'Overall in Cheshire West it was a good set of results'

MP for Ellesmere Port

Whilst the pomp and pageantry of the Kings Coronation has dominated the news this weekend, the Prime Minister for one will be relieved that this has meant the focus has been somewhat taken away from what has been a disastrous set of local election results for the Conservative Party. With them losing over 1,000 council seats they lost ground in every part of the country where elections were held. Extrapolated out nationally the Labour lead over the Tories was 9%, the largest in local elections for a quarter of a century but what will have really spooked Tory HQ was the willingness of people to vote tactically in their particular area to ensure those best placed to beat Conservative candidates got the votes. Of course voting patterns can be different in a general election and there could still be another 18 months to go before we have one, but Rishi Sunak will no doubt be disappointed that six months into his Premiership, support for his Party is going backwards.

The pattern here in Ellesmere Port and Neston was broadly similar to the national picture with the Labour vote up and the Conservative vote down in just about every council ward in the constituency. The only exception to that was in the Whitby wards where there was clearly a backlash against the hydrogen village proposals. Overall in Cheshire West it was a good set of results for the Labour Party with them claiming enough seats to have an overall majority on the Council. Congratulations to all those who have been successful and commiserations to those who have lost- all those who put themselves forward for public office play a vital role in the democratic process. One Councillor who stood down ahead of the elections is local legend Brian Jones who has been a councillor in Ellesmere Port for almost 50 years. He has held the position of Mayor three times and served as Chair of some important committees over the years. He is perhaps best known for his fight for justice on behalf of the H H Robertson workers but it seemed that whenever I went door knocking with Brian everybody had some connection with him and that he was respected and admired for it. To have served your community in local Government for so long is a tremendous achievement in itself, but to have fulfilled so many roles and to have been such a popular figure in the local community is even more impressive. I do wonder whether with the demands on peoples time whether we will see people serving for such long periods in local government in the future, I do know for sure though that we are the poorer for the loss of legends like Brian.

Returning to the Coronation it was for most of us the first time we have seen such an event and is clearly an important part of our history and culture. However, free speech is as well and it was concerning to hear about what may have been over zealous policing for those who do not support the monarchy. I am sure there will be further enquiries into the Met Police’s handling of the protesters.