Poll turmoil may benefit residents

May 9 2008 by Toby Chapman, Liverpool Daily Post

IT IS a week since the local elections were held, but the reverberations look likely to continue for some time. On Merseyside, the after-shocks of polling day are still taking place.

Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral councils are all facing shake-ups which will see political winners and losers.

In Liverpool, Warren Bradley’s hold on the leadership is facing a challenge from Liberal Democrat colleagues who say it is time for a change.

His constituents emphatically backed him to represent them on the city council, but, if other party members have their way, he may not be able to hold on to the mantle of power for too much longer.

Over in Wirral, the enduring agreement between Labour and the Lib- Dems has come to an end – leaving the Conservatives a clear opportunity.

The Tories became the single largest party in the elections, and the Lib-Dems then said a Labour-led administration was “untenable”.

The ball is now firmly in the Conservatives’ court and Lib-Dem leader Simon Holbrook’s decision to break the Labour agreement shows how the political scene is in turmoil.

With no party holding a majority, a complex round of negotiations now seems likely.

Meanwhile, the situation in Sefton is even more complex and uncertain, with all three party leaders refusing to step forward to form an administration after more than five hours of heated debate last night.

This has led to the bizarre prospect of a Conservative-Labour administration taking control of the authority, after 22 years of consensus politics.

The political machinations under way in these three areas show how just how vital it is for all of us to use our vote on polling day.

Whatever the outcome, the open debates sparked by the upheavals in these three areas can only benefit those who live and work there.