Petition mum rejects invite for son to meet "rude" Mayor

A MOTHER has decided to decline an invitation for herself and her four-year-old son to meet Warrington’s Mayor Cllr Les Morgan following his “rude” behaviour while receiving a petition opposing development plans.

Although Jill Osborne has accepted the Mayor’s apology following the incident at the town hall last Monday night, she has now decided she does not want her son to meet him after viewing other footage of the Mayor during a debate within the town hall council chamber.

The petition, which was being presented by Jill’s four-year-old son Joey, had been signed by more than 4,200 people calling for the council’s Preferred Development Option Local Plan to build more than 20,000 new homes across the town, to be scrapped.

An estimated 500 protesters had joined forces outside the town hall opposing various developments across the town involving thousands of new homes and the controversial Western Link road.

Jill said :” Although I have accepted his apology I have declined the offer for Joey and myself to meet with the Mayor at the town hall.

“I genuinely believed that the Mayor’s outburst when he was receiving the petition was a one off.

“I have since watched the video of the meeting inside the council chamber and due to the Mayor’s behaviour, it appears that this attitude may be a trait of his personality.

“For this reason I have no wish for myself or my son to meet him again. I think that we would have a lot more fun playing on Morley Common.

“We need to make the most of our time there incase Warrington Borough Council get their way and build a road over it!”

Following the incident Cllr Morgan issued a statement saying :“I am sorry for any offence I may have caused on Monday evening when accepting the petition about the Local Plan.

“I didn’t intend to cause offence, but I acknowledge that I could and should have handled the situation better. For that I apologise unreservedly.

“I understand the level of feeling that exists within local communities and I would like to assure people that the council will continue to listen carefully to public feedback before any final decisions are made.”