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.

Wirral Council – Wirral Council 23rd May 2011 – Part 8 – speech (Cllr Stuart Kelly) on leader motion/amendment

Cllr Stuart Kelly said he had heard what the Conservatives were saying. However it was frankly not enough to address and debate, when this should’ve been done in the closing weeks of the local election campaign. The points that had been made should’ve been put to the people. However the people had spoken. He thanked … Continue reading “Wirral Council – Wirral Council 23rd May 2011 – Part 8 – speech (Cllr Stuart Kelly) on leader motion/amendment”

Cllr Stuart Kelly said he had heard what the Conservatives were saying. However it was frankly not enough to address and debate, when this should’ve been done in the closing weeks of the local election campaign. The points that had been made should’ve been put to the people. However the people had spoken. He thanked Cllr Ian Lewis for not mentioning him. Cllr Dave Mitchell also thanked him too. Cllr Kelly said that people vote for a raft of reasons. He said it was said many people voted for reasons that were not linked to success or otherwise but that was the way democracy was. The voters however knew best.

However, there were two critical things, the number of votes and the number of seats commanded. If they [Labour] had slightly more seats then they would have the critical seats needed for the formula. On both counts the Labour Party was the party with the most votes and seats. Wirral Council had invited the public to tell us and they had said No to AV and that they prefer FPTP. He said they must respect this. He referred to the Localism Bill and pointed out the opportunity to reconsider local government structure. He said a “strong leader [model]” was not for us and doesn’t work with a balanced Council. There was the option to reform the committee system to involve more councillors in the issues that had all-party support. He said he had not been in the Cabinet very long, but recognised its achievements and the way forward.

Wirral Council – Wirral Council 23rd May 2011 – Part 7 – speeches (Cllr Simon Mountney, Cllr Steve Foulkes & Cllr Elderton) on leader motion/amendment

Cllr Simon Mountney said he wanted to put on record the work Cllr Green had done since he took post and give his personal assessment that he had been a good leader who had been outstanding in his efforts regarding the management and staff. He called him exemplary and said the changes were not short of outstanding. He said he had been supported and assisted by the Liberal Democrats. He said it should be continued. He said it was a shame that it would be some time before it got taken back and that serious damage could be done.

Cllr Foulkes said the bar of achievement had been raised and the officers and the public had higher expectations. He felt however that he and his colleagues had been not able to hold the administration to account.

Cllr Elderton dwelt on the positive benefits. He said it was clear that the 2010/2011 coalition administration had had major significant successes compared to when Labour had held the portfolio. The constructive and positive way it had been done had given opportunities to people that they had only previously had in their dreams. Libraries had had £1 million of investment and there had been no closures. Services had been enhanced, Wirral Council had found out what people wanted and changed it. The PACSPE call-in and discussions had motivated pragmatism. However it had concluded and finished what Labour had started which would lead to benefits for the Council Taxpayer. The existing contractor would redeploy the staff under the TUPE regulations. There had also been improvements to Wallasey Town Hall and the Williamson Art Gallery, as well as Landican Cemetery. Tourism was fantastic with a breadth and diversity. Vast enhancements had been made over the last twelve months. There was an opportunity for increased investment. Cllr Elderton said he would’ve liked it to continue.

Wirral Council – Wirral Council 23rd May 2011 – Part 6 – speeches (Cllr Lewis & Cllr McCubbin) on leader motion/amendment

Cllr Ian Lewis thanked “Sister McLaughlin”, but made an apology to the Liberal Democrats. He said that they had suffered the curse of Ian Lewis. He apologised also to Simon Holbrook and Bob Moon and welcomed two others. He also welcomed [Cllr] Pat Hackett. He said that Cllr Pat Hackett had been the one Labour councillor to nearly convince him to defect. He thanked Cllr Jeff Green for making him a member of the Cabinet. He said it had been a huge opportunity. Cllr Lewis wished his replacement Cllr Tony Smith well. Cllr green was thanked, so were the people of Leasowe who had elected him four years ago and he pointed out he had a further twelve months to go.

Cllr McCubbin said he didn’t know how Labour would do in the future, but he did know what happened between 2005 and 2009. He said they planned to close libraries and achieved a Labour minister ordering a public inquiry for the much needed public examination of their plans. This had been the first inquiry of its kind in 44 years. There had been criticisms about the library service. However an amazing job had been done. One library in Irby that the Mayor had visited when she had been Deputy Mayor was thriving. He also talked about the current situation of libraries and One Stop Shops. Cllr McCubbin said that book issues were up, there had been extra investment in information screens, e-books and RFID. He mentioned the Get Into Reading project, the Book Start project and said he recognised the support from the Lib Dems. However he said he thought his days as Library Champion were numbered.

Wirral Council – Wirral Council 23rd May 2011 – Part 5 – Cllr Kate Wood, Cllr Dave Mitchell & Cllr John Hale’s speech on leader motion/amendment

Cllr Kate Wood said that Labour were doing what one would expect regarding councillors and outcome of the elections. She said they had a brave talk about a minority administration. She congratulated Cllr Tom Harney on the substance of his speech but she was trying to understand why the Lib Dems were doing this. She said there were 36 Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors and that she was proud of this.

Cllr Dave Mitchell (Deputy Leader, Lib Dem Group) said there was no Lib Dem Group Kate. He said “What can we get now?” He talked about the return to Labour control and the freezing of Council Tax which had been achieved last year. He said other Labour leaders have gone into war regarding funding. He referred to the good work and said they owed a debt of gratitude to Cabinet Members. He said that last time the Mayor had said they were in charge was 1974 which had also been a nurse.

Cllr John Hale referred to Cllr Green and the achievements of the Coalition considering the “right mess” they’d inherited. He referred to the pendulum of politics and that local councillors always suffered when their party was in government nationally. He said that the people of Wirral had simply put their preferences against the administration, but no Labour council had been elected on May 5th.

Wirral Council meeting – 23rd May 2011 – Part 4 – Cllr Andrew Hodson

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.