We bucked the trend

LIBERAL Democrats at Warrington are claiming to have bucked the national trend by holding their overall support steady in the borough council elections.
They say their performance locally compares favourably with the party’s showing nationally which, they admit was “grim.”
Cllr Ian Marks (pictured, right) leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council, said: “Our share of the vote across the town was virtually unchanged from 2012. This was in contrast to Labour who lost 13 per cent due to the surge of UKIP.
“We are very grateful to the people of Warrington for their support and confidence and thank them very much.
“Turnout in the wards we won was much higher than in Labour’s winning areas which speaks volumes about the hard work put in by our councillors.
“We lost two seats to Labour but took one from them in Westbrook and
held our remaining four seats. Labour tried very hard to beat us in Whittle Hall and Grappenhall and Thelwall but we held these with substantial majorities. This is a big set-back for Labour in their Parliamentary campaign for Warrington South.
In Lymm the Lib Dem vote more than doubled since the last local election, helping us to hold the seat in a tight contest against a strong campaign from the Conservatives.
“Unlike the other parties we published a full manifesto for the town before the election. We will be using this to campaign in the community and on the council for a better Warrington with opportunities for all during the coming year.”
Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Warrington South, Nick Bent (left) saw things differently, however.
He said the Labour gains showed the Warrington South seat would be a straight Labour-Conservative fight at the General Election.
“If people want to avoid another five years of incompetent and unfair Tory rule they should vote for One Nation Labour next May,” he said.