Wirral Council “needs radical shake-up”

Sep 28 2011 by Liam Murphy, Heswall News

WIRRAL’S former leader of the Lib Dems Stuart Kelly said the current cabinet system should be abandoned and replaced with a return to committees involving all councillors.

The Lib Dems hold the balance of power on Wirral Council – and allowed Labour leader Steve Foulkes to take back control last May.

Cllr Kelly said: “The decision to establish a 'cabinet committee' made up solely of Labour cabinet members is wholly inadequate and an insult to the council as a whole.

“The Labour leadership is implicated up to its neck and establishing a committee which excludes 61 elected members of the rest of the council can only add to the poor governance culture that has been the subject of such serious independent criticism.”

Cllr Kelly said a shadow committee structure could be up and running before Christmas.

But Cllr Foulkes said the responsibility for driving the forward the required changes “is clearly the responsibility of the executive”.

He said: “I am meeting shortly with the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group and the Leader of the Conservative Group to see how we can best work together on this.”