He's Just a Lib Dem Dirtbag 1: Hennigan is a Drunk

Background information by request, for Bickerstaffians and other non-Rochdaleians:

1. Rochdale is an industrial town in Lancashire. It exists in a time warp. Politics there are dour and dirty by definition. New broom needed.
2. It is widely considered to be the birthplace of the modern co-operative movement. There is a Scottish pretender to this crown.
3. It once had a pretty evil Liberal and latterly Alliance MP name of Cyril Smith. His evil extends through allegedly smacking young boys' arses and groping them, through apologia for the killer asbestos industry including reading speeches they drafted, and there's an involvement too in the miscarriage of justice over Stefan Kiszko. To name but three matters of concern. Sir Smith and his brother Norman still cast a dark satanic mill-ish shadow over the town. Yes, they are still alive.
4. More recently the seat was held by maverick Lorna Fitzsimons for Labour. But she was turfed out by Paul Rowen, a Lib Dem. In a very close vote that was influenced by a very nasty and untruthful anti-Semitic flavour from some Lib Dem fellow travelers, as well as Lorna's being an ultra loyal Blairite war supporter.
5. Paul Rowen MP was a Cllr and leader of Rochdale council. But to his great surprise Labour and Conservatives formed an alliance and temporarily ousted the Libs from power when he was elected to Westminster. They are now back in the driving seat.
6. Rowen continued to draw his Cllr allowances until his term was up.
7. Rowen's Agent is a man known as Dave Hennigan who has a reputation as a drunken dirtbag. he was once a Cllr in Manchester. He was also once a Tory student.
8. Power and Swarbrick are also assisting Rowen. You'll hear more about them later.
9. There is a good deal of controversy over how these workers and their office are funded for what appears to be largely party political work.
10. Dave Hennigan returns time and time again to personal attacks, including on non-combatant family members. He is allegedly under a final written warning over his bullying and general bad behaviour.

Hope this helps?

Dave Hennigan (above, with laid back recumbency fuelled by absolutely astonishing levels of wanton over-drinking) is one of Lib Dem MP, and short time failed Council leader, Paul Rowen's trio of political apparatchiks. Paid for by the tax payer as far as anyone knows. According to his own party's accounts in fact. He calls himself "Agent", which is a party political role, but he is apparently paid beyond the top of the scale for "Office Manager/Senior Parliamentary Assistant", which is a non-political role. Party politics on the tax-payer in other words. Vile politics at that. There should be a law against it. And there is.

How do we know this? As we mentioned the local party recorded in their publicly submitted accounts the fact that they no longer needed to chip in for one-and-a-half political workers as the MP would be funding them. Not a grey area. Strictly against the rules, that.


The other two "Politicos on the Taxpayer" are Adam "the Power" Power and John "the Swarb" Swarbrick. Seen here lurking in a local car park not far from the respective Lib Dem and Labour HQs in Rochdale. The former splendid premises being at very least part-financed by the tax-payer in some contorted and extraordinarily inflation-prone "sub-letting" arrangement. With some recycled rent returning to the party as declared donations also. As intriguingly revealed in successive accounts for the local Lib Dem Party. Though these have now mysteriously dried up.

Can it be right that having exceeded the threshhold for publishing accounts in 2004 and 2005 this franchise has failed to do so in 2006, 2007, or 2008? With no visible reduction in leaflets, bona fide political activity or more to the point shenanigans? Surely the MP isn't just contributing a blank cheque from the tax payer? Surely notifiable donations haven't really just dried up?

We'll come back to why they were lurking and why they turned tail and ran like naughty school children when they were spotted. Also to some little pen portraits of the two other Lib Dem Dirtbag lurkers. In fact this is the first hourly instalment of the day. Enjoy. LOL's on auto-pilot!