The allegation has been widely circulated that Manchester City Council announced its 2,000 job losses yesterday as a ‘spoiler’ for the Oldham East & Saddleworth by-election. Sadly, nothing so expertly Machiavellian has happened
The Manchester Evening News got a leak about it on Wednesday (12 January) and the city council was forced to put out a short, terse, statement in the wee-small-hours. Then they went to ground.
Despite repeated requests from all the media – by this time national as well as local – no-one was available to comment. I know because I have spent the day in studios at outside broadcasts doing what they wouldn’t.
The Labour leadership of Manchester City Council could easily have gone on every available media outlet denouncing this as ‘coalition imposed jobs cuts’ and the unfairness of it all. Instead they chose to hide away in the town hall and claim they were ‘too busy’.
Hardly the actions of people out to spoil the by-election now is it? More cock-up than conspiracy I’m afraid.
Colin Talbot is professor of public policy and management at the University of Manchester Business School. This post first appeared on Whitehall Watch
