Simon Danczuk MP

Fighting for Rochdale, Littleborough and Milnrow

Simon Danczuk, Rochdale’s Labour Parliamentary Candidate, has been surprised to receive support in his General Election campaign from none other than the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party.

Simon said: “I was at a drinks reception just last Thursday when I was introduced to the Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He said he genuinely hoped I would win the Rochdale seat and that Parliament needed people just like me. It was a pleasant surprise to receive the Lib Dem Leader’s endorsement and I thank him for it.”

Simon continued: “I suppose most people would assume the Lib Dem Leader would back my rival, the current Lib Dem MP for Rochdale, Paul Rowen. But the Lib Dem Leader was adamant that I would do a better job for Rochdale people. We actually had a very detailed conversation about policy issues during our informal meeting and the Liberal Democrat Leader was extremely knowledgeable about issues relevant to Rochdale.”

Mr Danczuk met Dr Oli Ahmad MP, President of the Liberal Democratic Party of Bangladesh, during a delegation visit to the country on behalf of Labour Friends of Bangladesh. The drinks reception was held at Dr Oli Ahmad MP’s apartment in Dhaka on Thursday 18th February.

Dr Oli Ahmad MP is a senior politician in Bangladesh having been a founding member of the Bangladesh National Party. He was a freedom fighter during the 1971 Liberation War and the first Bengali Military Officer to revolt against the Pakistan Army on 25th March 1971.

Simon spent a week in Bangladesh meeting a variety of senior politicians and local residents, particularly people from Sylhet, an area of the country where most Rochdale Bangladeshis originate from.