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Jones will now not only lose his seat on the council, but will also forfeit his position as chair of the GMPTA, the body pushing through plans for the Toll Tax.
Also defeated was the mayor of the city, Councillor Valerie Burgoyne. She lost her seat to Liberal Democrat Martin O'Neill, who will now join his father Joe on the council benches, representing Swinton South ward.
Alan Broughton lost his seat in Eccles to the Tory candidate Judith Tope. The Labour losses means the party now has 36 seats on the council, 13 for the Conservatives, and 10 for the Liberal Democrats, with one other.
Further coverage in next week's Advertiser ...
State of the parties:
Labour 36 (-6)
Conservative 13 (+3)
Lib Dem 10 (+2)
Others 1 (+1)
May 13, 2008
A letter from Roger Jones
I am writing to thank the people of Irlam & Cadishead for their support over the last 26 years. Naturally my family and friends are very upset by the election result, but politics is a rough business.
The way I look at it is that I have won eight elections and lost one and even Alex Ferguson would be happy with that record !!
I fully accept the verdict of local people and that it brings an end to my role as a local Councillor as well as Chairman of the Passenger Transport Authority. I have been to Manchester this weekend to clear my office and desk ready for the new Chairman to be elected in June.
Do I have any regrets ? – No. Any disappointments? – Yes. In accepting my defeat I did not want to be replaced by the community action party who bring politics to a new low. It is not just their lies, but they also bully and intimidate anyone who disagrees with them. I hope that local people will soon realise what these people are really like.
Roger Jones.
Salford AdvertiserJones back in the driving seat May 13, 2010
Councillors Joe Kean and Roger Jones
Transport supremo Roger Jones has won back his council seat after a storming performance by Labour in the local elections.
The party held the city council and increased its majority in the council chamber.
The new make-up of the council is Lab 39 (+3), Con 13 (=), Lib Dem 5 (-2), other 3 (-1).
Click here for the results ward-by-ward, in full
Roger Jones regained his Irlam seat with more than 1,700 votes - a majority of just under 700. Mr Jones was ousted from the council and from his position as transport chief on the GMPTA after his shock defeat in 2008 - because of his support for the ill-fated congestion charge.
He said: “I am both delighted and proud to be representing the people of Irlam again.
“I can promise the people of Irlam,whether they voted for me or not, I will work tirelessly on their behalf.
“Congestion charging is no longer an issue, the referendum result made that quite clear.”
The Labour resurgence surprised opposition leaders, who had been predicting Labour would lose control for the first time since 1974.
But the breakthrough never came and Labour gained three seats. The Lib Dems lost two seats and the independents one.
The Liberal Democrats lost two hard-working councillors in Mary Ferrer and John Deas, who lost in Claremont and Weaste and Seedley.
Cllr Norman Owen, leader of the Lib Dem group, said: “The council has lost two hard-working councillors in Councillor Ferrer and Councillor Deas. They always did their utmost for the residents they represented and they will be missed.”
Independent candidate Joe O’Neill, who left the Liberal Democrats last year, was defeated by Labour in Swinton South. Council leader John Merry was re-elected with ease in Broughton.
A bit of meat on your statistics, Grekko.
Chas
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