BREAKING NEWS: First Wirral MP reaction to scrapping of library closures - 'stunning and beyond belief' (From Wirral Globe)

Congratulations to our friends on the Wirral, particularly those in Irby whose cause has been so close to the hearts of campaigners in Swindon. This is a marvellous result! We hope that all politicians of whatever political colour will ask councils to do all they can to make savings that protect front line library services. Crucially, we beg those who promote ideas that are anathema to library users to have a genuine rethink. Hooray for the Wirral !

As wee all know Stephen Hesford resigned as a PPS at the Law Officers' Department last week, over the refusal of Baroness Scotland to resign.

Last Sunday the News of the World provides a rather contrasting picture of this 'man of principle'. Why has The Wirral Globe not run a stiory on that issue rather than this puff piece on Hesford?

Aint it funny that what with my speech inpediment Hesford sounds like Hesfraud! (How much was the bathroom claim again .....?)

The story in the NOTW tells us that one of Hesford's staff from his Upton office has taken him to an industrial tribunal after she was sacked as his constituency press officer.

Mr Hesford failed to respond to her allegations of sex discrimination due to what he termed his "heavy workload".

(Obviously he was too busy writting question To the Secretary of State to enquiry whethere Squirral Nutkin and Winnie the Pooh like palying in The Royal Parks in London or alternativly was he busy filling out expense claims?)

The NOTW reported that Hesford was found guilty.

"He now stands accused of trying to drag out the proceedings. A friend of his former staffer, Jacqueline Snell, told the NOTW...

He's doing everything in his power to delay these proceedings and drag them out. He knows her background and he knows that she cannot afford to keep fighting."

What a man of Principle he must be.....

So after months of insisting that they new best what the people of Wirral wanted the Labour/Lib Dem Council concede defeat. Let us not forget the intervention of Roy Clare Chief Executive of the MLA, after privately visiting Irby and Hoylake Libraries in March his report to the Secretary of State (Andy Burnham) added credibility to everyone else's protests.
I would add my own thanks to all the people in Irby who campaigned tirelessly for our Library and all the affected libraries who presented their cases so passionately at the Sue Charteris Inquiry on June 9th/10th.
None of this would have been necesary had the Council listened but in the end the voice of Wirral people won through.
We have a chance to make our voices heard again in the Council Elections next year, we must not forget or forgive one of the shabbiest periods in the history of Wirral Council

Don.. I fear gone are the days when the Council listens to the likes of us!

Watch out for strange things regarding "The Warrens" site!

Perhaps you need to stand of Council again... it has been too long!!!!

Having read the report on the Liverpool Echo's web site about the dramatic reinstatement of the 11 Wirral Libraries, I, like the vast majority of our community are delighted.

We all owe a vote of thanks to the 'grassroots' teams for all their hard work and determination. They dared to face down the arrogant and totally misguided decision, made by the inept Lib/lab coalition to destroy such important community services. That was what made the Government investigate the bungled S.A.R and reverse the decision.

If the chief executive and his cronies would now like to say; 'We are really sorry, we made a complete hash of this; we understand we caused great anger and concern amongst our residents, and we wasted at least £220,00 pounds trying to force a cheap way of cutting costs. We therefor resign forthwith.'

Now that would at least create grudging respect on the Wirral; but we all know they will carry on 'business as usual', till next year.

By the way Mr Foulkes, the £20000 we paid a barrister to represent you in court, to explain your justification for the closures. Is that now going to come out of your enormous salary?

Clive McLaren Hoylake

Wow e mail going through the roof so much emotion happy, angry, and disgusted. As is being said there are other services still at risk there is also the threat for most of our community centres of community management despite no money.
Council leader Steve Foulkes decisive leadership?? (that made me laugh). “Saying this is not a decision we have taken lightly. We firmly believe that our initial decision was the right decision for the future of Wirral”.
Cllr Simon Holbrook said: "We always knew that taking the difficult decision to close libraries would be unpopular "However, we still firmly believe that change is needed to ensure the long term future of library services in Wirral "It is clear that the library service in Wirral must change.
So it seems the threat has not gone away
It is also perfectly clear that the Directors and officers who brought this obscene set of cuts have been totally alienated and as such should either resign or sacked if they don’t believe it ask the librarians’ they wanted to sack
Can we find out the cost of the enquiry (if WBC QC was paid by the word should be cheap he did not say much). If Foulkesey saying it is hard to keep within a budget then lets have a look at councillors expenses ten, twenty thirty thousand pound a year (trips to China good job the Panda is furry we may never have gotten him back where was the tank in the square when we needed one).

Thanks to all of those who fought to stop the closures today is our day long live our days

Thursday, 01 October 2009

This evening I watched a watchdog programme on the way Power suppliers are over charging for electricity and gas regardless of the fact that wholesale prices are falling.
I have witnessed the anxiety this has caused to members of my own family.
Clearly OFGEM is not functioning as intended and I suggest that this is a body that can be sacrificed in the required expenditure cut backs. How many millions will this save the UK tax payer?
Currently the Wallasey Council is engaged in a cost cutting review.
Privatising parks and life saving is an option?
The honest way would be to say to the electorate we can just not supply the services you demand on the rates you pay. The electorate should then hold a discussion and a referendum on where the cuts should come.
Sadly the electorate cushioned by the welfare state has lost touch with reality.
I remember the hard days and the hard practicality brought to bear when making choices in the 30 s' and 40’s Make no mistake, I support the welfare state to a high degree, but recognise the wisdom of a man in china 2500 years ago, that suggested “ “if you increase a man’s sense of security you will adversely affect his self sufficiency”.
We the public must be prepared to face reality
I note that the formation of so many NGO’s, Quango’s and such, shifting areas of responsibility is not in the public interest. Indeed it seems to me the prime purpose is to shield the politician administrator from accountability. This has led to the NHS being over centralised and so hard to control.
When councils were small, administering a small community members were held accountable by the members neighbours. Now it has become a shameful party political point scoring game with little to do with serving the community.
My advice to the electorate is to refuse to vote for any sitting MP and to refuse to vote for any councillor representing a political party. Certainly, not a whipped one.
Let us consider ways of requiring our administrators to serve the public interest
This might work if the public is prepared to pull its weight and behave and vote responsibly, ignoring the spin or lies so contemptuously fed to us by those representing political parties often controlled by international interest groups.
If THIS is the boasted democracy I question its value and life expectancy.
H I Manning

Hi Mr Hesford....mindless moron here, aint it about time you resigned as an MP as well.....time to go, bye bye