The local Labour Party-run council in Oldham rejected a motion to launch a public inquiry into the grooming gang sexual exploitation of children and the failures of local officials and police to protect them.
Following the release of a report on child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Oldham last month, which found that girls were failed by the very social services meant to protect them and failings among the local police and council, the Failsworth Independent Group (FIP) of local councillors introduced a motion to petition the government to establish an independent public inquiry into the failings.
The left-wing Labour Party introduced an amendment to strip the call for a public inquiry, neutering the motion, sparking fury from local observers of the town hall meeting, some of whom shouted “paedophile protesters” at the councillors, according to footage posted on social media. Due to the overwhelming majority they hold on the body, Labour was able to pass the amendment despite all members of the Failsworth Independents, Conservatives, and Liberal Democrats voting in opposition, the Manchester Evening News reported.
Conservative councillor Robert Barnes called the move a “travesty” and that it was “the night that democracy died in Oldham”.
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