Reign of Shame

Foulkesy : What’s up wid ya Eric, la, you’ve got a gob on ya like a smacked arse.Just sign deez 4 cheques for 48 grand and then we can all go for a bevvy….

And so last week Wirral Council’s reign of shame came to an end as Mayor Foulkesy handed over the chains of office to Tory councillor Les “Tiny” Rowlands – who we hear is a man of conviction!.

As you can see from John Brace’s XXX-rated footage  HERE 

Foulkesy brought his supposed  “lovable” rogue persona to proceedings during his rambling farewell speech at Wallasey Town Hall – eulogizing about how proud he was to show people round the (lavishly refurbished) building – but not proud enough to have his own mayor making ceremony there obviously!

However, in a failed attempt at being profound and poignant,he saw fit to randomly make reference to carvings in the civic hall which he’d been told represented the past and the future.

We’d have thought any reference to Foulkesy’s past should have been best avoided – but this is one politician who’s living proof that history is (re)written by the victors.

Foulkesy was on more secure territory when he claimed he’d been requested to tell the assembled throng a few jokes as if he was auditioning for a slot as the new Bernard Manning on the bill at the Wheeltappers & Shunters Social Club.

Keeping it classy as usual he regaled the audience with a tale of a Birkenhead north ender who’d discovered a dead body but couldn’t spell the road he’d found the body in – so he’d moved it to one he could spell , so he could tell the police where to find the body.

Thereby reinforcing negative stereotypes that people from his ward are callous and stupid ( takes one to know one).Actually they recently voted this end of the pier and bottom of the bill clown back in – so actually he may have a point there.

But my how everyone laughed……” he’s such a colourful character isn’t he?” they all docilely nodded. ” Yes  – red and bloated” chipped in Her Ladyship.

He then mentioned that he’d help raised the not inconsiderable sum of £32,000 for “charidee”  – including such selfless tasks as a fundraising curry at the tandoori in Claughton village – my goodness such personal sacrifice – a curry ,a few beers and a stagger home afterwards – much as any other Friday night in Foulkes World we would have thought.

Obviously being a connoisseur of medieval literature Foulkesy then tried (and failed miserably ) to raise the tone by quoting from “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” :

“We’re described, the Wirral’s described as a mysterious, forested place inhabited by man and beast that God cannot love. It’s good to see the Wirral PR team still in action in the thirteenth century!”

With the Wirral’s  former PR guru currently “indisposed”  and  seemingly “disposable,” this was obviously an in-joke for those in the know. We have to say that Foulkesy and co certainly know how to kick someone when they’re down.We’re just left wondering whether such remarks will come back and bite the Council in the courtroom…..

This snide remark seemed particularly ungrateful when we consider that he failed to give specific thanks to the people that enabled him to hobnob over the hoi polloi and have the dubious honour of being  Wirral’s civic representative along with his consort – the Lovely Lainey – this past year. We were particularly surprised that he didn’t specifically thank Frank, George, Phil, Emma, Gary or Liam…..

However, these are but a few of the people that allowed this mayoral appointment to be made and to continue full term .Other than the councillors brave enough to publicly oppose Foulkesy ( take a bow Cllrs Blakeley and Cleary) all the elected members who colluded with this charade should be ashamed of themselves.

<After Foulkesy was ousted as Leader of the Council in a vote of no confidence it seems to us that allowing someone drunk on power to once again take the position of high office is like sending someone to rehab only to drive them straight to the pub after they've been discharged……….

Suspension Suspense

Following the time-honoured tradition of burying bad news it was announced (or rather it was dragged out of them) just prior to the elections ,that the North West Labour Party had suspended Wirral Labour Councillor Louise Reece Jones pending a further investigation.As you can see from the press report they are desperately trying to keep this one on media lockdown. HERE

Consequently, we have been asked whether we know why Cllr.Reecejones had been suspended – and needless to say – we do.

This is Wirral Council we’re talking about – where leaks are in direct proportion to secrets.

We publicly stated on Twitter that we wouldn’t want to jeopardise due process (an alien concept at Wallasey Town Hall) so we’ll keep a watching brief on this development for now.

We expect the usual – a report to be released on Christmas Eve stating how robustly Labour Party investigated the matter and there will be press release stating either a) there is no case to answer or b) appropriate sanction will be made as such misconduct will not be tolerated (unless you’re Cllr.Steve Foulkes or Cllr.George Davies).

Talking of which we were excited about new kid on the blog “The Morton Distortions” written by Wirral Council whistleblower Martin Morton but somewhat like Cllr.Reece jones that currently also seems to be in a state of suspended animation.

From what we’d read there were a couple of revelations about the Wirralgate scandal which we didn’t know about – but much of it we already knew and had already disclosed.

We’re just waiting information from a couple of sources and we’re ready to publish “The Definitive Guide to Wirralgate”.

Might we suggest that it might be useful to her if Cllr Reecejones reads the guide so as to understand what conduct the local Labour group think is or is not acceptable.

Failing that we think her only hope is to foster a friendship with Frankenfield very,very quickly or her days are numbered.

Wirral Leaks – Election Special

Hasta La Vista Esther

The big news here on Wirral was the ousting of Employment Minister Esther McVague from the Wirral West seat. Although it must be said this wasn’t exactly shocking considering “Detesting Esther ” had recently become a local pastime and plus the fact that the national Labour Party threw everything they could at this key marginal including sending in pugnacious “Lord” Prescott who posed awkwardly in West Kirby bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase “we’ll fight them on the beaches”.

It was clear from pictures from the election count that a frozen-faced McVague and her political agent Wirral Councillor Chris Blakeley , who was following her around like a depressed bulldog , knew the writing was on the wall (and we’re not talking about that unsightly graffiti in Hoylake). For all the gung-ho triumphalism of local Labour apparatchiks, we have to say it seems as though it was the UKIP vote that won it for them in the end as McVague’s vote astonishingly actually increased !!!

However, as our pre-election profile predicted – HERE

 

it’ll take more than an election defeat to keep McVague out of the political limelight. Back to her true calling of being in front of a camera with a microphone she announced: ” I’ll be back” like a Tiny Tory Terminator.

And of course she will be – she’ll land safely on her kitten heels thanks to the patronage of some powerful political friends.We predict that like a ruthless killing machine it will be some time before she’ll be terminating her lofty political ambitions.

Stu Kelly’s Blues

Locally it was the usual Labour and Conservative shoe-ins determined by the great Wirral East/West divide (and never the twain shall meet) . Shamefully Foulkesy was re-elected largely unopposed as were most of his Labour colleagues – although there was a spirited fight from the Greens in Council leader Power Boy Pip’s Birkenhead & Tranmere ward.Of course Pip benefited as usual from “The Field Factor” as locals voted in droves for anything wearing a red rosette even if the wearer of that red rosette resides in a less deprived and more salubrious and leafy part of Wirral. That is, of course, their prerogative – we just think they’re deserving of someone so much better.

However, credit, where it’s due the Labour group, pulled off a massive coup as Paul “Danceaway” Doughty ousted Lib Dem councillor Stuart Kelly from the Oxton ward. Kelly was one of the few opposition councillors who seemed ready, willing or able to mount a coherent challenge to dubious council practices so this seems to represent another victory for secrecy over scrutiny.

Stressed Eric Knows His Place

The election results provided the opportunity for new Wirral Council Chief Executive Eric Robinson to make his mark in his first public appearance as Returning Officer. However, it was apparent that Stressed Eric learned a salutory lesson about Wirral Council and where he stands (or rather kneels) as he was ousted from reading the General Election results by Mayor Foulkesy! Seems to us that Stressed Eric’s next job will involve meeting Frankenfield’s “demands” and having a cheque book thrust in front of him with the instruction: “sign here”!

Frank Field – The Biter Bit

” Things just ain’t the same, any time the hunter gets captured by the game….”

I’m sure we can recall the feigned outrage that accompanied Frankenfield’s recent fall from grace at a public meeting in Rock Ferry.

SEE HERE

To the dismay of local Green Party members acres of newsprint were wasted reporting the sheer brutality meted out to our revered local MP as – SHOCK HORROR PROBE! – local people exercised their democratic right trying to make public servants accountable.

Seemingly unable to cope with such an unprecedented challenge Frankenfield was soon carted off sniffing into a scented hanky and then proceeded to moan like Mavis Riley having a hissy fit to any old rag who’d listen to him including the Mail on Sunday where Frankenfield was perfectly at home amid the prissy curtain-twitchers from the home counties.

He also wrote to Green Party leader Natalie Bennett demanding that local nasty Green party members be publicly flogged for being perfectly frightful to him
But whaddayaknow? , the mung bean munching brigade bit back as an investigation carried out by the Green Party found that allegations made by Mr Field and Labour councillors present at the meeting were “clear attempts to smear both Green Party members and some local residents” and therefore in that time-honoured local tradition it was found there was ” no case to answer”!

SEE HERE

Freda David and Mike Shone, the Green Party members who conducted the investigation have now called on the Labour Party leader Ed Militant to investigate Frankenfield’s smears! As well as those Labour councillors present at the meeting, for making “ unfounded allegations” and have asked for a public apology.

Can we suggest to Freda and Mike that breath-holding would be ill-advised when it comes to getting an apology from that lot!

Frankenfield did his usual pursed lipped response saying: “I am grateful that this inquiry was conducted. But I’m equally astounded that the Green Party has produced such a whitewash…..”

My how we laughed here at Leaky Towers to hear Frankenfield complain about a “whitewash” when in the words of Kafka ( who else):

“His weariness is that of the gladiator after the combat; his work was the whitewashing of a corner in a state official’s office”

Might we remind him of his role in a series of cover-ups involving Wirral Council – like the time he wrote to a constituent :” I am a bit miffed with you ” because the person who had whistleblown about the unlawful 4 week delay dared complain to him that Wirral Council were still (and are still) covering up that shameful episode.

And although he obviously hopes we will – we mustn’t forget his starring role in the ongoing and utterly corrupt Wirralgate whitewash…..

Let’s be frank about Frank – we think it’s time to exit stage left – or in his case stage right!……..