By-election candidates make pitch for votes

EVEN candidates will battle it out at next month's by-election to become Rochdale’s newest councillor.

- BY GEORGE LYTHGOE

The Balderstone and Kirkholt seat at the town hall was left vacant following the resignation of MP Elsie Blundell last month.

The former councillor stepped down after returning from maternity leave to focus on her new role as MP for Heywood and Middleton North - a seat she won at last year’s general election.

The Balderstone and Kirkholt ward is currently represented by councillors Danny Meredith and Philip Massey.

Polls will open on Thursday, May 1 to decide who will take the third vacant council seat. Six candidates representing Labour, the Conservatives, the Lib Dems, Workers Reform, the Greens as well as an independent candidate are in the running.

• Leanne Greenwood (Labour)

• Billy Howarth (Independent)

• Chariss Laura Peacock (Lib Dem)

• Laura Pugh (Workers Party)

• Mudassar Razzaq (Conservatives)

• Martyn David Savin (Greens)

• Jordan Tarrant-Short (Reform)

Here is what each candidate has to say to the Balderstone and Kirkholt residents.

• Martyn Savin - Green Party

“I LIVE in Milnrow with my wife Karen. Many years ago I lived in the area on Craiglands and went to Balderstone High School.

“I seriously believe the only way forward for the country is the Green Party, as Labour and the Conservatives have let this country down and Reform cannot be trusted. The Green Party will invest in local infrastructure like schools, roads and hospitals which have been badly under funded.

“We will raise the money by taxing the very rich more and coming down on tax avoidance schemes, also make companies like Amazon and Google pay their fair share of tax in the UK.

“We also believe the NHS should be protected at all costs. Reform wants an insurance-based health scheme as Nigel Farage has said, this must not be allowed to happen.”

• Billy Howarth - Independent