Wirral Council boss accuses Tory councillors and cuts campaigners of conspiring for Moreton by-election

Oct 21 2009 by Matt Hurst, Birkenhead News

WIRRAL Council leader Cllr Steve Foulkes has waded into the row between Conservatives and cuts campaigners, accusing them of a “co-ordinated approach” to the Moreton by-election.

In an extraordinary, unprovoked statement Cllr Foulkes labelled remaining Moreton councillors, Cllr Chris Blakeley and Cllr Simon Mountney, along with Wirral Campaign Against the Cuts’ (WCAC) Alec McFadden and Elaine Jones, “strange bedfellows”.

He added: “I can’t help wondering – has politics come full circle, with the hard left and the hard right meeting to complete that circle?”

Cllr Foulkes accuses the Tories and WCAC of conspiring together to call a by-election in Moreton, following the sad death of incumbent, Suzanne Moseley this summer.

But, as reported in the News last week, the Conservative Group said it was “particularly disappointed” in WCAC’s decision to trigger a by-election, while WCAC’s Alec McFadden said “at no stage has any deal been done” with the Tories.

This week, Cllr Chris Blakeley told the News: “Cllr Foulkes is clearly rattled and on the defensive, he seems to want to do anything to avoid an election, rather than having to defend his devastating cuts and closure programme to local communities, such as Moreton and Saughall Massie.”

While WCAC’s Alec McFadden went further, suggesting Cllr Foulkes “goes and sees his doctor as he’s in need of physical and mental counselling after such a stressful time being on the opposite side of a campaign”.

Alec McFadden said: “Cllr Foulkes and his friends have gradually rotated to the right, and now tragically for all of us, to the right of the Conservative party.

“However, I can assure Cllr Foulkes and the readers of Wirral News that no political alliance has been made, or ever will be made, with members of the Tory party.”

The Moreton by-election will take place on November 26.