Rochdale Observer airbrush out criticism of Cyril Smith

The Rochdale Obscurer is at it again in its remarkable defence of Cyril Smith.


The crime scene is the Readers Letters page, yet again.

At the top of the page it boasts "your views, your page" at the bottom is the caveat about complete editorial control.

In the middle of the letters page are a few postings from rochdalebobserver.co.uk

or "@nline" as Th'ob calls it.
Does an incorrect use of an @ make the Editor a silly tw@ ?


The posting from A Carter in the print version has been cut when compared to what is @nline.


Here are the offending words, missing from the print version:



"Bad town planning and some very dodgy decisions steamrolled through in the late 1960's and 1970's" REMAINS BUT THE FOLLOWING WAS CUT
"...by domineering politicians like Alderman Cyril Smith MP".

ending with

"This mess began decades ago. Weak, bullying politicians handed the reigns of power to unelected officers.

WAKE UP ROCHDALE !"


With such media censorship protecting Cyril Smith perhaps some in Rochdale will continue to slumber.

But probably not for much longer.

The naked ambition of Rochdale Lib Dems

Cllr Alan Taylor, Lib Dem Leader of Rochdale Council, has been ill recently. We genuinely wish him a speedy recovery.

However, it seems as though his local Lib Dem colleagues have the knives out.

Who ate all the pies? "Et Tu" said Alan's greedy old boss Cyril Smith: "Ney lad, we come to praise you".

Wrap up warm Alan and watch out for Lib Dems sneeking up behind you.

Paul Rowen MP - pucker up buttercup...

The phrase and photo taken shamelessly from Postman Patel's blog and Rochdale Rapper's comments.

A good point well made.

Rochdale's current MP Paul Rowen is the Lib Dem's shadow, shadow Minister for Work and Pensions.

Is he is also an employer - apparently with 1.5 staff members based in the Rochdale Drake Street HQ - where despite the commercial property collapse, the rent (paid for by the taxpayer?) seems to have gone up by a spanking 400%.

One and a half Rochdale based employees? If one is international boy of mystery Adam Power, does that make wee spin paramedic Dave Hennighan... MiniMe?





After all, diddy Dave Hennigan is a part-time DJ. It is all starting to make sense.


But who would play Cyril Smith in the Mike Myers film of the Rochdale scandal?



Oh no, Adam Power can't be the current MP's employee- it seems Paul Rowen allowed Adam to say he wasn't. This was after Kevin Maguire in the Mirror revealed that Master Power was acting in a most unparliamentary way by spinning and briefing against Labour MP Tony Lloyd and making false allegations about libel threats. If Paul Rowen was Adam's employer then he could be 'vicariously' liable for such a ungentlemanly conduct on behalf of a supposedly Honourable Member.

Sounds like a case for Black Rod.

But Adam tells his Facebook chums he is an intern for an MP. The Rochdale Lib Dem website is still published and promoted by Adam Power, still from Drake Strett (sic), Rochdale. And there is photographic evidence of Paul and Adam joined at the hip.





So who pays for Adam Power? If not the taxpayer is it the Rochdale Council taxpayer via a pooling of some of the Rochdale Lib Dem Councillor's allowances donated to the local party?

Or does he do a lot of work, like his buddy Dave Hennigan says he does, for nothing?

So how much does Dave Hennigan get paid? If it comes from the taxpayer we should know (plus if there are any female workers on Paul Rowen's payroll they should be able to check for any gender disparity in pay).

After all, Paul Rowen is the Lib Dem shadow Works and Pensions Minister.

Does this mean Adam Power works but doesn't get paid? A worker for the Lib Dem Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions on less than Minimum Wage?

Or paid, somehow, from a Parliamentary allowance for a mysterious employee that Paul Rowen has denied is on the payroll?

Or paid from a shadowy slush fund that includes 'donations' from local Councillor's allowances that is supposed to be for the benefit of the individual councillor not the party?

What a conundrum.

A Parliamentary statement should clear things up.

Unless Adam Power or Dave Hennigan can rustle up a suitable comment?

Paul Rowen MP sings like a canary?

As the wheels fall off Rochdale's economy (Woolworths, Kingsway, Metrolink and the TIFF bid)
Rochdale's current MP has appeared on BBC North West's Politics show singing for his supper.

As Cyril Smith's home area of Falinge has yet again made national news for all the wrong reasons, we are treated to a few flat notes of Twelve Days of Christmas.

Rochdale Online has posted former choirboy, Dave Hennigan's press release (minus the usual superfluous exclaimation marks).

Those designer spectacles don't seem to be helping poor Paul in all sorts of ways. Cruel critics have suggested he is turning into ventriloquist's dummy Archie Andrews



If Paul has trouble singing the high notes, perhaps Cyril Smith could use his old Ugandan techniques.

Cyril Smith having a firm grip of the current MP by the balls could be why Paul Rowen is not chirping on other issues just yet...

Black holes in local party accounts and donations?
A secret asbestos brotherhood?
Interesting planning decsions?

Cyril Smith still has a firm grip. To have silenced the extremely serious allegations of long-standing sexual abuse is remarkable.

But rumours abound that investigations will happen.

Who will start singing like a canary then?