LABOUR’S Terry O’Neill has taken over leadership of Warrington Borough Council with a pledge to put the borough’s people first and foremost.
Times are hard, he told the annual meeting of the council. Most rational and informed people acknowledged that greedy bankers had played a huge role in causing the country’s problems.
But the coalition government policies of cutbacks which were too fast and too deep was not helping, he said.
“The economy is flat-lining, unemployment is now 7.7 per cent, rising inflation and the government’s VAT hike is driving up the cost of basic household necessities.
“Now precious services like the NHS are under threat and police officer numbers are being slashed.
“These are all national government policies that are having a massively damaging impact on the lives of ordinary people in Warrington.”
Cllr O’Neill (right) said Warrington’s funding from central government had been cut by around £28.50 per head of population, while some Conservative run local authorities in the south had had cuts as little as £2 per head.
“They are taking money off the communities of this town and giving it to people in the south.”
Cllr O’Neill said his group had inherited a difficult budget which they would honour. They would not be increasing council tax this year and would adhere to government guidelines next year.
They wanted to make local communities safer, to protect and prioritise young people, promote the local economy and create a more open and transparent Town Hall.
“This Labour run Town Hall will listen to people, we will do the right thing on issues that really matter to people locally and we will not repeat the same big mistakes of the previous administration, like their scheme to sell off 
Walton Hall or their master plan which supported the Gulliver’s World expansion into Sankey Valley Park.
“This now is not going to happen; it is dead in the water.”
After Cllr O’Neill was voted in as leader of the council, his former school pal Mike Hannon (left)was elected deputy leader.
How long was it, pondered Cllr O’Neill, since the leader and deputy leader of the council had been two local lads?
Other members of the 10-strong executive board will be Russ Bowden (corporate assignments), Peter Carey (corporate resources), Linda Dirir (highways, transportation and climate change), Colin Froggatt (children’s services and education), Kate Hannon (leisure, community and culture), David (environment and public protection), Hitesh Patel (personnel and communications) and Pat Wright (health and adult services).
The people first and foremost
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About Author
Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
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Congratulations, this is great News for the Town of Warrington
Will we now have councillors who actually Care about the TOWN they are supposed to represent rather than spending most of their time and energy objecting to anything and everything that goes on in Lymm, and making sure that a small leafy suburb is looked after over and above the residents of the rest of Warrington.
You have lots of work to be done in the centre of Warrington. (Lymm however is in great shape odd that isnt it?)
we wait and see
Are Labour going to look at restoring a Sunday evening bus service? The previous rabble have left those who can’t afford a car unable to travel after tea time on a Sunday. I bet if the ConDem councilors had have banned from using their car on a Sunday evening, they would have been up in arms. Mind you, I don’t suppose some of us matter, where just the riff raff.
At least now there not in charge, we should retain a decent bus service in Warrington.
Cllr Jim Regan… I thought you lost out in the recent local elections? When does your term actually end and the new Councillor take over?
He retired officially on 4th May 2010 – see WBC web site link for details
http://cmis.warrington.gov.uk/cmis5/People/tabid/62/ctl/ViewCMIS_Person/mid/480/id/352/Default.aspx
He has been replaced by Cllr Jean Carter.
We will have to ‘wait and see’ how long he takes to change his id on www.
He is a Parish Councillor for Great Sankey. May be people need to write to Cllr O’Neill and ask what are they going to change – because he has said if the Lib Dems and Tories did something right then they would leave it. So the question is what are you doing about Sunday Buses Labour?????
What are you doing about the ipads? I hear your Union friends are using them ?
Hmmm – Labour did nothing over Sankey Valley Park – it was 1500 local people on Facebook and proactive local ward councillors. Labour were as quick with Sankey Valley as they were with a Titan prison on Omega????
Well time will tell – at least the Lib Dems will be proactive and possitive for the town because all that matters is ALL OF WARRINGTON.
Too right about the iPads!!!! The Council should not buy any more iPads but just carry on using the ones the LibDem-Tories bought, after all it would be stupid to go and sell them on Ebay! As for the Sunday buses… you’re absolutely right “Pay my way”… we should be writing to David Mowat MP, our Tory MP and ask him to lobby David Cameron and Nick Clegg to get some of the £28.50 per head of population funding reimbursed!
Cllr Reynolds…. aren’t you the councillor who, when asked about the impact of losing the mobile library service for pensioners in Dallam etc, said “tell them to walk” ??? If that’s the way the LibDems show they care then I’m frankly lost for words…. Come on Cllr Reynolds…tell us why you think it was appropriate to “tell disabled pensioners to walk”
Cllr Pat Wright of Cllr Patel should be able to give you the correct responce from Cllr Wrights question over librarys and the use of them for her residents in Bewsey and Whitecross. I have already been asked that incorrect question. When the question on librarys was asked I said that we have a jewel in the crown the town centre library which I would say is under used and that people should use this. Cllr Wright said how do I get my residents there – she never stated age, sex or gender. I replied that they could walk. She said what the elderly to which I said at least you will be proactive in finding a way. So no I never said make the elderly walk. Now that Cllr Wright and Patel are sitting at the High table what are they going to put in place. Cllr Wright has had long enough to come forward with ideas or better still a solution. If anybody wishes to make an FOI on this I would welcome it. You would then have a copy of the facts.
We should, rightly, be asking what is going to change since 5th May. We have already heard that the Council is going to go back to the Committee sytem of government which can only be good for democracy. What about the gobledegook Councillor O’Neill said he was going to get rid of (What is an “Interchange”) and when will the Borough Coat of Arms be reintroduced and replace the “Two Ticks”. Can anyone tell us what the new administration have done since they gained control of the WBC? Very little I suspect.
Regarding buses, I notice that when the new timetable comes into force in June, there is a reduction in some services in the afternoon. The number 1 service to Westy for example has lost 2 buses between 1500 and 1700. Goodness knows where the cuts would have ended as they were sneaked in year after year. Again we’ve been “ConDemned” to cuts that affect the weakest in society.
Come on Labour, now your in power, stop and reverse the rot of our public transport system.