The battle for control raging inside Tameside Labour has taken a dramatic twist with council leader Brenda Warrington accusing her would-be successor of a ‘hostile challenge’ that has created a ‘huge division’ in the group. In a defiant new statement Coun Warrington has warned Coun Ged Cooney, claiming she will not be ‘bullied, harassed or intimidated’ into standing down from the position she has held since 2018.
In a further riddle she also claims long time ally Coun Oliver Ryan was forced to switch allegiances by a ‘prominent’ MP - named by Labour sources as Angela Rayner - for fear of his political ambitions being ‘destroyed’. A claim that Coun Ryan has vehemently denied.
Coun Cooney, cabinet member for housing, confirmed last month he would be challenging his boss for the top job - citing dissatisfaction in the Labour group and warning her ‘change is coming’. There is understood to have been growing discontent over Coun Warrington’s leadership style, the regeneration of Ashton town centre and the hugely contentious Godley Green Garden Village plans.
