You may recall from yesterday’s Gym’ll Fix It story concerning Wirral gyms closure scandal under Tier 3 and Environmental Health officers apparently going all gangsta in their determination to keep gyms closed , trying to prevent gym owners from distributing £55K monies to mental health charities and criticising police who had the unenviable task of doing something they really didn’t want to do which was trying to enforce an unjust and untenable law.
Needless to say there has followed the mealymouthed response from Wirral Council on the matter where the inevitable Wirral Council spokesman is quoted in the Liverpool Echo :
“We are looking into the comments allegedly made by council officers during that leaked meeting.
“However, the claims apparently attributed to those officers do not reflect the council’s position”
Under the circumstances we’re wondering whether the recruitment drive launched by Wirral Council this week for new Environmental Health officers who are more ‘on message’ in ‘securing the best future for residents’ is entirely coincidental …
Good news for all Wirral gym bunnies with the announcement that gyms across the Liverpool City Region will re-open on Friday.
With gyms being allowed to remain open in Lancashire and Greater Manchester under Tier 3 restrictions it was clear that the government’s stance on imposing gym closures on the Liverpool City Region alone was becoming increasingly untenable and especially with widespread local protest including the open defiance of some local gyms who tried to remain open.
No doubt we’ll have local politicians currying favour and claiming it was them ‘wot won it’ for their constituents to pump iron. But we all know that’s BS. What we’ve witnessed on this score has showed local politicians blaming central government and central government throwing it back like a medicine ball and saying the agreement to close gyms was a local decision. As far as we’re concerned they’re all as bad as each other and couldn’t organise a circuit training class if an Olympic gold medal depended on it.
However what the situation has exposed once again is the scheming duplicity of Wirral Council and their appalling managers. The extraordinary allegations made by Nick Whitcombe of Bodytech gym in the video first aired on Facebook (see below) won’t come as any surprise to Wirral Leaks readers. It would seem that once again that Wirral Council has gotten itself in a shitstorm of controversy over a leaked telephone recording which whilst perhaps is not on the scale or seriousness of ‘Wirralgate’ it is nevertheless deeply troubling.
It is alleged that council officials were badmouthing the police and conspiring against gyms on Wirral and Bodytech in particular in trying to prevent the latter making a donation of £50K to mental health charities raised through a Go Fund initiative.
We are also familiar with the well worn tactics deployed to ‘sabotage’ or ‘fix’ individuals like Mr Whitcombe who stand up against the council. Once again we ask ourselves WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THESE PEOPLE? The notion of being a public servant seems to have been entirely lost .
We understand if Mr Whitcombe is reluctant to name the power trippin’ Environmental Health officers involved but we’re not. Naming and shaming on social media is the only form of public accountability that Wirral Council understands.
As you know we like to keep up to date with Wirral Leaks favourites especially those that courted controversy and have made great copy for us over the years.
Therefore imagine our delight when one of our readers contacted us to say that they felt the need to prick up their ears when it was announced that Wirral Council alumna and former communications czarina Emma Degg was gegging in on the central government enforced Greater Manchester Tier 3 debate and the Andy Burnham/Boris Johnson battle of wills.
Ms Degg in her role as the Chief Executive of North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT) felt the need to present a statement to the LBC (Leading Britain’s Conversation) radio station.
Unfortunately our reader and LBC listener was not able to recall the details of the statement but was left wondering as to whether Degg was morphing into pompous political commentator Robert Peston?…
From our self imposed exile shielding in sunnier climes far away from the insular peninsula – a place that seems to be in permanent lockdown from what we can remember – we just had to comment on the appointment of Cllr Janette ‘Milly Tant’ Williamson as the new leader of Wirral Council.
After the unlamented departure of Cllr Pat ‘Can’t’ Hackett aka Mr Freebie as leader of Wirral Council we warmly welcome a lay-dee disrupting the long running Lad’s Club that have been the leaders of the Liverpool City Region. However we can’t help wondering what ardent royalist Our Jan will bring to the party political.
Well, based on previous experience it will consist of plenty of fringe fiddling, retro sloganeering and feigning victimhood. Our unsolicited advice to Our Jan would be that if you have chosen to be the ‘leader’ of Wirral Council be prepared for the brickbats that come your way . It’s called fair comment and public accountability and any criticism that comes your way is not because you are a lay-dee it will usually be because of a council cock up that’s been covered up. I’m sure former Labour council ‘leaders’ Cllr Steve ‘Foulkesy’ Foulkes and Phil ‘Power Boy Pip’ Davies have filled you in on that aspect of your new role.
Talking of Power Boy Pip we also applaud Our Jan’s move back to a Committee system rather than the ‘Strong Leader’ model adopted by Pip. This model was always the mark of a weak leader with too much to hide.
And talking of too much to hide we also note that disgraced councillors -by us at least-Tony Smith and George Davies have been asked to (self) serve as Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Wirral respectively until May 2021.
We were beginning to think that coronavirus was God working in his well known mysterious ways and it was his way of telling us he didn’t want racist, dishonest Cllr George Davies as Mayor of Wirral but clearly all those hours -oh so many hours- in the confession box have worked wonders and it would appear that Gorgeous George will get the opportunity to ride around Wirral in the back of a chauffeur driven car with his missus gurning at the poor unfortunates who find themselves in the Mayor’s Diary for 2021-22.
But let’s end on a positive note. Kudos to Our Jan for her appearance earlier this week on the telly (see above). Not quite as scary as ex Wirral Council apologist Joe ‘ Big Cheque’ Blott who was turning up with alarming regularity as the spokesperson for ‘ Spirit of Shankly’ at the start of the pandemic, but pretty close.
Nice to see that Our Jan eschewed the obligatory beautifully curated bookshelf and tasteful flower arrangement in favour of an ironing board in the background in what will no doubt be the first of many addresses to the nation. Our Jan was speaking out in favour of gyms remaining open on Wirral. A subject which has been the cause of much local controversy. If Our Jan really wants to win the hearts of the Wirral electorate we suggest she has a word with Merseyside Mayors Joe Anderson and Steve ‘ Brickie with a Filter’ Rotheram and explain the therapeutic benefits of exercise pronto…
Caption competition : Provide a caption for the picture above and win an OBE!
You may or may not be pleased to hear the news that His Lord and Ladyship are finally free from shielding and have now emerged slightly dishevelled and gin soaked from their castle cellar.
So imagine our delight to discover that friend of Wirral Leaks the Right (Wing) Honourable Frank Field has had an upgrade and has finally joined our ranks. Well, not quite. We have an hereditary peerage which we bought from a reputable site on the interweb and therefore we think a cut above a dissolution peerage for life. Whilst we don’t know whether you have to be dissolute to receive this accolade we do do know it can only be a matter of time before Lord Field of the Foodbanks eventually out-nobles us. However we understood he won’t be happy until he gets a sainthood! Having said that he will absolutely love the robes – even though, as Her Ladyship said , red is soooo not his colour!
However judging by the nominations it seems to be a case of Bojo’s Bonus for the former Labour Brexiteer Boys and Girls –
This particular list led us to dwell further upon the associated matters of favouritism , elitism, hierarchy, privilege and untouchability. Something that Frankenfield was well acquainted with during his days as ‘Lording it’ over his personal realm as the MP for Birkenhead. We have long held the view that often titles, awards and accolades are often establishment-approved means of bestowing power,prestige and protection from criticism or accountability. Whilst we won’t belatedly wade into the statues debate we will state for the record that we would like to see this peerage gravy train for the alleged great and good to be scrapped along with the OBEs and the Knighthoods…
Post-Covid we can only hope it’s time to say goodbye to the old undue deference and hello to a new meritocracy …
And so it would appear ‘The Curse of Leaky Towers’ has struck again as following on from our Power Boy Pip Pops Back Into Public Life story we are ecstatic to report that former Wirral Council ‘leader’ Phil ‘Power Boy Pip’ Davies has dropped out of the running as Merseyside’s Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner after being apparently pummelled at last Thursday’s Police and Crime Panel.
The Liverpool Echo reportreally makes for a splendid case of schadenfreude as even former Wirral Council comrade Cllr Adrian Jones did the old ‘Ettu,Brute?…’ act describing the process by which Pip was picked to prop up Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Kennedy as ‘perverse’. Well,yes, quite…
Hilariously Pip suddenly came to realise that he couldn’t do the job ‘Justice’ (no change there then!) – Let’s face it Pip wouldn’t know the meaning of the word . However we do and this looks a little bit like it to us!…
And so it’s back to retirement for Pip. We can only hope for the wellbeing of the people of Wirral that he continues to self isolate in his potting shed long after the coronavirus lockdown has ceased…
Now, how about after this little episode of ‘justice delayed’ Wirral councillors consider more closely the appointment of Cllr George Davies as Wirral’s first citizen and Mayor? We’ll be giving them plenty of reason to do so as our curse will not be lifted for some time to come for, as far as we’re concerned, if ever an appointment is ‘perverse’ it is this one…
With His Lord and Ladyship in lockdown we thought this week would be as good as ever for a resurrection of Wirral Leaks especially on the eve of our old fiend ex-Cllr Phil ‘Power Boy Pip’ Davies being shoehorned into another ill-fitting (non) role as Deputy Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner to the outgoing Commissioner Jane Kennedy.
We can’t help thinking that at £32K + for 3 days a week of ‘work’ it’s a case of nice work if you can get it and you can get it even when you’ve vowed to retire from public life to spend more time with the family and you were a monumental failure as a ‘leader’ of Wirral Council.
But then this is Murkyside where nepotism and dubious allegiances have long been the order of the day. However for us Pip always stood for everything that is wrong in local politics – compromised, collusive, cowardly and corruptible (other ‘c’ words are available).
With Pip’s confirmation before the Police and Crime Panel tomorrow being a mere formality we’ll be marking the momentous/horrendous event with a reminder of why we think this appointment is not only beyond irony but deeply depressing for those of us who have longed for an end to our dysfunctional local oligarchy.
Indeed tomorrow’s post will be a prelude to a our serialisation of the long running ‘Wirralgate’ saga in which Pip played a major part in what we believe to be a monumental cover up of misconduct in public office. At last we have been given the go ahead to publish the police records, court reports and emails which detail the complicity of the press and the police , the docility of councillors and the duplicity of politicians and council officials which has allowed those who have abused their power to continue to undeservedly thrive in public life.
To mark our last Christmas broadcast from Leaky Towers we thought we’d bring you a ‘Ghosts of Christmas Past’ special and recall some of our previous festive greetings. After all isn’t Christmas not only about tradition but about repeats on the telly and from various body parts?
First up we bring you this heartwarming pic from 2011 where we see Cllr Steve Foulkes aka Foulkesy doing what he does best – bringing comfort and joy whenever, sorry, wherever he goes. Only he doesn’t go does he? Locally he remains the living proof of the international and national trend that people will put politicians in power even when they’re proven liars…
Talking of liars – he we have Foulkesy’s chum and soon to be Mayor of Wirral Cllr George Davies proving once and for all that old adage that politics is showbiz for ugly people
Of course Davies was once the ultimate Satan’s Little Helper when he was the electoral agent for Frank Field – the former MP for Birkenhead. However much like his mate Foulkesy this wretched elf ditched Frankenfield when they saw that the writing was on the wall for the latter’s political career and they are both now feigning support for all things Corbyn and the union -backed new MP for Birkenhead, Mick Whitley. This means they can continue to ride on the coat tails of local power and influence much as they have done for decades.
And finally the man himself who for so many years presided over his personal political domain safe in the knowledge that Birkenhead was one of the safest Labour seats in the country , which , of course it remains to be to this day…
Unfortunately for Frankenfield he had to stand as an independent at the recent General Election and the flag of convenience that was the Labour Party was no longer there to maintain him in power. And let’s face it ,despite the promise of hanging around Birkenhead and doing his bit for ‘charidee’ that’s what it’s always been about for Frankenfield – the power and the glory .
We can only imagine how Frankenfield must feel this Christmas having been betrayed and politically outmanoeuvred by his former acolytes Foulkes and Davies. But then that’s what you get when you have have sat on a throne of lies for four decades…
Meanwhile Merry Christmas to one and all from everyone at Leaky Towers!
The above leak is an extract from a ‘What’s App’ convo involving the ‘Osborne Dream Team’ . Apparently this particular nightmarish ‘Dream Team’ is based at Osborne Court* in Birkenhead which consists of 3 ‘independent supported living units’ serviced by 365 Support and funded by what was Wirral Social Services and which Wirral Council couldn’t wait to get rid of and which has consequently been subsumed and funded by the NHS (or more accurately YOU).
*BTW this particular Osborne Court is not to be confused with Osborne Court nursing home in Port Sunlight.
Now we don’t know whether GILL BOSS is a) dead good , like b) a distant relation of Hugo or c) so insecure about her position she calls herself BOSS in BOLD.
What we also don’t know is whether the financial abuse of vulnerable people (aka a crime) was reported to the proper authorities (or in the case of Wirral – the improper authorities) . All we do know is that MS BOSS can’t spel 4 toffi …
On a serious note – all this despairing that the NHS may be up for sale. People need to remember that social care – the (very) poor and unloved relation of the NHS – has locally been flogged off to moneygrabbing opportunists for years. And has care improved? Has it hell as like! The number of Wirral ‘care’ services rated as ‘inadequate’ or ‘requiring improvement’ by the regulator the Care Quality Commission is an absolute disgrace.
But then again asking for social care to be brought back into public ownership is currently on a hiding to nothing. Having said that we do have to wonder what made the Highways Department returning to Wirral Council such a special case ? What’s more some of us also remember that thieving from the vulnerable hasn’t always been the exclusive preserve of the private sector…
So as the dust settles from the General Election fallout we thought we’d send a long wished for farewell to Frankenfield! And special thanks go to one of our readers who suggested a Smiths album cover as the inspiration for a fitting tribute both marking the end of Field’s imperious reign as the MP for Birkenhead and the death of his political career.
Yes , whilst we acknowledge that Angie, Ali and Maggie ensured that Wirral remains an all red peninsula we all know that the big local political story from the General Election is that the most prominent and influential politician on Wirral for the past 4 decades has finally left the building (or rather been bundled out the emergency exit by his former party). As we know the ex-Labour man set up his own political vanity project known to us as Frank Field’s BS Justice Party but officially named as the Birkenhead Social Justice Party which was supported by a rag tag of local Labour ‘rebels’ including the hopelessly devoted ever faithful factotum and new electoral agent Cllr Moira ‘Matron’ McLaughlin.
However Field must have known the election result was on the cards when long serving Labour Party members had been telling him they were more loyal to the Party than to the man himself and wouldn’t be supporting his arrogant venture and especially when his former electoral agent Cllr George Davies abandoned him for an old mucker from Vauxhall’s whilst in pursuit of his sad little ambition of becoming the next Labour Mayor of Wirral – a position which he would have relinquished if he’d stood by his former mentor and the man who got him (and other local Labour councillors) out of many a scrape of their own making. Let’s face it it comes to something when Field has to rely on the likes of former pottymouthed Labour councillor Harry Smith for support.
Wirral Leaks readers will know that we’ve never been a fan of the man known to us as Frankenfield (and with very good reason) and will not mourn his passing into the political wilderness . We doubt whether Mick Whitley , his Labour successor as the MP for Birkenhead will leave behind such an enduring legacy and after Field’s glorious forty years of wallowing in poverty that can only be a good thing.
However having said all that we are certain that we haven’t heard the last of the monarch of misery. No doubt Field will be penning pity party opinion pieces for the likes of the Daily Mail and telling everyone in the Home Counties that Labour should have listened ‘to me! me! ME!’ and how Mick and the mob from Momentum have unfairly and unceremoniously unseated him from his rightful throne.
What’s more Wirral Leaks is far from finished with Field as he’ll soon play a starring role in our outgoing series of posts which we hope may finally explain to Frankophiles why we are rejoicing that his reign in Birkenhead is finally over…
Wirralleaks 