The candidates for the upcoming Cheshire East Council election, representing Wilmslow East Ward, have been announced.
Residents in the Wilmslow East Ward will have the choice of three candidates to fill one seat, when they go to the polls on on Thursday, 4th May.
The candidates standing are:
- Duckworth, John Hartley - The Conservative Party Candidate
- Jefferay, David William - Residents of Wilmslow *
- Murphy, Sarah Marianne - Liberal Democrats
I am publishing 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 trained as an accountant and have run my own businesses since I was 23. I have owned motorcycle, cleaning chemical, Satnav and IT businesses over the years and now run an accountancy practice. My wife owns a retail clothing business and my son, who is now 18 attended schools in Wilmslow and played football at Wilmslow Sports Club. My interests are tennis, squash and golf.
How long you have lived in there?
I have lived in the area for the last 20 years.
Are you a member of any local groups or societies?
I am a Tatton Conservative Treasurer.
Why have you decided to stand for election as a borough councillor?
I have been too busy in the past to do the role justice as I am now semi-retired I have the time to devote to be successful.
What do you consider to be the important issues facing Wilmslow?
Having spoken to many voters. the main frustrations seem to be potholes, overlapping roadworks and noise on the A34 caused by cars. There is some frustration that potholes appear to get repaired promptly in neighbouring Alderley Edge, but not so quickly here.
Whilst understanding that the Police and Crime Commissioner's Noise camera trial has been extended and is catching people making undue noise, there is a need to start the process for the promised Public Space Protection order which will mean perpetrators can be fined, once we know if the trial becomes permanent.
What do you hope to achieve and how in the next 4 years?
I am keen that we address the issue of poor broadband in some areas of my ward (via Cheshire East air band contracts that, this time, include Wilmslow), as with all the Conservative team, I will work to get '20's plenty' in residential areas where residents support it and we will reverse the charge for green bins that was included in the recent budget, which took the 'savings' estimated as a result of the charge.
After talking to voters and learning about the local politics I was amazed to find out that Cheshire East Council is in fact Labour controlled because of the 'independent' Councillors who work with them, including our Residents of Wilmslow Councillors. I am aware they are saying that their relationship has now ended but it was still active at the end of February, when they supported a budget which also included the proposals for a cut to library hours.
I will also be working with colleagues to ensure the Public Space Protection Order is brought in as soon as possible (realising it takes time to implement).
What experience and personal qualities will you bring to the role?
As an accountant my first consideration would be to investigate why Cheshire East Council has failed to collect £20 million in unpaid council tax and £7million in other debt and investigate why Cheshire East Council's accounts for the last 2 years are late in being audited.
Why should Wilmslow residents vote for you?
I would work to represent my residents. I am happy to qualify that I will work as part of a wider Conservative group to ensure we can deliver on our promises for Wilmslow. Working as part of a wider team is not a negative.
I will also work to ensure that the time given to undertake roadworks to be honoured with utility companies putting back the roads the way they found them otherwise penalties should be enforced. In Addition I will work to resolve The Wilmslow parking problems.
*current councillor.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
As it is your "first consideration" and therefore i assume your most important, I may be able to help you find the answer to your question about the unpaid £20m council tax to save you some time.
As I am sure your colleagues are aware, this was a question raised by a member of public at the CEC full council meeting in February and the response is recorded in the printed minutes of the meeting are as follows. The minutes state "Cllr Stott, Chair of the Finance Sub Committee, stated that the total quoted arrears of £20.8m had to be set against the total amount billed over the same period which was £854m. The Council budgeted for a level of none or late payments for council tax each year and these figures were within the expected levels that are included within the budget. The collection of arrears continued over several years so that, over time, any impact is reduced. Last year's figures showed that the Council’s collection rate was at 97.4 per cent, which was higher than the average for councils in England at 95.7 per cent; and for all unitary councils 95.8 per cent. The Council followed best practice in terms of collection of local taxes by applying a firm but fair process to those who avoid payment, whilst supporting those residents who find themselves in genuine difficulty.".
If you want a more complete response I would direct you to the recording of the meeting online in which I seem to recall there is more evidence that CEC is actually a high performing council in terms of council tax collection and the reasons why some people may not be in a position to make their council tax payments.
In terms of the accounts being late audited, I don't know the reason and, being honest, as I am not a member of the finance sub-committee I didn't even know they were late. However, I would say the fact that the accounts have a certificate at all is a vast improvement from the pre-2019 years (under the Conservative administration) when they could not get a certificate due to all the ongoing police investigations.
If I am elected on Thursday as Cheshire East Councillor for Wilmslow East, I will forensically investigate the Cheshire East accounts. As an experienced accountant I will work hard to ensure that Wilmslow receives its fair share of the Cheshire East Council spending