Independent voices are good news for taxpayers
Keeping a close eye on life in the Valley
FOR the first time in quite a long time, Rossendale Council is no under ‘no overall control’.
In many ways, last week’s elections were bad news for Labour, bad news for the Tories, but potentially good news for taxpayers.
For Labour, despite brave faces and talk on social media about losing one seat overall, the impact is still that life will be much harder for Labour locally than it was previously.
The party lost a seat in Goodshaw to the Conservatives and also Facit and Shawforth to independent candidate Janet Whitehead.
The election in Whitewell went to the Tories, in theory from the independent councillor Pam Bromley, who had been a Labour councillor for a long time until she became the subject of complaints about anti-semitism.
To all intents and purposes, Whitewell is a seat lost from Labour.
There was better news for Labour in Stacksteads, winning back a seat which had gone independent a couple of years ago.
All in all, it leaves Labour the largest party but unable to get any big decision over the line without the support of either the Tories, or the three independents who now sit on the council.
Or should that be five independents?
For the Tories, this is also an election lost, especially when you look at progress made at other councils in the North.
There were wins, but surely they would have expected more at this point.
The decisions to deselect existing councillors didn’t hit their election results on Rossendale Council, even when they stood against the Tories.
What must alarm the Tories is failure to make more gains elsewhere.
The party’s leader Peter Steen had already announced he was standing down, and Margaret Pendlebury has taken over.
But already, her task to move the party forward has hit a snag.
It’s been reported this week that Cllr Jimmy Eaton, who was de-selected from his county council seat by the Tories so stood against them, has now been suspended by the party, meaning he is an independent in his role as a Rossendale councillor too.
His wife, Janet, who represents Irwell, has also joined him.
This means in effect there are five independent councillors who, if any of them support Labour on a particular issue, should see Labour succeed.
For the Tories, the question has to be how they ended up in this place.
This should have been an election they won and this should have been about them preparing to take over running the council.
Instead, they’ve managed to alienate two long-serving councillors and handed the balance of power influence to independents.
Hopefully, the independents will use the power they now hold to truly hold the Labour administration to account.
The council still has far more to do to be truly open and accountable about what is going on with the Empty Homes Scandal - cost £6m and rising.
It needs to solve its planning woes with a fully confirmed local plan.
It needs to set out its proper plan for the future of Rawtenstall.
The independents have the scope to change this - and be very powerful.
This can only be good for taxpayers, especially those living in the wards where the independents are most vocal.