Lib Dem Voice: Their "Clean Bill of Health" Tally Sucks

Lib Dem Voice are keeping a tally of Legg results for their tribe-cum-franchise in the HoC. They report PR Paul Rowen's "clean bill of health" within this. Nothing from Mr Leech at this stage. Further to my post yesterday I've added a comment there:

The Paul Rowen braggadocio on this is premature IMO.

He looks to have been spectacularly "at it" in other areas, within the rules" possibbly, and his direct housing costs are around double those of his Rochdale oppo Jim Dobbin and also double those of John Leech his nearest LD neighbour. The fact Legg has not set any caps on mortgage interest (which would I think have been within remit) is relevant.

As is the fact that other aspects of allowances - staff, incidentals, comms - were outside the remit. How dare the dirt bag PR Paul Rowen claim "clean bill"? I ask non-controversially.

Probably the highlight is that Rochdale Online, the organ Rowen used to parade his "clean bill", has been enjoying a contract from Mr Rowen to produce his supposedly but not actually non-party-political website. Paid for by the tax payers. Very obviously a conflict of interest here. And incidentally their anti-Labour bias has apparently INCREASED, and not from a low start, since they got this gig.

Among the highlights of Rochdale Online bias was a story of a meeting at Number 10 brokered by Simon Danczuk, Labour's prospective MP for Rochdale, in which Rochdale Online cropped Mr Danczuk from the photograph and cropped all mention of him from the accompanying story.

The meeting was about asbestos danger. This is a subject on which Rochdale Lib Dems have been horribly conflicted. Sir Cyril Smith actually spoke an Asbestos Industry crafted anti-safety speech in the House of Commons and until very recently PR Paul Rowen was actually denying any asbestos problem in schools. He has since changed his spots and arrogantly put himself front and centre as a schools asbestos campaigner.

Though he still appears to back the redevelopment for family housing of the asbestos dump at Spodden Valley which is the site of a dump of asbestos fibre which has been calculated at a depth of a metre on several football pitches. And just one rogue fibre can kill.

And another example has been Rochdale Online's aggressive and completely unbalanced coverage of what amounts to a smear in which revolting LP elements and revolting LD spin doctors appear to have co-operated. Some of this at least was subject to a take down notice as it was so disgraceful in its bias. The organ's editor, bound by an injunction re privacy and harrassment, nonetheless skulked in bushes at one point and took, and published long lens pictures taken in this sordid way.

With part of his income coming from Tax Payers through Paul Rowen's PCA.

PR Paul Rowen MP may have been given a "clean bill of health" by Mr Legg under the initial terms of reference. But IMO Lib Dem MPs should avoid triumphalism at this stage. The tricks and gimmicks in the "Grey Area" manual exposed by the Telegraph have yet to be properly scrutinized.

What we have discovered from Legg so far is that "within the rules" is simply not enough any more.