By Andy Ford, member of Warrington South CLP
Janette Williamson, the left leader of the Labour Group on Wirral council on Merseyside has been dramatically removed by her own ‘loyal deputy’ in a coup within the Labour group, following the local elections.
By this move, the municipal old guard led by Paul Stuart have re-established their control over the Labour Group. These were the same kind of people who orchestrated the ‘brickgate’ non-scandal in 2016 by claiming, in the absence evidence, that Corbyn supporters had launched a brick through the window of MP Angela Eagle’s office. In fact, it was an act of random vandalism. [See Skwawkbox article here]
Janette Williamson was propelled into power by the Corbyn surge, and by all accounts had done a good job during a difficult period where Wirral was in a situation of ‘No Overall Control’ (NOC). She steered the council through Covid, dealt with previous financial and regulatory messes, and put an end to the Hoylake Golf Resort vanity project. [See Wirral Globe, here]
She was elected unanimously by all parties as Leader of the Council. But she tried to reach an accommodation with the Labour old guard who have repaid her in this humiliating fashion. In fact, the plan to boot her out and replace her only surfaced on the day of the vote! Significantly, Paul Stuart’s success was welcomed by the Wirral Conservatives as a “moderate voice in Labour” that they can work with.
So back to business as usual in Wirral, conducted by the usual faces. But Labour faces a real challenge as the Green Party picked up seats across the borough. The Greens now have 13 seats, challenging the Conservatives who only have 20 seats for the mantle of the official opposition. Labour have 30 and the Lib Dems 6. Corbynite Jo Bird, who was disgracefully excluded from the Labour Party, topped the poll for the Greens in Bromborough.
Wirral Labour right wing rest on increasingly shaky foundations. While expelling good hard-working councillors like Jo Bird, suspending local CLPs, and getting into conflicts with the very unions who pay the Party’s running costs, it is telling that Paul Stuart had several members of his immediate family standing as council candidates in Wirral. Such a narrow base of support does not bode well.
