It appears that the route to success in the Rotherham Labour Party is by failure, it might seem a little odd but if you look at the PCC Candidate Cllr Shaun Wright you can spot the link.
While taking home over £25k a year for his Cabinet post Cllr Wright took the children’s department to the point of absolute failure and with it failed vulnerable individuals within the Borough.
On his watch girls as young as 12 were systematically used and abused by a gang of men from Rotherham.
This is a link to one of the more balanced articles and provides more of the detail on the Rotherham case.
The victims were all known to Social Services who failed to protect them, following the conviction of the men you would have thought that Cllr Wright and RMBC would have provided the public with information on how to reduce the risk of children being abused, but no, a wall of silence.
Cllr Paul Lakin has maintained that public silence supported by Cllr Emma Hoddinott and the rest of the lambs.
Come November Cllr Wright will be elected to the high office of PCC and if Rotherham Labour Party, Cllr Wright , Hoddinott and Lakin get their way the public will remain in the dark on the issue of grooming and exploitation.
Cerberus.
Rotherham Politics 
You make a very fair point there, love your name!
Rotherham Labour members are as perplexed as you are.
If Labour members are honest with themselves they are prepared to admit that the current Leadership and more than a few Cabinet members must be retired.
This conclusion may be rejected by Labour Group members, but it is a majority view amongst the rank and file that they are too long in the tooth are arrogant, unaccountable and totally out of touch.
It is also a widespread view, that Labour must engage with Rotherham Politics to ensure some balance and to debate and challenge at least some of the nonsense to be found on this website.
Labour Loyalist
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Dear Laybah Loyaleest,
Is the “nonsense” of which you speak that which is uttered from the large foolish gobs of the supportaz of Dodger’s RMBC Corn Fed Grunters, Muppets and Clowns?
Indeed, there is no such nonsense coming from Lightweight Lakin, Ms Stasi Commissar, Dodger and Shaun Da Sheep. They have passed out top of their camouflage class and are conspicuous by both their absence and their silence.
My cadre of Town Hall Towers insiders tell me that Lightweight in particular is reduced to a gibbering wreck with a near total loss of bladder and bowel control when he reads anything which sniffs of owt about him.
Having observed his lacklustre Council meeting performances a time or two from the public gallery it wasn’t hard to imagine his discomfort at having to get on his pins and cobble together some semi comprehensible phrases of basic English.
Surely when Rovrum Laybah select their candidates for Councillors they ought to select from the top of the crop rather than the bottom of the crop, and ask candidates if they can count above 10 without taking off their shoes and socks and how many times they think they say: “Right, rayt, reight” in any given sentence.
As a qualified teacher it felt to me that the assembled Council Bruvvaz-n-Sistaz were a Special Needs Class in need of very basic ESOL education.
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Graldhunter, should learn to keep his powder dry, at least until the debate gets started.
Your mocking does nothing to encourage others to engage.
Rank and file members will be silent no longer, despite Graldhunter’s best efforts to put us off!
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My best efforts, phhh!!
Baby, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
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Read the previous comments and I agree with Labour loyalist (agree with some points of Graldhunter and have the utmost respect for the man); there are many Labour members that read Rotherham Politics but are reluctant to engage as the argument has been somewhat one sided in the past, But totally agree with the comments made on the current situation of the Labour Party. Many of the Councillors are past their best and it is doing the image of the council and (more importantly in my view) the Labour Party bad. The best thing the Rotherham Labour Party can do is push those Cllr’s who are past theyr’e best out the door and recruit the next generation.
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Sounds like there’s a “Night Of The Long Knives” a-brewing.
But Dodger’s Corn Fed Grunters, Muppets and Clowns misheard the rumour and thought they’d heard “Night Of The Long Knives-n-Forks”, which to them meant yet another free civic feeust and junket …
but they signed up for it anyway … cos they’re greedy noisy messy little grunters …
Come on Farmer Cerberus … those grunters are ready for the trip to “market”, oink oink, tee hee 🙂
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This is a very interesting development with the Labour Loyalist describing what we on the outside have known for so long and what so many on the inside have known for equally for so long, but not dared to put their heads above the parapet.
But now of course, Rotherham Politics provides the comfort that was evidently so necessary!!
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Now we have the preliminaries out of the way, perhaps we can return to the most serious subject of this posting, that of the protection of Rotherham’s vulnerable children.
Julie Bindel’s piece on the subject is both illuminating and disturbing and should be read by every parent in Rotherham, as it provides more practical advice for them in spotting the signs of grooming than anything provided to them from Paul Lakin and the Council.
Unfortunately, in the recent cases RMBC stood in loco parentis, as the children were all in the care of the Authority who signally failed in their duty of care to them! There is no sign that they have yet to accept the significance for them, of this uncomfortable fact, nor to have addressed the issue in internal communications, staff training and education.
Labour members have been at a loss to understand the almost total failure to stand up like community leaders should, to address this issue effectively, rather than behaving like ostriches with their heads in the sand hoping it will go away?
If our leaders will not lead, next years selections will give us the opportunity to change things!
Labour Loyalist
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Dear Laybah Loyaleest,
I dearly wish I could believe your line which alludes to the beginning of a “Rotherham Spring” or a “Palace Revolution”.
But I am now so cynical and disbelieving of Laybah after my long dealings with Dodger’s Corn Fed Grunters, Muppets and Clowns and their craven Officers that I truly doubt that there’s anyone in Da Partee with the plums to take on the entrenched out-of-touch offensive junketing and political patronage machine which Dodger and his greedy avaricious gang have so neatly surrounded themselves with.
In fact your new Ms Stasi Commissaress has gone running to The Corpulent One to bitterly complain that two RMBC Councillors had bravely stood up on the parapet to do just what you are advocating.
Result = no one can issue any edicts, private or public, without first getting clearance from her, Ms Stasi Commissaress and Da Dodger.
Of course, Dodger did get someone to cobble together a response of sorts, which totally avoided any sense of guilt or responsibility for the grooming situation, and was neatly buried on p33 of The Tiser a couple of weeks ago. How convenient.
Result = situational inertia, public and political ridicule, loss of reputation, lack of direction, shall I go on and on about the true cost to Laybah, and our town?
IMHO, Rovrum Laybah membaz, and Cabinet Membaz need to emulate the actions of citizens like myself, and other active and empowered citizens, and constantly robustly challenge the entrenched centres of power within the Rovrum Laybah Grooip.
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At last, I was beginning to think that Rotherham Labour Party members did not care about the vulnerable in the Borough.
In the absence of any response from Cllr Paul Lakin, RMBC and the efforts by Cllr Emma Hoddinott to stop any discussion on the issue I posted the link to the article as a way of trying to increase the awareness of the way grooming starts and how as parents we can work to prevent it.
We need the Council to end this wall of silence and to work across all sections of the community to raise awareness and take robust action to stop it.
They should look at the work in Lancashire by Yasmin Qureshi MP, Inayat Omargi and Mohamed Ahfiq on how they spread the message.
Sadly in Rotherham our Members of Parliament do not seem to care, and RMBC have their heads in the sand.
The latest poll by the British Association of Social Workers paints a dire picture of the pressure on Social Workers, individuals from Rotherham responded to the poll.
Click to access basw_23651-3.pdf
Social Workers in Rotherham have high, unsafe caseloads, Cllr Paul Lakin knows this and does nothing!
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cerberus
I congratulate you on yet another piece f selective reporting
This is what the report actually says:
‘The few currently vacant posts will be filled within the next three months by qualified social workers who were supported by the council in gaining their social work qualifications. This has reduced social work turnover and so is providing more stability for children and families. However, case loads in some teams and for some workers are too high and this impacts on their ability to progress lower priority work.
And the service is addressing the concern.
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Dear Rothpol
Calling people Clowns, Muppets, Grunters, Labour Scum and even worse, Low Life’s when used in a way to goad, humiliate or spark some form of negative reaction is a perfect example of bullying and when used through this form of media cyber bullying.
Then you Wonder why councillors don’t respond!
Experience tells us that the best way to deal with the bullies is to ignore their jibes. It hurts them more than they hurt you.
The alternative approach- if you know who who these people are -is to front them up face to face and let them explain why they are acting in the way they are.
So here we go.
Cerberus – You make many accusations about the silence on Child sexual exploitation and grooming, you appear to speak with some knowledge of children’s services although this is very selective, yet appear to have very little or no knowledge of what we are doing and propose to-do in Rotherham.
So I make the offer to you and any of your colleagues to meet with me and the service face to face so we can listen to your concerns and tell you what we are doing to help tackle what can only be described as evil criminals.
I know of no councillor in the country let alone RMBC who agrees with the exploitation or harming of children in any way and who would not support the need to rid our borough of such criminal activity and the criminals that commit such heinous and vile acts.
Be assured that there is no silence, no media blackout and nobody is ducking the problem, but there will be no posting on this site, no matter how much name calling there is or how vexatious the comments become.
The time When people start attacking personalities rather than policies is the time their argument is lost.
Graldhunter – Although I have seen you several times in and around the council chamber, I cannot recall ever having met or spoken to you but I assure you that I do not quake or quiver and I do not back away from the bully – school for me was made a place of hell for me by the constant bullying the memories of which never leave you and I’m sure that as a qualified teacher this is something with which you can concur – but I respect your views (not your observations) as I do those of Cerberus and will refrain from making judgement about either of your characters. On a lighter note my bowels and bladder are in fine fettle and good working order, but if you have a cure for a 19 week persistent cough i’d love to hear it – other than suggesting I cut my throat.
There will be no further reply to this blog.
If you want to take me up on the offer to meet then just call or email but please do not use the issue of child abuse and exploitation as a means of dirty politics to attack me or other councillors in RMBc.
Dear Rothpol
Calling people Clowns, Muppets, Grunters, Labour Scum and even worse, Low Life’s when used in a way to goad, humiliate or spark some form of negative reaction is a perfect example of bullying and when used through this form of media cyber bullying.
Then you Wonder why councillors don’t respond!
Experience tells us that the best way to deal with the bullies is to ignore their jibes. It hurts them more than they hurt you.
The alternative approach- if you know who who these people are -is to front them up face to face and let them explain why they are acting in the way they are.
So here we go.
Cerberus – You make many accusations about the silence on Child sexual exploitation and grooming, you appear to speak with some knowledge of children’s services although this is very selective, yet appear to have very little or no knowledge of what we are doing and propose to-do in Rotherham.
So I make the offer to you and any of your colleagues to meet with me and the service face to face so we can listen to your concerns and tell you what we are doing to help tackle what can only be described as evil criminals.
I know of no councillor in the country let alone RMBC who agrees with the exploitation or harming of children in any way and who would not support the need to rid our borough of such criminal activity and the criminals that commit such heinous and vile acts.
Be assured that there is no silence, no media blackout and nobody is ducking the problem, but there will be no posting on this site, no matter how much name calling there is or how vexatious the comments become.
The time When people start attacking personalities rather than policies is the time their argument is lost.
Graldhunter – Although I have seen you several times in and around the council chamber, I cannot recall ever having met or spoken to you but I assure you that I do not quake or quiver and I do not back away from the bully – school for me was made a place of hell for me by the constant bullying the memories of which never leave you and I’m sure that as a qualified teacher this is something with which you can concur – but I respect your views (not your observations) as I do those of Cerberus and will refrain from making judgement about either of your characters. On a lighter note my bowels and bladder are in fine fettle and good working order, but if you have a cure for a 19 week persistent cough i’d love to hear it – other than suggesting I cut my throat.
There will be no further reply to this blog.
If you want to take me up on the offer to meet then just call or email but please do not use the issue of child abuse and exploitation as a means of dirty politics to attack me or other councillors in RMBc.
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The double pasting is not a mistake.
It’s just in case you missed the message first time
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We are grateful to Paul Lakin, the first Cabinet member to rise to our challenge and he should be congratulated for ‘breaking the ice’ as it were.
We believe that openness and debate will improve the quality of governance of Rotherham. The 21st century is coming, even to Rotherham and blogs such as this one will be a significant feature of our democracy going forwards! The social media landscape simply must be embraced by all involved in politics it can be ignored at your peril.
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Protecting the most vulnerable people in society is the most valuable thing that a person in public office can do. This is a central plank of my manifesto as Independent candidate for the Police & Crime Commissioner role (see http://www.gillianradcliffe4PCC.com).
I make no comment on what has happened to date. Let’s be clear: the primary blame lies with the perpetrators of these terrible abuses, along with those who protect and condone those offenders, and not with the safeguarding authorities.
I want to focus on what is happening right now and urge Rotherham Council to take positive action. It is never too late to do something positive to protect tomorrow’s victims.
The police will doubtless be doing so from an operational perspective and investigations are probably ongoing as I write. The council can, if it wants to, also make a difference right now and this requires being proactive and vociferous in campaigning not around politics but around prevention.
For example, educating people about this creeping menace; using your community contacts to mobilise people to great vigilance to avoid more children being victims of such monstrous perpetrators; demonstrating that this is not about one racial community against another but about all decent people making a stand against the depraved; getting the message across to young people in schools and through social media. Take action. Silence is not an option and leaves you open to accusations that you are doing nothing.
I have ambitions to be PCC because I’ve spent 23 years in criminal justice training for such an opportunity. I have the skills and experience and I can make a difference. I want to beat Shaun Wright – and allcomers – in the election. But I will support the council, and Councillor Wright, in any action to end the awful exploitation of children. It is an unspeakable form of hate crime and we must work together to crush it. Let me know if I can help.
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Gillian
The council in Rotherham has an excellent relationship with the police and in particular the public protection unit. We will continue to build on this in to the future.
As a labour councillor my loyalties lie with councillor Wright but please be assured we will work with whoever becomes PCC and we should not allow such a critical issue to become the brunt of bad politics
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Well done to Cllr Lakin, I support him fully as a Labour member. For too long there has been so much Labour bashing on the blog and many of the perpetrators thrived on this. Cllr Lakin has had the guts to stand up to the baying mob and put the record straight. People straight away asume that Cllr Lakin and the council are tolerant of these criminal acts, but i Can assure you that Cllr Lakin is a good man and is working extremely hard.
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Loyalty first to a Party mucker, rather than to constituents and citizens across the town, says it all for me.
My party right or wrong, eh?.
Thanks for your invaluable clarification of what you really stand for and where your moral compass points to.
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Well said Gillian, could we have a PCC in the making?
You have hit the nail on the head, is all about communicating the clear message on what to look for and what to do to stop it.
Make life difficult for the criminals not the victims!
Any word from Shaun Wright on the matter?
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I wonder what motivated Lakin to come out of the woodwork, the thought of his re-selection or the impact on his future aspirations?
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There is always one
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Nah, there’s a lot more than ONE of us, trust me, I’m a qualified teacher and an active and empowered citizen with a zest and long track record for the challenge of scrutinising and challenging those in Rotherham who seek higher-paid-than-SCC public office to govern us with our consent.
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Cllr Lakin.
Thank you for your invitation to discuss the issues, I will be in touch.
My concerns centre on the lack of parental awareness on what to look out for, what RMBC should be doing ,and what community and faith based leaders from all sections of the Borough are doing to address the matter.
I will continue to scrutinise the actions or lack of action by individual Councillors and if progress is not being made name and shame them to prevent a repeat of the past.
I would hope that all like minded individuals would do the same, as this issue is above local politics.
Cerberus.
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It’s good to talk! If there is any practical help I can offer – my professional field being communications and engagement – please let me know. Election campaigns aside, I know we are all concerned about preventing more abuses of this kind and we should be uniting. How about Rotherham Council host a (non-political) conference involving all the agencies and community groups? We could hear from some experts in the field and have break-out groups drawing up practical plans on preventing future tragedies. Count me in to help in any way I can. Thank you.
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“break out groups” – why did I just know that one was coming?
How about SWOT analyses as well?
And an ice-breaker to begin with?
And a creche?
And travel expenses?
And a signer and translater/interpreter?
And a video camera to catch the moment when everyone’s umming and ahhhing?
And special dietary requirements?
And collect everyone’s contact details to do a post-conference report?
And show it as evidence of community engagement and cohesion and civic box-ticking?
And then … nothing changes here in Rovrum … as per RMBC usual !!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😦
Sorry, been there loadza times … once bit twice shy indeed 😦
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