THE NEWLY-ELECTED councillors have spoken out after the Liberal Democrats lost two seats in Saddleworth wards to UKIP and Independent candidates in the local elections 2014.
Independent candidate Nikki Kirkham claimed a landslide victory in Saddleworth North with 1,147 votes to oust Liberal Democrat councillor Alan Roughley who came second with 669 votes.
Delighted Nikki, 40, from Delph, said after the result: “The people of Saddleworth have spoken – It’s time for change.”
She pointed to the bitter controversy surrounding the siting of the new £17million Saddleworth School as the tipping point in the battle to win the coveted seat on OMBC.
“The people of Diggle want the secondary school to be rebuilt at its existing site in Uppermill. They don’t want the new school in their village,” added Nikki, who has been a Parish Councillor for three years.
“We won in Diggle because of this issue. The Lib Dems have just not listened to the people.
“I believe we need to be free of all party diktat and I think the people who voted for me think it’s genuinely time for change.”
After the election results were announced, Cllr Mike Buckley, who left the Lib Dems after they backed Oldham’s move to build the school in Diggle, revealed the Independents are in the early stages of registering The Saddleworth Independent Group.
He said: “We want to establish it as a proper political party. I believe we could take more seats in Oldham and work with other independent groups across the borough.”
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats also lost a seat in Saddleworth West and Lees as UKIP’s Peter Klonowski claimed victory after community champion Cllr Barbara Beeley stood down.
Peter, 55, who was born in Oldham won with 917 votes while Lib-Dem Robert Allsopp was second with 778 and Labour’s Stephen Gordon third with 733.
Peter, who works in the telecommunications industry but did not attend the count, explained: “I was working but I am surprised and pleased by the result.
“I have been a member of UKIP for a year after being a long term supporter of the Labour Party.
“In my opinion, a lot of people have forgotten, as councillors, they are here to serve. This is the message I took to the voters.
“We are not here to punish people over the correct rubbish bin they should use.”
He added: “I have been very pleased by the kind and positive messages I have received since being elected.”
Elsewhere in Saddleworth South, Cllr John McCann, 66, retained his seat for the Liberal Democrats, winning with 967 votes.
John, a former revenue compliance officer, has been an Oldham councillor since 2006 and said he was delighted to hold onto his seat.
“But it is time for a shake-up in the Lib Dems,” he said. “I was worried by the support for UKIP. We have seen it nationally but I wasn’t sure locally and it worries me.”
John has two children Helen and Rob, his son, who sits on the Saddleworth Parish Council, is already planning his next moves to help the community.
He revealed: “The immediate battle is the land changes of use which could take place across Saddleworth.
“At Shaw Street in Greenfield we need to save the green field for use by the pupils, not lose it to development.”
For more information about the elections overall across Oldham, see our article here.
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