Election battle starts – without candidates

by David Skentelbery
WARRINGTON North Labour Party has kick-started the Bewsey and Whitecross borough council by-election campaign – despite the fact that the seat is in Warrington South and they have yet to select a candidate..
They invited Shadow Health Minister John Healey to join Warrington North MP Helen Jones to launch the campaign at Whitecross Community Centre.
They have yet to name a candidate – but it is believed a number of people are in the running, including former ward councillor Jeff Richards.
The by-election – to be held on December 9 – is caused by the resignation of Liberal Democrat Professor Jo Crotty, the unsuccessful Lib Dem candidate for Warrington South at the General Election.
Mr Healey and Ms Jones were joined at the campaign launch by senior Labour councillors, including group leader Terry O’Neill and his deputy, Mike Hannon.
Ms Jones said: “This by-election will be tough and will require lots of hard work. Voters are rightly angry about the way the Lib Dems in Warrington have ganged up with the Tories so happily; we didn’t need the Coalition Government to prove that a vote for the Lib Dems was a vote for the Tories.
“This by-election is about the future of the community and about sending a message to the Lib Dems in the Town Hall that people will not sit back as they impose sweeping cuts that will hit the vulnerable and needy the hardest.”
Mr Healey said: “Communities like Bewsey and Whitecross need a Labour voice to stand-up for ordinary people who will suffer as a result of sweeping cuts to public services.
“What the local Labour volunteers and representatives are doing in Warrington is exactly what the Labour Party needs to do to win back councils up-and-down the country. We had some great wins in Warrington at the elections in May – this by-election is our chance to build on that success and take one-step closer to winning back control of the council.”
It is understood the Conservatives are fielding a candidate in the by-election but they have yet to issue a name.
The Liberal Democrats have also yet to name a candidate.
But former councillor Crotty – a university professor – (right) has issued a statement about her resignation.
She said: “It is with regret that I have to resign my seat on Warrington Borough Council, and so step down as councillor for Bewsey and Whitecross.
“Since the start of the academic year in September, the demands on my time as a result of my new position at Salford Business School means that I am no longer able to devote as much time to my constituents as I would like. An ongoing family illness is also taking up a good deal of my time at the moment.
“I have enjoyed being a councillor for the last two years and I hope I have been able to serve the town and its residents well. I’ve met some great people in the ward and helped with many important issues, but Bewsey and Whitecross deserves a councillor that has more time than I can now give. I am sorry to go, and will miss the people and the challenges.”
Nominations for the by-election close at 12 noon this Friday (November 12).
Top picture: Labour launch their campaign with Shadow Health Minister John Healey (left)