Fitting tribute to man who touched so many lives for better

THE last few weeks have been especially sad, with the funeral of Robert Clegg, the murder of Sir David Amess MP, and as I am writing this article, the terrible news of yet another accident on our roads and in the area I represent, sadly this time a fatality, and injuries, to innocent people carrying out necessary work on our roads.

At this time we know not the cause of the accident and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved.

At Robert’s funeral the Bishop of Middleton Mark

Davies, led the service his words of comfort, compassion, and his deep Christian Faith, are always comforting at times like this.

We are truly blessed to have Bishop Mark actively involved in our Community life.

The Bishop began the service by referring to the plaque on the statue in St Paul’s Cathedral of Sir Christopher Wren, the Architect of that great building and it says “if you seek his monument look around”.

It was so apt and we can all look around Rochdale,

Springhill Hospice, Rochdale College, Birch Hill and its clock tower, still there as part of our heritage, and the countless lives Robert has touched for the better.

Thank you Alderman Robert Clegg OBE you did Rochdale proud, you will never be forgotten. RIP.

We then heard the sad news of the murder of Sir David Amess MP, knifed whilst carrying out his Constituency Surgery.

This is something all politicians do, both as MPS and as councillors.

This barbaric and cowardly act is a threat to our democracy and to the civilised society we all cherish.

I well remember being in Brighton the morning after the bombing at the Conservative Party conference.

The Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher declared the conference will go on.

She said “The fact that we are here gathered together, shocked but determined, means that this attempt and all attempts to destroy democracy will fail.”

I know that Sir David like Robert, was a shining example of all that is best in a public servant, and would expect us to continue to hold surgeries and meet with local people and groups - we must never allow the terrorist to win.

At my recent surgery, and I know at my next one, many people attend concerned about the speeding and reckless driving that is blighting all our lives.

The council across the political parties are working with the police to tackle this growing menace, and we are encouraged that the new

Chief Constable is determined to deal with this problem - he has our full support. Traffic calming measures, variable speed cameras, 20mph zones are all helpful, but sadly for the minority who are putting all our lives at risk, quite often they are not insured or taxed, and simply run away, we need the full rigour of the law to deal with these people and tough sentencing.

Please report any speeding to speed complaints @gmp.police. uk