Election Selection : Week 7

As we enter the final week of what has been an interminable general election campaign in the interest of political balance we’ve made some changes and additions to our original post.

Gone West

One of our readers has heeded our word and undertaken some research on local candidates before they cast their vote. As they themselves say it’s not exactly a ‘leak’ (as it’s all in the public domain if you know what to look for). The candidate in question is Tony Caldeira the prospective parliamentary candidate for Wirral West .

Our source writes :

Tony Caldeira over in Wirral West runs on the ticket of being a successful businessman  https://www.tonycaldeira.org.uk/about-tony. His Facebook page (1) states that he “will always be a champion for local business.”  (see pic) 

Looking at his business accounts, it seems that his principal business is Caldeira Holdings with, until last year, 5 subsidiary companies.

Picture 2 is from Caldeira Holdings most recent accounts (2).  Now I’m not experienced at looking at these things, but it seems to me that:

 – his main business (Caldeira Ltd) is losing a lot of money

 – his overseas subsidiaries seem to have accrued big debts,

 – one of his businesses (Caldeira Retail) went into voluntary liquidation

Caldeira Retail appears to have gone into liquidation owing £6.7m to employees, and small businesses, etc (3).

I just think that if being a great businessman is his ticket, he should be transparent about his own struggling business. And if he says he “will always be a champion for local business”, then people should know that he liquidated his multimillion pound debt to dozens of small businesses last year – not much of a champion for them, then?

Links are:-

(1) https://www.facebook.com/TonyCaldeiraWW

(2) https://www.thegazette.co.uk/company/07102829/filing-history/MzE3Mjk3Mzg0MWFkaXF6a2N4 , taken from https://www.thegazette.co.uk/company/07102829

(3) https://www.thegazette.co.uk/company/06576230/filing-history/MzE0MzUxOTgzOWFkaXF6a2N4 , taken from https://www.thegazette.co.uk/company/06576230

Perhaps Mr Caldeira could comment as to whether our source has given a fair reflection of his current business interests?

Mass Debate

We don’t know about you but we feel this general election campaign has been going on for most of our lives. Debate after debate after debate. And all of them signifying nothing. But at least we should be grateful that Wirral had a prominent audience member at last week’s televised debate.

A few people contacted us to say they recognised DASS manager Peter Ferguson – particularly someone  who had dealings with him during the infamous ‘4 week delay ‘scandal. They weren’t impressed. However with the news that 220 DASS social care assessment staff are being ‘integrated’ with Wirral Community NHS Trust we can only hope that Wirral Community NHS Foundation Trust CEO  Karen Howell  delivers on her promise that ‘As one organisation, we will deliver a fully integrated social care assessment and health service to local residents – helping to deliver the right care, in the right place, at the right time.’

One thing that has occurred to us as Wirral Council slough off yet more staff that we can’t understand that with less and less services and fewer staff to manage as to why there isn’t a corresponding cut in pay for Wirral Council’s most senior managers?

http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/15324643.Dawn_of_a_new_era_for_social_care_in_Wirral/

Finally we’d just like to comment that judging by recent events and the divisive nature of general election campaigns that whichever way you cast your vote (or not as the case may be) that political debate and dissent is set to continue long after Thursday’s election result……..

 

Election Selection : Week 3

Frank’n’Jezza do the foodbank fandango

Fleetfooted Frank 

When it comes to the question of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn ,our very own Labour Party parliamentary candidate for Birkenhead ,Frank Field, have danced around each other with all the deftness , if not the grace, of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Firstly it should be remembered that Frankfield nominated Jezza for the Labour leadership to encourage ‘debate’ within the Labour Party , when Corbyn cruised to victory he immediately started backtracking and backstabbing  Jezza – regularly briefing the press about Corbyn’s supposed shortcomings including agreeing with J.K.Rowling, the dreary and self righteous writer of tedious children’s tales, that Corbyn was an electoral liability. There appeared to be a slight rapprochement when last year Frankenfield invited Jezza to one of his ideologically dodgy ‘feed the poor’ projects just after the latter had seen off a leadership challenge . Frankenfield was even recently named in an article in the Daily Telegraph (aka Torygraph) as one of Corbyn’s staunchest supporters alongside John McDonnell and Diane Abbott. Huh? – we must have missed that!

The Urge to Purge

Now in his latest media interview published this week Field acts the drama queen again –  clutching his chest and saying that it’s a ‘tragedy’ that Corbyn can’t sell vote winning policies. We’re wondering whether Field is referring to same policies which he described last year as ‘serious claptrap’!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-36629342/corbyn-has-serious-claptrap-problem

There is a particularly interesting revelation in the interview that ‘left-wingers’ (presumably Corbynistas within the Birkenhead Constituency Labour Party) had been preparing an attempt to remove him as Labour candidate for the next General Election – just as Militant tried 30 years ago. Sadly, this latest threat to his personal fiefdom of Birkenhead vanished when Theresa May called a snap election and all sitting Labour MPs were automatically reselected. “I have been imposed by Jeremy,” he joked. “I have had this indignity of the leader imposing me on the party.” 

Oh, Frank you’re such a wag!

Frankenfield, 74, also said the prospect of retirement filled him with dread: “I would collapse soon, it would be over. I hope to hit the wall running, that’s the aim.”

Talk about amateur dramatics! – makes us want to pass Frankenfield some metaphorical rollerskates so he can hit the wall much quicker and with greater force.

Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/politics/frank-field-tragedy-corbyn-cant-sell-vote-winning-policies/

Angela’s Activists

Talking of amateur , Wallasey MP Angela Eagle has proved herself to be a rank amateur when it comes to political guile , especially when compared to Frankenfield. We hear from a Labour insider that Wallasey Constituency Labour Party activists have flown the Eagle’s nest to assist Margaret Greenwood’s campaign in  Wirral  West.

Now we don’t know whether this is a result Ange’s attempted leadership coup against Jezza which might have upset the Corbynistas within Wallasey CLP or it was the Brickgate episode or the false allegations of homophobia made against party activists . Alternatively  it could be Labour party activists have made a pragmatic decision to campaign in what will be the only closely contested election on Wirral.

As surely they must know that  Tony Caldeira – a distant runner up in this week’s Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor election to Steve ‘The Brickie’ Rotheram-  will find much richer pickings ( pun intended) in the West Wirral constituency.

Rising Wood

Gillian Wood’s ascendency to councillor for Claughton, where she stand alongside Cllr Steve Foulkes and Cllr George Davies, elicited some comments about her involvement in the Wallasey CLP shenanigans

Gilly Keeps Bad Company in Claughton

We can’t confirm any of these allegations , mainly as the people who made the allegations have never been identified . However  we have been reliably informed that her partner, James Laing, stood for Labour in a safe Tory seat of Eddisbury in the last General Election. Her son Tom Laing is also active in Wirral Young Labour.  So with Gilly’s electoral victory could we be looking at a rising political dynasty on Wirral?………….

Mayor Balls

So have you all voted yet in the bore-fest that is the Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor election?

We studied the Mayoral election booklet that was sent to Leaky Towers before we decided where to place our X ( or X X – as we lucky people get to choose a second candidate!) We’re still not sure what the Liverpool City Region ‘Metro’ Mayor is for , although we read that he – because let’s face it it will be Steve the Brickie – will have a range of powers including strategic housing and planning ,transport and highways, business growth, energy and environment, finance and European funding.  He’ll be a busy boy then – although doing what exactly we’re not quite sure. I suppose we should be thankful that this election didn’t take place 20 years ago as our very own Frank Field said he’d fancy his chances. Can you imagine Frankenfield meddling in everything left, right and centre? Frightening! But anyway back to the current eight candidates and their policies/pledges/pleas/promises – call them what you will…………………… http://liverpoolcityregionelects.org/media/1006/mayoral-booklet.pdf

We’re trying to be objective here but what struck us reading them all is that Steve ‘Brickie’ Rotheram’s pages are decidedly short on any actual concrete plans. Plenty of soundbites and platitudes  and needless to say ‘the vision thing’-  “ My vision is for a region that is ambitious ,fair,green,connected and together”, ” I will stand up for every community and ensure every voice is listened to”  etc; etc;  Yes , Steve , but how?

All of the other candidates set out exactly what they want to do and how they want to do it . Even though one candidate Paul Breen doesn’t appear in the booklet at least we can tell from his handle Get The Coppers Off The Jury what he wants to achieve !

Roger Bannister ( Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition – TUSC) may not be the same man who was the first to run the mile in under 4 minutes but he does set out 5 key aims.  Tony Caldeira (the Conservative Party) sets out a 6 point ‘Tony’s Plan for the City Region’ .

Similarly Tom Crone (Green Party)) has a 5 point plan as does Tabitha Morton ( Women’s Equality Party) who has the same number of ‘priorities’. Carl Cashman has 4 parts to his ‘vision’ whilst Paula Walters (UKIP) must have double vision as there are 8 parts to her particular ‘vision’ for the City region.

Shame that none of the visions ,plans ,priorities will come to fruition as we know that with six boroughs in the City region and all of them Labour-controlled that Steve the Brickie is a shoo-in . This might explain his ‘can’t be arsed’ entry prepared by his agent , head of North West Labour executive, Anna Hutchinson. We are however treated to a full page picture of Steve the Brickie wistfully gazing into the middle distance wearing a ’96’ badge , campaigning wristbands and stroking a puppy ( we made the bit about the puppy up – but you get our drift).

So having considered all the information on offer we’ve decided to vote for Tabitha Morton from the Women’s Equality Party. With a name like that she seems to be ‘one of us! one of us! one of us!’ to purloin Steve the Brickie’s rather cultish election tagline. Talking of cults wouldn’t it also be good to shake up the tired old male -dominated City Region political scene? Go Tabitha!