The Emperor of Dissemblance

“He keeps saying he’s going to sort it out. He needs to get his chequebook out and write a cheque” – is Frank Field addressing this statement to Sir Philip Green or to Wirral Council Chief Executive Eric Robinson? 

I was awoken from my golden slumbers this morning by Her Ladyship shrieking :

” Darling , come quickly, that ghastly man is on Radio 4 again…..”  

As there seem to be so many ghastly men (and women) about at the moment it was only when I heard the familiar condescending drawl that I realised she meant dear old Birkenhead MP Frank Field (aka Frankenfield).

Whilst sat at the dining room table I settled down to listen to Frankenfield fulminate against “Sir” Philip Green   described as the “unacceptable face of capitalism ” in a report into the collapse of BHS published today by the Work and Pensions and Business, Innovations and Skills Committees . As we know Frankenfield is the chair of the former Committee and took the opportunity  to do his well worn holier than thou routine and asked :  “What kind of man is it who can count his fortune in billions but does not know what decent behaviour is?”

For the the full tawdry story : https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2016/jul/25/damning-bhs-report-leaves-sir-philip-green-under-pressure-business-live?page=with:block-5795a8a3e4b0d75e7e5f2dcd

That was bad enough however I nearly choked on my kedgeree as Frankenfield  with breathtaking hypocrisy called Green a “Napoleon figure who orchestrated all this ” and who was “used to everyone around him doing as they’re told”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36879241

Takes a Napoleon to know a Napoleon we thought to ourselves! .

Although in this case Frankenfield ‘s Napoleon being less like Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and more like the Napoleon from Animal Farm – Our Leader,Comrade Napoleon, Father of all Animals, Terror of Mankind,Protector of the sheep-fold,Ducklings’ Friend – the Emperor of Dissemblance.

Frankenfield went on (and on and on) to demand  that Sir Green should write a cheque for “at least” £571m for the BHS pensioners……..which in comparison his demand for £48,000 x 4  from Wirral Council for his favoured recording artistes seems quite reasonable! .

But what was it about Frankenfield’s insistence that the collapse of BHS  was all down to  model -botherer and yacht-collector Green ?  (he certainly has it in for Greens doesn’t he ?- whether they’re former Wirral Council Directors or the Wirral Green Party).More objective commentators have drawn attention to the fact that the BHS Inquiry deservedly lambasted not only Green , but the buyer of BHS Dominic Chappell and their enablers.

A report in today’s Financial Times titled “BHS report lays bare failure and liability” states that  – ” Some of the report’s most withering passages are reserved for the “directors, advisers and hangers-on” who surround the two men (Green and Chappell) . They “are all culpable”, the MPs say.”

Among the advisers were  Grant Thornton, the accountancy and auditing firm . Who also strangely enough are Wirral Council’s  auditors. We were particularly drawn to the Financial Times comment that these directors,advisers and hangers-on gave the greedy Green “the lustre of credibility”.

We can’t help feeling the same “lustre of credibility” is similarly given to  Frankenfield and the Wirralgate scandal by the likes of Council directors ,advisers, hangers on and in particular Grant Thornton.

We say this as we are in possession of some astonishing correspondence between Grant Thornton and a local person of interest who has asked us to hang fire for the moment as they (and us) await further developments.

So finally we’d like to ask our readers that whilst they’re demanding “Sir ” Philip gets stripped of his knighthood that St.Frank gets stripped of his sainthood and we’ll leave the last word to Napoleon himself …….

 

 

BOGOF

                                                

As a postscript to Monday’s Wirral Council meeting we couldn’t let proceedings pass without commenting on the vote to bestow former councillors Harry Smith (Labour) and Patricia Williams (Liberal Democrats) with the title Honorary Alderman.

We particularly note that there was an attempt by opposition councillors to vote separately on the respective appointments. Needless to say the majority Labour group were having none of it.They made it clear that Smith and Williams were a package deal  – a cut price buy one get one free offer. They were lumped together as a double act – the political equivalent of The Krankies…….without the laughs.

So what could possibly be the objection to the civic honour to one of these fine upstanding former public servants?. Could it be that one of them was a foul-mouthed,belligerent and incompetent councillor?.

We’ll leave our readers to guess who we mean but we will draw your attention that ex (and X-rated) Councillor Harry Smith once publicly used a four letter word beginning with C to describe a Wirral Globe journalist. He also publicly used a four letter word beginning with T to describe a Liverpool Echo journalist . The T word being “Tory”. But then the journalist did tip off Tory leader Jeff Green about the Wirralgate recordings so that’s perfectly understandable on Smith’s part. He also once gave the person who made the Wirralgate recordings a two-fingered salute.  So at least we can say he believed in Equal Opportunities  – everyone of any political persuasion could potentially be on the receiving end of his statesmanlike behaviour.

We draw this to the attention of our dear devoted readers only to remind them that when local politicians pretend that they’ve just  graduated from a Swiss finishing school rather than being dragged up in the north end of Birkenhead and clasp their breast in feigned horror that Wirral Leaks is  “poisonous and insulting” (guilty as charged) they need to remember who they consider should be revered as a pillar of the community and worthy of civic honours and STFU.

Nevertheless Pat and Harry will be able to exchange amusing anecdotes at their joint reception over publicly funded nibbles and fizz – such as the time that Cllr Williams brought up in Council chambers how they both attended a briefing where the then Director of Adult Social Services Kevin Miller and his assistant Maura Noone repeatedly lied to them . My how they’ll laugh! – of course the trouble with Harry is that he couldn’t remember being at this particular meeting when Cllr Williams brought it up – so it makes you wonder how someone with such crippling amnesia was able to make decisions which affected the lives of Wirral people doesn’t it?………….

 

Behind Closed Doors

We are deeply indebted to John Brace for providing this eyewitness report of yesterday’s Standards Panel. Well it would have been an eyewitness report if he’d been allowed into the meeting – which of course he wasn’t. Because no one’s allowed to know what goes on behind closed doors at Wirral Council . Read it and weep: http://johnbrace.com/2016/06/29/why-has-wirral-council-sunk-deeper-into-the-quagmire-of-poor-corporate-governance-surrounding-a-complaint-about-cllr-steve-foulkes/

As you know we think that it is far from hyperbole to describe this meeting as the most important and significant meeting in Wirral Council’s shameful history.

There are a couple of issues we want to raise about John’s gobsmacking report. Firstly we disagree , knowing what we know, that the complaint is solely about Cllr Steve Foulkes (or shouldn’t be anyway) . Unless of course there is a  separate meeting about Cllr George Davies pivotal role in the Wirralgate scandal and indeed Cllr Phil Davies role in the subsequent 3 YEAR OLD COVER UP of his comrade’s reckless actions.

As we’d reported previously Cllr Foulkes has had to resort to legal representation – surely not to defend what he has done?. As far as we’re concerned the evidence against Foulkes is irrefutable and overwhelming. Therefore we suggest that that the lawyer’s role is to ensure that the public Wirral are not allowed to know what their client has been getting up to whilst in public office.

They are clearly doing a good job so far – ensuring the meeting is held behind closed doors and preventing the publication of Patricia Thynne’s investigation report which is what the meeting was about. We ‘re just wondering who is picking up the tab for the legal fees .

Alongside his legal advocate Foulkes was lucky to have another strong advocate on the panel. Step forward Cllr Moira McLaughlin – who we’re sure made the necessary declaration of personal interest before the meeting started.

But then we may never know ………

 

As You Were

Now that we’ve had to time to reflect on yesterday’s local election our first comment has to be that with a 35% turnout the big winner on the night was voter apathy.

The ever deluded Wirral Council leader Phil “Power Boy Pip” Davies somehow sees the results as a “vote of confidence” and a “mandate” and we fear that we’ll be hearing these words quite regularly over the coming months along with “leadership” “pledges” and “moving forward”.

However taking our lead from Power Boy Pip (which is a first – it’s usually him belatedly responding to what we publish) we thought we’d adopt his Pollyanna approach and be illogically optimistic about Wirral’s political status quo.

Firstly – we note the return of Tories Ian “Hokey Cokey” Lewis  and Chris “Bulldog” Blakeley and Lib Dems Phil “Persistent” Gilchrist and Stuart “Give It Some Welly” Kelly who whatever your political outlook have historically seemed to be some of the few councillors willing to effectively challenge the Wirral Council cabal (including both officers and councillors). We think that now is the time for Tory leader Jeff “Who?” Green to decide whether he actually wants to mount some effective opposition or he’s just content to sit back and be “kindred” (©Cllr  Steve Foulkes ) and watch the allowances and expenses roll in.

Secondly – we noticed that building on their success in Birkenhead & Tranmere with the previous election of Pat Cleary the Green Party  came very close to toppling Labour veteran Jean Stapleton . Ironically it seems the UKIP vote may have saved her this time. So clearly the Greens are having some impact in Labour heartlands (which means the Greens must be giving Birkenhead MP Frankenfield the palpitations again!).

Thirdly  – we noticed a few more references to “Wirralgate” in the mainstream media in the election run up . How long before the whispers turn to screams and the truth will out and voters will finally find out exactly what kind of councillors they’ve voted for ?.

Fourthly  – we were most amused by the triumph of Labour’s teen sensation Warren Ward in the Bromborough ward mainly because he defeated into second place former Lib Dem/Labour/Independent/Whatever Steve “Catweazle” Niblock .

We dug out this pic from a couple of years ago when Niblock was a Labour councillor and Warren was a budding politician and we’re minded to recall the film “All About Eve”  where the ambitious understudy plots to oust the leading lady.

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY  – Dear Warren , Don’t let them turn you into the picture on the left.

If the film is anything to go by Cllr  Ward is destined for high office , awards and accolades. Now all he has to do is decide whether he does it on his own terms or falls in with the corrupt cabal currently running the show. Fasten your seatbelt Warren it’s going to be a bumpy ride !.

Finally , and although only indirectly related to the local elections it seems that following our story about the unseemly public spat between “Sir” Philip Green and Birkenhead MP (and de facto Wirral Council leader) Frank Field that things have got even uglier – which is probably inevitable considering the protagonists. Frankenfield has continued his “prejudiced” public criticism about Green’s role in the collapse of BHS and  Green has now hit back and called for him to resign from the Work and Pensions Committee which is tasked with getting to the bottom of the business dealings which led to the demise of the high street store. Frankenfield has since called Green a “bully” (!) and appointed two of Green’s bitterest rivals to the House of Commons Committee because as we well know -for better ,though usually worse – that’s how  Frank rolls!

As for calls for resignations we feel that the only thing that would shake up the moribund local political scene on Wirral would be for Frankenfield to go . Until such time we fear it’s always going to be a case of as you were………………………

 

This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both of Us

There was a gathering of Labour activists (not to be confused with leaks activists) who gathered today to worship at the altar of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn at West Kirby Methodist Church .

Now although we have Margaret Greenwood as the Labour MP for West Wirral (and about whom we hear good reports from her constituents ) we don’t usually associate West Kirby as a Labour stronghold when it comes to local politics.

We would have thought Corbyn would have found a more conducive environment for his grassroots message in Birkenhead  – Wirral’s and one of the UK’s – safest seats. Especially when Birkenhead would certainly have been a more convenient stopping off point before he hotfooted over to Liverpool for a £45 a head fundraising dinner.

We can only surmise that local political heavyweight Birkenhead MP Frank Field wasn’t having any manifestation of  Corbynmania on “his” patch.

Oh how we relish the fact that Field nominated Corbyn as a Labour leader allegedly  to promote “debate” within the party only to see his sly machinations blow up in his face when Jezza delivered the knockout blow and got elected as leader. We think it is significant that Corbynistas have recently described Field as “core negative” when it comes to the Labour leader and which is best exemplified by Frankenfield’s tetchy, arrogant display of contempt for the people who voted for him when discussing the inexorable rise of Corbyn on TV.

https://number10duckworthstreet.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/frank-fields-arrogantly-admits-his-constituents-views-count-for-nothing-and-its-not-his-job-to-speak-up-for-them/comment-page-1/

To add insult to injury Corbyn is backing the “Remain” campaign in the EU referendum which must rub Europhobe Frankenfield up the wrong way something rotten – and we absolutely love it here at Leaky Towers ! . This may also explain Field’s curious absence from today’s publicity shots showing Corbyn and Labour’s  local election candidates . As we can see there’s Wallasey MP Ange and there’s the aforementioned Marge but it’s a no show from “core negative” Frankenfield and allegedly “hostile” Wirral South MP Alison McGormless!.

 

There are several questions that spring to mind perusing  this picture  – including how did Wednesday Addams get in there – but we’re particularly wondering how Frankenfield feels about the disloyalty shown by Wirral Council “leader”  Power Boy Pip Davies by his obsequious appearance in this apparent show of local solidarity. We must say it must be worrying for Frankenfield that Pip is showing worrying signs of having a mind of his own and exhibited by such acts of defiance as signing that letter to The Times  from North West council leaders supporting the  campaign to remain in the the EU . It’s just a shame for him that he didn’t stand up to Field sooner and he wouldn’t be up to his neck in the Wirralgate scandal !.

No wonder Corbyn looks pensive in this picture – does he know what he’s actually backing here or is his PR guy Seumas Milne as remiss/ignorant/complicit when it comes to the worrying issues highlighted in local social media as his local equivalent Martin Liptrot(sky) ?.

 

Thynne Will Be Done

As a follow on from previous stories about first the postponement and then cancellation of Standards  & Constitutional Oversight Committee we thought we’d try and discover why Wirral Council would resort to such delaying tactics.

Apparently the meetings were  cancelled because they had nothing to discuss!.

This must be because Wirral councillors are either :

A) simply beyond reproach and require neither oversight nor sanction  or B) they’ve got something to hide !.

This wasn’t a trick question. The answer is B.

The deciding factor for the delays was the fact that a Labour councillor couldn’t be found to attend a Standards Panel meeting where the sequel to the now infamous Thynne 1 report published in June 2014 was to be considered prior to a full meeting of the Standards Committee itself.

http://www.lgcplus.com/Journals/2014/07/30/u/f/o/Wirral-MBC-independent-investigation-report.pdf

Now isn’t it funny – or rather , sickening  –  that when there’s a nice little earner to be had sitting on the board of Merseytravel, Magenta Living , Merseyside Fire & Rescue  etc there’s no shortage of councillors volunteering to stick their snouts in the trough but when it comes to performing their civic duties closer to home they come over all shy and retiring……or more accurately sly and in denial.

We understand that  Thynne 2 was complete many months ago and yet it remains hidden from not only public scrutiny but apparently any scrutiny whatsoever. Probably because this sequel is that rare thing  – an improvement on the original Thynne 1 – a report you won’t find on the Wirral Council website although it was originally published within a month of its completion.

https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2014/07/29/wirralgate-council-claim-theyve-got-it-taped/

We can only conclude that the reason that Thynne 2 hasn’t been published is that it includes testimony other than from those with something to hide. Therefore in the continuing absence of the follow up report we are compelled to revisit Thynne 1 and consider significant paragraphs that we can only hope were subject to closer scrutiny than they were the first time they were published.

Cllr Jeff Green’s evidence :

Para  5.1.2 Person A (one of the complainants called The Group )  then told him ( Cllr Green) that they had received threats from the council that if they produced the tape it would go badly for them

 

Cllr Phil Davies’ evidence :

Para 5.2.3  Cllr Davies believes the Group were trying to use the content of the phone conversation to pressurise him into settling their claim

SO WHY SUBSEQUENTLY DID WIRRAL COUNCIL LEADER  PHIL DAVIES COMMISSION A REVIEW FROM NICK WARREN WHICH TRIES TO ENSURE THE GROUP SETTLE THEIR “CLAIM” FOR COMPENSATION WITHOUT FOLLOWING DUE LEGAL PROCESS AND AGAINST LEGAL ADVICE WHEN IT APPEARS FROM HIS DESCRIPTION  THE GROUP WERE TRYING TO EXTRACT MONEY WITH MENACES ?! – WE  THINK THE EVIDENCE BELOW WILL HELP EXPLAIN.

Cllr Steve Foulkes evidence :

Para 5. 3 .3 He says that he was anxious to introduce a clear prohibition against the political manipulation of whistleblowers. At  the time some whistleblowers seemed to be feted and courted by some councillors whilst others were ignored. It occurred to him that the use of whistleblowers by politicians for political ends might itself constitute harm or damage that would support their claim (for) compensation from the Council. He thought that the document he had seen would provide good evidence to support his case about preventing this happening in future.

Para 5. 3. 4  Cllr Foulkes says that he asked Cllr George Davies who was actively involved with The Group to talk to them and request a copy of the document he had read several years previously . He also asked that the document be signed by them to prevent people thinking that he had written it himself. He says he asked for the document both to support his own desire to amend the Council policy on whistleblowing and also because he thought it might strengthen their claim against the Council for compensation.

CONTRADICTORY MUCH ?. FOULKESY WANTS TO STOP WHISTLEBLOWERS CLAIMING COMPENSATION BY HELPING SO CALLED WHISTLEBLOWERS MAKE A DUBIOUS CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION BY ASKING THEM TO PROVIDE A DOCUMENT IN AN ATTEMPT TO SMEAR A POLITICAL OPPONENT !. 

A DOCUMENT HE HAD ALREADY “ACQUIRED” FROM FORMER DIRECTOR OF LAW BILL NORMAN’S FILES AND HANDED OVER TO A LOCAL JOURNALIST. GO FIGURE! 

Para 5.3.6 Cllr Foulkes stated that he did not conduct smear campaigns. He has not used the letter to attack an individual. He states that as Deputy Mayor  , he could not have left the Council Chamber during a meeting unless there was an adjournment.

SEVERAL WITNESSES SAW FOULKES LEAVE THE COUNCIL CHAMBER TO MEET THE LOCAL JOURNALIST ON  13 JULY  2013. THERE WAS AN ADJOURNMENT AT THIS MEETING  – IT’S RECORDED IN THE MINUTES ! ……..AND HE’S FILMED ON YOUTUBE  SIGNALLING TO THE SAME JOURNALIST IN THE PUBLIC GALLERY !.

Cllr George Davies  evidence :

Para 5.4.1 …..Cllr Davies is Frank Field’s agent and was present at numerous subsequent meetings between the Group and Frank Field

Para 5.4.2 Cllr George Davies says that over the years he got to know the group well and developed what he describes as a relaxed and unguarded way of talking to them. He also admits he has difficulty remembering the detailed content of conversations.

GOOD JOB THE GROUP RECORDED THE CONVERSATIONS THEN ! 

Para 5.4.3 …It was during this telephone conversation call that Cllr George Davies made the reference to the council officer which had been the subject of the previous investigation. Cllr George Davies is adamant that they talked about no other issue and there was no conversation about any smear campaign against Cllr Green

WE BELIEVE THIS STATEMENT TO BE UNTRUE. GEORGE DAVIES NOT ONLY USES A RACIAL SLUR HE OFFERS TO SETTLE THE GROUP’S COMPENSATION CLAIM  DESCRIBED BY PERSON A FROM THE GROUP AS A SMEAR DEAL (SEE BELOW).

Letter from The Group to Joe Blott 

Para 5.5.2 The letter refers to a request they be interviewed as part of the previous investigation and asks that they not be contacted in future. The letter goes on to say that the investigation  “Makes no mention of the political cohesion (Smear Deal) from Wirral Labour Party that was set up with the whistleblowers on behalf of the Deputy Mayor Mr Foulkes including others , against Jeff Green the Wirral Conservative leader.”

 

WOULDN’T IT BE INTERESTING TO KNOW WHY THE GROUP WOULDN’T CO-OPERATE WITH ANY INVESTIGATIONS THAT INVOLVED DETAILS OF THE RECORDED TELEPHONE CONVERSATION AND YET AGREED TO GIVE EVIDENCE TO THE NICK WARREN REVIEW?. COULD IT BE THAT THE FRANK FIELD FACILITATED REVIEW HAD THE POSSIBILITY OF  BIG CHEQUES AT THE END OF IT? . BUT CHEQUES FOR EXACTLY WHAT WE WONDER!. WE THINK  THYNNE 2  WILL HELP ANSWER THAT QUESTION  – WHICH MAY EXPLAIN WHY IT REMAINS HIDDEN FROM  PUBLIC SCRUTINY.    

No Standards

 

Our readers will recall how we reported that a meeting of Wirral Council’s Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee due to be held on 8th February had been postponed for nearly 2 months and was to be held on 31st MARCH !.

The Wirralgate Files

However whispers late last week from a number of outraged sources suggested to us that the meeting was going to be CANCELLED altogether . Surely not ! we exclaimed . We should have known better as the cancellation has indeed now been confirmed on Wirral Council’s own website.

http://democracy.wirral.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=684&MId=5476&Ver=4

The significance of the meeting was the fact that we had been led to believe that the long awaited and much delayed second investigative report undertaken by Patricia Thynne looking at the conduct of senior councillors tangled up in the Wirralgate scandal was to be discussed.

Of course we never expected the report to be made publicly available (well not officially anyway) and we assumed it would be discussed behind closed doors at the Standards etc; Committee meeting. Now it would appear that Wirral Council are relying on the tried and tested approach to scandals : “kick it into the long grass and pray that everyone who knows what we’ve been up to gets hit by a meteorite”.

Now whilst our contacts seem to be in a state of apoplexy about the situation those of us who’ve studied the machinations of Wirral Council for some time are quite strangely reassured as it suggests to us the report is (or at least should be) damning. Why else would they go to so much “time and trouble” (pun intended) to conceal the truth from the public? .

However what does stagger us is that what is already in the public domain and what has been reported on Wirral Leaks and elsewhere as to why decisive action has not been demanded sooner and why councillors of all parties are allowing this abuse of power to continue unchallenged. Under the circumstances you’d certainly think that at least Councillors Crabtree and Reece -Jones would feel particularly aggrieved that they’d been subject to suspensions whilst more senior councillors publicly accused of appalling misconduct have been allowed to carry on making important decisions affecting the lives of Wirral people.

Meanwhile the reputation of Wirral Council falls even further into disrepute . The judgement of those responsible for corporate governance is called into question and the web of deceit widens ensnaring more and more people who appear to have no standards – be they concerned with public life or personal morality.

 

The Wit and Wisdom of Power Boy Pip

 

 

The latest offering in our occasional ” Wit & Wisdom” series comes courtesy of Wirral Council “leader” Cllr Phil Davies – better known to our readers as Power Boy Pip because of his alleged “Special Powers”.

The series was initiated by the previous Council leader Steve Foulkes and his philosophical musings which remain as good for you today as they’ve always been . Hovis for the soul so to speak :

The Wit and Wisdom Of …..

Foulkes ‘ successor Pip has always been good value when it comes to foot-in-mouth disease hence his appearance on the Wirral Leaks header: “What they do in Wirral is try to create all sorts of smokescreens and scandals which don’t exist in departments of the Council“ he said in 2012 – the year of Wirral Council’s annus horribilis and which would have been a good time to acknowledge that actually scandal was their stock in trade. We’re not complaining at Leaky Towers as such denial has provided us with endless possibilities to gleefully expose the dirt behind the daydream ever since and there’s the promise of much , much more to come !.

However Pip has excelled  himself recently with some particularly gnomic comments which is what you can only expect when your special advisor comes across as a second rate snake oil salesman .

Of course in time it could prove that the most significant quotes that Pip will ever utter are linked to his ever changing story concerning the Wirralgate scandal and which ultimately could lead to his downfall.

“Wirralgate” – Louder Than Bombs

However here are some more recent quotes for you to consider :

On the proposed closure of Girtrell Court :

“It is about the choice agenda as much, er , as getting , you know , a saving” 

http://www.baytvliverpool.com/?v=47307

Just to be clear on this one  it appears to us that “the choice agenda” means that people can have a choice as long as it’s the choice that Wirral Council chooses for them!

Next we move on to some correspondence sent by friend of Wirral Leaks Dr.Robert Smith who continues valiantly in his attempt to get a response from Wirral Council officers  (and Surjit Tour in particular) to some pertinent questions he raised some time ago. During the course of this correspondence Dr.Smith unearths a couple of stonking quotes from The Pipmeister :

” As Cllr Phil Davies has continually refused to correspond with me, I would like to ask you this. With regard to the website Move Ahead Birkenhead and Cllr Davies’ ‘interview’. There is a section in the last paragraph which says…and I quote…

“But many, if not all of these (regeneration) schemes, had doubters who said it couldn’t be done – but it was because the will of the people made it happen”..………..

In terms of Wirral Council ‘accountability’ and delivering relevant services, my observation would be that it has been some considerable time since “the will of the people” of Wirral has been a consideration for the ruling majority of Wirral Council.

…Cllr Davies continues…”There is a great quote I was reminded of in discussions with my team when we were talking about our ambition: ‘Dream big dreams. Small dreams have no magic.’ That seems very appropriate don’t you think?” “

Blimey! Who does Pip think he is ?.  Blanche Dubois ? An X-factor contestant ? A one man meme? . A fridge magnet made flesh ?. Might we suggest that Pip is more dotty bonkers than Dottie Boreyko ?.

Wirral Waters – a big splash or a small ripple?

Pip’s BS quotient was in full flow at this week’s Cabinet meeting  where he used such choice phrases as “pathway out of poverty “  when discussing jobs and investment and when discussing the Council’s Early Voluntary Redundancy arrangements which he said offered “dignity and financial security”  … because as we all know being redundant and unemployed ticks both of those boxes !.

Talking of quotes we thought the Thynne 2  investigation report had been leaked  yesterday when we heard a woman on the TV using the words : “culture of fear , “duplicity” , “misconduct” “untouchable”  “unchecked” “behaviour went unchallenged” “deluded by reputation ” and “shut up he’s a VIP” .  Whilst we finally realised it was the Dame Janet Smith review into cover-ups at the BBC we wouldn’t be surprised to see the same sort phrases cropping up in the Thynne 2 report .

Which perhaps explains why the people of Wirral will never be allowed to see it! ……..unless of course someone would  care to leak it to us so we could pick out the choicest quotes !.

Let There Be Light

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.…

Once again we are grateful to one of our readers who has sent us a copy of yesterday’s front page of the Wirral edition of the Liverpool Echo.

We didn’t even know there was such a publication – the last time we bought the Echo on a Saturday it was pink and we’d check the football results with our pools coupon.

However what drew our reader’s attention was the glaring front page headline  :” Left in the dark” and the sub-heading – “Promise of Action on Wirral Street Lights”. Our puzzled reader was curious to see whether this was a lazy re-tread of a story we’d run on 29  January – and if so why exactly two weeks later a story about street lights is on the front page of the Liverpool Echo.

Shine A Light

The puzzle was solved when our reader turned to page 8 to see the source of the story was Birkenhead MP Frank ” Light of The World” Field  , because as we know that round here it’s not news until Frank  reports it. What’s more we all know that  when it comes to being in the media spotlight the super trouper beams are always going to find him!.

The late to the party Labour MP says in the report that residents’ concerns centred “on the apparent lack of urgency shown by the council’s Streetscene department to address each fault once it has been reported”.

What amused us more than anything else in the report was the response of Cllr Stuart Whittingham ,Wirral Council’s cabinet member for transport. When we first covered the story we included stats from former Lib Dem councillor Stuart Kelly. It was in response to Kelly’s tweet that Witless Whittingham further enhanced his resemblance to the Matt Lucas character George Dawes (“He’s a baby”)  by spitting his dummy out of the pram during this Twitterspat  :

Now you’ve witnessed the kind of high level political debate that Witless Whittingham indulges in compare and contrast his tittylipped response  with his grovelling apology in the Echo report :

“Sadly , this year we’ve seen increased levels of vandalism and unreported collision damage, which has contributed to a higher than normal number of outstanding faults . We have not been able to respond to this increase as well as I would like , so we are taking special action to deal with the backlog . I’d like to apologise to residents for not responding sooner to their concerns”.

Of course there’s no mention of the fact that the ending of regular streetlight surveys has undoubtedly contributed to this dim situation . Nevertheless now that our saviour Frankenfield has declared “let there be light” we can now expect that Wirral will be lit up like Reno.

Shame that Field wants to keep us “left in the dark ” about  other matters concerning former Wirral Council streetscene workers though isn’t it ?. Accordingly  can we advise our readers not to expect that particular story lighting up the front page of the Echo any time soon !!!.

Streetlights lookalikes

The Wirralgate Files

We’ve had numerous enquiries asking us were the Wirralgate saga is up to because it’s been oh so quiet. So we’ve contacted some trusted and well placed sources to find out where things are at as clearly Wirral Council have absolutely no intention of telling us.

Apparently there are two Wirralgate files held in complete secrecy under lock and key. Firstly and figuratively in the red corner we have the Nick Warren review and in the blue corner we have the Patricia Thynne re-review.

Apparently the latter was to be discussed (behind closed doors) at a meeting of the Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee on Monday , 8th February – no laughing at the back ,yes Wirral Council do have such a committee. Not that they meet very often as you can see from the number of postponements and cancellations which tells us much about how local councillors are concerned about standards and oversight of their own conduct.

http://democracy.wirral.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=684&Year=0

However in a typical Wirral Council move the meeting has been reconvened nearly  2 months later to 31st MARCH !.

Why so ? I hear you all cry.

There can only be one explanation and that is that it has been moved to ensure that the meeting takes place during purdah. The purdah period typically begins six weeks before the scheduled local elections in May. The time period prevents the councillors using their knowledge of Council business that would be advantageous or disadvantageous to any candidates or parties in the forthcoming election. Where actual advantage to candidates is proven in law this amounts to a breach of Section 2 of the Local Government Act 1986.Ironically its breach carries with it the possibility of actions for abuse of power and misconduct in public office which is what the Wirralgate files are all about!!!!.

So what better way to ensure that councillors keep their gobs shut about what they know!.

Fortunately there are no councillors who work at Leaky Towers so Wirral Council need not rely on us keeping our gobs shut. And please Wirral Council spokesperson don’t piously give us that crap about interfering with due process – you wouldn’t know due process if it bit you on your expensively upholstered backside.The fact is that the most senior politicians and officers have been keeping a lid on this scandal since July 2013 simply because they have the money and power to do so.

What they seem to forget is that it is OUR money and the power WE have invested in them to act in accordance with their professional codes of conduct and The Seven Principles of Public Life (aka The Nolan Principles).

1. Selflessness
2. Integrity
3. Objectivity
4. Accountability
5. Openness
6. Honesty
7. Leadership

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-7-principles-of-public-life/the-7-principles-of-public-life–2

So far Wirral Council we score you zero out of seven. Although let’s face it they probably think the Nolan Principles mean they need to be in the mood for dancing!.

As for the bogus Nick Warren review – Lord knows where that is up to (or more accurately he doesn’t know because if he did he would tell you!).

Time and Trouble

For all we know “The Complainers” could have been boxed off by now and the golden opportunity to finally rid Wirral Council of the poison that has made it into such a sick organisation has been exchanged for 30 pieces of silver (or however much Frankenfield has negotiated on their behalf) .

As far as we’re concerned somebody needs to send for Jessica Fletcher as it looks like it’s going to be murder this purdah!.