Parties clash as Sean joins Alderman ranks
Tories object to honour and call for recorded vote
AFORMER Rossendale borough councillor has been named an honorary alderman for years of service - but the move sparked objections from Conservatives during a ceremony at the council’s annual meeting.
Sean Serridge, a former Labour borough councillor, was made an Honorary Alderman of the Borough of Rossendale at the annual council meeting in front of assembled councillors, guest VIPs, family and friends.
Supporters highlighted a range of activities he has been involved with over the years.
The assembled audience may have expected it to be an uncontested honour during the annual meeting which included appointing the new mayor.
But events took a surprising turn.
Councillors debated their views for and against awarding the alderman title to Mr Serridge and a recorded vote was called by the Conservatives, requiring all councillors’ individual votes to be officially recorded.
Supporters of Mr Serridge’s alderman title included Labour councillors and an independent.
They said he had gone above-and-beyond the normal work expected of councillors over many years, which justified the honour.
But Conservatives were unhappy with some aspects.
They said Mr Serridge remains active in party politics through being a Lancashire county councillor and working for a
Bury Labour MP. They also claimed there was not enough consultation over the decision-making process.
Mr Serridge, aged 39, grew up in Weir, attended the primary school there and then Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School and sixth form.
He joined the Labour Party as a teenager and worked for the former Labour MP Janet Anderson after sixth form.
He was first elected in 2005 and has been a town, borough and county councillor.
He is currently a Labour county councillor for MidRossendale and works for Bury South Labour MP Christian Wakeford.
At the Rossendale Council annual meeting, Labour Coun Jackie Oakes was the first to speak formally in support of making Mr Serridge an honorary alderman.
She made a mix of lighthearted and serious comments.
She said: “This honour is indeed an honour. I’m not going to go through all Sean’s successes, such as winning marginal seats and other political achievements.
“But Sean is a former councillor with more than 12 years’ service.
“His work went overand-above the normal duties of a councillor.
“He has been a deputy leader, a portfolio holder and a young people’s champion.
“He also did much work behind the scenes. He was also a Whitworth town councillor.”
Then Labour Coun Christine Gill read out a letter written by Independent Coun James Eaton, who was unable to attend the event but supported Mr Serridge’s alderman title. Coun Eaton is a veteran Rossendale borough and county councillor who was a Conservative in the past.
Coun Eaton’s letter stated: “I have known Sean longer than I care to remember.
“He knows everything about elections.
“If you want to know who was elected where, Sean is your man.
“He has also worked for MPs for over 20 years.
“When we were both elected to the county council in 2005, we worked well together.
“I often gave him a lift to meetings and could never understand why different political parties could not work together.
“We were in different parties but we represented the same area.
“I know Sean really values civic awards and I’m pleased to support his nomination as an alderman.”
However the current Conservative councillors objected.
Conservative group leader Coun David Foxcroft said: “I rise to speak against this.
“This should be for councillors who have gone over and above the regular duties of a councillor.
“Also I believe it should be done when a councillor is no longer active, but that is not in our protocol.
“This is almost the highest honour and should only be given after proper consultation.
“The usual approach is to allow 12 months to pass and to allow discussions with all key parties. Given the short timeframe to consider if the relevant criteria have been addressed, we feel unable to support this.”
However, Whitworth Community First Coun Alan Neal said: “Politics aside, I probably know Sean better than most.
“He served Whitworth as a town councillor and we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye.
“We have had some different opinions. However, this title is about dedication and service to the wider community.
“When he was elected in 2005, Whitworth was for the first time given funding for CCTV in different parts, which is still in existence.
“Along with others, Sean Serridge promoted bringing Greenbrook House to Whitworth.
“There was an argument at the time against investing that in Whitworth.
“But the people of Greenbrook House are
extremely grateful to those three individuals.
“It was a multi-million pound investment. Some people at Rossendale and the county council were not too keen on the idea. It would be remiss of me not to pass on this information.”
Greenbrook House is a development of apartments for older people run by a housing association.
Labour Councillor, Samara Barnes, said: “I was not planning to speak tonight but it would be remiss of me not to mention some of Sean’s achievements.
“We often talk about dog poo and bins but there is so much more that some people do.
“Some people here like to take photos of whatever you do.
“But Sean does not do
that. He just gets on with business.
“In the pandemic lockdown, he worked with Positive Start and opened the Rawtenstall Food Box scheme to make sure people had food.
“He puts up flowers for the hospice.
“Being a councillor is not just about politics and committees.
“It’s about what we do in the community.
“Sean has done it in spades.
“More than a lot of people around this room.”
Given the Conservative request, a recorded vote was taken.
Conservative councillors voted against the recommendation.
Labour voted for along with Green Coun Julie Adshead and Community First’s Alan Neal.
Another Community
First councillor, Dayne Powell, abstained.
A number of Labour councillors replied ‘absolutely’ when asked if they supported Mr Serridge being given the title.
There was applause when the alderman recommendation was approved in the vote.
Receiving his award, Mr Serridge said: “I’d like to thank Labour, Green and Community First councillors for this.
“I’m chuffed to bits with this. Thank you very much indeed.”
And some Labour councillors informally expressed their disapproval to Coun Foxcroft.
They claimed Conservatives had the opportunity to raise any concerns or objections before the ceremony.
However, he defended his position.
EMMA JOHNSON