What did Gillian Wood’s election campaign to become a councillor in Claughton ward spend £1,354.53 on?

What did Gillian Wood’s election campaign to become a councillor in Claughton ward spend £1,354.53 on?

Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 4 Advertising

What did Gillian Wood’s election campaign to become a councillor in Claughton ward spend £1,354.53 on?

ED – updated 4.7.2017 to include extra detail on VAT treatment and comment

Below this blog post is the paperwork submitted as part of the election expense return for the Labour candidate for the Claughton byelection for a councillor to Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.

These are open to public inspection and I inspected these at Wallasey Town Hall last week (although there was a delay due to “staffing issues”).

The agent for the Labour candidate Gillian Wood was Martin Morris. Although Cllr George Davies and the Wirral Labour Group have had an involvement in the campaign too.

On the 5th May 2017, the result was announced. Gillian Wood was returned as a councillor for a period of one year with a vote of 1,761 votes (52%), a majority of 1,021. The second placed candidate for the Liberal Democrats received 740 votes (22%) and the voting system used was first past the post.

The nomination papers for this candidate show that her nomination papers were submitted on the 3rd April 2017 at 4.30 pm and the initials (KR) of the Wirral Council employee that accepted them was Kate Robinson.

Strangely, this date on the nomination papers doesn’t match the date given on page 1 of the election expenses return (see below) (5th April 2017) as the date she became a candidate and is after the date given that the agent was appointed (4th April 2017).

I asked another election agent in this Claughton byelection (Allan Brame who was agent for David Evans the Liberal Democrat candidiate) about matters involving the documentation below. He helpfully pointed out that leaflets are zero-rated for the purposes of VAT.

He also stated that the latest date a person could become a candidate was the 4th April 2017 (close of nominations) and the earliest date 27th March 2017 (if the candidacy had already been announced). On the subject of donations he stated “I am surprised that the details of donations have not been provided.

However, the election expenditure return shows expenditure of £1,354.53 (the spending limit was £1,427.42).

Invoices accompanying the return are for hire of a car PA System on polling day from SS Radio (£30) and for leaflets from LT Print Ltd (2,500 Vote Labour cards) for £169.20 (£141 + £28.20 (VAT)). Although as these are VAT zero-rated I’m puzzled as to why VAT is included on the invoice!

There are references to invoices 76414, 76415, 76796 and 76795 also from LT Print Ltd, also for leaflets. These invoices were paid by BACS payment and amount to £491, £364, £253 and £491.

It is claimed by the agent that of the first of these (invoice 76414) for £491 that £415.47 doesn’t apply to the election period as 5,500 of these leaflets were delivered prior to the 26th March 2017.

This would imply that this invoice (which was not supplied) was for 6,500 leaflets, of which 1,000 were delivered during the election period.

Where the money came from referring to the £1,354.53 spent during the campaign is unknown as donations were entered as £NIL.

As the candidate who was elected, Gillian Wood also has to state in a declaration which individuals or organisations funded her elections campaign which is published on Wirral Council’s website.

At the time of writing, there is no link to her register of interests from the page about her on Wirral Council’s website.

Agent Declaration Labour byelection Claughton byelection 2017 Martin Morris
Agent Declaration Labour byelection Claughton byelection 2017 Martin Morris
Declaration candidate Labour byelection Claughton 2017 cropped resized
Declaration candidate Labour byelection Claughton 2017 cropped resized Gillian Wood
SS Radio 30 resized
SS Radio 30 resized
Statement of account LT Print page 1 of 2 resized
Statement of account LT Print page 1 of 2 resized
Statement of account LT Print page 2 of 2 resized
Statement of account LT Print page 2 of 2 resized
LT Print invoice 141 resized
LT Print invoice 141 resized
Candidate election expenditure-Labour-byelection page 1 of 15 section 1 section 2
Candidate election expenditure-Labour-byelection page 1 of 15 section 1 section 2 Candidate Gillian Wood Agent Martin Morris
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 2 section 4 section 5
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 2 section 4 section 5
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 3 section 3a section 3b
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 3 section 3a section 3b
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 4 Advertising
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 4 Advertising
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 5 Unsolicited material to electors
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 5 Unsolicited material to electors
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 6 Transport
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 6 Transport
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 7 Public Meetings
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 7 Public Meetings
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 8 Agent and other staff costs
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 8 Agent and other staff costs
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 9 Accommodation and administration
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 9 Accommodation and administration
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 10 Other Authorised Spending
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 10 Other Authorised Spending
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 11 Personal Expenses
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 11 Personal Expenses
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 12 Unpaid Claims
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 12 Unpaid Claims
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 13 Disputed Claims
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 13 Disputed Claims
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 14 Permissible Donations
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 14 Permissible Donations
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 15 Impermissible Donations
Candidate election expenditure Labour byelection page 15 Impermissible Donations

If you click on any of the buttons below, you’ll be doing me a favour by sharing this article with other people.

Author: John Brace

New media journalist from Birkenhead, England who writes about Wirral Council. Published and promoted by John Brace, 134 Boundary Road, Bidston, CH43 7PH. Printed by UK Webhosting Ltd t/a Tsohost, 113-114 Buckingham Avenue, Slough, Berkshire, England, SL1 4PF.

16 thoughts on “What did Gillian Wood’s election campaign to become a councillor in Claughton ward spend £1,354.53 on?”

  1. I see the Police Commissioner of Merseyside is offering a job for a Deputy Police Commissioner, the role is part time, three days a week, at £31.8000 or a round £340 a week, not bad for three days work, but makes you think when they moan of cut backs to the serivices, they can offer jobs like this?

    1. Well prior to November 2012, instead of a Police and Crime Commissioner plus deputy, you had it done by around 17 members of the Merseyside Police Authority.

      Each of them received I think a low five-figure sum, with about half being councillors (the five-figure sum they received was in addition to their amounts for being a councillor) .

      But the Merseyside Police Authority was abolished in the move to police and crime commissioners.

      If I remember correctly anyone the current PCC Jane Kennedy recommends as Deputy has to be approved by the councillors and independent members on the Merseyside Police and Crime Panel too.

      This has resulted each time a Deputy PCC is chosen in a Labour politician (being picked by other Labour politicians)! It usually is a Cabinet Member from somewhere in the region. We’ll see who is chosen in the fullness of time though!

  2. G’day John

    I would put down any anomalies John to pig flu it can be a swine.

    Talking of swine who is she going to join herself to the hip of now “Sir Git” has deserted?

    Much more crud and dross will come to the surface now they don’t have to be nice to the bloke most detested in the place.

    By them.

    Ooroo

    James

    Ps I mean most detested next to Adderley, Basnett, Jone, Jones, Davies, Davies, Doughty, Williamson, Foulkes, Armstrong

    in no particular order.

    1. As you will know from that Employment Tribunal Surjit Tour and Kate Robinson provide assurance to Eric Robinson (Returning Officer) that everything is done properly.

      Surjit Tour is AFAIK still there, as an Interim hasn’t been formally chosen yet. In the fullness of time Wirral Council may finally get round to advertising his post!

      Anyway Wirral’s loss is somewhere else’s gain! It seems Surjit Tour wants a short commute to work from where he lives.

      1. G’day John

        A short commute!

        Where is Scum Bagville John?

        Ooroo

        James

        Bobby 47 could read this ****** face easily I can?

        1. If your question is, where does Surjit Tour live? Can’t you tell already from his accent?

          Does outside the Wirral help or do you need more specific than that?

          1. G’day John

            Still no idea where he lives I have only heard him in the witness box and all he said was he couldn’t recall.

            Ooroo

            James

            Is the effing big clock a clue?

            SWITZERLAND

            1. No, not Switzerland, try somewhere nearer (in England).

              People are allowed to forget James!

              You may realise I can be absent-minded and forgetful myself (about some matters)!

  3. One of these ghouls turned up at a court case and repeatedly lied under oath not long back, successfully deceiving the public and hoodwinking the moribund judge.

    One wouldn’t expect elections not to be bent from top to bottom if they’re controlled by dishonest thugs, chancers and liars who conceal their ugly, gnarled, twisted forms beneath a handsome “cloak of respectability”.

    1. I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

      Pointing out elections not being run properly is a big no-no in party political circles.

      If the second placed candidate does it they decry, “Sore loser”.

      If one political party points out the bad things another political party has done, they cry back, “you’re doing the same or worse too”.

      The police don’t understand elections enough to investigate and the Crown Prosecution Service only charge the most serious cases that through some miracle manage to tick all the boxes in the Code of Crown Prosecutors where they feel that they have a good chance of winning!

      If you have a £million or so to spare you can put a politician on trial. But most people can’t buy that sort of justice and most politicians are not stupid enough to make wealthy people cross.

  4. G’day John

    Talking of election cheats!

    Didn’t the great Graham Burgess retire (ha ha ha ha) off to St Helens

    Magenta Living, which took over ownership of all council housing stock in 2003, has formed a partnership with a St Helens-based association and set up a private lettings company called Bamboo Lettings.

    Just sayin

    Ooroo

    James

  5. G’day John

    Ahh Johnny boy!

    They are so stupid.

    Don’t they learn anything from their page 3 girl at “The Chamber Pot”?

    In their ex-local rubbish propaganda sheet Clowncillor Lessbright

    Cllr Phillip Brightmore with one of the new bag dispensers at Harrison Park in Wallasey

    Ooroo

    James

    He’s made it John with *hit collecting machine

    1. Dog fouling enforcement appears to be a service that Wirral Council acknowledge that they were so (insert your own word) bad at doing that people could let their dogs foul on Wirral with impunity with near zero possibility of consequences.

      I requested the contract with Kingdom last year.

      Apparently the public isn’t allowed to know how the contractor issues tickets for dog fouling, as this is commercially confidential and not in the public interest!

      But then I think I must give excellent job security to whoever at Wirral Council blacks out all these documents I request!!!

  6. John, I noticed that Kensington and Chelsea Council owns Grenfell Tower and NOT the arms length management organisation known as KTMO.

    Do you know who owns Magenta Living’s housing stock.

    I suspect it is not Magenta otherwise George Davies would not be so keen to promote the line that they’re all “safe as houses”.

    So who owns the title deeds for these big money earner, farmed out dwellings that are keeping the likes of Union man Graham Burgess in sparkling BMWs and regular excursions to warmer climes ?

    1. I don’t really have the time or financial resources to make the necessary Land Registry checks on all of the properties owned by Magenta Living.

      However in February 2005, Wirral Council transferred its housing stock (then about 13,100 properties) to Wirral Partnership Homes Limited (now trading as Magenta).

      Since the intervening 12 years, a number have been demolished, sold to tenants, acquired etc.

      Their (Wirral Partnership Homes Ltd) accounts at year end 2016 (which I admit is a bit out of date now) had:

      Start of FY: 10,643 properties (plus 1,677 supported housing properties and 3 low cost home ownership properties). Total was 12,323 properties.

      3 were bought, 177 were built, 37 were sold and 6 fall into the adjustments category which means as of 31.3.2016 Wirral Partnership Homes had 10,780 properties (plus 1,677 supported living properties plus 3 low cost home ownership properties) which makes 12,460 properties.

      Wirral Council doesn’t own them and hasn’t since the transfer of housing stock in 2005.

      There is however a Right to Buy agreement between Wirral Partnership Homes Limited and Wirral Council (which partly depends on tenants exercising such a right).

Comments are closed.