“Stitch Up” Denied As Begley And Cullen Take Over

Cllrs Keith Begley and Bill Cullen were confirmed as the new Chairman and Vice Chairman of Saddleworth Parish Council at Uppermill Civic Hall last night. But their installation was overshadowed by claims the Liberal Democrats on the council had allowed politics to interfere in the traditionally non-partisan appointments.

Last week, independent member Cllr Ken Hulme said he’d been overlooked for the roles because he’d criticised the 17-strong Lib Dem group in the past. He said he was the longest-serving member of the council not to have carried out either job, and added that the Lib Dems had been “playing politics” to deny him his chance.

At last night’s meeting, Cllr Begley was confirmed as the Chairman without incident. But after Cllr Cullen had been proposed as Vice Chairman by one of his fellow Lib Dems, one of the two Conservatives on the council intervened and also proposed Cllr Hulme for the position.

Cllr Dr David Atherton rose to say that Cllr Hulme had served almost two full terms on the council, and that, “I feel as if he’s been neglected.” He added that although he sometimes disagreed with Cllr Hulme, he should be made Vice Chairman in the interests of “fairness.”

Cllr Hulme’s nomination was then seconded by the other Conservative on the council, Cllr John Hudson. While saying he had nothing against Cllr Cullen, Cllr Hudson said the appointments had “never been political” in the past, adding that he felt “I don’t think we’ve discussed it in the correct manner” on this occasion.

Cllr Hudson went on to say that any clashes of personality between some Lib Dems on the council and Cllr Hulme “should not be an issue.” He added that it would be wrong to change the “unwritten rules” of how the jobs had been allocated in the past. This speech led to a round of applause from the public in the hall.

There was then a further intervention by senior Lib Dem, Cllr Derek Heffernan. He argued that the “type of service” given by councillors should be considered along with the length of that service. Cllr Heffernan said the positions had been shared around in the past according to the size of each party’s group on the council, and denied there had been a “stitch up” to keep Cllr Hulme out.

Cllr Heffernan went on to say he felt it was “sad” that Cllr Hulme had been nominated for the role of Vice Chairman. He suggested that someone who had been publicly critical of the council in the way Cllr Hulme had been should not be made its Chairman or Vice Chairman.

Cllr Cullen was duly elected Vice Chairman for the coming municipal year, with the support of all 17 Liberal Democrats and both Conservatives. Only Cllr Hulme voted against.

Cllr Begley served as Vice Chairman himself in the past year, and takes over the main job from Cllr Alma McInnes. It’s the first time he has served as Chairman, and it’s also Cllr Cullen’s first turn as Vice Chairman.

(Editor’s note: I’ll publish more articles later today and tomorrow about other aspects of the meeting, including the speeches given by Cllrs Begley and McInnes, and the council’s new website which has now gone live. As you’ll notice from the top of this post, the council also has a new logo.)

(UPDATE 25/5: Today’s Chronicle article about this story can be viewed here)

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

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