The candidates for the upcoming Cheshire East Council (CEC) & Wilmslow Town Council (WTC) Elections, representing the Wilmslow West & Chorley and Wilmslow West wards have been announced. Hannan Sarwar has decided to stand for election to both.
Residents in the Wilmslow West & Chorley Ward will have the choice of six candidates to fill two seats on CEC and residents in Wilmslow West will have the choice of nine candidates to fill five seats on WTC when they go to the polls on on Thursday, 4th May.
The candidates standing to represent Wilmslow West & Chorley Ward on CEC are:
- Anderson Michelle Louise - Green Party
- Estill Barry - Conservative Party Candidate
- Goldsmith Mark Andrew - Residents of Wilmslow *
- Gorman Michael David - Residents of Wilmslow
- Sarwar Hannan Amer - Conservative Party Candidate
- Wilson Gareth George - Liberal Democrats
The candidates standing to represent Wilmslow West on WTC are:
- Abdullah Faruq - Local Conservatives
- Mark Goldsmith * - Residents of Wilmslow
- Michael Gorman - Residents of Wilmslow
- Tim Higgins - Residents of Wilmslow
- Angela McPake * - Local Conservatives
- Julie Dawn Potts * - Local Conservatives
- Hannan Sarwar * - Local Conservatives
- Ed Sleath - Residents of Wilmslow
- Toby Tritschler - Residents of Wilmslow
I will publish brief interviews with each of the candidates, in the order in which I receive a response to my request. Use the tags below to locate the other candidate interviews published to date.
Please tell me about yourself - occupation, where you live, interests, family?
I am 22 years old and have lived in Wilmslow with my parents and siblings since childhood. I recently graduated in Law from Keele University in July 2022. I then decided to pursue a master's in healthcare law and medical Ethics LLM at the University of Manchester and will graduate later this year. I also help run my family business as a knitwear manufacturer producing sustainable and ethical knitwear for online retailers and high street stores across the UK.
My interests are closely aligned with my academic goals. I volunteer and support various charities that support chronically unwell patients. I tend to go to the gym or long hikes across the Cheshire countryside in my spare time.
How long you have lived in there?
I have lived in Wilmslow most of my life and have experienced the same rewards and frustrations as most residents. I enjoy our beautiful parks, such as the Carrs, but I must avoid the many potholes across Wilmslow when driving.
Are you a member of any local groups or societies?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I supported our most vulnerable residents by doing their weekly food shop. I was later involved in the COVID testing and vaccine distribution site at Wilmslow Health Centre.
As a town councillor, I was also the deputy Representative on the Manchester Airport Liaison Community and the Vice-Chair of the Community and Order Committee.
I have also been regularly helping at the weekly Ukrainian café that the town council hosts.
Why have you decided to stand for election as a borough councillor?
Having lived in Wilmslow most of my life, I want to see improvements across our local area. I was disappointed that our incumbent 'Residents of Wilmslow' councillors decided to prop up the Labour Council instead of doing what was best for Wilmslow. They supported and voted for an increase in council tax, a reduction in library hours and imposing a green bin tax as part of the recent Budget.
I am also disappointed that they have not secured investment in Wilmslow via their roles at Cheshire East despite Cheshire East spending money elsewhere and it being a major campaign point for them in 2019. Cheshire East have spent money in Crewe, continue to offer free car parking in Sandbach (where the Labour Council leader sits) and to repair potholes in Alderley Edge (where the Deputy leader sits). The vast majority of their claims of success are due to other people. Be that at Town Council level, where the delivery has been via our Councillors, the acoustic camera on the A34 was delivered by the Police and Crime Commissioner as part of a Cheshire-wide trial or the lines on Alderley Road where the necessary paperwork was submitted by the previous Councillors (but takes 18 months to process).
Why have you decided to re-stand for election as a town councillor representing the Wilmslow West Ward?
It has been a wonderful experience being a town councillor. I became a Councillor at the age of 18, becoming one of the youngest councillors in the country. During my time on the Town Council, I have served on all town council committees and have been able to make a real difference on a very local level.
As a local Conservative team, we have continued to fund CCTV across our town centre preventing and tackling antisocial behaviour. We have also continued to fund and support large-scale events such as Cinema on the Carrs and the annual Christmas Light Switch. As the current Vice Chair for the community and order committee, I have enjoyed planning the King's Coronation events.
We can also continue to do things to improve our town centre, and we have a clear 6-point plan for what we will do over the next four years.
What do you consider to be the important issues facing Wilmslow?
Our town centre has suffered since the pandemic, and I am keen to work with our Business Improvement District to help make the most of the investment in our town centre. I hope as both a Borough and Town Councillor. I will be able to help make our town a more vibrant and welcoming place for residents, visitors, and businesses.
We still need to solve the parking issue around Wilmslow, and I will enable a sensible conversation about how we can resolve this problem affecting residents daily.
On top of that, we need to see more road repairs in Wilmslow. It upsets me that Alderley Edge has been benefitting from huge road repairs. Still, our incumbent "RoW' councillors have been unable to fix potholes across Wilmslow but instead, take credit for projects that started under our previous Conservative councillors.
What do you hope to achieve and how in the next 4 years?
I am keen to work to develop the aspirations of the Wilmslow Neighbourhood Plan, which includes creating a new 'Wilmslow Hub', starting with Town Council offices being moved into the library.
Poor broadband is still an issue in a number of areas of Wilmslow and I am keen to work with colleagues at Cheshire East to ensure that we work towards to new airband contract that, this time includes Wilmslow in the houses benefiting.
Our whole team, at both Town and Borough Council have committed to support '20's is plenty' in residential areas, where it has local support as evidence suggests it will improve. road safety and air quality.
What experience and personal qualities will you bring to the role?
Having a law degree and working in business, I have many transferrable skills that have helped me in my role as a town councillor. I pay attention to detail and know how much of a difference we can make in Wilmslow if we continue to grow our local economy and develop local infrastructure.
Why should residents vote for you?
One of the first things I would do if elected to Cheshire East is to understand why our current councillors have allowed Cheshire East to have £27 million owed in uncollected debt. I will use your council tax wisely and ensure you are not charged for recycling garden and food waste.
*current councillor.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Just a note on the £27 million uncollected council tax. I refer Hannan and any other interested persons to the factual information provided by RoW Councillor David Jefferay in commenting on Conservative Candidate, John Duckworth's biography. The figure is circa £20 million which compared with other local authorities is well within current working levels. As David rightly points out there are those who genuinely cannot afford to pay their council tax bills and need council support to do so.
- The Wilmslow Town Council projects we claim credit for were all originated by the four RoW councillors. We thought of the ideas, costed the projects, then made formal proposals to the council for funding. Once approved, the “implementation” was mostly undertaken by the Town Clerk. In most of these projects, the main involvement of the 10 Conservative councillors was when they put their hand up to approve the funding.
- The yellow lines in Alderley Road went down 22 months after the May 2019 elections. Once elected, we found Cheshire East Highways where not even aware Alderley Road was a problem. This is despite the previous Conservative Councillors claiming otherwise:
https://www.wilmslow.co.uk/news/article/17887/temporary-solution-to-alderley-road-parking-problems
Instead, Highways were planning to yellow line Manchester Road (co-incidentally, this was also where Cllr Menlove lived). We switched the funding and started the Alderley Road scheme from scratch. We therefore did not inherit it as claimed.
- From August 2020 onwards, RoW lobbied our local MP, Cheshire East and the Police & Crime Commissioner to tackle the problem of excessive noise on the A34. I personally contacted acoustic camera manufacturers and other councils who had used them to see if the technology was suitable for Wilmslow. This lobbying led to the PCC holding a public meeting in September 2021, where the strength of residents feeling was made clear. We then again lobbied Cheshire East Highways to enact a noise camera scheme, which was eventually implemented in December 2022.
Most of Cllr Sarwar’s other claims are equally inaccurate eg
- In September 2021 Conservative councillors (including Lacey Green’s, Don Stockton),
voted to keep Sandbach car park free. They blocked plans to introduce parking fees
there at the Highways and Transport committee meeting.
- Cheshire East is not funding the redevelopment of Crewe, it is government funded.
- The ‘Green Bin Tax’ has not even been proposed, consulted or approved.
- RoW councillors launched the town council scheme that resulted in the Wilmslow
Business Improvement District and their £1 million investment in the town. This was the
first investment in Wilmslow for decades. It took us 3 months to convince Cllr Sarwar
and his Conservative colleagues to back our proposal though.
I could go on but will spare everyone the full details.
Cllr Mark Goldsmith
Residents of Wilmslow
Wilmslow West & Chorley
Apart from the above; 20's Plenty was founded back in 2007 and has over 600 local groups, one of which has been active here for years. It's great that these "local Conservatives" have finally got the message but they really are late to the party and can't take much credit for supporting it at this late stage.
The Green Bin Tax was voted for at the budget meeting in February and the High Level Business Case document (PL23-27 92(A)) clearly states “no further public consultation is expected to be undertaken”.
If Cllr Goldsmith and RoW cannot find the minutes of the meeting where they voted WITH Labour, I am happy to share them. I urge Cllr Goldsmith to correct the record.
Hannan Sarwar
Conservative Candidate for Wilmslow West & Chorley
There is circa £27 million pound of Cheshire East debt (£20m which is Council Tax, some of which goes back 3 years and £7m of other uncollected debt).
Regarding the Business Improvement District the Conservative Led Town Council has supported this. The original idea came from wilmslow Business Group. They requested the original funding to ascertain business interest. That work was then done by Groundwork who prepared the request for finance to prepare a proposal for a Business Improvement District. That funding was agreed by the Conservative led Town Council of which Residents of Wilmslow Councillors were part.
As Local Conservatives we were delighted to see the BID approved at referendum and we will continue to support investment in our town centre.
Hannan Sarwar
Cheshire East for Wilmslow West & Chorley
It isn't just the Conservative team, who have continued to fund CCTV and large-scale events such as Cinema on the Carrs and the annual Christmas Light Switch.
It was the whole council consisting of the ten Conservative, Four ROW and One Liberal Democrat councillors.
The potholes are due to a lack of funding from the Conservative Governments and the 25-year contract that the Conservative-led CEC council signed us up to.
And as Mark Goldsmith says, I could go on......
- £5.7m relates to adult social care debt. What people do not realise is that two thirds of all the council's total expenditure is on adult social care and children services (again a function of lack of investment from central government) so this again is a low percentage. It's worth repeating that...two thirds! That means that there is one third left for all the highways, bins, lighting, planning, licencing, street cleaning, etc.
- the balance of the £7m is sundry debt such as market stall rent, highways damage, farm rents.
For balance, I'll also correct cllr Goldsmith. It didn't take 22 months to correct the parking issues on Alderley Road, they were done in March 20 (10 months after we were elected and 3 months of that delay was because lining in wet, winter conditions prevents the paint from adhering properly).
https://www.wilmslow.co.uk/news/article/20103/its-taken-some-time-but-the-yellow-lines-are-finally-here
As Mark stated, that was from scratch, including us getting up to speed as new councillors, reallocating the funds from where it had been (unnecessarily) allocated, getting the scheme drawn up, consultation, delay over winter and implementation. I don't know why it hadn't been done prior to the 2019 election.
I guess you could be pedantic and say that RoW is registered with the Electoral Commission as such. However, this is just to enable each of us to have RoW against our names on the ballot paper.
You mention that - despite the fact that potholes remain one of the single, most talked-about and most annoying frustrations for local tax-payers - the issue falls outside the remit of our town and County Councillors. Would it not be reasonable to expect that, at the very least, our local representatives use their platform to protest / lobby / harangue central government on our behalf to insist that they do what we pay them to do?
With this in mind and knowing that cross-party lines of communication can be fuzzy, I notice that Hannan Sarwar currently sits on CE Council and on Wilmslow Town Council where he enjoys the company of Angela McPake who works in the office of Esther McVey MP
I wonder if between now and next Thursday either Hannan or Angela will confirm that they are able to exploit their lines of communication to get our roads fixed so that my fillings don't pop out every time I hit a pothole and thus I add to the growing NHS Dentistry crisis
I do not currently sit on Cheshire East Council, I am a candidate in the upcoming local elections.
And the self congratulatory back slapping over the 20mph pollution causing traffic works in AE. Finally spending cash rinsed from “developers” nearly 20 years ago.
Having read most of the job applications from these with time on their hands or delusions of grandeur (the dreadful compo seeking Wesley unfortunately pops into mind reminding us of even darker days) I truly despair. If over 60% of the cash grasped from the hands of hard working locals is spent on “adult and child social care” the system is properly broken.
Time for a massive and very spiky broom to sweep the stables clean. I’ve no doubt this applies across most of third world Britain.
And still no mention of “Dr.” Matt Tyrer. I think we need to know what majestic project he is working on these days whilst no doubt trousering a significant wage! Or is he off to a bigger pond like the sinkhole RNHS (don’t forget to clap).
Not only do you get basic facts wrong you also attribute things to me that I have not said. At no point have I said that "the issue falls outside the remit of our town and County Councillors."
Plus we haven't had County Councillors since 2009 !!!!!
So, can you confirm that in the (unlikely) event that you are selected to represent Wilmslow West & Chorley on CE Council, you will take up the cudgels on our behalf and get our roads fixed?
Perhaps Angela McPake might like to raise the question with Esther McVey the next time she slides a cup of tea and a copy of The Racing Post over her desk.
Calm down dear.
I'm happy to apologise for promoting Hannan by misreading the tiny asterixes and for manipulating your post to make a point.
I'm not sure how calling a Councillor on Cheshire East Council a "County Councillor" to differentiate him / her from a Town Councillor warrants 5 exclamation marks!!!!!
In August 2020, Residents of Wilmslow councillors met the Wilmslow Business Group, who had few members and no money. We discussed the idea of a BID but it was unlikely they would ever deliver it.
On 14 Sept 2020, I wrote to all town councillors asking them to help the town centre. I included 15 ideas we could easily implement.
21 September 2020, at the Wilmslow Town Council Meeting, I formally asked for the council to help. (Agenda item 10). The minutes say “Cllr Goldsmith suggested that a group be set up to bring forward ideas for revitalising the Town Centre in this time of Covid disruption.”
The minutes also say “Cllr Sarwar questioned what any group could do currently”. You and the other 7 Conservatives were equally negative as the records show. All 7 Conservative councillors there voted against the idea and it lost by 7 votes to 5.
I then wrote a press release about this and on 1st October 2020 the Wilmslow Guardian ran it on their front page saying “Conservatives under fire over tackling town’s retail crisis”. Inside it quotes me saying “the council has the money and the town centre needs the help. We are 6 months into the pandemic and it is clear the Conservatives won’t act to help. If they won’t help now during the town’s biggest crisis for 80 years, when will they?”
This negative publicity forced the Conservative leader of WTC (Cllr Watkins) to contact me and we had several lengthy discussions about what could be done. This included the ultimate goal of creating a Wilmslow BID. This led to the council formally agreeing to fund town centre support on 21st December 2020, 3 months after my original request.
I then worked with the Town Clerk and Groundworks to define how they could help us. However, once all this hard work was done and Groundworks were established, the Conservatives stopped inviting me to the council meetings involving Groundworks. The initial work Groundworks delivered was very successful and it led to the BID being formed in August 2022. Without my involvement this would never of happened.
Cllr Sarwar, you now claim to be "keen to work with the BID". Well you can't be that keen because you have ignored them for the past 8 months. I have had more informal chats with them since August 2022, than the 10 Conservative councillors have combined. My last chat with the BID team led them to jet washing grove street, something the town council could have done years ago.
So once again, the reality differs wildly from the claims. One of the key reasons RoW was established was to hold our elected representatives to account. Twelve years on since our formation and unfortunately we are still highlighting the same lack of effort and the same mistruths from the same group of politicians.
non-events to suit his preference for misleading non-facts. My advice to this delusional dreamer and his followers is to grow up, face the facts that RoW has been and will continue to be the ONLY true voice for Wilmslow and do what is best for the town. RoW councilors,unlike those in the Conservative Party,only have to answer to the Wilmslow voters and not a party hierarchy.
Unlike what we have seen in the past, the CEC controlling party, i.e. The Conservative Party, somehow "persuaded" all its Party's Wilmslow
councilors to vote for the destructive loss of our Green Belt fields.I saw all of Wilmslow's CEC councilors tamely vote "Yes" for the loss of those green fields- this is what their leadership required them to do. So, my question to Hannan Sarwar is, who does he think they were representing then, their party or Wilmslow's residents? It's cheap election talk for him to mislead the electorate by proclaiming he is all for keeping the town green.
The truth is worse than what I write but is the reason I evolved Residents of Wilmslow -there is a very old Talmudic question, which says "If I am not for me, who is?" This was Wilmslow and I'm delighted to say Residents of Wilmslow answered that call.
RoW councillors are being forced to play "catch-up" due to his party's lack of care and mismanagement over the years. A Walter Mitty dreamer such as Hannan doesn't warrant anyone's precious vote . Only Residents of Wilmslow's candidates deserve your valuable votes.
The so-called “Green Bin Tax” was a policy change proposed and adopted at full council in February 2022.
The proposal was as follows:
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[92] Review Waste Collection Service - Green Waste
Introduce subscription charging for green waste collections. Subject to consultation with residents this proposal would align Cheshire East Council to most other Local Authorities in charging for the kerbside collection and subsequent disposal of Green Waste. Average charges compared to neighbouring boroughs could raise as much as £4.05m per annum. Changes following consultation would also require significant communication and engagement with residents. Changes could require food waste to be placed in black bins. Any proposal may be subject to review if government guidance is amended in relation to waste collection services.
(Extracted from the Cheshire East Council Medium-Term Financial Strategy 2023-27 Executive Summary page 92) Available to view and download at https://tinyurl.com/5a5uvh34
----
It clearly states that this change in policy will require consultation before implementation.
And it isn’t really a tax anyway. Every household will have a choice as to whether they want to pay for the service or not. If they don’t want to pay for the service of having their green bin emptied then they can choose not to pay for the service. Isn’t this what a free market economy is all about.
However, when it comes to tax, then free market economics goes out of the window. You don’t have a choice whether to pay tax or not. Not paying a tax is a criminal offence punishable by fine or imprisonment.
For those who choose not to pay the charge, then they have two options.
1) Start composting their green waste
2) Take it to one of the councils waste and recycling centres.
Both of which were what people did before the free service was available.
And as a side thought…..
When the National Health Service was established in 1948 (by a Labour Government), all prescriptions were free. Charges on medications were introduced in 1952, by the Conservative government of Winston Churchill.
I know which one I would rather have as free at the point of use for all. And it’s not having my green bin emptied by the council.
I wonder what they are afraid of?
As has been the case throughout this election campaign we have been fed Conservative false news. The so called green bin tax is a glaring example. It is not a tax, it has not happened yet. As I believe the Government is to set out new guidelines to councils on improving the level of recycling. In the light of this, Cheshire East Council has voted in advance to debate the issues and to launch a consultation. It has wisely built a suggested figure in to the budget for this financial year.
Also, I believe where local authorities have introduced a high % of recycling 7 bins has resulted. Nobody will want this for Cheshire East.
The Conservative Flyers are offering eutopia, should they be re elected to run the council. They are going to reduce council tax, squash the non exist green bin tax, mend the potholes, reduce crime etc. The only source of income I have gleaned is they will cut the salaries of council top earners - crazy in this day and age when top executives across the land are earning much, much more than is paid by Cheshire East and no where near the amount of money needed to achieve the utopia.
Life is easy in opposition. You can throw mud and make rash promises without actually telling the people how these will be achieved, how much they will cost and where enough money is to come from. Thus, a wise public takes little if no notice of spin, false news etc. currently being pushed through doors and bombarding us on social media.
We use our heads.
- you appear to be standing for a seat on both Town and CEC councils whis is in a different ward to where you live, is there a reason for this?
- is there a reason why certain posts on the Tatton Conservatives Facebook page have been removed or have comments blocked when the claims made by Tatton Conservatives are challenged?
- many people who I have spoken to are angered by the personal attacks that your leaflets have made towards independent candidates, do you accept that leaflets of this type make the party appear threatened and desperate?
- much has been made of the bins issue, it is widely acknowledged by Conservative party that national plans have been put on hold due to the risk of the public deserting the party over plans to introduce 7 bins. If elected to CEC will you vote with your party for the introduction of 7 household bins?
Two reasons, firstly they will give 100% of their time and effort to all the issues that concern local people. They are not held back by party political nonsense, so are free to vote according to their voters concerns.
Secondly the main political parties have taken people's votes for granted for far too long and put their party interests ahead of voters wishes.
Meantime, I've been sent a note from a former CEC insider who clearly states that " RoW
HAS ACHIEVED MORE FOR WILMSLOW UNDER A N INDEPENDENT/LABOUR JOINT ADMINISTRATION THAN THE CONSERVATIVES DID WITH A CONSERVATIVE ADMINISTRATION."
I would also like to ask Hannan Sarwar just how he proposes getting the tight fiscal strings imposed on all local authorities loosened to enable CE to fill in potholes or resurface crumbling roads? This question applies to all reduced council budgets,,free green bin collections etc?
The time to stop petty propaganda and face reality!
1) Residents of Wilmslow are a POLITICAL group. They are a registered political party and are not FREE to vote in any way they want. Your leaflets say you had a ‘temporary co-operation’ with the Labour Party. Over the four years, at all times, they have backed and supported the Labour Party and have not voted in the interests of Wilmslow. Are you now pledging to be true Independents? In case RoW councillors have forgotten, here is how you voted to name a few:
• Reducing Library Hours
• Increasing Council Tax
• Implementing the Green Bin Charge
2) If Residents of Wilmslow are a ‘local group’ why are they posting comments on national politics to distract from the issues affecting Wilmslow. You are distracting from the fact that you failed Wilmslow and have been unable to secure any new investment.
3) Manuel Golding, continues to make personal attacks about me during this election. How is this a positive campaign from RoW? Throughout this election, your local Conservatives have highlighted the failures of RoW in Wilmslow and all our successes at the Town Council.
4) Given RoW are the only people who seem to forget that they voted for a green bin tax. The minutes of the meeting on 22nd February state the green bin tax is now in the budget and there is no further consultation expected, only discussions on how to implement it (PL23-27 92(A)). No one in Cheshire East will be getting seven bins unless Cheshire East decides to issue seven bins. We have had the letter from DEFRA that confirms that. The worry is if RoW is re-elected, they will vote for this, given they voted for the Green Bin Tax.
5) The Conservative-led Town Council provided over half the funds for Little Lindow. Your investment ideas about the Villas playground haven’t been discussed at the Town Council yet.
6) It is embarrassing and disgraceful that Mark Goldsmith is taking full credit for the work of the BID. The cleaning of Grove Street was done entirely by the businesses and there was NO political involvement.
7) All my election pledges are sensible and logical, unlike RoW, who are panicking and spreading lies.
Yes, you are correct that Residents of Wilmslow is a political party in that we are registered with the Electoral Commission. The ONLY reason we did that was it is the only way to enable our name to be on the ballot paper.
However, you are wrong when you say that we are not free to vote in any way we want. I have never, repeat, NEVER been told how to vote on any decision and if I was told how to vote and I then refused, our constitution would not allow any sanctions to be taken against me. Can you say the same?
On voting with labour, I cannot recall how many instances I have voted against them (I certainly recall one instance because I remember getting a dirty look from some Labour Councillors but I don’t remember what the vote was) and I know for a fact that my RoW colleagues have also voted against. In no such instance, have I or my RoW colleagues faced any penalties from RoW or the Independent Group for doing so).
I would also say though that it is not surprising that we have generally aligned with Labour at full council because any proposals raised by Labour that the majority of the Independent Group didn’t support didn’t see the light of day and were not brought to council. In that respect, Wilmslow RoW’s councillors (who formed nearly a quarter of the Independent Group) had great influence over council and were therefore able to well represent Wilmslow’s residents.
Hope that clarifies matters for Wilmslow.co.uk’s readers.
1) Provided a kiosk and toilets on the Carrs
2) Supported the work of “Wilmslow in Bloom” team.
3) Hosting and running the weekly Ukrainian Cafe and a successful Christmas Party for our Ukrainian guests.
4) Funded and run the Christmas Light Switch On
5) Funded Citizen Advice Bureau
6) Invested in CAB’s Home Heating Scheme.
We also have a very clear plan for Wilmslow:
1) Establish a community hub in the town centre
2) “20 is plenty” for residential areas where residents support it.
3) Develop a visitor strategy for the town centre
4) Working to develop the Wilmslow Neighbourhood Plan
5) Restoring the nationally recognised peat bogs
6) Using your money wisely to invest in Wilmslow
His first point only proves that neither he nor his party have the clearest understanding of the Electoral Commission's requirements. To identify our RoW candidates on the ballot paper,we must register with EC who,for its own convenience calls all those registering as a group a political party.The alternative open to RoW was to have each individual candidate shown as "Independent", just what the Conservatives would wish for, then they can pick-off all such individual candidates with ease-this is why we chose to register as such, to make the opposition's attacks so much easier. He should know the reasons for our choice but finds it politically expedient to attack RoW as a political party.Yet another untruth from his group.
Any national policies he is talking about has its origins within government, i.e. green issues, potholed roads etc.The finance for such comes from central government. There is clearly a direct relationship to these matters from his central government policies.He should know this,if he doesn't he is standing for council whilst deceiving the Wilmslow electorate.
Cleaning Grove Street only came about due to RoW councilors pushing the Conservative town council to relax its tight grip on funds. This applies to many other issues that the RoW councilors pushed for. Without the RoW input nothing would have been done by the Conservatives.
As for his so called election pledges being "sensible and logical"; I would say all pie-in-the-sky & not worth the paper written on. Just another listing of wishful thinking that seems to run through the "Local" Conservatives. This choice of name is yet another attempt to deceive the electorate.
I certainly have not made personal attacks upon him but I've raised the meaningful question of his political integrity.I haven't told lies or similar but leave that to the Conservatives, example 1)RoW being a political party ,2)You haven't highlighted any RoW failures, simply wishful thinking on your part i.e. untruths.
I will leave others better qualified to comment on Hannan's other points.
The Wilmslow electors will decide who and what they believe but trust they will vote for honesty and integrity and VOTE for RESIDENTS of WILMSLOW (RoW) candidates.
I have reviewed the minutes of the meeting on the 22nd of February and cannot find where it states...
" the green bin tax is now in the budget and there is no further consultation expected, only discussions on how to implement it (PL23-27 92(A))."
It would be helpful if he can give a URL link and page/paragraph number as I did.
If he doesn't, then I hope the readers will understand that this is a clear demonstration of him giving false and misleading information and being called out for doing so.
1) Provided a kiosk and toilets on the Carrs
2) Supported the work of the “Wilmslow in Bloom” team.
3) Hosting and running the weekly Ukrainian Cafe and a successful Christmas Party for our Ukrainian guests.
4) Funded and run the Christmas Light Switch On
5) Funded Citizen Advice Bureau
6) Invested in CAB’s Home Heating Scheme.
I don't recall a single member of the council voting against any of the above,
Please correct me if my memory is incorrect.
With regards to having a very clear plan for Wilmslow,
1) Establish a community hub in the town centre (An aspiration of the Wilmslow neighbourhood plan).
2) “20 is plenty” for residential areas where residents support it.
(An aspiration of the Wilmslow neighbourhood plan).
3) Develop a visitor strategy for the town centre ((An aspiration of the Wilmslow neighbourhood plan)
4) Restoring the nationally recognised peat bogs (An aspiration of the Wilmslow neighbourhood plan).
How do I know this? Because I was one of the volunteers who helped develop the Wilmslow Neighbourhood plan along with others which included Roger Bagguley.
See https://tinyurl.com/29shtbts, page 6.
As you have been a member of Wilmslow Town Council you no doubt have some knowledge of its workings, however, are you part of the 'inner' circle of the Conservatives who currently have a majority on it? My guess would be no, and therefore you will not be privy to all the information that is available.
Sadly this is how the Conservatives used to run Cheshire East Council. A few 'favoured' members sat on the then Cabinet (an ex Hairdresser lured from the Lib Dems with a promise of a seat on the Cabinet springs to mind, despite having no knowledge or experience of the Portfolio to which he was assigned). Even one of the Independent members was offered a seat on the Cabinet, should they defect to the Conservative Party...
As for the rest of the Conservative members at Cheshire East Council, they are whipped, and used at voting fodder. If a member decides to go against the whip they face being consigned to 'Coventry' and will certainly not be given any role that would provide any kudos or additional financial benefit.
It is no surprise that this approach led to the mess that the Conservatives left behind, or, why the Independent Group formed a temporary joint administration with the Labour Party.
You will have had an insight into how the Tatton Conservative Party works in the 'crib sheet' of attacks suggested for use in your campaign during the election. As you are now no doubt aware from the subsequent information provided to you they were a poison chalice.
The Independent Group is not a social group, they are a working group. Each member has their own residents, ward, town, or village at the heart of the decisions that they are free to make at all meetings. They don't have family days out, or, go for lunches or dinners to social network.
Today, Chairs of Committees under the new Committee system are given the role only if they have the understanding and knowledge necessary to competently carry it out.
A little friendly advice - talk, and listen, to members outside of the Conservative Party. They are not the enemy, and they work hard to achieve what they do in very difficult financial times. They are open, transparent, and honest. Try it, you might like it.
So in 4 years, the only contribution the 10 Conservative Town Councillors can claim is they have written cheques for things.
It's not much of an effort is it?
Even the Home Energy scheme they gave £10,000 to was flawed. It is a fund for all those living in North Cheshire, so there is no guarantee a single penny of it will go to anyone living in Wilmslow.
Therefore, the question tomorrow is "Do you want 4 more years of Conservative councillors doing very little, not turning up for 6 months and then asking to be re-elected?"
Or do you want RoW councillors who show up, are innovative and deliver real improvements?
Please accept my sincere apology for getting your name wrong 'twice" in my comments above. Dyslexia is a part of my neurodiversity diagnosis.
Stuart