 St Anne 's , one of the most deprived areas of the city , contained a closed workhouse at Brownlow Hill , which the Conservative @-@ controlled council had decided to sell to the Roman Catholic Church , as the potential site for a cathedral . The Labour group 's official policy was to delay the sale for several years , so that the empty workhouse buildings could be used as temporary housing during slum clearance and rebuilding . The issue split Labour on religious lines ; nearly all the Catholic members of the Labour group defied party policy and voted for an immediate sale . Among the rebels was the sitting St Anne 's councillor , Olive Hughes . She was thereupon deselected by the St Anne 's ward , which chose Bessie as their candidate for the 1930 election . Bessie faced a difficult task , since Hughes chose to stand against her as an Independent Socialist , with the support of leading local Catholics in a ward where the electorate was 85 per cent Catholic . An intense campaign , during which Bessie claimed to have visited every street in the ward , brought her success . 
