Wirral Leaks Welcomes Stressed Eric

So Wirral Council appoints a new Chief Executive.

And it’s not as we predicted a person of the female persuasion – no,no,no – that would be a step too far. So it’s back to the usual “M” template – male,middle aged,middle class,malleable. The only departure is that this one is apparently a Reds fan – whether this means LFC or the local Labour elite we don’t yet know.

As devoted readers of Wirral Leaks will know we don’t like to judge but the picture in Echo doesn’t instill confidence.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/former-social-worker-appointed-wirral-8595400

We’re minded to recall the character Eric Feeble from the Stressed Eric cartoon – and let’s face it if he’s not “Stressed Eric” now he will be as soon as he discovers the shameful legacy he has inherited………

The Poisoned Chalice

Question : What’s the difference between “leader” (lol) of  Wirral Council Phil” Power Boy Pip” Davies and a supermarket trolley?
Answer : A supermarket trolley has a mind of it’s own !

Accordingly our so-called “Leader with Special Powers”  has decided to further line the pockets of external consultants Penna and LGA from a seemingly bottomless pit of public money. This time it’s to give advice on the appointment of a new Chief Executive to follow in the footsteps of Comrade ” I’m a non-entity get me out of here”  Burgesski.

This week saw the unedifying spectacle of an Employment and Appointments Committee where nodding dog Labour deputies  Cllr Ann “McCrackers” McLachlan and Gorgeous George “Downfall” Davies  fearlessly backed Pip in his mission to attract a top-notch Chief Executive on a top-whack salary.

 “We need a reality check and get in the real world” implored Cllr McLachlan , somehow managing to keep a straight face as she endorsed a £175,000 golden hello for another doubtless self-serving shyster.

Let’s face it whoever they appoint to the top job their task is to simply make people redundant and close down public services and take the flak whilst Pip blames the Tories (whilst failing  to mention that if they are elected at the next General Election Labour intend to carry on regardless with the self-same “austerity measures!” ……..)

Indeed a quick glance at the Penna website tells you everything you need to know about what kind of candidate Wirral Council are looking for:

“Enhanced efficiency and seeking to do more with less in the face of ever growing demands and more exacting financial pressures whilst trying to maintain the current welfare state benefits means that current paradigms need to shift.
In the current economic climate there is increasing pressure for public services to run efficiently. Driving forward public sector reform will help the UK emerge stronger and faster from the global downturn. Learning from those already making efficiency savings is the next challenge for public services”

Which translates as : ” Yes we love public services so much we decided to work in the private sector and make lots of money advising public servants to hire people like us”…..which makes us at Leaky towers want to tell Penna where exactly they can shift their bloody paradigm.

And as for the LGA ( L’Oreal Government Services – ” Because we’re worth it…”)
Haven’t the people of Wirral paid you lot enough already – and for what exactly?

We noticed that both consultants still failed to point out in their unconvincing deliberations that a) there is a particular perk that the past three Chief Executives have enjoyed and  b) whosoever does take the job the first criteria must surely be whether they meet Frankenfield’s approval ….

So finally our advice to prospective candidates is that it might be wise to check out Wirral Leaks to know exactly what they’re really letting themselves in for before considering how they intend to spend their miserly £14,500 A MONTH paycheck……..

The Female Touch

Where Wirral Leaks lead the local moribund politicos and commentators are sure to follow ( evidenced by Frankenfield recently making the fatal mistake of giving us public acknowledgment when frankly(!) we never sought it and especially from a clapped -out desperado like him. )

The latest manifestation of “The Wirral Leaks Effect” are the pleas for a homegrown Chief Executive to replace another clapped out desperado – Comrade Burgesski

SEE HERE

The need to have someone in a position of power who actually gives a shit (and we don’t mean dog shit ) about Wirral rather than using their appointment as a means to fund their executive lifestyle far from the dereliction, decay and despair of some parts of the peninsula is something we’ve commented on frequently.

And yes we’re talking about former social services director John ” Curly Watts” Webb and former Chief Executive Steve ” Mad Dog” Maddox here – both of whom were not averse to disparaging the people of Wirral but were quite happy to take their hard earned money off them before sodding off to leafy Cheshire.

However we’d like to take this even further and daringly suggest (deep breath)……How about a Chief Executive of the female persuasion?
I know !  Rad- Fem or what?

We suggest this – not in an equal opportunities tickbox kind of way (although Lord knows it’s the only explanation for some of Wirral Council’s most senior appointments) but as a means of challenging Wirral Council’s macho culture.

From what we know of the Wirral Council Chief Officers meeting it’s like the cast list of “The Expendables” – testosterone -fuelled phonies in pursuit of a big pay cheque.
The irony being is that these all talk and no-action heroes think everyone who works for Wirral Council is expendable except for them ! ( including the formerly favoured one who seems to have more gardening leave than Alan Titchmarsh on a sabbatical in Ness Gardens).

Wirral Council’s record of appointing women to high office is absolutely woeful and we think goes some way to explaining the gung ho bullying culture which has plagued the council for many years. There has never been a female chief executive and women directors you can count on the one hand ( “Yeah Abu Hamza’s …” drawled Her Ladyship)…… Under the circumstances we’re not surprised that the current most senior female officer has even been wavering about going lately – and no we don’t mean that one ….she just thinks she’s the most senior ranking female officer…..

What’s more we think that an added bonus for the people of Wirral is that a female Chief Executive might be more inclined to keep her mind on serving the people of Wirral and not be distracted from the job in hand by the nearby fluttering of eyelashes………

Brain Drain

We’ve been reflecting here at Leaky Towers on the departure of Wirral Council Chief Executive Comrade Burgesski. We understand that ” sparks flew” prior to him announcing this departure (the title of the song below says it all ) .And it would seem that even the pleasant times to be had in an exclusive hostelry in Wirral  – which served as the local equivalent to The Clog and Billycock in his previous haunt in Blackburn  – have suddenly lost their appeal.

We were willing to give Burgesski a chance at Wirral Leaks somewhat as you would with the new kid who joins the school that has been put in special measures by Ofsted. However halfway through his first term he threw his old school cap in with the playground bullies ,secured his “permanent” contract and did nothing to address the heart of darkness that still dominates the culture of Wirral Council.

And what a shameful legacy he leaves in his wake – his commentary on the wickedness of central government policy is sickening hypocrisy when compared with Wirral Council’s adherence to these self same policies – the Council’s stance on the Bedroom Tax and Council Tax for the unemployed is absolutely shameful.

In this context it is completely legitimate to compare and contrast the Council’s callous policies impacting on the poor and disabled with the lavish refurbishment of Burgesski’s stately pleasure-dome. His tenure as Chief Executive is characterised as : “Austerity as a means to an end” – in this case the dismantling of public services and punishing the poor and the powerless. Remind us again – is this really a Labour led Council ?

The consensus seems to be that Burgesski won’t be missed. Indeed even Frankenfield made the terse remark about the appointment of a new Chief Executive that  Wirral Council should : ” seize the opportunity and appoint a candidate that would be the “envy of other authorities” As her Ladyship said (brandishing her beautifully manicured talons) : “Meow!!….”

However don’t flatter yourself that the title of this blog refers to you Burgesski. It’s a reference to the fact that Wirral’s brightest and best don’t end up in Brighton Street. Instead we have the zombie-like ” Scouse Contingent” and ” Cheshire Set” who gorge themselves on the cadaver of Wirral Council before driving off in their top of the range cars to the bright lights of Liverpool or the bucolic delights of the Cheshire countryside.
Why should those who have been running/ruining Wirral Council care if Wirral is covered in dog crap and feral gangs roam the streets and special schools are closed and if Wirral Council has an appalling record when it comes to the vulnerable and disabled ?.They simply don’t live here and their decisions don’t impact on their well padded existences “out of borough”

Talking of well padded – remember Foulksey’s infamous quote that Wirral having a declining population was a good thing? ( there’s plenty more memorable quotes from Foulksey coming up very soon in a Wirral Leaks Special Report ……). Somebody needs to tell him that any young Wirralian with any foresight or potential or integrity will get themselves as far away from Wallasey Town Hall as they can.

Memo to the Mayor: This is NOT a good thing.

By the way before you go Burgesski – any news on the Golf Resort or Wirral Waters ? (no thought not). Which reminds us will Burgesski be taking the picture of Stella Shiu that adorns his ante-room and other useless items with him ? – no sorry Comrade , you can’t take the Super-Duper Directors with you!…..

Bye Bye Burgesski !

 

And so with tedious inevitably comes the announcement that another Wirral Council Chief Executive bites the dust.

SEE HERE

Of course knowing what we know it comes as no surprise to us here at Leaky Towers that Comrade Burgesski will be heading for the beautifully appointed fire escape just before the great political conflagration engulfs Wallasey Town Hall once and for all.

Somehow we suspect that despite the praise emanating from Power Boy Pip and co that Burgesski will not be eulogised in quite the same way that former Chief Executive Steve “Mad Dog” Maddox was on the announcement of his sudden departure to spend more time with his long suffering golf clubs.

Will it be an OBE and Freedom of the Borough of Wirral for the man who allegedly turned Wirral Council around into the model of efficiency it now so clearly is ( honest guv) after a series of scandals?………..

We humbly suggest that a fitting tribute in honour of Burgesski’s tenure would be a revolving door fitted to the Chief Executive’s office !

A Wirral Leaks welcome to the new chief exec.

Wirral Leaks welcomes Graham Burgess, Wirral’s FIFTH (count ‘em) chief executive in under two years.

Our ever vigilant retainer and PA Miss Verity Snoop, has been doing some a-googling and found that ex poacher turned game keeper Graham doesn’t like to mention the fact that when he was a Union leader in Liverpool in the 80’s he wrestled Derek Hatton ala Alan Bates and Oliver Reed in “Women In Love” style to the ground. And thus [according to Graham’s PR team] single handily stopped Militant in its tracks, saving the country from communism and all that lefty lunacy, y’know stuff like proper contract monitoring, no artificial delay on care packages, spending public money to benefit all the people. But he doesn’t like to talk about it. So much so that he mentions the fact  he doesn’t like to talk about it in every interview he’s given. EVER.  Even if he isn’t asked.

  We note that like most rubicund hued ex Union reps Graham likes a pint or two down at the local gastro-pub  and relaxes watching the footie, without paying obviously, as reported in the Daily Telegraph HERE

“Graham Burgess of Blackburn with Darwen spent £213 buying tickets to two Blackburn Rovers matches in 2009 for him and nine guests. He also spent hundreds of pounds on regular lunches at his local pub, the Clog and Billycock.

The council said that in both cases Mr Burgess was entertaining “key local and regional partners”.

Entertaining how ?

I mean entertaining like he’s a clown, to amuse you? to make you laugh, he’s here to f*cking amuse you? What do you mean entertaining?  entertaining how?

So a Goodfella and just the man to set Wirral straight then, welcome aboard old chap. We do things differently here don’cha know! …you’ll never leave……