BURY North MP James Daly has confirmed he is stepping down from his role as councillor for North Manor ward.

Mr Daly was expected to quit at the local elections in May 2020, but the vote was postponed by a year due to coronavirus crisis.

His decision to remain as a councillor was questioned by the ruling Labour group at the time with Mr Daly’s dual role meaning he was entitled to an annual basic allowance from Bury Council of £8,708, in addition to his parliamentary salary of £81,932.

Mr Daly, elected as MP for Bury North in December 2019, said: “I wasn’t prepared to allow North Manor to have just two elected representatives compared to three for every other seat and it was made clear the by-elections would not be allowed until very recently.

“Unlike a lot of people who like to criticise I represented the people of North Manor for the best part of 10 years and have done everything I possibly can to get more investment and to protect the green belt. It seems a strange thing to criticise someone who has given nearly a decade of his life to protect the best interest of the electorate in North Manor.

“My motivation for being a councillor has always been to get the best possible outcomes for the people of North Manor and I believe I have been ideally placed to do this.”

Mr Daly said he wanted to pay tribute to his fellow North Manor councillor Dorothy Gunther.

He said: “Dorothy is retiring as well at this election and she has been an absolute superstar to work with and I am very sad I will not be serving alongside her.

“The wider picture is this is an opportunity for change in Bury and if you want a different way of doing things than you have got to vote Conservative twice in North Manor at this election. I had a chance to stand up for residents against an incompetent Labour council who have run it into the ground."