Middleton Independents Party’s emergence from nowhere to take five council seats was the stand-out story of the local elections in Rochdale this year. Only formally registered as a political party in March, the group fought on a ‘Middleton first’ ticket, tapping into local discontent over the town playing second fiddle to Rochdale.
It proved to be a highly successful strategy in East Middleton, where ‘MIP’- as they are now known - swept aside the Labour incumbents to install a trio of independents. With MIP taking two seats in North Middleton it made them the third largest group on the Labour-run council.
But less than three weeks later, the fledgling party has been rocked by the defection to Labour of East Middleton councillor Dylan Williams. Coun Williams departure comes amid a flurry of startling accusations against his former colleagues - including bullying and sympathies for other political parties - all of which have been strenuously denied by MIP.
