WHILE outgoing Lib Dem leader Cllr Bob Barr has hit out at local Tories for damaging the town, Warrington South MP Andy Carter has hit back, accusing him of failing to hold the controlling Labour group to account.
The war of words follows Mr Carter raising concerns about the council’s £1.9 bn debt at Prime Minister’s Questions, earlier in the week.
Cllr Barr, who is not seeking re-election in the forthcomign local elections, issued a statement saying: “For the last three years the Conservatives have been the official opposition on Warrington Borough Council. Their opposition has been characterised by negativity, criticising the administration and officers, and apparently sending out briefings to the national press and Private Eye to place articles damaging Warrington.
“Now the outgoing Conservative MP has chosen, what will probably be his last question at Prime Minister’s Question Time, to spread disinformation and half truths about Warrington and to effectively call for Warrington to declare itself bankrupt.”
The retiring Liberal Democrat Group Leader, was responding to Andy Carter MP’s question to the Prime Minister.
“After massive reductions in government funding, Warrington has faced financial challenges. The risk appetite of the Labour administration has been higher than the Liberal Democrats would have liked and has involved dealing with partners that we would not have chosen.
“However, while other Councils are declaring Bankruptcy, including Conservative Councils with a much higher risk appetite than Warrington, we have remained solvent and passed a legal budget that has not been challenged. Next year Warrington will face further challenges, but fifty-five other Councils have already said they may not be able to set a balanced budget next year. The Conservative government has created a major crisis in the funding of local services and seeks to pass the blame on to anyone else.
Warrington is a successful town with attractive outlying settlements and New Town areas. It is widely recognised as a good place to live and is generally well run by dedicated Council “officers. The way to ensure this remains so, is by seeking as much cross-party consensus as possible rather than seeking out every opportunity to criticise, often unfairly, as the Conservatives have done.”
But Mr Carter hit back accusing the Lib Dem’s of failing the people of Warrington by their inability to hold the ruling Labour Council to account.
Mr Carter said: “For too many years, Lib Dems in Warrington have simply failed to challenge, scrutinise and hold Labour to account for its flawed and reckless investment programme and accumulation of debt. Over the last three years, Conservative Councillors have shown people in Warrington that the Lib Dems have been a totally ineffective Oppostion party to the Labour run Council’s financial gambling. Barr’s comments are evidence of this, he’d rather criticise Conservatives for standing up to Labour than provide a robust alternative to their left wing mates.
“We can all see that Cllr. Barr and his fellow yellow brigade have managed to turn a blind eye to Labour’s woeful governance of the Together Energy gamble and are completely devoid of curiosity regarding the Council’s underperforming investments, Redwood Bank, Birchwood Park, Time Square, Mailbox, Techology Enhanced oils, abundance for Liverpool, where it’s public money being put at risk. Yet again Cllr. Barr and his Lib Dems colleagues have their “heads in the sand” with regard to the financial risks associated £1.9Bn of debt.
“As usual, the Lib Dems want it both ways. They want more Government funding whilst supporting tax avoidance through the retention of Birchwood Park in a non transparent offshore trust.
“My question to the Prime Minister was not misleading. It highlighted that Warrington Council is one of the most indebted Councils in the UK and sits as an outlier with around £8,000 of debt per person, way above the average for Councils in the UK. Around £1m in interests payments are made each week and the revenue is not transparent nor guaranteed.
Cllr. Barr himself makes a very misleading statement that the £1.9 Bn of borrowings is backed by income generating assets. It is not, the actual total “investments” are approximately £1.5Bn leaving £0.4billion of debt without any offsetting income. His failure to understand and simply parrot a Labour line demonstrates again that he doesn’t understand the risk and he’s captured by Labour group think.
“Rightly, Conservative Councillors could not support a Labour Council budget against the background of a lack of information on financial risks, serious shortcomings in the Council’s governance of investments and adverse value for money findings from the Council’s independent external auditor, published by Grant Thornton. The Conservatives have never advanced the argument that Warrington Council should bankrupt itself, to do so would be disastrous for local people. Conservatives Councillors have pointed out the risks that continuing along the current path increases the chance of this happening, indeed the Council’s own report highlights this risk which the Liberal Democrat’s appear to have ignored.
“Pointing out risk and the failures of Labour is not criticism of the Town nor its people, it’s a criticism of the decisions taken by Labour Councillors backed on many occasions by the weak Liberal Democrat group.
“I understand Councillor Barr is standing down as a Lib Dem councillor at the elections this coming week, what I didn’t realise was that he is taking the job as spokesperson and chief cheerleader for Warrington Labour, although given his track record of backing their disastrous policies I’m not surprised he’s finally outed himself as an apologist for this dreadful Labour Council.”
MP says “nonsense” to blame Government for delay in sign off of council accounts
3 Comments
Andy Carter is quite right the liberal democrats have done nothing for this town in challenging the Labour Party over anything .
All they have done is support the Labour Party in their reckless gambling financial games.
Remember next Thursday 2nd May 2024 avoid electing the Labour and liberal democrats candidate s into office.
They have both brought this Town to the edge of bankruptcy
Well what a surprise!
Gary Bebbington who regales the readers of the Warrington Guardian’s letters page almost weekly with yet another complaint about Warrington’s shortcomings, agrees with the Conservatives when they talk down the town and its finances
If he hates Warrington so much, rather than telling us how much he prefers Chester why doesn’t he just go back there?
There will be plenty of buyers for his house, as Warrington has a buoyant housing market and the employers investing in the town will be pleased that their new employees have somewhere nice to live.
The Centre for Cities, and many surveys of the best place to live, frequently pick out Warrington and its outlying settlements, as a thriving and successful town, despite all our challenges.
Perhaps Gary should try out his message by standing for the Council himself. Then we would find out just how popular his whingeing about Warrington is.
I note that Andy Carter MP, who told many people he is not standing for Warrington South again, but campaigns as though his seat depends on it, is trebling down on his misrepresentation of Warrington’s finances. Perhaps he should not be relying on the “business acumen” of his most vocal Conservative Councillors, which is open to question and is applied in a hectoring and bullying manner against council officers.
The Liberal Democrats have not been slow to criticise Labour transactions we did not agree with. However, once, the decisions were taken, and money committed we support officers in doing their best to balance Warrington’s budget, a very difficult task for one of the worst funded local authorities in the country.
While we do not agree with the secrecy of the Labour administration, we have ensured that we read and question the confidential Part 2 papers that explain and track the investments and raise issues with officers.
Andy Carter and Rishi Sunak are keen to keep mentioning Birmingham. The main reason Birmingham is bankrupt is that their Labour administration’s failed to implement equal pay laws. It was the Liberal Democrat led administration of 2006-2011 that settled Warrington’s equal pay dispute saving the Council from Birmingham’s plight.
What have the Conservatives got to offer? They want Warrington to declare itself bankrupt, even though it isn’t, and to call in “inspectors” to run the town. They want to cut Council Tax, which is capped by the Conservative Government, and doesn’t cover inflation. This would lead to slashing already overstretched services to the bare legal minimum.
They are proud of misrepresenting Warrington’s finances in briefings to the national press.
Do they have anything to offer to run the town better? No, a Conservative administration would bring the chaos and bankruptcy of other Conservative Councils around the country, would damage services and would discourage investment in the town.
Warrington is a successful town. It needs cross-party consensus in difficult times not the constant denigration the Conservatives offer.