Voting Green can stop the BNP

Letter to the press

The public is understandably angry with the mainstream political parties following recent events. On top of this we in Wirral have had the shocking defection of Labour Councillor Denis Knowles to the Conservatives. This raises many questions. How on earth did Councillor Knowles vote in favour of the Strategic Asset Review just weeks before his defection? Was his defection by any chance linked to his removal as vice chair of Merseytravel for which he was reportedly paid £23,000? How can he look his constituents in the eye following his betrayal of their trust in him?

Just as important, how can the Conservatives accept such an obviously self-serving member into their ranks? If the time has come to clean up politics then surely political parties need to develop some back bone and put aside their own grubby desire for power at any cost. Clearly this is beyond the local Conservative Party.

Why voting Green on June 4th really matters

Here’s an excellent video explaining how the voting system for the European Parliament works and why voting Green in the North West can help stop the BNP gaining a foothold in Brussels.

Unbelievable

I’ve often wondered why at least some Labour and Lib Dem Councillors haven’t resigned following the disastrous Strategic Asset Review and the turmoil it has caused across Wirral.

I never imagined we would have the obscene developments we saw last night when a Labour Councillor defects…..to the Tories. But, that's what happened last night when Labour member for Seacombe Denis Knowles joined the Conservatives.

Sometimes you don’t need to comment on events, they simply speak for themselves. The Daily Post has the story in full.

Town Hall up for sale

Our beautiful town hall has a For Sale sign. Words almost fail me. It is bad enough that the Town Hall and the whole Hamilton Square area have been sidelined by some appalling decisions made in the past but this will mean a loss of public control over this wonderful building and deny us any future revenue streams from exploiting its undoubted potential.

I hope the people who made the crazy decision to use Wallasey Town Hall as the council chamber are suitably embarrased.

Activity report for April

Thanks to all those residents who have filled in our residents’ survey during the past month. The case load continues to mount and I have been kept busy chasing up various concerns some of which are detailed below.

The most common one remains the abject state of much of our area caused by littering, flytipping, graffiti and other anti-social behaviour. There have been some successes this month. The graffiti I reported on Ashford Road was promptly cleaned and flytipped rubbish off Willmer Road was also removed. This area is a particular problem with lots of complaints from residents. I have written and spoken to council staff and received assurances that the Willmer Road area will get a higher priority. I’ll be watching for improvements here and welcome any additional feedback from residents.

I am also glad to say that the environmental health department is pursuing complaints I have made about the state of the walled area between Fountain Street and Whitford Road and the grassy area between Holt Hill and Olive Mount. Ownership of the land in question is being identified which will hopefully lead to positive action for both these areas in due course. Sadly, the Council has refused to supply an occasional skip to facilitate clearance of the Quarrybank site by members of the YMCA so I am currently looking at other measures to address this ongoing eyesore.

I continue to liaise with Maritime Housing on behalf of residents concerned about the repair service. One piece of, hopefully, good news is that Maritime has appointed new heating contractors ("Warmer Heating"). Let's hope this results in a better service to residents who have had to deal with inadequate heating over the past winter.

Do you or your family use local bus services? If you have any concerns about these I would like to hear from you. Several residents have contacted me and I intend to write to the relevant operators on their behalf.

If you have any comments or questions relating to these or any other issues please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.