Councillor Rod Menlove has been selected to stand as the Conservative candidate for the forthcoming Wilmslow Town Council election.
Rod will stand against the Residents of Wilmslow candidate David Jefferay in the by-election for the vacant Wilmslow East Ward seat, on Thursday 13th November.
Following the sad death of Wilmslow Town Councillor Sue Menlove, her husband Rod has decided to stand for the Town Council.
Rod said "I wish with all my heart that this election was not necessary. However, it has been called and I owe it to my late wife, Sue, to put myself forward as a candidate to complete her term of office. Residents will know me as their Cheshire East councillor with a proven track record of ensuring that the council delivers for Wilmslow. I have worked closely with the town council over the years to counter threats to the local Green Belt – something I will continue to do."
Rod Menlove has been a Cheshire East councillor for the past eight years.
He added "I am on record as supporting building on brownfield sites before green areas and on allowing offices to be converted to housing. I have publicly opposed any housing on the Royal London site and the speculative Welton Oaks development.
"But the Town Council is about much more than planning matters. Your Conservative town councillors have worked hard over the past 3 years to make Wilmslow a more attractive place to live and work, with more floral displays, new Christmas lighting and cut-backs to overgrown shrubbery. They are promoting our town through community events, such as the Christmas reindeer parade and the lights switch on. The Picnic in the Park and the Clean Team are council initiatives too.
"I am an experienced team player who knows how local government works. I am here to represent residents on all issues - not just planning matters. I have lived in the ward for over 30 years and believe that I can bring my energy, enthusiasm and knowledge to the role of town councillor."
The election will be held on Thursday 13th November between 7am and 10pm.
Click here for further information on the Residents of Wilmslow candidate David Jefferay.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
My initial motivation to a) call an election and b) put myself forward was that I didn't consider it to be right that a councillor could be co-opted in by the existing members of the town council without the electors having a say.
Now that Councillor Menlove has decided to stand and an election is to be held, whoever wins will have a mandate to represent the electors of Wilmslow East. That can only be a good thing for the town.
Whilst as a general rule Mr Jefferay's point about the desirability of an election is a valid one, in the particular circumstances of this case its value is highly debatable. There will be elections next May in any event, so we are talking of a 5 month period only. In my view co-option would have been the right solution, rather than force the Town Council (whose resources are precious) to incur the not inconsiderable expense of an election.
Cllr Menlove states above that " Residents will know me as their Cheshire East Councillor with a proven track record of ensuring that the council delivers for Wilmslow." Therefore is it not a little unkind to bring up his being asleep at the wheel during the Lyme Green fiasco? After all there was a full Designated Independent Person investigation and the report was published: http://bit.ly/199b837
Anyone can see by opening the third document down "DIP report Part 2" that matters were dealt with properly. Electors: don't believe me? Just have a look.
Cllr Menlove says he is a defender of the Green-Belt stating "I have publicly opposed any housing on the Royal London site" that being the case, he must have had a change of heart since this rather curious "Victory for Wilmslow statement" http://bit.ly/1vL7OYa when he and his fellow Conservative Councillors supported building on several Green-Belt sites, including at the rear of Royal London (they also recommended that the R-L Alderley Road fields were taken out of Green Belt and designated as Protected Green space). The priceless statement made at the time was: "Your Conservative Councillors have also ensured that there will be no further major developments in Dean Row." Oh dear.
Cllr Menlove does indeed have a track record.
It's time for a change away from one-party politics, I believe.
It seems that some so easily ignore or quickly forget the fact that many people in and from many different lands have paid the ultimate price of giving their life for the democracy we have in our country.
We are being given an opportunity as to choice in order to gain change. The question to ask yourselves reader is are you happy with the way your services are run, are you happy with the Conservative led Cheshire East Council's agenda, which filters through to Wilmslow Town Council. If the answer is No then a vote for RoW is as good a place to start change as anywhere.
Martin Bell (Ind) was a 'newbie' Parliamentary candidate when he trounced disgraced Neil Hamilton MP (Cons, now a UKIP supporter.).
Let's not forget that this is the same elected body that saw no problem with a proposed spend of £12,700 on ceremonial chains. You have to wonder what the motives are for some of our elected officials. Are they genuinely concerned about the town and the people they represent or is it an exercise in self glorification?
Personally I would welcome more independent councillors to shake things up a bit, bring some fresh ideas and restore the town’s confidence in democracy.
Taking that point a local step further, therefore the only Wilmslow Town Councillor "to get any credit" must be Residents of Wilmslow's independent Cllr Phil Enstone, in a sea of party-hack Conservatives, who continually toe the party-line.
Autocracy or democracy? The voters of East ward must choose.
"When I stood for Lacey Green one of the existing councillors said to me that I had "cost the council £3000".
Well that was never mentioned in the prospectus for the introduction of Wilmslow Town Council. In reality though it cost the East Cheshire nothing, as always, the good people of Cheshire will pick up the bill.
And what exactly for?
Can someone please tell me what we get for 14 x £3,000 elections that we wouldn't of got anyway? Looking at the WTC web site, there are lots of meetings and events the councilors attend, but precious little on the outcomes and the difference their actions made.
At the moment WTC seems to act like a publicly funded branch of the Probus Club rather than a key body for local action and regeneration.
Those who have the chance please vote accordingly. The local Conservative party needs removing.
Mr Menlove will upward manage and is most unlikely to listen to the residents. Another CEC 'yes man' isn't going to help Wilmslow one little bit.
We need fresh ideas from younger people.
Can he get Wilmslow's money from CEC? Can he do anything that makes Wilmslow vibrant? That's what CEC vision includes for us and he voted for it, I imagine. Yet there's nothing vibrant in his message. Nothing to excite the voters.
No change then....
Do dry your eyes, and be satisfied that two out of three Barton boys have made it into politics. Also Mr Barton, please get your facts straight before you start publishing your views. You have shown your distinct lack of interest in Handforth Parish Council (HPC) by referring to it as Handforth Town Council. It is to be hoped that you have not been fed any other mis-information about HPC.
How terribly impolite and discourteous you are to the Handforth Parish Council by publicly calling them ‘basket cases’. This does not include in your opinion of course, Conservative Cllr Anthony Harrison who will possibly be selected to move on to greater things in the near future. I have to ask you Mr Barton if this is the new Conservative Party HQ directive slang of the moment to denigrate anyone who dares to disagree with it. Two Tory ministers interviewed on TV and radio last week have also used this most unsavoury and dreadful phrase. Advise please - is this a sign of desperation? Do you consider an apology from you is required to HPC?
Mr Barton, you should know my very strong personal opinion against party politics in Town and Parish Councils. The Councillors should be there for the good of the people, NOT for their own political gain in securing a job for life further up the ladder. How many Conservative councillors have we had to endure since Handforth Parish Council was conceived? Far too many in my opinion, and all have failed very publicly and miserably.
CONGRATULATIONS Handforth Parish Council. Our village looks quite lovely decked all the way through in its poppies commemorating two horrific world wars and recent and ongoing wars. A reminder to young and old of those grave days and to all who gave their lives for us.
Finally, Good Luck to RoW and its candidate. Your membership is not politically led, but made up of people from ALL political allegiances for the good of the people of Wilmslow now and for generations to come. If politicians from the political parties will not listen to the wishes of ordinary people, then we must secure our precious land from being destroyed forever.
It is really important that residents of Handforth support all our parish councillors in their work.
This is in complete contrast to the Conservative councillors on both WTC &CEC.
May I give you and the readers an example of the way Wilmslow's Conservative councillors behave and act?
At the 28th Feb Special Council Meeting (CEC) an amendment was tabled by the Independent group to exclude from the Local Plan the threatened green belt sites in Wilmslow and elsewhere. Further, a named vote was called for and carried. All councillors were asked whether they would vote for the amendment (to protect the threatened green belt) or against (to allow the threatened sites to remain in the Local Plan). EVERY CONSERVATIVE councillor present in the chamber, VOTED AGAINST the amendment - included amongst them being Cllrs. Menlove, Whiteley & Barton, oh and Cllr Keegan from Alderley.
So much for cheap platitudes from Cllr Menlove in his election pamphlet & utterances on the door step. He & others say they are "for" protecting Wilmslow but when push comes to shove they all toe the party line.
Cllr Menlove says he is a "team player". Yes, he is, but he doesn't tell you the team's name. It is The Conservative Party (versus The People's Wishes team!)
The time has come, electors of East Ward, to stand up for your town, as the voters of Dean Row did just over a year ago, when they elected the RoW Independent Phil Enstone.
Wilmslow and Cheshire East desperately needs independent people on the councils, to break the stifling throat-hold of the dominant political party; here it is the Conservative Party's grouping of "yes" men (& women).
I urge the voters of East ward to go to the polls on Thursday, the 13th November, to VOTE FOR David JEFFERAY!!
Make the start to returning Wilmslow to its residents.
Like yourself I abhor party politics in town and Parish Councils but please do not be too harsh on Cllr Barton regarding his being impolite and discourteous, it clearly was a part of his upbringing, see this rather lengthy thread: http://bit.ly/103Uhgv in which his Father makes a bit of a fool of himself.
Mr Barton Snr. seemed to believe in the divine right of Tories to rule but... it was not to be.
Cllr Menlove seems to be happy to pop up all over the place for photographs (where has he been for the last four years... clearly nowhere near Lyme Green) but has been rather silent in the local media- I don't think that he has responded to a single question so far, maybe he is too busy giving out cheap cigars and kissing babies; who knows?
When he, and the other local Tory Councillors, had the chance to support the overwhelmingly-expressed wishes of the local residents in their rejection of the "Wilmslow Vision" and it's attack on the Green Belt around Wilmslow, they chose not to vote with an amendment which would have taken these areas out of Green Belt/Safeguarded status:
CS26 – Royal London, Wilmslow
CS27 – Wilmslow Business Park
CS30 – Handforth East Growth Village
CS34 – (Safeguarded) Handforth East Growth Village
CS35 - (Safeguarded) Prestbury Road, Wilmslow
CS36 - (Safeguarded) Upcast Lane, Wilmslow
CS7 – Shavington East
Instead they chose to ignore the council-tax payers who had elected them, who they were supposed to serve and represent and they toed the party line.
See amendment 1 here on the CEC website: http://bit.ly/1DlRiwX
In my opinion none of these people are fit and proper to represent us.