{"id":1968,"date":"2025-10-23T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/360wire\/?p=1968"},"modified":"2025-10-23T01:06:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T00:06:11","slug":"weeklypolitics-rundown-rotherham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/360wire\/2025\/10\/23\/weeklypolitics-rundown-rotherham\/","title":{"rendered":"Politics Rundown: Rotherham"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here\u2019s a rundown of the top politics stories in Doncaster this week:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grooming inquiry in turmoil as survivors quit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The government\u2019s inquiry into grooming gangs has been thrown into disarray as several survivors quit the panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A survivor from Rotherham, Elizabeth (not her real name) quit the inquiry’s victims and survivors liaison panel on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between the 1980s and 2013, an estimated 1,400 girls became victims of group-based child sexual exploitation in the town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She followed fellow survivors Fiona Goddard and Ellie Reynolds in leaving the panel, who both quit on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her resignation letter, Elizabeth said the process felt like “a cover-up” and had “created a toxic environment for survivors”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She felt the process had been “scripted and predetermined”, “rather than emerging from honest, open dialogue with survivors”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This sense of control and stage-management has left many of us questioning whether our voices truly matter, or whether we are being used to legitimise decisions that have already been made,” she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three women have accused officials of trying to water down the inquiry by widening the scope beyond grooming gangs into broader issues of child sexual abuse and exploitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Survivors have also expressed frustration at how long it has taken to appoint a chairperson, with some seeing this as a delay tactic because of fears of what might be exposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A chair has not yet been selected, and two frontrunners to become the chair of the inquiry \u2013 Jim Gamble and Annie Hudson \u2013 have also withdrawn from the running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sir Keir Starmer announced in June that the government would hold a statutory inquiry, after initially resisting the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MPs oppose plans for 3,500-acre solar farm<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Plans for a 3,500-acre solar farm between Rotherham and Doncaster have been criticised by three local MPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whitestone Solar Farm<\/a> is proposed to stretch across a number of separate parcels of land and could power 250,000 homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The land includes farmland near the M18, south of Bramley and Wickersley, and large fields on both sides of the nearby M1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project also includes plans for areas around Ulley, Aston and Brampton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sites had been chosen by developers for its proximity to Brinsworth substation, which would connect the solar farm to the national grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, MPs John Healey, Sarah Champion and Jake Richards have all raised concerns about the size and location of the scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Healey, Labour MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough, told project developer Green Nation in a letter that the scheme did not meet his expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In my view, every project must still meet three tests: it must be proportionate, it must be safe, and it must be fair \u2013 Whitestone fails all three,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said it was “the wrong scale of scheme in the wrong place”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for Whitestone told the BBC the size of the project had already been reduced by a quarter, and the solar farm would “support national energy goals”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council renews landlord licensing scheme<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rotherham Council has voted to renew a landlord licensing scheme<\/a> aimed at tackling poor-quality housing and anti-social behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The five-year scheme will continue despite “limited public support” during a consultation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It requires landlords to apply for licences costing \u00a3975 per property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They must meet management standards and face higher fees if they fail to apply on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will cover parts of the town centre, Eastwood, East Dene, Clifton, Masbrough, Kimberworth, Thurcroft, Dinnington, Brinsworth and Parkgate,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It replaces the current scheme that was introduced in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The council said the licences had already helped to improve housing standards and reduce anti-social behaviour, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only about one in five respondents to the public consultation agreed with the proposed designations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Linda Beresford said the consultation had been extensive, with 16,000 residents, landlords and letting agents contacted plus engagement with more than 60 organisations, faith groups and schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s not a popularity contest, it’s not The X Factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We need to do what is the right thing for our residents, which is to make sure they are all living in safe, decent homes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The licences will be reviewed again in five years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a rundown of the top politics stories in Doncaster this week: Grooming inquiry in turmoil as survivors quit The government\u2019s inquiry into grooming gangs has been thrown into disarray as several survivors quit the panel. A survivor from Rotherham, Elizabeth (not her real name) quit the inquiry’s victims and survivors liaison panel on Tuesday. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":227,"featured_media":1970,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,22,8,225],"tags":[60,126,127,59],"class_list":["post-1968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-infocus","category-infocustop","category-politics","category-south-yorkshire","tag-politics","tag-rotherham","tag-rotherham-sex-abuse-scandal","tag-south-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"\nPolitics Rundown: Rotherham - 360Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A rundown of the top political stories across Rotherham from this week.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/360wire\/2025\/10\/23\/weeklypolitics-rundown-rotherham\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Politics Rundown: Rotherham - 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