Labour veteran Hibbert ousted

DESELECTED ... Councillor Dave Hibbert.

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Councillor Dave Hibbert has been deselected by his local Labour party after 20 years - despite being in the running for council leader.

Councillor Hibbert — the council’s cabinet member for housing, planning and transport — will not be standing in Chadderton South in May’s local elections.

Oldham West and Royton executive members met last Thursday to vote for their preferred candidate for Chadderton South. Councillor Hibbert, who has held the seat since 1994, failed to secure the majority of their votes, losing to Chris Goodwin.

All Councillor Hibbert would say was: “All good things come to an end.”

Councillor Hibbert’s senior position on the council makes his deselection a shock: he is a member of the council’s cabinet and is on several Greater Manchester committees. He is known and well-liked for speaking his mind and has been a key figure in the council chamber for years.

Councillor Hibbert also put his name forward as council leader following the stepping down this Friday of new MP Jim McMahon, a candidacy no longer likely to continue.

The Evening Chronicle understands a large number of Chadderton South constituents will be angry with the decision. Some who heard the news over the weekend suggested they will no longer vote Labour.

Over his years as a councillor, Mr Hibbert has built up a very good relationship with a large number of people in his ward.

He moved to Chadderton with his wife Mary in 1964. They have a son, two daughters, and six grandchildren who also live in Chadderton.

Councillor Hibbert becomes the second long-serving councillor to be deselected by local Labour members in recent weeks. Thirty-year Royton North councillor and former Mayor Bernard Judge was deselected recently.