Cllr Hodson spoke next. He said paragraph 3 of the Notice of Motion of the Labour Group, did not take into account that the Conservatives had been the largest Group in 2008, with 24 councillors versus Labour’s 21. He said that Cllr Foulkes as Leader had led to a “hell of a mess” and that the facts spoke for themselves regarding the closure of libraries and services closed down. He said Social Services had been put on the at risk register and £108 million of cuts. He said that Cllr Foulkes had admitted he didn’t understand the Strategic Change Programme, which led to £12 million of savings.
When he saw the books he said they were disorganised and in mayhem as Labour had not got a grip and had exercised poor leadership. There had been a true understanding of strong leadership in the last year with an open and honest consultation. He said waste had been removed and Council Tax frozen. Wirral Council had assisted businesses with faster growth, had enhanced the workforce and lives. He said 925 jobs had been safeguarded and £16 million of private sector investment secured including specialist support to small and medium enterprises. He said there had been a program so people could access training and jobs. They had shrunk the amount of senior managers and had not made compulsory redundancies. The extra cash generated had led to service improvements.
He said if Labour was put in charge then he could guarantee the good work would be dismantled. They had produced a balanced budget with £14 million in balances. With Labour in power this would only be a tool to slash services and bring back a financial mess. He said that Labour don’t have a plan of action, don’t have a clue and had kept people in the dark.
