Lady Leader

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…

Pip Pops Back To The Potting Shed

Pip didn’t see that  coming…

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 report really makes for a splendid case of schadenfreude as even former Wirral Council comrade Cllr Adrian Jones did the old ‘Et tu, 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…

 

 

 

Power Boy Pip Pops Back Into Public Life

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.

 

 

Public Health in Private Hands

 

What Does Fiona Love ? : Public Relations or Public Health?

We’re getting further worrying information about an organisation we’ve reported on briefly a couple of times.The organisation that was formerly known as Crime Reduction Initiatives (CRI) who finally woke up to the fact that not all people with drug/alcohol and other vulnerabilities were necessarily criminals and changed their name to the much more cuddly Change, Grow , Live (CGL). 

https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2016/07/18/people-who-need-people/

What we can’t get over at Leaky Towers is how people are so ready to complain about NHS privatisation by the back door and yet when Public Health became the responsibility of Wirral Council (Lord help us!) one of the first things they did was hand over the NHS Drug and Alcohol Service to the private sector !.

No doubt this contributed to the fact that  CRI /CGL has doubled its income to more than £140m in five years!. But then there’s always been seriously big money to be made out of people with addictions !.

http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/crime-reduction-initiatives-plans-expand-its-health-services-carry-rebrand/finance/article/1360918

As a number of sources have been in touch to raise their concerns we didn’t know where to start . So let’s start at the beginning with some real live quotes from the people in the know and which provide a cautionary tale about what happens when you handover loads of public money to the private sector :

I just thought I would drop you an email to say thank you for the posts around CRI or whatever name they are going by these days.

I worked for the Drug and Alcohol service for X years when it was NHS and at St Catherine’s Hospital. Was it perfect? –  of course not but I can honestly say the level of care and support for some of the Wirral’s most vulnerable clients was outstanding. I will not bore you with stories of what we did on a daily basis, it broke my heart when the tender was awarded to CRI and Phoenix BUT I did keep an open mind and thought about the clients and keeping on to support them….How naive was I?.

Day One at Conway Street which is the old Arch building- no fax machine, phones, no referral paperwork, basically a nightmare and it continued for weeks and weeks. I must be honest with you I left and didn’t even have a job to go to that is how bad it was.

And there’s more :

Clients not seen on a one to one basis, all group work, caseloads for one person went up to around 150 people, RECOVERY was the buzz word and they would not see anyone who didn’t want to be drug or alcohol free. No more free Hep(atitis) B injections, they didn’t want to do any community detoxes, even the drug and alcohol nurses from Arrowe Park got their legal team in to stop CRI staff on the wards because the care was so bad,  we used to take people from Arrowe Park to detox them from alcohol in the community to free beds. I can only imagine that hospital admissions have rocketed, they left the hostel and homeless clients without a worker for months. The YMCA management were furious, they would not pay for flu injections for the homeless which we as the NHS had been doing for years, the hostel and homeless nurse had to fight with them and basically shame them into paying for the flu injections in a meeting. 

And more :

I could go on and on with horror stories…..  I am heart broken for the clients, most of them have had shitty lives, unimaginable things happen to them and now they are not even getting a half way decent service. 

When we fought as a NHS service to try and stop this service becoming private ( Council Leader) Phil Davies responded with a cut ‘n’ paste letter stating CRI  was the best service  and  would not meet with us for a meeting . What made me angry was he came to the YMCA in Birkenhead for a photo opportunity a few days later to pick litter with residents….

I thank you for your kind response and keep up the good fight! Just know there are still people very angry at this who truly do care for the people of Wirral…

And more :

     

Now, did you know that ARCH has gone bankrupt and been taken over by another drugs company called Kaleidoscope… All Arch’s cafes have been closed apart from one- Nightingales because it was funded by Public Health money …

And more :

We have been told there have  been 65 or 66 deaths since they CRI/CGL took over. A source tells us :

Some staff members requested a meeting with a CRI/CGL  (Director) which took place with a union rep and she stated it was because of ‘An ageing population’

That’s  a line that is usually thrown out when the Department of Adult Social Services tries to explain why it is overspent.

As our source says :

How odd they all chose to die to die in the 16 months of transfer……….

Now as former CRI/CGL employee Cllr Angela Davies seems quite happy to ignore her public duties and yet privately raise concerns so we’d like to turn our attention to a  ‘public servant’ who manages to rake in a six figure salary for commissioning this service –  Director of Public Health Fiona Johnstone.

I’m sure Fiona can reassure us that there is nothing to worry about and the appropriate scrutiny/oversight/monitoring/accountability of  CGL  has taken place and everything is hunky dory.

Perhaps it will appear as a good news item in the first edition of the Wirral Council propaganda sheet which received approval last week.

We won’t be holding our breath.

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……..

Consultant Insults

Wirral Leaks has been for some time highlighting the worrying situation of Wirral Council hiring highly paid consultants at exorbitant rates whilst at the same time explaining how services must be cut and staff need to be made redundant and anyway it’s all the governments fault.

Wirral Council’s use of consultants seems to be for 3 reasons :

1) For when they’re in a hole of their own making – “Here’s a shed-load of money if you write any old flannel as long as the conclusion is – “No case to answer” !

2) Absolve the Council of responsibility for decision-making  – ” It was the independent,external consultant who recommended that we cull half of our workforce and lay waste to public services.We didn’t want to really ,honestly…..”

3) Compensate for the sheer ineptitude and negligence of  council officers on megabuck salaries who seem to have absolutely no idea what they’re bloody doing!  – As her Ladyship said ” If I was on a life raft and reliant on a full set of chief officers for survival I think I’d throw myself overboard and take my chances with the sharks”

The latest beneficiaries of the Wirral Council runaway gravy train are a consultancy firm by the name of V4 who have given Wirral Council the V-sign and been paid £260,000 for what was initially a £50,000 job – SEE HERE

Nice work if you can get it and you can get it when Wirral Council officers and councillors are simply not up to the job and where it’s always amateur hour!.

Despite this work being authorised by Labour cabinet member Cllr.Chris Meaden , Power Boy Pip displays  his renowned leadership skills and plays pass the parcel by claiming  that the issue “concerns officers”. We were also interested to read about this case that “delegated powers” to  Wirral Councillors allow payment of monies up to the value of £50,000. That’ll explain the £48,000 for “hurt feelings” then!  – ” Let’s keep it just under £50,000 and we’ll throw in a couple of packets of Benson & Hedges”.

Finally Wirral Leaks would like to offer some advice to Wirral Council staff currently facing redundancy who fancy a piece of the action.

A guide on how to become a Wirral Council consultant is helpfully set out on the ever illuminating Wirral In it Together blog:

SEE HERE
The steps are:

1. Prove yourself “useful” to Wirral Council
2. Nab a 12 month contract
3. Set up a consultancy company
4. Think of a number – treble it and there you have your daily rate (£515 in this case)
5. Get your contract extended (with or without councillor scrutiny).
6. Trebles all round!

The Non Return of Martin – Grrrr!

And so the ultimate PR prize slips from grasp of Wirral Council as veteran whistle-blower Martin Morton turns down the tempting offer of a return to the house of fun and chooses to take the money and run.

Of course this would of been the ultimate endorsement of the “new” regime if Morton had crawled back with his tail between his legs. A trophy to be cynically displayed at every opportunity like an endangered species bagged by a big game hunter.

So this leaves us with the question of who to believe when it comes to the supposed miraculous transformation of Wirral Council – Morton  (who clearly doesn’t believe a word of it) or Comrade Burgesski/Power Boy Pip and their Local Government  Association lapdogs.

Based on the stories on this blog we know where we’d put our money…….

We must say we find the press reports a tad confusing – for example if there’s a secrecy clause what’s Morton doing blabbing all over the local papers again like someone with a bladder problem?

SEE HERE

AND HERE

Once again we get an unnerving sense that there’s something decidedly unsavoury and unresolved we don’t know about – with Morton mentioning about writing a book and saying : “I know what is going on behind the scenes. It’s not a changed organisation….”

We can only wonder whether he’s heard the Wirralgate tape!

Bizarrely Burgesski  states : “But we are pleased Martin feels the matter has been finalised.”

Really? – it doesn’t sound like it to us!

The King of Wishful Thinking v The Man Who Knew Too Much

Once again we know where our money is going……..

Flying Down To Rio

It came as no surprise to us at Leaky Towers to hear that a small delegation of Wirral Council bigwigs had taken flight (especially when we heard it involved The Deadly Davies Duo, Pip & George)

What did surprise us is that the airborne jaunt landed in the pensioners paradise that is Bournemouth for a Local Government Association conference. Why one can almost hear the ‘chink’ of bone china tea cups as Pip and Gorgeous take centre stage

SEE HERE   

Comrade Burgesski provided unequivocal evidence that his recent irony by-pass operation had been such a success when he declared that their attendance was an “opportunity to showcase Wirral’s achievements and good practice on this national platform.”

Subsequently Wirral Council spokesperson Dee Niall has refuted rumours that the expedition will next be flying down to Rio to advise FIFA’s World Cup officials on hospitality beanos, pay-offs and sweetheart deals……

As our new Brazilian maid Dolores Del Rio said : “Fala sério!…………….”

Courted and Feted

Unfortunately our invitation must have got lost in the post so Lord and Lady W missed the opportunity to mix with the hoi polloi at Foulksey’s mayor-making bash at the Floral Pavilion.And we use the term “bash” advisedly as we understand that also in attendance on the front row was our other favourite Steve  – “Mad Dog” Maddox.With Foulksey at the forefront it must have felt as though the Bully Convention was in town having had a former Wirral Council Officer inform us that Maddox wasn’t averse to swearing at him in meetings.Just the kind of role model to whom the Freedom of the Borough should be awarded don’t you think?.

As an aside does anyone know whether the Ladies of Hebden Bridge were in attendance, as we know they and Foulkesy went back a long way – all the way back to Hebden Bridge in fact and with most of Wirral Council’s senior officers in tow!

However lets not get away from the fact that this was the Prince of Belligerence’s big night and supported  by his consort and fiancee, the lovely Elaine,Foulksey conceded that he “wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea” as 15 dissenters ( 5 nay-sayers and 10 abstentions) decided to register their protest at his appointment.

Power Boy Pip bleated :”It’s a shame because, obviously, Steve’s family and friends were here, so it should have been a nice night and council should have been unanimous in its support.It’s left a bit of a bitter taste in the mouth.”

We presume he wasn’t talking about Foulkesy’s cup of tea!

However if this statement proves anything it is this:

POWER BOY PIP DOES JUST NOT GET IT AT ALL!

But then he’s learned at the past master’s knee as Foulksey managed to show him just how insensitivity, lack of awareness and sheer ignorance should really be done.

Commenting on the fact that Wirral Foodbank would be one of the Mayor’s chosen charities Foulksey went into full Mother Theresa mode

“Wirral Foodbank is run by genuinely caring people who are in crisis. It takes steps to stop them getting deeper in crisisAs I said in my speech, we are only a few wage packets away, or a very serious accident away, from being in a situation of crisis. There, but by the grace of God go I, which is why I’m also pleased to support the charity.”

So tell us Foulksey how many people have Wirral Council made redundant or bullied out of their jobs are now reliant on such handouts whilst you snort noisily in the trough of plenty whilst being “courted and feted” wherever you go ?………..

 

Ministry of Public Enlightenment & Propaganda

Even considering  we had a  7 month start on Power Boy Pip’s Leader’s Blog it is clear from the 151,000 + hits that Wirral Leaks has had compared (since moving from Tumblr to wordpress)  to his 8,000 , it would appear that the Head of Community Engagement & Communications needs to start earning their £84,000 per annum salary ( plus, er, “bonuses” ). With all the pre-determined consultations, bogus surveys and approval of Freedom Of Information responses it would appear that somewhere along the line the propaganda war is clearly being lost.

As with Goebbels’ original concept   –  The Ministry of Public Enlightenment & Propaganda –  the Leaders blog seems to be an attempt to develop a cult of personality – only without the personality.

For those yet to sample the riveting delights of the Leaders Blog it goes something like this :

” Hi , er , friends and  citizens of Wirral –   everything is thrusting and dynamic here on the golf peninsula  – have I told you about the exciting development on Wirral Waters?.Well , just for now ,instead of thrusting and dynamic skyscrapers we’ve planted some trees. No ,honestly, everything is going to plan, just a few diplomatic hitches to iron out and we’re good to go . Meanwhile I have single handedly turned the Council  into a streamlined thrusting and dynamic organisation ( “you’ve already said thrusting and dynamic” – Head of Community Engagement & Communications)- Oh and have I mentioned the golf? yes there’s a golf tournament where somebody wins a jolly big cheque and a silver trophy and we get to hang out around the hospitality tents pretending to be important…..er and , anything else?…. (  “No! – best not mention the forthcoming Mayor ceremony” – Head of Community Engagement & Communications ).”

Or there’s pictures of Pip doing his “I care  – I’m approachable – I’m not bored,really “ routine with some Modern Apprentice who’s been dragged away from Youtube and asked to grin for the cameras whilst Pip reports :

” Here I am in the busy,busy Legal Department where they do awfully clever legal stuff involving laws and organising cover ups and not renewing leases.Next week I’ll be in Human Resources where apparently they do stuff with humans –  indeed it’s very important that the 23 remaining staff we have working for the Council are paid a living wage and feel supported during this difficult time because if the 23 staff weren’t doing the work of 300 we’d be well and truly stuffed.

I hope to soon drop in on the Finance Department and cheque out (geddit!) whether there’s enough money in the kitty for Burgesski’s antique crystal chandelier to light his throne room (the lavatory to you and I.) No doubt I will jest with my Comrade that in such financially constrained times it is perhaps inappropriate to spend public money on such fripperies….but we both know I can’t bear to see him looking like a sad emoticon so I’ll probably give in like I always do….”

Wirral Leaks Disclaimer :  We defer to Justice Saunders and his deliberations on coverage of the Hacking Trial in relation the internet and Private Eye Magazine  ( November 2013): “It is meant to be satire. You ignore it; it has no serious input and it is not relevant to your considerations. It is one of those things that you will have to ignore, a joke that in the circumstances of today is a joke in exceptionally bad taste…”

And accordingly we humbly suggest to Wirral Council that any further claims of “hurt feelings” should be considered in this context.