Lib Dem bid to reduce number of Wirral councillors is thrown out (From Wirral Globe)
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Lib Dem bid to reduce number of Wirral councillors is thrown out
3:32pm Tuesday 12th February 2013 in News
Lib Dem bid to reduce number of Wirral councillors is thrown out
A BID by Liberal Democrats to reduce the number of Wirral councillors was defeated last night.
A meeting of the full council saw Labour and Conservative groups unite to throw out the plan.
Liberal Democrat councillor Mark Johnston said today: “I am amazed that the idea was blocked without any scrutiny.
“I was hoping the idea could be looked at closely along with other suggestions to improve the way the council works to make it more efficient, representative and provide value for money.”
Councillor Johnston continued: “Many people on the doorstep are asking us ‘do you really need 66 councillors if you are shrinking the services of council?’”
“I think this is a very valid question and councillors need to remember we are here to serve the public and shouldn't feel threatened by change.
“We are expecting the public and our staff to accept some painful changes and, therefore, need to carefully assess our role in public life.
"Reducing elections to once every two years and reducing councillors by 10% might be a good start.”
He said it was “ridiculous” that in every other part of the authority, reductions are taking place - except within the council chamber itself.
A recent online poll by the Globe asking if the council should be cut from 66 to 44 members saw more than 1,200 readers voting - and 93% said YES.
One school of thought argues that if a third of jobs and services are to be sacrificed then a third of the council (22 councillors) should be removed to save the local authority £300,000 a year.
Back in November when the idea was first raised, Labour council leader Phil Davies said: “My reaction is that we will look at this as a possible savings option alongside the other options we have been consulting on.
“There have been lots of suggestions and I don’t want to pre-empt the outcome of consultations by making any announcement now. But the option of cutting the size of the council will be seriously considered alongside everything else.”
Tory group leader Cllr Jeff Green was against any such move: “My experience is that councillors work hard in the community speaking to local groups and helping to improve local neighbourhoods."
Comments(13)
bigfoot
says...
4:42pm Tue 12 Feb 13
johnhardaker
says...
5:12pm Tue 12 Feb 13
Thepleb
says...
6:56pm Tue 12 Feb 13
So full of their own self importance and what exactly do the 66 cllrs contribute to the taxpayers of the Wirral apart from hot air and a large buffet bill.
community counts
says...
7:40pm Tue 12 Feb 13
WirralAl
says...
9:46am Wed 13 Feb 13
We should not be asking them to vote on it they should be asking us.
DEMOCRACY means you ask the people not yourself.
Self praise is no praise at all. (Tory group leader Cllr Jeff Green was against any such move: “My experience is that councillors work hard in the community speaking to local groups and helping to improve local neighbourhoods.")
PaulCa
says...
1:36pm Wed 13 Feb 13
http://tinyurl.com/a
m39d4m
From a time when the workforce were being offered 3%, which they had to negotiate hard, struggle and go cap in hand for.
At the same time, the increase for councillors was a bumper 16% in the basic allowance. Increase for the leader of the opposition group (was this Jeff Green?) was 30.5%.
And future mayor Steve Foulkes, who knows a gravy train when he sees one, trousered 36%.
Not bad. And not surprising at all to see Tories and Labour in all too rare agreement today.
They're not STUPID.
Stick together guys and we're in the money. The staff and the public, what does their opinion matter, even if it's 93% of them?
They're going to have to fight a bit harder than this to take our money and privileges from us........
Hugo1008
says...
2:57pm Wed 13 Feb 13
Each District elect maximum 3 Councilors, Then the electorate Elects a Council Leader plus a Deputy.
Twenty Elected Representatives fully supported by the Rate Payers, working exclusively for the benefit of the Wirral Population and not a Political Party.
20 proper Fully elected Councilors more than enough to oversee the CEO and Senior Directors or Managers within the Council, to ensure the delivery of all Council Services.
No Political Party nonsense in Local Government, 20 maximum Representatives of the Electorate, Genuine Councilors and ensuring full economical Council Services for the whole population of Wirral.
If Political Parties want more than that any additional representatives must be fully supported by the Party Political Members entirely, and not the ratepayers.
This move alone will save over a million pounds of ratepayers cash each and every year for generations, plus provide decent Council Services that are affordable to the population.
We certainly do not need 66 mostly useless parasites bleeding the local population dry and providing no discernible benefit whatsoever, as has been the case for over twenty tears now, plus in the last ten years complete and utter disgrace and scandal with poor management in mammoth proportions with Lies, Deceit, Mis-Information, False Accounting, Bullying, and Cruel behavior heaped upon innocent people, and tried to cover it all up with buckets of white wash, like we have never seen before.
antisthenes
says...
3:25pm Wed 13 Feb 13
Steve 'Fill-ya-Boots' Foulkes £29,451
Jeff 'Greedy-Boy' Green £24,878
Phil 'Dough-Boy' Davies £19,215
With a host of also-rans trousering in excess of £14,000 each.
http://www.wirral.go
v.uk/my-services/cou
ncil-and-democracy/y
our-councillors/coun
cillors-allowances
Positive thinker
says...
4:38pm Wed 13 Feb 13
ordinary personn
says...
8:18am Thu 14 Feb 13
.
"Let's make ourselves look good by suggesting a reduction in the number of councillors".
.
"What? Have you taken leave of your senses?"
.
"No - do you really think that the others will vote in favour of this? Of course they won't, but we'll look like the good guys and they'll look like the bad guys and we'll still keep our seat on the gravy train!"
"Nice one!"
FarooqB
says...
7:12pm Thu 14 Feb 13
The real question is, does Wirral need 66 cllrs, and what exactly had they done in the past dacade to sustain that level. The key here is to perform their duties with utmost sincerity, being totally honest and transparent. How many can claim, they done that.
Now where were these 66 cllrs, when horrific abuse was taking place in Wirral and why didn't they take any action. According to Martin Morton, when he went to the cabinet with "Systematic Overcharging of Vulnerable Adults Living in Council Accommodation" abuse, he found the same resistance from them as his DASS senior Managers.
Do we want them to continue performing like that. It's about time, they held responsible for what they had been doing.
FarooqB
says...
7:26pm Thu 14 Feb 13
Growl Tiger says...
3:58pm Tue 12 Feb 13
Would turkeys vote for Christmas?