Council boss right to end counting farce

While I have not always seen eye to eye with some of the policies and decisions made at Warrington town hall I wish Chief Executive Diana Terris well with her new career at Barnsley Metropolitan Council with a farewell message of congratulations.
Her decision to end the farce and expense of people staying up through the night on polling day was an over whelming success in my opinion – and after more than 30 years of covering elections, I certainly found it much more refreshing to see the count done in an orderly fashion on the following day. It will have certainly saved money on paying staff over time and probably also cut out any errors caused by tiredness in previous years.
There were no surprises with more Labour gains at the expense of Lib Dem and Labour councillors – but a few surprises were thrown up at Culcheth, where Chris Vobe, son of Warrington North MP Helens Jones, defeated veteran Tory leader Keith Bland by a large majority and at Stockton Heath where Labour made a gain from the Lib Dems for the first time.
There is no doubt the unpopular coalition government helped Labour’s cause locally.
As the dust settles and the newly elected councillors find their feet, I hope they all can work together for the good of our town.
One area of concern was the very poor turn out caused by voter apathy – with some inner areas of Warrington recording a mere 17 per cent turn out – which says little for local democracy.
Elected councillors must realise they have a responsibility to engage with their electorate and make sure they feel there is some point in voting!