How would a school report on Wirral Council councillors read?
By John Brace – Local Government Sketch Writer
=================================
WIRRAL METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL
BRIGHTON STREET
SEACOMBE
CH44 8ED
NAME Councillors
CLASS Wirral
ENGLISH You have worked hard. Some very good speeches have been produced. For some your zeal has led to problems. Great progress since May has been made.
You love using words. This may be a surprise to you but things don’t always go the way that you want. You are right that the tone of debate needed to change. That is within your gift to do.
The skills of Wirral adults need to improve. Being ignorant is not something to be proud of!
MATHS This is an area that caused problems for some of you. It does require thinking skills.
The question was, “How many new homes does Wirral need over a 15 year period?” There are many answers to it. You need to show worked examples rather than just shout out the answer.
Basic maths is needed to grasp council finances. Some have just repeated the answer of the government they want to nearly each question. Wishful thinking doesn’t always lead to the results you want!
OTHER SUBJECTS You have shown an interest in politics. Your knowledge of green issues has improved. People are confused by axing trees after declaring a climate crisis. Although you are good at recent history, the future is important. You need to show an ability to know what is fact or opinion.
How you relate to the Wirral people requires more work.
It is not ok to just say that is the way the system is and give up! You have the power to change the system, bypass the system or indeed create a new system. You have a lot of sway. Yes this will require learning new ways.
You have moved towards good governance. You do need to allow citizens a say. Move beyond an echo chamber mindset and being inward looking. The answers to your problems will not always be found in the obvious places.
Try and leave the Wirral in a better place than you found it!
If you click on any of the buttons below, you’ll be doing me a favour by sharing this article with other people.