UPDATED: WARRINGTON Borough Council leader Cllr Terry O’Neill has survived yet another leadership challenge at Labour’s annual group meeting – with the group also voting to do away with annual leadership contests.
But the long serving Burtonwood based councillor has a new deputy, with finance spokesman Cllr Russ Bowden replacing Cllr Graham Friend.
The exact size of Cllr. O’Neill’s majority has not yet been revealed – but a party insider described it as a “decisive victory.”
Former deputy leader Cllr Mike Hannon is believed to have made a surprise challenge from the back benches for both the leadership and deputy leader positions.
Meanwhile Cllr Dan Price has replaced Cllr Friend on the Executive board.
It is the the third year running Cllr. O’Neill has won the backing of the vast majority of councillors in the Warrington Labour Group to retain his office as Leader. Now in order to to bring about stability and align the the Group’s operating protocols Labour councillors also overwhelmingly voted to do away with annual leadership contests and instead align terms of office with the new 4 yearly “all out” election cycle.
A spokesman for the Warrington Labour Group stated: “Under Cllr O’Neill’s leadership and Cllr Bowden’s firm grip of our finances, Labour run Warrington BC has achieved many good things e.g. support for first time buyers, increasing employment levels, massive regeneration of our business zones and the Town Centre, better support for the most vulnerable in society.
“This has all happened despite a massive £100million cut to our budgets by the Tory government which was hell bent on taking money from towns like Warrington and investing it in their heartlands in the South of England. We will face further cuts to local services and our local NHS provision if Teresa May and the Tories get re-elected at the forthcoming general election.
“Last year Labour took an extra five seats at the local elections and further increased its majority at the Town Hall. We have a lot of new talented Councillors who respect the sovereignty and electoral mandate of the Labour Group and it is right that they are now being promoted to senior positions to help us develop the Town and fulfil our manifesto pledges.”
Meanwhile after the meeting Cllr Price posted on social media “As a Warringtonian born and bred, it is with great pleasure that I accepted the offer to join Warrington Borough Council Executive Board this evening.
“It’s a real delight to be offered the chance to serve, and I look forward to making a real difference across our Borough.”
1 Comment
I am sure that Graham will be licking his wounds right now and nobody deserves a kicking whilst they are on their knees. But this result demonstrates the perils of aligning yourself with the MP. I’m sure that he is reflecting on that right now. She’s no friend of the council and it seems that the vast majority of Labour councillors are aware of this now if they weren’t already. Why would they want a dangling mouthpiece puppet of the MP masquerading as a Leader when the MP has only ever seemed hell bent on rubbishing the organisation at every opportunity? Now that Graham has failed in his long term mission I wonder who she will attempt to get her claws into next. Whom will she now attempt to flatter and encourage to take up against the Leader on her behalf? She should take notice of this result as well. After all if she’d had to seek nomination from members for this election, who include councillors, then maybe we’d have a different Labour parliamentary candidate right now and Helen would be looking for an alternative career.