A Rochdale councillor has retracted a claim he made on social media, after attributing a critical remark to Roch Valley Radio without verifying the source.
Jordan Tarrant-Short, who represents Balderstone and Kirkholt for Reform UK and leads the party’s group on Rochdale Council, had posted a public statement suggesting Roch Valley Radio had referred to him as “geographically challenged”. The phrase was used in the context of defending his appearances at events across Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale during the Christmas season.
The councillor later admitted he had not checked where the comment originated before making the post. Roch Valley Radio had not used the phrase at any point.
In a follow-up message published on Facebook today, Monday, 24 November, Cllr Tarrant-Short wrote: “Turns out they didn’t call me ‘geographically challenged’. My bad for giving them credit for such creativity.”
He described the post as a “heartfelt, deeply serious apology”, delivered with what he called the sincerity of a “politician stuck in a rain-soaked Christmas light switch-on”. He also acknowledged that Roch Valley Radio’s record of not insulting councillors “remains squeaky clean”.
Roch Valley Radio responded directly: “Glad we’ve cleared up the tiny detail that we never actually said the thing you publicly apologised for. If we ever do decide to call you anything, we’ll tag you properly so you don’t have to rely on rumours next time.”
The original attribution appeared in a Facebook post on 23 November, which praised the borough’s Christmas light switch-ons but included a section responding to a perceived slight. Cllr Tarrant-Short used the moment to argue that political leaders should be visible across the borough and not limited to their own wards. He said: “If turning up across the borough to represent Reform UK voters counts as a navigational hazard, then I’ll happily keep my sat-nav on speed dial.”
The councillor later responded to another resident who took issue with his use of the word “stuck” to describe attending a local switch-on. He issued a further apology, this time in a satirical context, to the resident, his shoes, and the general public.
The source of the phrase “geographically challenged” was a separate media outlet, the Rochdale Times, not Roch Valley Radio.
Roch Valley Radio is a not-for-profit broadcaster and independent news provider, committed to impartial reporting and complete coverage of borough-wide news.
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