Political row breaks out after “mud slinging” Labour accuse local Tories of voting against a new hospital

THE failed funding bid for a new hospital in Warrington has sparked a political row after the controlling Labour group were accused of “political mud slinging” after stating local Tories had voted against a new hospital at Full Council.

Members of the Labour group accused opposition Tories of voting against their motion for a new hospital at Monday’s Full Council meeting. Tories hit-back accusing Labour of “political mud slinging” and block voting against their amendment, rejecting an amendment to “work together.”

During the vote, the name of each councillor was recorded following a request for a ‘Named Vote’.

Labour councillors say the motion followed the Conservative Government’s recent decision to “snub” Warrington’s bid for a new, fit-for-purpose hospital in the latest round of funding.

Sarah Hall, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Warrington South, proposed the motion which called on the Government to urgently rethink its decision.
After his election in 2019, Andy Carter, Conservative MP for Warrington South, said his “Number one priority” was to deliver a new hospital for the town.
In the Conservative 2019 General Election Manifesto, the Conservatives pledged to deliver 40 new hospitals across the country. However, Labour say this commitment was quickly watered down.
The Health Secretary announced in May that Warrington would not be a recipient of Government funding for a new hospital, despite it being Cheshire and Warrington’s preferred choice.
Cllr. Hall said: “I was incredibly disappointed to hear that Warrington’s bid was rejected.
“Our hardworking NHS teams work tirelessly with limited resources, often in the most challenging of circumstances.
“They deserve the support, resources and crucially the buildings needed to perform their roles effectively.
“Over the past 13 years, the Tories have hollowed out our health system, starved it of funding and undervalued the hard work of thousands of NHS staff.
“Andy Carter said a new hospital for Warrington was his ‘Number One Priority’ and he’s failed to deliver that for Warrington. Another broken Tory promise.
“His photo opportunities with a disgraced former Prime Minister and warm words have resulted in zero action.
“Every week I’m out in Warrington South speaking to local residents and listening to what matters to them. They tell me they are furious. They feel duped and deeply let down.
“I know we need a new hospital for Warrington, the residents of Warrington know we need a new hospital, and our NHS heroes know we need a new hospital. The only people who don’t seem to know it are the Tories.”

But Mr Carter, who has already announced he won’t be seeking re-lection for Warrington South at the next General Election, hit back stating: “I want to see Warrington hospital re-built and I’ll keep working to secure the funding to deliver this but we need some short term solutions to address waiting times in A&E, like an urgent treatment centre. Conservative Group put a very sensible amendment to the Council but it was rejected by Labour. I‘ll work cross party, with anybody to deliver better healthcare facilities Warrington, it’s such a shame Labour Councillors want to play silly political games rather than working in the best interests of their residents.”

In response to Labour’s comments Tory leader Cllr. Nigel Balding said: “On Monday 19 June 2023 WBC’s Full Council debated a Labour Motion concerning a proposed new hospital for Warrington.
“The highly political Labour Party text criticised Warrington Conservatives for broken promises, something that they are rejecting.”

On the night Cllr Balding says he tabled an amendment to the motion which removed Labour’s party-political messages. He called for everyone in Warrington to work together, cross-party, to continue making the case for improvements in NHS facilities, including a new hospital for Warrington.

Seconding the motion, Conservative Councillor for Lymm South, Kath Buckley described in her speech how hard Andy Carter MP had worked with local healthcare executives to help bring a strong bid for Warrington and she contrasted this with the poor record of local Labour politicians including the MP for Warrington North.
Regarding support already received for Warrington, Cllr Buckley said: “The Government has granted substantial capital funding to Warrington Hospital, including £6m for a same day emergency care centre which is now open at the Hospital and allows GPs to directly refer into hospital. A new scanning centre, with additional scanners has also been funded, built and is now operational meaning faster referrals for MRI checks. An agreement has also been reached for a diagnostic centre to be based at Halton Hospital which will help to reduce waiting times in relation to elective surgery.”

In addition to a new hospital, which all residents would welcome, Cllr Balding’s amendment also included a request that councillors should also call for a new Urgent Treatment Centre to be set up in Warrington Town Centre. This would take some pressure off Warrington General Hospital’s Accident and Emergency in the short term before a new hospital is built.
Although the Tory amendment received support from Lib Dem and Independent Councillors, it was still lost due to Labour’s block vote against.

After the meeting Cllr Buckley said “Labour Councillors were being disingenuous in their behaviour given their lack of involvement and their refusal to back the Conservative amendment. Basically, l am saying that their motion was political, ours is practical.”
Cllr Balding added: “Sadly, Labour rejected the idea of working together. Instead, they chose to stick with political mud-slinging and rejected the call for an Urgent Treatment Centre as they didn’t know where this idea had come from.”