A blog about Wirral Council, Wirral Council's councillors & officers
A blog about Wirral Council's public meetings, Wirral Council's councillors, Bidston & St. James ward and other public bodies on Merseyside
So what happened each month in 2017?
2017 was such a newsworthy year it’s hard to know where to start.
January
The year started with councillors on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority furious over the refusal of planning permission for a new fire station in Saughall Massie.
Continue reading “So what happened each month in 2017?”
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.
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3 video clips of councillors and Community Patrol outside the Wirral count for the Claughton byelection and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayoral election
Below are three edited videos of what you could term what I was allowed to report outside the count from a public footpath at the Wirral Tennis and Sports Centre following the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayoral election and Claughton byelection.
I had originally planned to film the result and speeches from inside the count, but the Chief Executives of Wirral Council and Liverpool City Council decided my presence and that of Leonora would not be welcomed.
There were a variety of interviews I recorded, people weren’t just going to the local election count but also for the other use of Wirral Tennis and Sports Centre as a leisure centre.
However these are the earlier clips which I’ll list in chronological order.
First, Wirral’s Community Patrol (whose used to do dog fouling and litter enforcement which have been outsourced by Wirral Council to Kingdom under a contract Wirral Council have kept mainly secret.
Below is video of my brief one and a half minute interaction with the Community Patrol, where I compare their uniforms to the more Terry Pratchett name inspired Liverpool City Watch. However thankfully we can both laugh about the whole situation!
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Wirral Council’s Community Patrol – Wirral Tennis and Sports Centre 5th May 2017
Next is Wirral Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Communications Cllr Matthew Patrick (a Labour councillor for Upton ward) who doesn’t seem as keen to talk as Wirral Council’s Community Patrol.
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Cllr Matthew Patrick (Upton and Cabinet Member – Community Engagement and Communications)
Cllr Stuart Kelly (a Liberal Democrat councillor for Oxton ward) and Counting Agent for their candidate in Claughton ward didn’t leave as quickly as Cllr Matthew Patrick. We talked for a few minutes about both the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayoral election and the Claughton byelection.
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Cllr Stuart Kelly (Oxton and Counting Agent – Claughton byelection) 5th May 2017
Hopefully over the next few days I’ll publish the conversations with other councillors such as Cllr Phil Davies, Cllr George Davies and a few others!
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Is the public receiving value for money for the £2.5 million spent on the Mayoral election?
This tale is a rather tangled web involving Liverpool City Council’s involvement in the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayoral election, the Electoral Commission and the Cabinet Office. It’s an update to Why has Liverpool City Council blocked my request to view the nomination papers of the 8 candidates wanting to be Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayor?
You would think that asking the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Returning Officer Ged Fitzgerald (pictured above) for a copy of the candidates’ nomination papers would be a simple matter.
After all shouldn’t it be I ask, they are sent? It ran smooth enough with the nomination papers for candidates in the Claughton byelection and we can then publish them.
Instead this ends up being a tangled web of corporate governance involving Liverpool City Council, the Electoral Commission, the Cabinet Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Considering there is a general election on the way might it be an idea to have some clarity on these issues?
Liverpool City Council’s response is that I am not allowed to inspect based on Electoral Commission guidance which refers to a candidate’s right to inspect and object.
The Electoral Commission agrees with me that the Electoral Administration Act 2006 applies (but only if there is other secondary legislation that applies), specifically s.42, s.43 and s.44 but state that the legislation I am requesting a copy of the nomination papers under Sch.3, Pt 2, para 11 of the Local Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) Rules 2006 doesn’t apply to elections of combined authority mayors because rule 2 in their view doesn’t cover combined authority mayoral elections.
I am then referred back to the Combined Authorities (Mayoral Elections) Order 2017.
The problem is the guidance that the Electoral Commission issued and their current guidance relies on the original version of the Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) Rules 2006 from 2006.
Combined Authorities (Mayoral Elections) Order 2017, Schedule 4, paragraph 3 amended Rule 2 of the Local Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) Rules 2006.
The Cabinet Office was approached for their response. The Cabinet Office Press Office emailed us and stated that the Cabinet Office cannot comment on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayoral Election because Parliament has been dissolved and we are in the pre-election period before a general election. I thank the Cabinet Office for taking the time to reply.
So of course when I wrote about this, (published at 9:52 on the 3rd May 2017) within 37 minutes of publishing Wirral Council contact me and refuse my press accreditation for the Claughton byelection, general election and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayoral election.
Then shortly after the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Returning Officer refused a similar request to attend the count too.
Local government officials are paid large amounts extra on their salary be paid to do a job. The overall amount paid for by the taxpayer for running this election (which is paid for by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority) is from memory £2.5 million (although this report agreed by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority states that’s £2 million for staff and £0.5 million on the candidates booklet sent to each household (although the candidates in it had to pay towards its costs too).
I admit the above is a minor point but if it symptomatic of what is going on then shouldn’t some of these fees either be claimed back or not paid at all?
At the Employment Tribunal of Alison Mountney we heard that Surjit Tour and Kate Robinson provided assurance (and were both paid extra) that the election was being run as it should. For this they were paid extra money (a four-figure sum extra each).
I’ve no idea who provides the assurance in a Combined Authority Mayoral election to the Combined Authority Returning Officer Ged Fitzgerald or the Local Returning Officer Eric Robinson.
All I will say is that pieces like this wouldn’t be possible to write if you’d approved our attendance at the count as we wouldn’t have the time to write them! So thank you!
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Election Result (Wirral Council, 2017): Claughton: Labour hold (Gillian Wood)
Please note we would have been happier reporting from the count centre about half a mile away but Wirral Council were not happy with the press being there.
Election Result (Wirral Council, 2017): Claughton: Gillian Wood (Labour Party)
| Claughton Ward (2017) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name of candidate | Description (if any) | Votes | % | |
| Wood Gillian |
Labour Party | 1,761 | 52% | Elected |
| Evans David Robert Cynlais |
Liberal Democrats | 740 | 22% | Not elected |
| Sinclair Barbara Vera |
Conservative | 567 | 17% | Not elected |
| Heydon Liz |
Green Party | 136 | 4% | Not elected |
| Jones Beryl Rosina |
UK Independence Party | 130 | 4% | Not elected |
| Wheddon Leon Allen |
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition | 27 | 1% | Not elected |
There were 11 rejected ballot papers, the electorate was 11,336 and the turnout was 30%.
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