Pat Karney Explained

Pat Karney
Office1:Councillor for Harpurhey
Term Start1:1979
Party:British Labour
Birth Place:Dublin, Ireland

Pat Karney (born 1948) is a British Labour Party politician, councillor for Harpurhey in the City of Manchester.

Biography

Karney was born in Dublin and raised in Harpurhey and has been a Labour councillor in the city since 1979. He is an Associate Executive Member with responsibility for the city centre.[1] He was a Social Services manager for Salford City Council and was Chairman of the City Centre Committee when the IRA bomb devastated the centre.[2]

In 2012 the city centre was said to be "surviving the recession very well"[3] but in 2014 it was said that under his leadership "as the Supremo of Central Manchester, the place has been declining for some time".[4] He has been involved in debate about the Piccadilly Gardens wall for some years. The wall was finally demolished in 2020, shortly after it had been decorated with the slogan "The North is not a Petri dish", and Karney arranged to preserve a section and invited the artist to decorate it again. He said "It was a big political moment for Manchester and the message symbolises that."[5]

In March 2020 he was accused of bullying John Leech, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on the City Council, but was cleared.[6]

Notes and References

  1. News: COUNCILLOR PAT KARNEY . 8 December 2020 . Manchester Evening News . 4 December 2020.
  2. News: Pat Karney, high-profile City Councillor . 8 December 2020 . Aidan O'Rourke . 10 July 1998.
  3. News: A TALE OF TWO CITIES . 8 December 2020 . Jim Hancock . 8 February 2012.
  4. News: Petition to add greenery to ‘hated’ Piccadilly Gardens wall instead of shopping strip . 8 December 2020 . Mancunian Matters . 17 December 2014.
  5. News: The person behind 'the north is not a petri dish' message on Piccadilly Gardens wall has done it again . 8 December 2020 . Manchester Evening News . 4 December 2020.
  6. News: Manchester councillor Pat Karney cleared of 'bullying' Lib Dem leader – but has been sanctioned for using a laminator . 8 December 2020 . Manchester Evening News . 10 March 2020.