'Bonus’ to ‘absolutely disgraceful’: Voter's react to independents councillor defecting to Labour less than a month after elections
26.05.2022 - 18:43
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Middleton Independents Party’s emergence from nowhere to take five council seats was the stand-out story of the local elections in Rochdale this year. Only formally registered as a political party in March, the group fought on a ‘Middleton first’ ticket, tapping into local discontent over the town playing second fiddle to Rochdale.
It proved to be a highly successful strategy in East Middleton, where ‘MIP’- as they are now known - swept aside the Labour incumbents to install a trio of independents. With MIP taking two seats in North Middleton it made them the third largest group on the Labour-run council.
But less than three weeks later, the fledgling party has been rocked by the defection to Labour of East Middleton councillor Dylan Williams. Coun Williams departure comes amid a flurry of startling accusations against his former colleagues - including bullying and sympathies for other political parties - all of which have been strenuously denied by MIP.
READ MORE : Fledgling political party officially registered ahead of 'all out' council election fight
Labour has naturally welcomed the defection, praising their new recruit as a ‘very hard-working and enthusiastic young man’. But what do voters think of his decision to swap political colours less than three weeks after being elected?
The Local Democracy Reporting Service, visited his East Middleton ward and found opinions ranged from anger and disillusionment to delight.
Steve Booth, 50, from Birchwood Road said it was a councillor’s ‘prerogative’ to move parties, but wasn’t overly impressed with Coun Williams’ decision. “If you run on an independent ticket it's not really that ethical to switch horses two weeks later,” he said.
But if political differences were
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