Liberals get the knife into Labour

By Johnny Mare, Political Editor March 2005

Last month on Northenden.net we showed you the first piece of 2005 electioneering propaganda - by Northenden Labour Club. To summarise, they had a right go at the Liberals, suggesting that their party are habitual liars and "will say anything to get elected". Well, why not? It doesn't seem to matter what you say to anyone these days! As if to underline this point, Labour Club go on to hijack an existing, long-running Liberal campaign to save the library from closure, claiming that they've already saved it and giving themselves a hearty slap on the back. So just who exactly is it that's supposed to be telling us anything to get elected? I'm not so sure anymore!

Now if I was a Liberal (and whether I am or not is neither here nor there, because I'm an honest, impartial journalist of the highest integrity) you might be looking for steam coming out of my ears, especially over the library thing. You wouldn't blame me if I looked a bit hacked off... which brings me nicely round to the Lib Dem electioneering newsletter, Northenden Focus.

First up, it's a lot better effort than last month's The Rose - which one may be forgiven for thinking had been "fertilised" in the traditional way. The producer of the Liberal letter is a seasoned campaigner. He's quite clearly disappointed either at the state of the place, or perhaps at something he's read recently in a leaflet which dropped through his door. There's no smug, self congratulatory grinning here - he looks like he means business.

You'd best not close the library...

...or the Post Office...

...or the Metrolink...

...or I'm going to get really annoyed

He also delivered our copy of Northenden Focus personally - one up on Labour who appeared to have sent theirs round with the bloke who drops the flyers off from the pizza shop opposite Woolies.

So much for the style. Let's have a look at the content. The Liberal Democrats have published a list of items which they are concerned about and which they promising to sort out should hell freeze over... er, that is to say, should they get elected:

LibraryGate - The saga continues.

It's good to see that the Liberal Democrats are fans of Northenden.Net. Our article about Labour Club single-handedly saving Northenden Library didn't go unnoticed. The Liberal Democrats say in their newsletter that they were "overwhelmed" by the response to their campaign to save the library. I'd be pretty overwhelmed myself if the response was someone else coming along and telling everyone that actually, they'd already saved it - especially if that someone else would be implicated if it actually closed down. Still, more proof that it's not what you do, it's what you say - and what the Liberal Democrats say is "You can be darn sure they won't dare close the library once they know the Liberal Democrats are on the case". I'm quaking in me boots.

Post Office Closed (plus a bit of intrigue).

February 9th saw the closure of Benchill Post Office. Apparently Labour councillors voted against Liberal proposals to keep the post office open, three times. Which prompted us to dig a little deeper and look at the reasons. We all know that targets have to be met, as there are important and necessary causes which are not being funded as perhaps they should. Anyone requiring a list of these can write to Mr G. Brown, 11 Downing Street, London. So if we have to axe a post office, which one are we going to go for? The one in the village which serves up Mrs. Miggins' pension, or the one that's a bit of a pain to get to... which is also a main office, and serves all the postal requirements for the dozens of businesses in Benchill? I think you can guess. Another kick in the rocks for small businesses it is then.

Whilst on the subject of Benchill... a couple of months ago we received, from a totally unexpected source, some information concerning what will happen to the building should the post office close down. There are whispers over proposed new property developments which we dismissed initially as it was alleged that the future of the post office building is pivotal to the planning, and also involves neighbouring shops. These latest developments however, have prompted us to check the story out in full so watch this space - it could turn out to be very interesting indeed.

Metrolink hits the buffers

Are you getting fed up with the "Who saved the library" issue yet? (Yes, I know... and it's not even saved for definite, is it?) Well, don't wormy because it seems we're about to embark on Library Part II - Who Saved the Metrolink!

Here's the story so far. It's announced that the Metrolink is going to be extended to take in half of Wythenshawe as far as the airport. In preparation, housing tenants are cleared on multiple sites including Moor Lane and Brownley Rd. Looks good ... then that Prescott bloke comes along and cans the whole thing. Leaving behind them, as the Liberals point out in their news sheet, a sign saying that the Metrolink is Moving Forward. But what about the work we've already done... contractors paid... tenants moved... land cleared... ? Easy! Plenty of land available... Build a load of new flats!

If you want to know what Labour are saying, check out our article covering Labour's latest bout of electioneering on the News page.

Watchdog investigates Labour Gift

I sincerely hope that this isn't true... but apparently... It seems a company who was awarded a contract to build a huge casino had previously donated money to Labour. It is alleged by the Liberal Democrats that Labour councillors have in fact been proactive in their approach, contacting property developers directly to ask for money. Lib Dem newsletter The Northenden Focus states that the matter has been referred to the Standards Board, who police the actions of councillors. We will of course be keeping you up to date on the outcome.

G-Spot action

The Liberal Election Team are having a bit of a go about the state of the place and have a nice picture of a local Grot Spot. Anyone with a load of junk they need shifting can call the Liberal Democrats and they will get it sorted for you. Your Northenden.Net team isn't so sure about the grottiness of the Liberals' spot, though. Come on, you Liberals...

Call that a Grot Spot?

What about this?

Or this?

And in conclusion, don't forget that the Lib Dems are the REAL opposition:

"Charles Kennedy and the Liberal Democrats now provide more effective opposition to the government than Michael Howard, according to a poll in the Independent on Sunday... On taking the fight to the government, Mr Howard has been outdone by Mr Kennedy... A key finding is that one third of Conservative voters think the party would do better if William Hague returned to the leadership... The polls find that young people have largely written off the [Conservative] party's chances."