New leader for council’s Lib Dem group

BOB Barr – who contested the Warrington South seat in the General Election – has been elected leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Warrington Borough Council.
He takes over from Ian Marks, who lost his seat in the borough council elections.
Cllr Barr, a member of the council for nine years, was previously the deputy leader of the group. He represents Lymm on the council.
New deputy is Cllr Peter Walker, who was first elected to the council in 2000.
Cllr Barr said: “We intend to play an active and positive role on the council dealing with Warrington issues.
“In the run up to the election, too much council time was wasted on denouncing the coalition government rather than considering issues that are important for Warrington.  We hope that now the election is over, that will change.
“We are proud to be one of the larger council Liberal Democrat groups in the North West.  We have accepted all the positions available to us on the council’s policy and scrutiny committees and will be playing a full role in representing the council on outside bodies such as Network Warrington.
“We intend to make a positive contribution to discussions on Warrington’s future and we will be campaigning to ensure that Warrington gets a fair deal from the new government.   We hope to work constructively with the businesses that operate in the town.
“Since the polls closed on May 7, more than 13,000 people have joined the Liberal Democrats. A number of these are in Warrington.
“This is good news for us and my council group will be working closely with our new supporters to spread the word across the town about what we stand for and how we can improve the lives of people here.”