howarth.
