"It did feel that I was trying to be silenced for what I wanted to say"
Politics with a capital `P' has gone off its head in Salford, with the Labour Party split, the left looking like the right and the so-called right looking like the left...
So much so that Councillor Paul Wilson, a former election agent of Hazel Blears, is coming on like the radical in the three candidate race to get the Party nomination to stand for City Mayor in May.
After a brush with Salford Labour Party hierarchy last year, Wilson had the Party whip removed, has rebelled on the council house sell off and is vocal about the Stalinist way in which current Mayor Ian Stewart runs the city. When it comes to the murky world of Salford politics, left-right labels go out of the window. And Wilson agrees...
"I do find it strange that I'm seen as the radical when actually four years ago you would have said the opposite" he says "But I have demonstrated that I am the radical at the moment, that I am trying to change the face of politics in Salford. I want to see change. At the very top of my election leaflet it's got A Fresh Start for Salford because that's what we need to deliver."
Wilson has got to convince around nine hundred Salford Labour Party members (the other seven hundred who have joined recently don't get a vote) to believe in his `fresh start' over the next ten days. Standing against him are Councillor Roger Jones, the current `Executive Lead Member', and Councillor Paul Dennett, the current `Strategic Assistant Mayor'...
"I think Roger wants to see change as much as I do" says Wilson "Paul has been part of the Cabinet, he has been part of that inner circle within the Labour Party in Salford. I've not read anything from him that would see change at the level that I would want to deliver, and I see the electorate asking for change.
"I genuinely think that things would be very similar under Pauls' leadership" he adds "I've not seen policies that say differently. If we really want change we have to win members over."
So what changes will he make? Wilson says he will cull seven of the 13 `Assistant Mayors', `Executive Lead Members', or whatever they're called this week, and have just six Cabinet members... "I would guarantee that everyone in my Cabinet would apply for it and would be the best person for that job, whether they were an ally of mine or not" he explains "And to be honest, I would rather be surrounded by six people who are competent and don't like me, than six people who liked me but were not competent."
He also says he will attempt to sort out the limp wristed planning practice in the city that has allowed developers to evade over £20million in planning fees and avoid building hundreds of desperately needed affordable homes...
"I think we need to change it and be much tougher" he insists "In my ward there are 71 homes due to be built on the old Hope High site and only seven affordable homes on there. It's the correct quota but am I happy that it's the correct quota? No. I would like to see more, and the planning officer was gobsmacked that I would say that...it seemed a bit alien to him. I think we need to challenge officers, setting the political strategic direction and they should be implementing it for us and advising."
Speaking of which, there is this horrible two Salfords developing at the moment – one full of luxury apartments and Council-led prestige projects, and one where poverty prevails and services for the vulnerable get cut...
"I think we have to get back to basics and look at the essential services we should be delivering before we start looking at projects beyond delivering our core services as a council" he says "Every council has aspirations, and it's right to have aspirations, but at the same time we have to concentrate on our core services."
Is he happy with the £19million Council funded RHS Garden in Worsley? "I'm not happy when we are cutting essential services, no" he responds "I wasn't able to scrutinise the decision, I wasn't able to vote at the group where the decision was made [as he had the whip removed] and I wasn't able to attend the Council meeting as I was working."
Easy to say now, but would he have voted against it? "Yes I would, based on the facts that were presented" he says "I would have asked for it to go back for review. We need to look at where the money's coming from, where it's going to be spent and what it's going to give us back in return. To make any kind of proper decision and scrutiny you need to look at those facts, and I would have asked for that information at group."
This goes to the heart of Paul Wilson's campaign, the ethics of which chime with the Salford Star's problems of Ian Stewart's horrendous four years... How can you hold a council to account when there's no information, no transparency and no-one will speak to you? Salford Council hasn't responded to any Salford Star questions for almost three years...
"You have my word that if I'm elected as City Mayor I will continue to talk to you" he says "You have to publish what you are doing and be transparent, not just to party members but to the public as a whole. It's important that we have that openness, transparency and honesty.
"We need to see that decisions are made in general rather than this Part 1 [open to the public] and Part 2 [secret] where so much is put into Part 2" he adds "By default everything should be Part 1, and Part 2 should be used so rarely; it should just be used to protect individual's names or very commercially sensitive information, not virtually the entire decision. We can move to that and improve democracy and I know the monitoring officer is keen to do that. I think it's important that we move that forward and show that we can be transparent and be held to account by the electorate."
It's not just the public and media that's being kept in the dark in Salford; it's also those Labour councillors who aren't in the `inner sanctum'. We've been told a zillion times from inside the Party that any opposition to Stewart and co is completely stifled.
Indeed, Paul Wilson himself felt the full force of this when he dared to announce he would stand as Mayor before Stewart said he was stepping down from the role. He was dragged before a Labour group meeting to be disciplined and after an incredibly close vote, which demonstrated the rifts within the Party, the councillor had the Party whip removed. At the time, members told the Salford Star that Wilson's treatment was a blatant attempt by the Mayor "to crush any opposition to him" (see here).
Last month, Wilson won an appeal against the decision, with the Labour Party Regional Board even ordering a `health check' into the way the Salford party is run (see here)... "It wasn't a pleasant experience to go through and it did feel that I was trying to be silenced for what I wanted to say" Wilson explains.
So what does he think of Ian Stewart's time as Mayor?
"He's had a very difficult time in terms of the reduced grants from central government and the cuts that have had to be implemented" he says diplomatically "You look at how much money has had to be saved through cuts – it's not easy. I think it could have been done more democratically. I think it would have achieved a better outcome, and that's what I intend to do going forward, actually learn the lessons in how we should run the city."
Isn't that a bit of a cop out? It's been a total disaster, a political car crash...
"It's fair to say that Ian and I don't see eye to eye politically" he understates "I can work with anyone whether they like me or not, and I will do my utmost while Ian is Mayor to scrutinise, offer to debate what he wants to implement over the next few months. But, yeah we don't see eye to eye...."
So what is it that's splitting the Salford Labour Party - is it a political divide about opposing policies? Is it that some want to do more cuts than others, or is it that some people are anti-cuts completely?
"It never gets to that level of debate to be honest which is worrying" he replies "...We need to have an environment where we can debate and discuss issues rationally, so when it comes to issues like disabled transport we should be able to talk about the opposing views...We should be able to have that discussion and to be provided with the information to make clear judgements.
"At the moment you look at the budget consultation on the Council website and the top line is `This is what we want to do'; but if you want people to make informed decisions you need to look at what is being spent and where it's being spent" he says "How can I as a back bench councillor offer scrutiny if I'm not aware where the money is being spent in the first place? I can't."
The picture that is being painted, not just by Wilson but by other back bench councillors and Party members is of a political clique that hold information and power, using what one insider describes as `the politics of the playground' to sustain its grip. The problem is that they are the ones claiming to be the `left wing' of the Party, pointing to Wilson and his allies as the `right'. Is that fair?
"I think that's very unfair to be honest" he says "I am left wing, my policies are left wing. I was one of the few that voted and spoke out about the stock transfer. There were three of us who called the decision in; we were unhappy that we were selling off council houses and adopting Tory policies.
"You can label people left or right but ultimately it's about actions that point to which side of the political arena you are on, and my actions are left wing actions" he adds "They are about socialist policies, about making a better society for all. Other people within the Party say they are left wing but they need to demonstrate that they are left wing by their actions. Within the Party we are very quick to put labels on people but you should be judged by what you do."
Indeed, those who are supposed to be the Corbyn-supporting left have ditched transparency and openness somewhere in Stalin's back yard, while making the city happy valley for developers and speculators, and cutting services for the vulnerable.
Paul Wilson is certainly no Derek Hatton. If selected and elected he isn't going to stick two fingers up at the Tory Government and pass a no cuts budget... "If we were to take that approach the Government would step in" he says "The better way would be to have meaningful negotiations through the Labour Party to campaign and face the Government with cold harsh facts. We need to go back to them and talk in business terms because that's the only language they understand. I'd encourage other Labour council leaders to campaign to get a better deal, a fairer spread of the government grants."
He also voted for Andy Burnham in the leadership election... "I've known him a long time and I had pledged my support prior to Jeremy being on the short list" he says "I support the leader, as I've supported whoever is the leader of the Party. I think Jeremy has got some good left wing ideology."
Wilson, who currently works for an education company in Manchester, is not going to turn down the mayoral £69,000 salary either... "It is important that you don't lose touch with reality but I'm giving up a successful career with a good salary so it's difficult" he says "But ultimately I'll make sure that I'm not the person setting that salary."
None of the three candidates are going to offer a Geek/Spain style socialist political direction. What Paul Wilson is offering is a change in the way of doing council business. To residents he's offering that "openness, transparency and honesty", which Stewart promised on his election and woefully failed to deliver. And to ordinary Labour Party members and back bench councillors, he's promising more inclusion with policy forums and proper open debates.
Ultimately, it's those nine hundred voting Labour Party members who will decide who is going to stand for City Mayor in May. Wilson's message to them is a plea to attend the candidates' hustings on Saturday...
"Come and listen to what has to be said and listen to the differences between the three candidates, then make the choice as to who will run the city for the best intentions of the people of Salford..."
• The Salford Star offered both Councillor Paul Dennett and Councillor Roger Jones the opportunity to be interviewed. Paul Dennett didn't respond. Roger Jones sent the following email... "You will know that in recent years I normally respond to your requests/queries. However, having spoken to my colleagues, they do not think it is a good idea to give interviews to the press during an internal Salford Labour Party selection process..."
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