Category: Elections

The people of Bidston & St. James, what’s happening on Wirral Council?

Many people yesterday phoned the Lib Dem Action Team hotline saying that they’d voted for us and thanking us for our help. Certainly we will be around for a good time to come as we work hard all year round not just at election time. I appreciate people taking the time to call and let … Continue reading “The people of Bidston & St. James, what’s happening on Wirral Council?”

Many people yesterday phoned the Lib Dem Action Team hotline saying that they’d voted for us and thanking us for our help. Certainly we will be around for a good time to come as we work hard all year round not just at election time.

I appreciate people taking the time to call and let us know how things are progressing. Yesterday unfortunately our dog Hannah died, both myself and Leonora felt better by the kind and thoughtful way residents were towards us.

However, there is now a period of political uncertainty for a week and a half. This is frustrating from a casework point of view as there are no spokespeople to work with. For the next couple of weeks the Lib Dems will be working out a deal that will result in one of three outcomes. These are as follows:-

a) Scenario A – carry on the partnership with the Conservatives but renegotiated. Although the Conservatives had no overall gain in councillors, most thought that as Cllr Knowles had been elected under a Labour banner that he would lose his seat in Seacombe to a Labour candidate. Thanks to Cllr Gardiner’s resignation the Conservatives picked up a second seat in Greasby/Frankby/Irby. However, they did make two other losses to Labour in Wallasey. As the Conservatives gain seats from the Lib Dems, it changes the total of Lib Dem/Conservative councillors from forty-two to thirty-seven.

b) Scenario B – reform the partnership with the Labour Party. Although Labour now have the largest number of councillors, they are only two ahead of the Conservatives and with seats ping-ponging between the two this could quite easily change back. Many residents remember what Wirral Council was like under decades of Labour control and are keen for the partnership that’s run Wirral Council to be given a chance for another year. Bear in mind that for ten of the last twelve months Wirral Council has been run to a Labour drawn up budget (apart from slight changes made as a result of the emergency budget).

c) Scenario C – A Labour minority administration. This has downsides and upsides:-

i) gives Labour something to point to next year that they’ve achieved
ii) the Con/LD councillors could easily vote down anything they don’t like
iii) would allow the Conservatives and Lib Dems to both be parties of opposition which may lead to electoral gains in 2012.

d) An all-party administration (which is as they’d say in racing a 1000-1 outside chance)

Whatever happens the residents of Bidston & St. James have sent a clear message. They were told how they voted would cause the government to fall. It hasn’t at a national level but the Lib Dems have woken up to what their members have been telling their elected representatives. For a good while I’ve been saying Labour has been pursuing a policy of fear, uncertainty and doubt. This has worked well for them and is partly genuine as they don’t know what’s going on.

The problem though is that both the partnership at Wirral Council and nationally is of two halves. Both parties only have half the picture so the Labour plan was to use a Divide and Conquer strategy. Certainly their influence over picking on Nick Clegg as part of the AV campaign was one tied into their core strategy of targeting Lib Dem voters.

The problem that Labour have is that their strategy has backfired. It has if anything brought the two parties closer to each other as whereas the Lib Dems (or a good majority of the party) were at least friendly towards Labour, now they don’t like the way they’re behaving.

It’s strange of Cllr. Foulkes and his Labour councillors to pursue a strategy of going after the Lib Dems for five weeks, then be all smiles and wanting our help after Labour have lost control in 2010 and are desperate to get a sniff of power. Admittedly all parties behave like this to varying degrees, the Conservatives saw this coming and have (thankfully) told the public some of the skeletons in the cupboard of the previous Labour administration.

What will happen? It’s up to the ten Wirral Lib Dem councillors to decide. Although some residents think I hold the position of councillor, I do not with Wirral Council. The Mayoress of Wirral Mrs. Jennings is unelected so am I, as like with the Mayoress it’s to do with who I’m married to.

However, what’s clear is that neither the Lib Dems or Conservatives can withstand the type of campaign Labour waged this year next year without it causing problems. Whereas this may lead to the political stalemate it has for at least the last few years eventually a party will get its act together and get the necessary 34 seats.

Another person feels conned out of their vote by Labour

As we did during the election we heard another story from a voter today.

During the election, someone connected with the Labour campaign knocked on their door. If you want a Labour government and to keep your benefits, vote Labour they told him.

Don’t vote Lib Dem or Conservative because they’ll take your benefits away. They even said voting Labour here would bring down the government, when they knew full well:-

a) it wasn’t a General Election so it was impossible to do so
b) the chances of Labour even getting control of Wirral Council were remote.
c) they were overegging the pudding over welfare reform

Now, putting my “honesty is best” hat on, is this wrong from a legal or ethical perspective?

From Labour’s perspective they know exactly what they’re doing in targetting one party’s vote. They know the legal provisions regarding saying untrue things about a character’s character or conduct could get the election voided, yet telling untruths about a party is a more difficult thing to tackle. Going door to door with conversations is harder to prove after the fact that the black and white text of a leaflet.

However it explains the strong No vote in the AV referendum (again people were told it’d bring down the government, despite Labour’s leader and Frank Field backing yes Labour as a party were split on this issue), it also explains why the Labour vote changed between the postal votes going out and the close of polls on polling day.

It’s time however for honesty in politics. The Coalition government will last a further 4 years. No party has overall control of Wirral Council. Negotiations are happening between the Lib Dems and Labour plus the Lib Dems and Conservatives.

However, in order to work with a party you have to one some level trust them. Whoever we go with, our reputation come polling day next May will be tied in with theirs.

The most amusing thing I heard on the doorstep during the election that by the way a person was saying it so adamantly I knew they had been told it was:-

“We’re voting Labour as we’ve been told John Brace is a councillor and it’s the only way to stop him”!

Oh, Labour, when will you start telling the truth at election time?

A Brief Message about the elections and the result

Firstly a quick thank you to my wife, people I spoke to, those who signed my nomination papers, those who voted including myself.

However, the questions now to ask are “What next?”. Well candidates and agents in this election will be busy this month will be busy filling out an election expenditure form.

Guidance is here and covering complex issues such as spending reductions in places with two elections for councillor on the same day (eg Greasby/Frankby/Irby) and other advice regarding election bureaucracy.

This form needs to be filled out, along with a declaration from the election agent and candidate.

Copies of these are then open to public inspection (and copies can be made), which show not just the spending but the source of the money. In the past I’ve had a look through other candidates and agents’ spending to see what they’ve done. Sometimes it’s more interesting to see what they’ve forgot to declare (or maybe deliberately forgot to declare) as political parties (well aware of this means to see what the others are up to) have been known to provide as little information as possible.

There are legal penalties for getting it wrong, but convictions are rare.

Following my question to Cllr Ian Lewis at the Council meeting of the 13th December 2010, I will quote what he said:-

“A person may also, of course, be offered gifts and hospitality, when seeking election, and we shall therefore publish the election expense return submitted by each elected member.”

His full answer can be read here.

I thank Cllr Lewis for his comprehensive answer and know from what is said to me by the people know that the public welcome a new era of openness and accountability at Wirral Council as opposed to the previous Labour-led administration’s desire to keep the public in the dark and stitch things up behind closed doors.

My wife Cllr. Brace holds slightly different views on things as she represents her community but we usually agree. Just like the Lib Dems and the Tories we sometimes disagree on how to go forward. Yet, we still stay together!

The one constant in politics is change. Political reform has to happen. Yet, Wirral Council also needs to live up to its legal responsibilities when it comes to democracy.

Labour will spend the next few years condemning the Liberal Democrats and Tories for doing what they’re elected to do. Yet Liberal Democrats believe in a plural form of politics, where we work together with other parties combining the best of both worlds.

The public trust in politicians over the MP expenses scandal is still lingering in the public’s mind. This scepticism and trust has done harm to democracy. Yet it was Labour MPs who were put in prison. It was a Labour MP Phil Woolas that was convicted of lying about the Lib Dem candidate and lost his seat.

I saw the hope with which the country greeted a Labour government in 1997. However if they ever wish to govern the country or Wirral Council again they will have to prove they have changed as a party.

Based on their literature I would say the first step they need to take is to tell the public the truth and stop treating their own residents with little or no respect.

What next for voting reform?

After people overwhelmingly on Wirral and the UK voted no to voting reform I have had brief conversations with one who who voted No and why they did so.

I won’t name names but I’ll call them person A:-

Person A: I voted No, because I was told AV will cost extra money.

Myself: This is true, the referendum cost an estimate of £82 million with a further £9 million set aside for voter education. However this £91 million is spent whether its implemented or not and before you cast your ballot.

Person A: Oh I didn’t know that, I thought they were referring to increased costs of counting.

Myself: It won’t cost anymore to count AV because in the majority of elections the candidate gets over 50% of the vote, therefore it’ll cost the same amount to count as under first past the post.

Person A: But what about electronic counting machines?

Myself: They would never have been needed, a piece of paper and pen or pencil is all that’s required and this is also required under FPTP.

Person A: Oh I didn’t realise that, thanks for telling me.

In Wirral the estimated increased cost for the AV referendum will be £319,141 (about £3/vote counted). This would cover things like printing of ballot papers, counting of ballot papers, Counting Officer fee, postage etc. However due to the local election on the same day many costs were shared.

The same polling station staff were used for both. The same ballot boxes were used. Postal voters were sent both ballots together etc. All this money spent on the referendum is refunded to Wirral Council by central government.

The Returning Officer fee Steve Maddox used to get was on top of his six-figure salary. So I would expect that Bill Norman, this year’s returning officer has got a lot of extra money for being Returning Officer and Counting Officer for the referendum.

Wirral Council Election results 2011

Liberal Democrats 14,035 votes (2 seats)
Conservative 37,030 votes (9 seats)
Labour 46,214 votes (12 seats)

It takes 3851 votes to elect a Labour councillor.
It takes 4114 votes to elect a Conservative councillor.
It takes 7018 votes to elect a Lib Dem councillor.

This is why first past the post is unfair.

Somebody asked me if this changed the composition of parties on Wirral Council. It does, below is the number of seats for each party:-

Labour 29
Conservative 27
Lib Dem 10

Once again either the Tories or Labour have to join the Lib Dems, unless they’d prefer a Labour/Tory coalition?