Letter: Election Of Chairman Of Saddleworth Parish Council

Below is a letter to the editor sent by Ken Hulme, who sits as an independent on Saddleworth Parish Council. I’ve reproduced the letter in full. If you would like to respond to the points made in the letter, you can either leave a comment below this post, or send an e-mail by clicking on the Contact option at the top of this page. If you would like an e-mail published on this website then please mark it as a letter to the editor, and I’ll be happy to do so.

“I was grateful to Cllrs John Hudson and Dr David Atherton for their contributions to Monday night’s Saddleworth Parish Council meeting which elected its officers for the coming year. At the heart of what John and David were saying was that the post of Chairman of the Parish Council, like that of Mayor of Oldham or any other council, should be above party politics, it should not be ‘politicised’ or used for settling personal ‘scores.’

“Objective criteria based on seniority should be the way the Council’s officers are chosen, not party diktat. A sentiment I strongly agree with. Personally I think party politics are entirely out of place on a Parish or Town Council.

“What saddened me was the contribution from Cllr Derek Heffernan. I don’t want to follow Cllr Heffernan down into the level of personal politics. The point I would make to him and his Liberal Democrat colleagues is that the Parish Council is not their personal property – it is supposed to speak for and represent the whole of Saddleworth, a majority of whose electorate do not support his party.

“He and his colleagues have to understand that there is a widespread dissatisfaction with the Parish Council in Saddleworth. For one of the largest parish councils in the country with an electorate of over 24,000 and an annual budget of over £250,000 it is seriously underperforming and regarded as irrelevant by many in the Parish. The absence of any ordinary members of the public at the recent Annual General Meeting should have been a matter of concern.

“Cllr Heffernan and his friends might think I should be punished for having the temerity to criticise the Parish Council, and of course the performance of he and his colleagues on Oldham Council, but in my book that’s what councillors are for. We should scrutinise, criticise and hold local councils to account especially on major projects like the proposed Civic Hall extension.

“Being elected as a councillor should not mean joining a cosy little club, keeping your head down and picking up a few perks on the way – it should be about standing up for and fighting for the community you represent even if that doesn’t make you popular in some quarters.

“There is a lot wrong with both Oldham and Saddleworth councils and if the price of putting my head above the parapet and speaking out is the be ‘blackballed’ by Derek and his chums – so be it. But any public body which can’t take criticism and doesn’t encourage full and frank debate about its performance is I’m afraid moribund and in serious decline.”

Cllr Ken Hulme

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

If you would like to share an interesting story, achievement, photo or something you just want to happily shout about please send it in an email to hello@saddleworthlife.com We'd ❤ to hear from you!!