New council leader determined to tackle hate crime

The new Leader head of Tameside Council, Eleanor Wills, led a Tameside Together event at Dukinfield Town Hall to “celebrate diversity and inclusion” on Friday.

Two of the borough's MPs, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Health Minister Andrew Gwynne, attended the afternoon, which featured speeches about strengthening community cohesion, health equality and combating the rise of hate crime.

Speaking to the Reporter on her first full day in the role, she said, “To come along to such a wonderful event has been amazing, but equally, it shows me what our priorities are. 

“I said it last night in the chamber with regards to my priorities coming into this role, and that is to listen. 

“To see communities coming together in this arena and listening to what people are feeling and thinking across Tameside is huge for me and a great opportunity."

She was keen to stress the importance of tackling knife and hate crimes.

“It’s been great to bring community leaders together to talk about such a big issue. Thankfully in Tameside we’ve not seen huge rises in those sorts of crimes, but that speaks to the strength that we already have within the community.” 

The new Deputy Leader of TMBC, Andrew McLaren, has a personal link to hate crime: “My wife’s of Jamaican heritage and my boy’s mixed race. He’s experienced adverse comments at school, so I’m very, very passionate about what’s happening today. 

“The second point I’d make is that, not only has the event been a really good local success, we’ve had tremendous buy-in from people like Angela Rayner and Andrew Gwynne. So, between Tameside Council and the national politicians, you couldn’t really hope to have more investment from key decision makers.” 

GMP’s Chief Superintendent Chris Foster also made a presentation at the Town Hall. 

“The key message today was to give an update about the riots and our response to it,” he said. “It’s to make sure our communities are confident in engaging with us, and ensure that they report crimes that they may encounter. 

“I want to reassure people that we take hate crimes really seriously, so stuff like this is brilliant. We’re getting people in the room who wouldn’t normally, so it’s a great event to come to."

Ch Supt Foster, who is Tameside’s District Commander, was pointed out the importance of reporting any suspected hate crimes. 

"If you witness a hate crime or something you think may be racially motivated, come to us. We can record it as a hate crime and investigate it as such. We'll be able to point you in the right direction of support services and let you know how we're getting on with the investigation."

Andrew Gwynne, who represents Gorton and Denton, said, “It was a pleasure to speak at the Tameside Together event, alongside the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, Lord Wajid Khan, members of the community, representatives from local organisations, Greater Manchester Police, and the new leaders of Tameside Council. 

“Following the horrific violence seen earlier this year, it was an important moment for communities from across Tameside to gather, discuss, learn, and celebrate one another.”  

Listen to the audio clips from the event here