Angela Eagle: Conservatives are using council troubles as political football

Feb 15 2012

SHAMELESS political game-playing saw the Tories take control of Wirral Council this week after the Liberal Democrats backed their motion against the Labour leadership.

Despite Labour securing 10,000 more votes than the Tories the last time people in the borough voted, Tory councillors cooked up a secret deal with the Liberal Democrats to snatch power.

Right now, Wirral Council is facing difficult and challenging times. The Klonowski report into malpractice within social services and the Hespe report are extremely worrying and it is right that those involved are punished and brought to account. They raise serious questions about officer accountability.

I fear however that the Tories have used these unfortunate issues as a political football. Wirral MBC is also facing drastic budget cuts from the Tory-led Government.

Wirral is one of the hardest hit authorities by government cuts and it has been local Labour councillors who have had to grapple with the consequences of the decisions the Tories have made in London and the impact these decisions are having on people’s lives in Wirral.

The challenges that Wirral faces are enormous and strong consistent leadership is needed.

I believe the Tories and their Liberal Democrats allies are guilty of destabilising the local authority when a period of stability is needed.

A Tory-led Government supported by a Tory-led Council will be a nightmare for Wirral. But I am confident that just eleven weeks away from fresh elections, when the people of Wirral will once again have their say, Labour will make a strong case and will campaign for a majority on Wirral Council, with new councillors and new ideas to take on the challenges we face.