SEAN Fielding, the marmite leader of Oldham council, has been given the boot by the electorate, while across the country Labour continue to lose seats in local government.
Fielding appeared to have accepted early on in the night that Labour’s stronghold in Oldham was to be dealt a shattering blow, allegedly leaving the count room and heading home before counting had even started.
Sean Fielding, who became leader in May 2018 at the age of just 28, lost his seat to Mark Wilkinson, of the newly formed ‘Failsworth Independent Party’.
In a further twist, independent Councillor Brian Hobin, whose calls for an independent inquiry into grooming gangs operating in Oldham was quashed by Cllr Fielding, has now won a seat in Fielding’s former ward.
At the end of last year, VoteWatch reported that Fielding had been reported the police by numerous members of a local anti-grooming campaign group, who accused the Councillor of bullying and harassment.
One lady, a University student, told us: “Sean Fielding has been on a smear and harassment campaign trying to get people sacked from their jobs or thrown out of university. I know because I have been on the receiving end of his lies. More victims of the same coming forward.
“Others who have been similarly affected include an ex-police officer who now works in rehabilitation services for ex offenders (he is also standing against Sean Fielding in the next local council election).
“He and his daughter were also targeted, with Sean Fielding telephoning the school where she works, maliciously alleging that she was a danger to children, which was outrageous and completely unfounded.
“Another victim is a senior tax inspector. We were all targeted in a similar way with false allegations being made against us by emails or telephone calls to employers/institutions. In my case I’m not employed, but am a PhD student with a scholarship. If I had been made to leave my research I would have experienced financial hardship.”
Mr Fielding denied the allegations, and gave an interview to VoteWatch, telling us:
“Complaints submitted against me to the police have all been filed with no further action.
“I was not called to interview or to take part in the investigation in any way. I was only notified of their closure as a matter of courtesy given that it had been posted publicly online that these reports had been made.
“I was never in any doubt that the allegations against me had no substance and were simply politically motivated, tit for tat complaints. However, the abuse of the criminal justice process, and waste of police time and resources that these investigations were, just so that my political opponents could post online that I was ‘under investigation’ and facing ‘imminent arrest’ is quite shocking.
Now no longer a councillor, it is not yet known if Mr Fielding intends to stand for election again the future.
