Voters give town’s
Euro MP the sack
by John Hendon
WARRINGTON-based Brian Simpson has lost his seat on the European Parliament.
Mr Simpson (pictured) – Labour’s spokesman on transport in Europe – was one of a number of casualties as both Labour and the Conservatives lost MEPs in the North West.
The Tories lost two MEPs and saw their share of the vote fall by 11.2 per cent as the UK Independence Party’s John Whittaker raced to victory on an anti-Europe ticket.
Labour saw their support fall from 34.5 to 27.4 per cent.
But the Liberal Democrats fared better, increasing their strength in the North West from one to two.
Solicitor Saj Karim became the party’s first non-white representative in either Brussels or Westministers, taking a seat from Labour by a margin of one per cent.
The North West now has nine MEPS – one fewer than last year due to a redistribution of seats following the expansion of the European Union.
Postal voting boosted the turnout from 19.7 per cent in 1999 to 41.46 per cent. But it also brought problems, with some results delayed because of problems over verification of voting. There were also more than 20,000 rejected ballot papers arising from people not understanding how to fill them in.
Opponents of the system said this meant many people had lost their vote.
The regional political line-up on the European Parliament is now: Labour three, Conservative three, Liberal Democrat two and UK Independence Party one.
Mr Simpson has been one of the region’s MEPs for many years. He lives in Warrington and was formerly a member of Warrington Borough Council.
Fledgling business
hit by fire disaster
by David Skentelbery
A FLEDGLING business has been dealt a devastating blow by a fire – believed to have been caused by arsonists.
The blaze at Green Scene, in Burford Lane, Lymm, near Warrington, wrecked greenhouses and destroyed stock worth hundreds of pounds.
CCTV pictures showed two men running away from the scene.
The blaze at the nursery business run by husband and wife Chris and Wendy Wasey brought trade to a standstill only three months after the enterprise had been launched.
Mr and Mrs Wasey prepare hanging baskets, planters, etc for sale to private customers.
Scores of ready made baskets were destroyed in the blaze which started in the early hours of the morning.
Mrs Wasey said: ?There was an explosion when a gas cylinder blew up.
?Our neighbours were woken up and saw flames leaping 50 or 60 ft in the air. Our main greenhouse, about 80 ft long, was completely destroyed.
?We have had to cease operations. The whole structure will now have to be demolished, once our insurers have inspected the damage.
?But we will not give up. It will be a case of starting again from the beginning, but we intend to re-open as soon as possible.?
Fire crews raced to the scene but were unable to save much of the property. Afterwards they sealed off the site for safety reasons.
Police are investigating the incident.
Picture shows the devastated greenhouse.
Parties take stock
after elections
by staff reporter
THE political parties in Warrington have been taking stock since last week’s local elections – and making various claims of success.
Liberal Democrats claimed to have taken 42 per cent of the votes cast in the town, compared to Labour’s 34 per cent and Tories’ 20 per cent.
“Others” accounted for four per cent.
Liberal Democrat leader Coun Barbara Mawer (pictured) said: “This result shows we are building support across the whole town, not just in our traditional strongholds. We are delighted with the five gains we made, but also very pleased with the strong positions we have in several other areas. We now have 21 seats which will provide a powerful opposition to Labour.
The Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Warrington South, Coun Ian Marks added: “In Warrington South our share of the vote was 51 per cent, twice Labour’s share of 25 per cent and well above the Tories 21 per cent.
” We now have 19 of the 30 councillors to nine for Labour and two for the Tories. This is a great platform to start the run-up to the General Election.”
Labour, meanwhile, were celebrating a clean sweep in Fairfield and Howley ward where they took all three seats despite opposition from the Liberal Democrats and a team of independents led by former leader of the council Mike Hughes.
Newly elected councillor Yvonne Fovargue said: “This result is a victory for local residents who have emphatically supported the Labour Party against the Liberal Democrats who make promises they know they cannot deliver and independents who were working to their own agenda which did not have the concerns of local people at heart.”
She said one issue of immediate concern was the threatened closure of Church St and Norris St Post Offices.
“The Labour Party petition has received widespread support from local people and the Labour controlled council is also backing the campaign.
Coun Fovargue added: “We have listened to local people when they told us how important a local post office is to the community and we will take their concerns to Post Office management.”
Picture shows Labour’s victorious trio at Fairfield and Howley, Colin Grime, Yvonne Fovargue and Ann Haddow.
Warrington – a town
that means business
by staff reporter
WARRINGTON’S reputation as a borough that attracts business tycoons and entrepreneurs is growing faster than ever – and with good justification!
During the last year more than 60 companies have successfully relocated to Warrington due to the efforts of the borough council’s Economic Development team.
A number of the key relocated companies have made the following positive statements:
Graham Sutton, managing director for Metso, said: “Our business is truly nationwide, ranging from northern Scotland to south east England an, Warrington was identified as the perfect central location. Our Birchwood location gives us outstanding access to the motorway network, the main line rail network and has Manchester Airport located conveniently nearby.”
Ron Potter, finance director for Lloyds Business Communications, said: “We chose Warrington because of its ease of access to the excellent motorway network and wide variety of business park availability.”
David Perry, estates manager North West for British Waterways, said: “British Waterways was in the process of a restructuring programme, which meant the relocation of our northern office to a site in reasonable commutable distance. We chose Warrington for its convenience and ease of access for our employees to the North, South, East and West of the M6.”
Carsten Kressel, head of economic development for the borough council, said: “The team here can be justifiably proud of themselves and all the help and support they’ve given to, what are now, local businesses. These businesses recognise the benefits of locating to Warrington and it’s our jobs to support them and build on Warrington’s growing reputation as a centre for entrepreneurs.”
Library heating is
good for environment
by John Hendon
LIBRARIES in Warrington are not only good for learning but are now also good for the environment!
The borough council has yet again demonstrated its commitment to energy efficiency and the environment when the building maintenance section installed a new heating system at Burtonwood Library. The previous electric underfloor heating system was replaced with a gas boiler and radiators.
Thanks to the installation of the new system at anyone wishing to have free use of the new computer suite or select books can do so in comfort.
Since the new system was installed in October last year the library has experienced massive savings, which will amount to ?750 per year.
As well as the financial benefit to Bu
rtonwood Library, the new system is also doing its bit to protect the local environment by reducing its annual CO2 emissions by 16 tonnes per year.
Fiona Barry, principal library services manager said: “In trialling this new heating system for the borough council, Burtonwood Library is improving services for users as well as becoming more environmentally friendly.”
