Hudson pleads for parish unity

SADDLEWORTH Parish Council’s longest-serving member is urging colleagues to scrap political affiliations and heal a widening rift between groups.

Councillor John Hudson (75) is floating the idea after a newly-formed independent group abstained from voting for key positions at the council’s annual meeting.

Next year all 20 seats on the parish council are up for election. Councillor Hudson said: “I think every councillor should stand as an individual — without party links. We never had politics in the parish council until the new Saddleworth School came on the agenda. Since then there have been hostilities between groups. If there were no politics this would completely defuse the situation.

Problems began after the parish council, which originally backed the building of the new £17 million school on its existing site in Uppermill, supported Oldham Council and voted for Oldham council’s preferred site at Diggle. This led to a split, in which five parish councillors formed a breakaway Saddleworth Independents group.

Councillor Hudson added: “Politics is getting in the way of the good things the parish council does.”

Saddleworth Parish Council holds its next meeting at Uppermill Civic Hall on Monday at 7.30pm.