I could tell Rochdale was going down the plug when I attended a meeting with Cyril Smith who was the then Liberal MP for Rochdale. He created an image as a bit of a nice old man who was in love with Rochdale but nothing could be further from the truth.

He had a cosy relationship with an asbestos company called Newall and Turner and he was a spokesman for getting the company large contracts. His other obsession was slagging off other local politicians on things they did ten years earlier. In reality he didn't really give a damn. With a MP like him, the town never had a chance.