Commenting on the election this evening of Councillor Paula Basnett as Leader of Wirral’s 29 Labour Councillors, Councillor Jeff Green said:
“Tonight’s election has been a foregone conclusion for months. Week by week, rivals and competitors for the position have been removed or even barred from standing.
“At no stage has any member of the Labour Group had the guts to say in public what many have been saying in private. Not one has justified, let alone apologised for the appalling treatment of Councillors Paul Stuart and Jean Robinson.
“By taking control away from Wirral’s Labour Councillors it seems the national Labour Party pays as much attention to the views of their councillors as they do to the rest of the country.
“Wirral’s Conservative Councillors are not interested in the internal politics of the Labour Party but we are worried for the future direction of the Council. Over the last two years, we have worked constructively with all the parties to ‘right size’ the Council, while tackling the issues inherited from previous Labour administrations.
“While we wait to hear from the new Leader of the Labour Group, I can assure her, and the taxpayers of the Borough, that our position has not changed. If it’s good for the residents of Wirral and improves the performance of the Council, we’ll support it.”
