Tories punish Cllr Rob Holden for whistleblowing
Monday, 13 June 2016
Cllr Rob Holden (Ryburn) is very well known in Hebden Bridge as the creator of the Calder Valley Flood Support Facebook page which was so vitally important and immensely useful in the aftermath of the Boxing Day Flood. It was this Facebook page that people turned to first for the latest information after the floods had closed much of Hebden Bridge. It publicised where help was available and matched cries of help with offers of assistance. Cllr Rob Holden moderated the group in such a way that it remained effective.
Over the past couple of weeks the HebWeb has revealed details of the police raid on the offices of the Calder Valley Conservative Association.
The HebWeb has since learned that the Conservative Party, rather than welcoming someone who was prepared to draw attention to financial irregularities, preferred to punish that person. Cllr Rob Holden has had to stop representing the Conservatives on Calderdale Council and is now described as an Independent Conservative.
Even though Cllr Holden is clearly someone with knowledge and expertise in respect of the floods in our valley, he has also been removed from the Flood Steering Group. Labour leader Tim Swift has said that he is really disappointed to see the Steering Group lose the valuable insights and information Cllr Holden would be able to share, and that he would have hoped that people with abilities to contribute could be included regardless of other issues that may be going on.
See also
HebWeb News: Serious questions persist concerning Calder Valley Conservative Association, following the police raid.
Calder Valley Flood Support Facebook page
Impolite Conversation (9 June)
Mark Pack blog: Police seize financial accounts of local Conservative Party association (27 May)
Impolite Conversation (26 May)
Channel 4 - Election Expenses Exposed