Wirral Council hangs in the balance, with just a small number of votes capable of transforming the authority.
Labour could be in trouble. After losing its majority in 2019, the party now has just 27 of Wirral’s 66 councillors, well below the 34 it needs to regain full control of the council.
Cllr Janette Williamson, the Labour leader of the council, will be well aware her party has just four more seats than the Conservatives, who have 23. The Tories will fancy their chances of taking one of Labour’s seats in Pensby and Thingwall as it now holds two of the three seats in the ward.
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But Labour would need to have a disastrous night on May 5, when voters go to the polls to elect a third of Wirral Council’s 66 councillors, to lose the leadership of the council. While the party is under threat from the Conservatives in Pensby and Thingwall and the Greens in several seats in the east of the borough, Labour can expect to take back Rock Ferry as Independent Moira McLaughlin is set to stand down.
The election will be the first chance voters have to cast their views on the £20m worth of cuts the council made in its budget, passed on February 28, with funding set to be withdrawn from Woodchurch Leisure Centre and nine public libraries, with two public golf courses having already closed due to the cuts. With several seats likely to change hands and all to play for, this is how each group is planning to tackle a massive few weeks for the future of Wirral Council.
Labour
Council leader Janette Williamson said: “We are working hard to win an overall majority, and the feedback on the doorsteps is hugely positive. We just need to ensure a good turnout on the day - a high turnout is always a good sign for Labour and we would urge every resident to make sure they are registered to vote so they can use their voice in these upcoming elections.”
The Liscard councillor added: “We also try to help people through the worst of the government cuts and see first-hand the issues lack of national funding causes. At the moment, a lot of that is about the cost of living crisis, with families really concerned about how they will be able to afford fuel bills now the government has allowed energy providers to increase the energy cap.
“[That was] one of the reasons we put a motion in our budget to turn down the temperatures in council buildings and create a pot of funding to help those who need it most. Food prices are spiralling too, so Labour councillors are working to support local groups such as social supermarkets in this time of increased need.”
Cllr Williamson also said: “Unlike some parties, we fight for every seat. We believe every resident deserves a Labour councillor.”
Green Party
Cllr Pat Cleary, leader of the council’s Green Party group, said: “The mood in the Green camp is buoyant. There is real momentum in our direction for a number of reasons.
"We had our best ever election results in 2021. The recent addition of popular, hard-working Bromborough councillor Jo Bird has taken the Green group up to six."
Cllr Bird joined the Greens last month after being expelled from the Labour Party last November, a decision she felt was unfair. She has been an Independent councillor since then.
Cllr Cleary added: “An increasing number of residents are pledging to support us. They have watched with horror the impact on local services of Tory austerity and Labour mismanagement. The Greens offer a clear alternative backed up by hard-working candidates embedded in their local communities.
“We are pushing hard to elect new councillors in Birkenhead and Tranmere, Prenton, Seacombe and Bebington. Bromborough voters will also be taking a fresh look at the Greens now they have Green Party representation. Well-known road safety campaigner Ed Lamb is our candidate there and looks set to pick up a lot of votes.”
Two seats are up for grabs in Birkenhead and Tranmere, with Cllr Cleary looking to hold his seat and achieve a Green gain in the seat vacated by Independent Steve Hayes after he resigned last month for personal reasons. On Seacombe, which is currently a rock solid Labour seat, Cllr Cleary said: “We are also picking up a lot of disillusionment with Labour and a clear sense that Seacombe has been taken for granted for far too long.”
Liberal Democrats
Cllr Phil Gilchrist, the Lib Dem’s group leader, said: “We are confident that both Allan Brame [in Oxton] and Chris Carubia [in Eastham] will be re-elected. They are respected, hard working and popular.
“We are campaigning to hold those wards just as usual. Our service to each community goes on. Everyone’s campaigning is in the context of the horrors of Ukraine. People are anxious about the cost of living.
“They are still smarting from the way some officials and politicians broke the rules during the lockdowns. Partygate may have been overshadowed by events but the hurt has not gone away. Prime Minister [Boris] Johnson has been given a brief reprieve but the voters will cast judgement in four weeks time. His government has not solved the problem of care for the elderly.
“It has banked the money from VAT on higher petrol and household energy bills. It has kept tax rises in its pipeline. Local people will be paying more Council Tax, face higher charges for many services, and see some facilities closed.”
Cllr Gilchrist added: “We are determined to turn Wirral around. The redevelopment of brownfield sites and neglected areas will, eventually, pay dividends. In the meantime Wirral is between a rock and a hard place until the Government funds councils fairly.
"We have enthusiastic candidates laying the foundations for increased numbers of Lib Dem councillors. We are taking the fight to the Tories in targets like Heswall.”
Conservatives
Cllr Tom Anderson, leader of the Conservatives, was unable to respond to a request for comment, but the group's best hope of a gain at this election looks to be in Pensby and Thingwall.
Setting out his party’s stall last month, Cllr Anderson said: “These local elections will decide what type of Wirral we want. Local Conservatives’ priority is to have a clean, green and pleasant environment for all our residents to enjoy.
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“We will use the £100m given from Government to level up Wirral, creating highly skilled jobs, attracting new businesses so our children don’t have to find employment out of the area.
“We will protect the local services which all our residents rely upon and the council exists to provide, such as maintaining our roads and pavements, keeping our streets clean and free from litter, cutting the grass across the borough and protecting our most vulnerable residents.”
