SHE was steadfast in the bear pit of a council chamber in the 90s and the early noughties. When anger at the Tories was at its peak in Salford she was a prime target.
In 1994 she had to step down as a councillor after the estate agent business she ran with her husband went bust and she was declared bankrupt.
But her stoic nature meant in 2000, at the third attempt, she was re-elected to the council. Karen Garrido is Conservative royalty in the city and at the height of her influence was the leader of a Tory group of 13 councillors in 2007.
The lounge of her home on The Green in Worsley appears to confirm her status and devotion to the cause - a small pottery bust of Harold MacMillan, prime minister from 1957 to 1963 sits on a mantlepiece.
The presence of Macmillan in her lounge is significant. He dedicated his political career to humanising the Conservative Party. After his election victory in 1959, he said: "The class war is obsolete." Under his leadership the hard-faced Conservatism of the pre-war years became obsolete-only to make a return in the 70s.
Karen is as frank as ever when speaking at her home after announcing she will step down in May after 32 years as a councillor.
"They ruined my party," she says of the right-wing element of the current Tory regime, adding "The sooner they go the better. It might take a big bang but the right wing don't do anybody any good." She aligns herself with the strain of Toryism which made Edward Heath and David Cameron prime minister.
She is a moderate. When Cameron addressed business leaders at a conference at Manchester Airport he wanted her at his table, he wanted a briefing from her as to what the state of play was in Salford and Manchester and what was needed.
There are no Tory councillors in Manchester. Yet under Garrido, Salford Tory councillors miraculously flourished after also becoming extinct briefly in the city.
Bu hikaye MEN on Sunday dergisinin April 07, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye MEN on Sunday dergisinin April 07, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Turnout down for mayoral elections
ANDY BURNHAM and his mayoral Labour counterparts in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Liverpool City Region were re-elected with thumping majorities last week and used their platforms to hammer under-fire Rishi Sunak.
The route of the problem
News on Metrolink expansion could be announced soon... but will Stockport finally get tram service - and where?
Staff's anger as home-working scheme is axed
STAFF at JD Sports' HQ say they have been left furious following an announcement of a full return to office working.
This week I found myself in line at the local foodbank
Struggle to get by for victim of 'appalling miscarriage of justice'
Grrrowth industry
Booming dog business set to expand
SOAP WARS
TV favourites will battle it out at Manchester awards night
'There's nothing left at the end of the month'
Plight of almost a quarter of a million people in Greater Manchester who are 'living in the red'
Birthday love for Corrie Sal
CORONATION Street star Vicky Myers shared her love for her co-star as she helped celebrate her 43rd birthday.
CHURCH'S PRAYERS ANSWERED
A CHURCH shaken to its foundations by motorway traffic is no longer on the road to ruin.
Rebuild talks as fire-ravaged leisure centre to be bulldozed
Staff redeployed to other sites after suspected arson attack