Voters go to the polls in Burnley by-election today

STEPPED DOWN Julie Johnson STEPPED DOWN Julie Johnson

ROSEGROVE and Lowerhouse residents are going to the polls today to choose their new representative on Burnley Borough Council.

Kate Mottershead (Lib Dem), Bea Foster (Lab), Paul McDevitt (BNP), Matthew Isherwood (Con) and Andrew Hennessey (Ind) are all contesting by-election.

The Liberal Democrats are defending a 57-vote majority in the by-election prompted by the resignation of Julie Johnson last month.

Currently there are 21 Lib Dem councillors, 14 Labour, five Conservative, two BNP and one Independent, along with three empty seats.

The two other empty seats, following the disqualification of Labour’s Imtiaz Hussain in Burnley Wood and the death of the Liberal Democrats’ Frank Ashworth in Rosehill, will be contested in May.

Comments(26)

MargretofBurnley says...
8:12pm Mon 14 Feb 11

Well done Bea you know it is only between Labour and the BNP the Lib/dems are in shambles.

gannow man says...
8:26pm Mon 14 Feb 11

I hear the BNP are standing Paul McDevitt I went to school with Paul and a nicer person would be hard to find. I know he has been involved in several projects with local groups and is an avid Green campaigner.
The LibDems may be a shambles but there is no limit to the public's stupidity.

bankhall says...
10:25pm Mon 14 Feb 11

in 30 years i have never had a councillor knock on my door to say anything

Darren Reynolds says...
9:16am Tue 15 Feb 11

Bankhall, give me your address and I'll arrange it.

Inter-Rossiter says...
12:26pm Tue 15 Feb 11

Glad to catch up with you, Darren.

.

Any chance of answering my question on the other thread?

.

You know the one.




It's where I asked if you would have signed the Lib Dem petition in The Times regarding the cuts?

.

It a perfectly reasonable question.


Given that you said the first you heard of the petition was when it appeared in print.

.

You also accused me of being quick to pass judgement and this is why I'm asking you again.

MargretofBurnley says...
4:24pm Tue 15 Feb 11

Darren will no give you a straight answer he never does

Darren Reynolds says...
10:42pm Tue 15 Feb 11

Inter-Rossiter, East Lancs said...
It's where I asked if you would have signed the Lib Dem petition in The Times regarding the cuts?

Sorry, didn't see it. Don't always have time to follow up on all threads.

Yes, I would have signed it.

DaveBurnley says...
8:55am Wed 16 Feb 11

MargretofBurnley wrote:
Darren will no give you a straight answer he never does
Once again Margret is proved wrong. You really are a loser aren't you? Mind you, you're in the right party.

Inter-Rossiter says...
1:36pm Wed 16 Feb 11

Darren Reynolds wrote:
Inter-Rossiter, East Lancs said...
It's where I asked if you would have signed the Lib Dem petition in The Times regarding the cuts?
Sorry, didn't see it. Don't always have time to follow up on all threads. Yes, I would have signed it.
I appreciate your honesty and at least this sets you a little apart from the Tory Orange Bookers who I feel have hijacked your party and watered down some of its liberal/progressive traditions.

.

The powerful influence of the Orange Book Brigade are one of the reasons why I will no longer consider voting Lib Dem in local elections.

.


Also, I wouldn't even dream of voting Lib Dem at a GE while Gordon Birtwistle is the MP.



He's even backed the disastrous plans for our NHS at PMQs in what was a characteristic display of sycophancy.


He's the same on Tuition Fees, Forest sell off etc.


.


I'd rather hoped he would have been a dissenting voice to some of the more Right Wing coalitions plans.



At least a few of the more principled Lib Dems MPs are willing to put their heads above the parapet, but not him because he's only in this for the short term and he knows he has no chance of being re-elected.

.

FWIW; Birtwistle, Clegg, and Gideon's pet rodent at The Treasury, may as well go the whole hog and join the Conservative Party!

Darren Reynolds says...
2:56pm Wed 16 Feb 11

Inter-Rossiter wrote:
FWIW; Birtwistle, Clegg, and Gideon's pet rodent at The Treasury, may as well go the whole hog and join the Conservative Party!

There are many ideological differences that the press quotes, TV coverage and even Parliamentary debates don't demonstrate. For example, all three of them believe that higher education should be funded out of direct taxation and that tuition fees should be abolished. This is not apparent from some of the things they have said - had to say - in order to maintain the coalition.

The party as a whole is firmly wedded to such principles yet in order to discharge "collective responsibility", members of the Government, even those at the lowly level of PPS like Gordon, are required to express support for cabinet decisions. Whilst I might insist that those three MPs hold this particular view, you're unlikely to hear it from them any time soon, which makes it understandably hard to believe.

So, why appear to compromise one's integrity in this way? Why not just be honest about where one stands? Well, the alternative is that the Tories are left to run the country on their own. Then you really would see some proper right wing stuff going on because there would be nothing holding back the Tory right. That's why Clegg, Alexander and Birtwistle do it: in order to have influence and to try to keep things moderate.

Inter-Rossiter says...
4:05pm Wed 16 Feb 11

Yes, coalition got is about compromises, but I only see one party doing the compromising on the big issues.

.

Fair enough, you got a commitment for an AV referendum, but your party is now as popular as a dose of pox and there's only way the AV vote will go.






Even the No Vote campaign are using Clegg to front it.

.


It will be a couple of decades or more before there is another chance to change the FPTP system and you only have yourselves to blame because you could have got the AV referendum commitment from the Tories without jumping into bed with them.






All you needed to do was to pledge your support to a Tory minority govt in much the same way as the Lib-Lab pact.








This kept the Liberals Party distinctly separate from the Labour govt.

RAyzer says...
5:33pm Wed 16 Feb 11

im an ex-tory fan,but cant do with all these cutbacks when we keep giving millions to overseas countrys esp india,who have taken corus/jag and rangerover off us....BNP for me,look after our own for a change.

posh babe says...
9:32pm Wed 16 Feb 11

MargretofBurnley, gannow man , RAyzer
i have never read as much rubbish in my life, do you people want to go back to what burnley used to be like because i dont
i read the burnley exp on tuesday ex councillor mark townsend on pcso
what planet is he on i make know wonder he his a ex labour councillor, you all need to come into the real world and look what damage labour and the bnp have done to this town and its not something to be proud of

Sean Paul says...
11:46pm Wed 16 Feb 11

RAyzer wrote:
im an ex-tory fan,but cant do with all these cutbacks when we keep giving millions to overseas countrys esp india,who have taken corus/jag and rangerover off us....BNP for me,look after our own for a change.
i always knew you were BNP from the posts you made....what exactly have the BNP done for Burnley....enlighten us...i am just curious what positive thing have they done.....
i used to vote lib dem but now feel betrayed by what happened at the general election........

nice person says...
1:01am Thu 17 Feb 11

You can't blame labour for everything years later and they still struggle with the devastation created by the tories.
Thatchers reign put paid to our country privatising everything,selling council homes therefore creating high rental properties (funded by the tax payers for the benefit claimants).
The rest is history.

posh babe says...
7:45am Thu 17 Feb 11

what is this i read
following the disqualification of Labour’s Imtiaz Hussain

berniep says...
9:56pm Thu 17 Feb 11

The BNP where hijacked by a lot of lout,s in it,s infancy but i think the time has come now to accept that they are the party to put the great back into Britain.
They are not afraid to say it as it is & refuse to worry about upsetting the pc brigade.
It,s time the voter,s woke up to the BNP & relised that they have got the right idea to get this country back the bull-dog spirit.
I want to be proud to be British again.

birdkeith says...
11:04pm Thu 17 Feb 11

slum clearance on trafalgar, pickup croft;
piccadilly road,whittlefield,ba
nk top,
stomeyholm,gannow top,cog lane,stoops
estate; theres more but i will miss them;
all the houses which have had countless thousands poured into them by the
installation;of central heating,hot water;kitchen extensions new double glazed windows,indoor toilets and new
bathroom suites,creation of a brand new area of housing ie clifton farm estate,yep all you people voting tory would do well to remember that where you live used to be hen pens,the total
re-building ofthe town centre ie new
market building and shopping arcade;
new schools and colleges new health centre,oh i could go on and on,but all
the above were projects undertaken by labour,so dont tell me that labour did nothing,because you are either too young to know and if thats the case you should at least take the trouble to
revise the history of your town befor
opening your less than knowkledgable
about what you are talking about

DaveBurnley says...
9:22am Fri 18 Feb 11

birdkeith wrote:
slum clearance on trafalgar, pickup croft;
piccadilly road,whittlefield,ba

nk top,
stomeyholm,gannow top,cog lane,stoops
estate; theres more but i will miss them;
all the houses which have had countless thousands poured into them by the
installation;of central heating,hot water;kitchen extensions new double glazed windows,indoor toilets and new
bathroom suites,creation of a brand new area of housing ie clifton farm estate,yep all you people voting tory would do well to remember that where you live used to be hen pens,the total
re-building ofthe town centre ie new
market building and shopping arcade;
new schools and colleges new health centre,oh i could go on and on,but all
the above were projects undertaken by labour,so dont tell me that labour did nothing,because you are either too young to know and if thats the case you should at least take the trouble to
revise the history of your town befor
opening your less than knowkledgable
about what you are talking about
"all the above were projects undertaken by labour"
Yes, Labour have always been good at spending other peoples money on buying votes. When they couldn't borrow money they got involved in the PFI ripoff and mortgaged our children's future, now the Tories have to try to get us out of the mess that Labour left us in.

posh babe says...
12:46pm Fri 18 Feb 11

birdkeith wrote:
slum clearance on trafalgar, pickup croft; piccadilly road,whittlefield,ba nk top, stomeyholm,gannow top,cog lane,stoops estate; theres more but i will miss them; all the houses which have had countless thousands poured into them by the installation;of central heating,hot water;kitchen extensions new double glazed windows,indoor toilets and new bathroom suites,creation of a brand new area of housing ie clifton farm estate,yep all you people voting tory would do well to remember that where you live used to be hen pens,the total re-building ofthe town centre ie new market building and shopping arcade; new schools and colleges new health centre,oh i could go on and on,but all the above were projects undertaken by labour,so dont tell me that labour did nothing,because you are either too young to know and if thats the case you should at least take the trouble to revise the history of your town befor opening your less than knowkledgable about what you are talking about
thats why we are in the mess we are in
When they couldn't borrow money they got involved in the PFI
i say again that labour have wrecked our town and told so many lies and keep putting our town down well enough is enough
so get of your high horse and come into the real world if you carnt see it there is something wrong with you the name is lie-bore

wow 2 says...
1:05pm Fri 18 Feb 11

posh babe wrote:
birdkeith wrote: slum clearance on trafalgar, pickup croft; piccadilly road,whittlefield,ba nk top, stomeyholm,gannow top,cog lane,stoops estate; theres more but i will miss them; all the houses which have had countless thousands poured into them by the installation;of central heating,hot water;kitchen extensions new double glazed windows,indoor toilets and new bathroom suites,creation of a brand new area of housing ie clifton farm estate,yep all you people voting tory would do well to remember that where you live used to be hen pens,the total re-building ofthe town centre ie new market building and shopping arcade; new schools and colleges new health centre,oh i could go on and on,but all the above were projects undertaken by labour,so dont tell me that labour did nothing,because you are either too young to know and if thats the case you should at least take the trouble to revise the history of your town befor opening your less than knowkledgable about what you are talking about
thats why we are in the mess we are in When they couldn't borrow money they got involved in the PFI i say again that labour have wrecked our town and told so many lies and keep putting our town down well enough is enough so get of your high horse and come into the real world if you carnt see it there is something wrong with you the name is lie-bore
the name is lie-bore
i like it
it sounds wright lie-bore

burtybasset says...
9:53am Sat 5 Mar 11

im interested in this drivvile, NOT

Darren Reynolds says...
1:30am Fri 11 Mar 11

This is the response to the result, from Burnley Council leader LD Charlie Briggs:

This result is hard on all of us locally.

We've just won an extra £1.4m a year for Burnley after complaining bitterly to the Government about our grant cuts.

We've got some big economic regeneration projects on the go at the Burnley Bridge site and the research park near the college and university campus.

We know that Burnley people want anti-social behaviour under control so we protected the PCSO budget from national cuts.

But in the end, none of this was enough. We need to get across our message on the things we've done in Burnley, for Burnley. We learned a hard lesson last night and the local party has some serious thinking to do.


I agree with him. Serious question: why do you think the local councillors, who seem to be doing a good job, have suffered at the hands of voters?

DaveBurnley says...
8:33am Fri 11 Mar 11

burtybasset wrote:
im interested in this drivvile, NOT
So why post here?

working chap says...
10:46am Fri 11 Mar 11

berniep wrote:
The BNP where hijacked by a lot of lout,s in it,s infancy but i think the time has come now to accept that they are the party to put the great back into Britain.
They are not afraid to say it as it is & refuse to worry about upsetting the pc brigade.
It,s time the voter,s woke up to the BNP & relised that they have got the right idea to get this country back the bull-dog spirit.
I want to be proud to be British again.
Why this obsession with being defined by where you happened to be born? I don't care if I'm called English, British or a European. I'm more interested in being described as a good father, a valued employee or a good friend. Has the 20th century told us nothing about the horrors that focusing on 'national identity' bring - Nazi Germany, Bosnia, Rwanda and so on. Be proud of who you are not where you were brought into the world.
As for the BNP - a bunch of opportunist little-Englanders with no real ideas except to find someone else to blame.

gannow man says...
8:14pm Sat 12 Mar 11

working chap wrote:
berniep wrote:
The BNP where hijacked by a lot of lout,s in it,s infancy but i think the time has come now to accept that they are the party to put the great back into Britain.
They are not afraid to say it as it is & refuse to worry about upsetting the pc brigade.
It,s time the voter,s woke up to the BNP & relised that they have got the right idea to get this country back the bull-dog spirit.
I want to be proud to be British again.
Why this obsession with being defined by where you happened to be born? I don't care if I'm called English, British or a European. I'm more interested in being described as a good father, a valued employee or a good friend. Has the 20th century told us nothing about the horrors that focusing on 'national identity' bring - Nazi Germany, Bosnia, Rwanda and so on. Be proud of who you are not where you were brought into the world.
As for the BNP - a bunch of opportunist little-Englanders with no real ideas except to find someone else to blame.
What a stupid comment about the BNP,
Thats like saying all LibDems and Labour are Peados because so many have been convicted of it.
As for not caring where you are from you are a disgrace and you are not a good father because you deny your children a sense of identity.
Maybe you would like all children taken at birth and put into a big pool and shared out so no child has a real family.

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