The Green Party is backing a former Labour councillor’s bid to become an MP at the next general election. Instead of fielding their own candidate in the new Heywood County constituency they are getting behind independent Chris Furlong.
Chris, a Heywood resident of some 25 years, represented North Middleton on Rochdale council between 2014 and 2018. Despite losing his seat, he has remained active in the community, chairing the charity that runs the Back o'th Moss Community Centre and volunteering with the Army of Kindness Soup Kitchen.
The dad-of-two says he is proud to have what he describes as an ‘historic endorsement’ from the Greens. “I have always been a strong green advocate and went to many campaign days on rallies with Middleton Save the Greenbelt while I was a councillor,” he said.
READ MORE: Labour picks Rochdale councillor to fight fallen red wall seat at next general election
However, he admits his stance as an ‘avid defender of the green belt’ put him at odds with the Labour leadership of the council at the time.
“To be honest, I was constantly being dragged in front of the whip because I was going to save the green belt marches,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. “As a councillor you are there to represent the people that elected you, not just to go along with the party.”
Chris says he would take a similar approach as an MP and ‘not be bothered about ruffling feathers’. He sees the absence of any party machinery as being a big advantage of being an independent candidate.
“There is no whip, party or leader telling you what to do, you do what you can for the constituents,” he added. The 50-year-old says he has often been encouraged to return to politics since losing his council seat, but had ‘batted’ the suggestion away until now.
While he stresses he had not taken the decision to run lightly, he felt it was now time to step up.
“There’s a huge amount of pressure out there to bring someone into parliament on our behalf who isn’t tainted or parachuted in from party politics,” he said. "People are fed up of the area being used by career politicians and then completely ignore us.”
Despite not having the might of one of the major political parties behid him, Chris says he is deadly serious about getting elected.
“I would not stand if I didn’t think I could win,” he added.
Meanwhile Guy Otten has been announced as the Green Party’s candidate for the Rochdale constituency.
Guy, once a member of the Liberal Democrats, says he will stand for a more equal, caring and quality society alongside the urgent need to address the climate and ecological crisis.
“The Green Party has a broad platform of policies to help create an equitableand sustainable society,” he said in a statement.
“We want to empower local authorities to build council houses in volume again, and to do this sustainably. We need a borough with less pollution by vehicles and industries emitting noxious fumes into the air we breathe or sewage into our river.
“This means not just safeguarding the green belt, but also enhancing the green spaces and waterways within and between our built up areas.”
And on a national level, he says the Greens want to see ‘a dramatic move towards renewable energy and away from fossil fuels’.
“There are still massive renewable sources untapped,” he said. “Without this, future generations will not have a planet and country worth living in.”
The next UK general election will be held no later than 28 January 2025.
Chris Clarkson, incumbent MP for Heywood and Middleton, was contacted for comment.
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