What were the 9 most viewed stories on this blog over the last week?
There are many stories I plan to publish on this blog soon. There’s one involving Hoylake Golf Resort, a story involving a cover-up at Wirral Council sanctioned by a Conservative Minister and of course the steady stream of news that is local politics. I also plan to look back at what were the most viewed news stories in 2015.
However it’s time to look back at the 9 most viewed stories of the last week (with a few comments on each of them).
1. Why is Merseytravel spending £57,000 + VAT to monitor this blog?
This is a look at what Merseytravel spend on media monitoring (which covers not just this blog, but newspapers and broadcast media too). It formed part of my citizen audit over the summer (but with tales of councillors’ salmon dinners and stays at gentleman’s clubs by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority councillors) only was published now.
2. Will the 20 councillors on Merseytravel mothball the Mersey Ferry terminal at Woodside?
The big news story of the week was about whether the Mersey Ferries had a future at Woodside. Councillors disagreed with the consultants and asked for an option that kept the three terminals (Woodside, Seacombe and Liverpool Pier Head).
3. A look back to a fictional Birkenhead in 1894 and how things hardly change!
Inspired by the Sherlock Christmas special, this went back in time to 1894 to a fictional conversation around the Brace breakfast table. Yes Wirral is still in Cheshire, blogs don’t yet exist and the first Mersey Tunnel for the railway has recently been opened.
4. Wirral Council’s Cabinet agrees to consultation on £2.498 million of cuts
The consultation started by Cabinet before Christmas on cuts at Wirral Council continues.
A FOI request Wirral Council would rather I hadn’t published surfaces to show what senior management thinks of whistleblowers.
6. What was Liverpool City Council’s incredible 6 page response to the FOI consultation?
Number five leads in to Liverpool City Council’s views on Freedom of Information. They suggest a series of radical moves. They want the 18 hour rule changed to 6 or 7 hours, for those making Freedom of Information requests to be charged for the time it takes Liverpool City Council to black out information, more opportunity to deem requests vexatious and to abolish internal reviews.
7. Wirral Council receives extra £725,000 of education funding (but Lyndale is still closing)
A story about how merely doing things differently at Wirral Council led to more money.
8. How much a mile do taxis for Wirral’s councillors cost (between £1.33 and £6.40/mile)?
Continuing a long-running series of articles on councillors’ expenses, the price list for councillors’ taxi journeys.
A story about the possible unlawful expenditure of ~£650,000 and the welcome disabled drivers receive in Chester. I’ll be providing updates on this story soon and what The Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Exemptions for Disabled Persons) (England) Regulations 2000 has to do with it all.
So that’s it, the top nine stories read in the past week and a teaser for a few to come.
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