Why I can't support Steve Foulkes as Mayor of Wirral

One of my tasks over the coming weeks will be to decide what my
priorities as a councillor should be. Apart from being an effective ward
councillor its important I establish some clear goals and boundaries. As
a lone councillor it's easy to get swamped and I would much rather do a
few things well than a lot of things badly. Anyway, more about that in
due course.

Raking over the troubled recent history of Wirral Council is not
something I will be dwelling on excessively. Many others have done that
but I am well aware that I have been elected to a council with a
dysfunctional track record and that will be an important back drop as I
get used to how WMBC currently operates.

On Monday, Wirral elects its new Mayor. Normally, a routine vote where a
long standing councillor is elected with cross party support to chair
council meetings and carry out the ceremonial functions of the mayor
over the next 12 months.

But, this year is different as the Mayor elect is Steve Foulkes who was
council leader when Wirral became very publicly associated with
incompetence, bullying, gagging clauses, resignations and bad financial
management, all culminating in the publication of the infamous Klonowski
Report.

Wherever responsibilities lie, there is no denying that Cllr Foulkes
presided over a very dark period in the history of WMBC. This legacy
persists and I know that many people are angry and upset that Steve
Foulkes will be Wirral's mayor for the next 12 months.

In the circumstances, the reasonable course of action would have been to
forego the office of Mayor.

He hasn't chosen that option and that's why I will be voting against
Steve Foulkes as Mayor.

Green Lane station

Welcome news that Green Lane station is to be refurbished. The passenger
areas will be improved with better lighting and cctv.

I also noticed recently that toilet facilities have been added which was
a very welcome addition.

Licence application, Oxton Road

Recently, an application was submitted for a licence to sell alcohol on
the site of the Observatory pub on Oxton Road.

I've learned today that the applicant failed to meet one of the
conditions of such an application which is placing a notice in the local
newspaper.

As a result, the application has already failed.

I'll be keeping a careful eye out for any new applications.

Success at last

Blogging has taken a back seat over the past few months but the picture suggests that was worthwhile. I am very proud to have been elected as ward councillor for Birkenhead and Tranmere. I'm also very proud to be the first Green councillor in Wirral.

There are so many people to thank and today I'll be travelling round the ward thanking people in person. The past five years have been immensely rewarding. I've met so many good people and I hope I've made some difference. Hopefully, over the next four years, I can achieve even more.

You can view the election results in full here while there are a few more happy pictures on the Wirral Green Party website.