Your Councillors' Update: June 2026
By Councillors Tom Besford and Richard Jackson, Labour and Co-operative Councillors for Littleborough Lakeside
June has been an extraordinary month - locally, nationally, and politically - and we wanted to give you a proper account of what has been happening and what we have been up to on your behalf.
Andy Burnham - Good for Greater Manchester, Good for Rochdale
As our MP Paul Waugh has written, Andy has already done enormous things for Rochdale as Greater Manchester Mayor. He improved our buses, capped fares at £2, gave pensioners an annual travel pass and made sure older people and disabled people can use their passes around the clock - not just after 9.30am. He secured real investment for local jobs, including the advanced manufacturing research centre coming to Kingsway Business Park. And when Rochdale AFC faced collapse, Andy was one of the first to respond to the call.
The news that Sir Keir Starmer has stood down as Prime Minister is significant. Whatever anyone thinks of the difficulties of the past two years, the foundations laid - on growth, on workers' rights, on housing, on the NHS - matter. Andy Burnham now has the opportunity to build on those foundations and accelerate the change people voted for.
That means there is now a Greater Manchester Mayoral by-election, and we are proud to support Bev Craig as our Labour and Co-operative candidate. Bev has the experience, the track record and the values to continue Andy's great work. The Mayor of Greater Manchester oversees police, fire, public transport, economic development and much more. This is not the time to take a chance on someone who has never even been a councillor, let alone run one of the most complex regional institutions in the country. Bev Craig is ready. We hope you will support her.
At the Council
It has been a busy month in the council chamber too. Tom sits on Planning Committee and made an impact at his first full meeting, raising serious concerns about a proposal to convert the former Briarmede care home in Middleton into student accommodation. Tom questioned whether there was a genuine demonstrable need for the development and raised concerns about the impact on local residents. The application was refused, with 439 objections from the public. It is a reminder that planning decisions matter, and that councillors' scrutiny of them matters too.
We both continue to serve on scrutiny committees - Communities, Regeneration and Environment; Health, Schools and Care; and Corporate - holding the council's executive to account across a wide range of services. This requires many hours of our time each month as we work through nearly 1000 pages of information to understand the progress of the Council and hold its feet to the fire where necessary.
Tom also presented the findings of a Task and Finish Group to Cabinet this month, the result of a year's work examining the relationship between homelessness and mental health. The core finding is that housing instability causes and worsens mental health difficulties - not the other way around. Cabinet approved recommendations to introduce new approaches to identifying people who may be struggling with their mental health earlier, and supporting them before they reach crisis point and risk losing their homes. This is both the right thing to do and, by preventing rough sleeping and the costs that follow, it should save public money significantly.
At the Pennines Township Committee - where Richard now chairs proceedings alongside all the Littleborough ward councillors - a significant decision was agreed to trial a School Street at Smithy Bridge Primary School. From September, Bridgenorth Drive will be closed to traffic at drop-off and pick-up times on school days. This is a temporary, experimental arrangement that will be reviewed. We want to hear from residents and parents about whether it is working. Please do get in touch with your views as the trial progresses - that feedback genuinely shapes what happens next.
In the Ward
On top of the committee and policy work, the day-to-day casework never stops. This month we have been helping residents with adult social care concerns, sorting grass cutting across the ward, dealing with worries about parking restrictions and irresponsible parking, and liaising with Transport for Greater Manchester about bus services. Someone had their bin stolen and we got them a replacement at no charge. There is always more - conversations on Facebook, WhatsApp, by email, over the phone and face to face that never make the headlines but matter enormously to the people involved.
Our regular surgeries continue: first Saturday of the month at the United Reformed Church and the third Saturday at Smithy Bridge Library. All are welcome - no appointment needed, just turn up.
In the Community
We are both proud to be active volunteers in Littleborough, not just councillors. The Littleborough Food and Drink Festival was a wonderful event this year and our heartfelt thanks go to LEAF and all the volunteers and traders who made it happen. Richard was on the stage as MC, running the performance programme throughout the day. Tom was a lead steward. Events like this are what make Littleborough special, and we feel lucky to be part of them.
As ever, if you need us, we are here.