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by Lib Dem team on 1 February, 2010
Bramhall North is a ward in the Cheadle Parliamentary Constituency, part of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council.
For the last decade, Maureen Walsh has been one of three councillors representing Bramhall North (the other two are currently Lib Dem Helen Foster-Grime and Conservative Linda Holt).
A few weeks ago, Cllr Maureen Walsh was forced out. Having wanted to re-stand in May, she was blocked from doing so. The Conservative candidate will now be Lisa Walker, who also happens to be the Constituency Chair and Tory Parliamentary Candidate Ben Jeffrey’s campaign manager.
Maureen is so angry she’s resigned from the Conservative Group* and now sits as an Independent on Stockport Council.
Now, in a way that’s all fair enough. I happen to think Maureen is a good councillor and the Conservatives are daft to get rid of her, but it’s up to them and I assume they have their democratic procedures for candidate selection.
But I don’t think it’s OK to make up the story about Maureen choosing to stand down, and to put that out in a leaflet and to the media – which is just what the Tories have done. When people simply choose not to restand, they don’t normally resign from the party and threaten to put out their own leaflet directly contradicting the party line!
Ben Jeffreys, the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Cheadle lives in the Bramhall North ward, and is clearly involved in all of this.
I think the Conservatives need to be a little more honest on this one.
Why has Cllr Maureen Walsh really been deselected and replaced as candidate by Lisa Walker?
Why did the Tories put out an explanation for Maureen standing down which clearly doesn’t stand up to scrutiny? What are they trying to hide?
And what is the involvement of Cheadle Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Ben Jeffreys in the whole affair?
* My understanding is that Maureen has resigned from the party. Cllr Syd Lloyd tells me she’s resigned from the Tory Group, and he’s in a better position to know than me, so I’ve amended the story.
14 Comments
Dear Ian, You need to correct your blog. Maureen Walsh has not resigned from the Conservative Party, she has resigned the Conservative Whip. Accuracy in all things old chap. PS Please don’t think I have time to read your blog, it was forwarded to me for comment. However, now I have seen it would you like to make a comment in your blog about the deliberate lie Mark Hunter has published about what he claims are proposed Tory cuts to the Council front line budget? You are standing behind these comments, so it says. Can you substantiate this lie? The fact is you can’t because it is a lie. Before you moralise anymore I suggest you put your own house in order first.
Best regards Syd
Thanks for dropping by Syd – shame you didn’t find the time to shed some light on why the Tories put out that statement about Maureen. Another time, maybe?
As for Tory plans to the Council budget, doubtless you’ll make the truth known when you present your alternative budget to the Coucil…we shall see.
During my time on the Council I was always impressed with Maureen, a good hard working Councillor IMHO
🙂
David
Dear Iain, Shame you did not respond to my comments in my first posting (which seemed to have been cut out by your moderater – which is probably yourself) when I asked you to respond to the lies you and Mark Hunter have made about alleged Tory plans to cut front line services. You need to come up to the plate and answer this one Iain, I will be happy to ask you the same question in Council on Thursday. You may not be able to hide on that day. Best regards Syd
PS : Why do Liberal Democrats always have to lie to get elected?
Nothing cut, Syd. What’s on the blog is what you posted.
If you want to show we’re lying, prove it in your alternative budget.
But I have to ask again, why do you still decline to tell people the truth about what’s going on with Maureen? Why are you so keen to divert attention over this cuts business. The Lib Dems haven’t lied, but the Tories are clearly desperate to cotinue this cover-up.
Dear Iain, How interesting, so, the Conservatives have to prove you are lying when we have told you that we have no policy to cut Council front line services. The question again comes back to you. Please substantiate the lie that Mark Hunter & Andrew Stunell have published on your behalf. You have a Blog so you can tell the world where your information about our alleged cuts comes from? I know you can’t substantiate this lie as we have made absolutely no plans to cut the Council budget. In the Maureen Walsh situation, I am an Elected Councillor in the neighbouring Constituency of Hazel Grove. If you want information about Maureen Walsh you need to address your questions to the Cheadle Constituency and their Councillors who have the democratic right to make their own decisions. I am not their spokesperson. What I have asked you about is the lie in both the Cheadle & Hazel Grove Constituency Focus leaflets which claim the Tories are going to cut front line Council Services. You are named as a Councillor who is supporting this lie. Can you substantiate this claim? If you will not do so, I will find some way of asking you and your colleagues the same question at the Council Meeting on Thursday. Why do Liberal Democrats always have to lie about their opponents, for the purpose of getting elected. You should not have to lie Iain if you have good policies for the people of Stockport and can offer a better deal than we can for them. Best regards, Syd
well well well, here’s me just doing a little research on Maureen Walsh, and lo,I end up on Ians blog and right in the middle of a gorilla war between you two,…all interesting. I will try and look back to see if there is a knock out winner
Regards
Andy
Syd,
Good to see you still trying to distract from the question at hand.
I’ll happily back up what we’ve said in our leaflets – in the Council chamber or on the blog. There are no lies from us on this one. I’ll see if I can find time to post over the weekend.
If you’re not willing to tell us what’s going on, perhaps you’d like to ask your colleagues in Bramhall to do so.
Dear Iain, I am happy to challenge you on your comments that you claim that you can substantiate the lies Mark Hunter & Andrew Stunell have told about the Stockport Conservative Group. Please go ahead. This should be intersting. Best regards Syd
PS : Please address your other questions about Maureen Walsh either to her directly, or to the Cheadle Conservatives, not me, as I am in Hazel Grove.
The truth remains that Maureen Walsh, a GOOD conservative councillor was forced out by Ben Jeffrys and Lisa Walker – the two most senior local party members, PPC and Chairman, simply because Lisa Walker ‘wanted’ a seat, Bramhall North was always a safe bet for the conservatives – disgusting! James
Dear Iain,
I’m very disappointed to see that you’ve still not amended your misleading comments about Maureen having been de-selected. Your more senior council colleagues must surely have briefed you on the true facts by now.
I note that your site is hosted by the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors. Is this the same Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors responsible for the Liberal Democrat campaigning manual which tells Liberal Democrats to ‘be wicked, act shamelessly, stir endlessly….don’t be afraid to exaggerate’?
I do hope you’ll amend your inaccuracies, otherwise I can only assume that your article is yet another example of such dubious campaigning techniques.
Kind regards,
Linda
Hi Linda,
I see you can’t resist throwing in the smear! I reckon you’ll still be quoting that in twenty years time, and still failing to find any examples of where we’ve actually done it!
To the best of my knowledge, following several conversations with Maureen herself, my post is accurate.
If Maureen tells me differently, I’ll certainly amend it.
Dear Iain,
What smear? I deal in facts, not fantasy.
You’ll know that Liberal Democrats used the ‘de-selection’ ploy in 2007 in Bramhall North when Tony Johnson retired. Unfortunately for the Conservatives, it worked for the Liberal Democrats that time. You couldn’t use it with such ease in 2008 when my husband Ken Holt retired and I replaced him as a Stockport councillor; but you tried your ‘de-selection’ tactic again this year. Fortunately, justice was done this time when my Conservative colleague Lisa Walker won by that one all-important vote!
I call on you once again to do the decent thing and amend your misleading comments about ‘de-selection’. You must surely be in possession of the true facts by now. If not, I repeat, check with your more senior council colleagues.
As far as other Liberal Democrat examples of ‘be wicked, act shamelessly, stir endlessly….don’t be afraid to exaggerate’, which you asked for, how long have you got?
1) Blaming the Conservatives for the car parking charges at Bramhall station after the Liberal Democrats had imposed them; 2) Unnecessarily threatening the closure of an EPH in Bramhall and in the process worrying residents, relatives and staff;
3) Wrongly attributing comments to one of your neighbours in leaflets. Remember your unfortunate comments to me after that?
Etc., etc., etc.
Furthermore, check with your former Liberal Democrat leader, the well-respected Eric Kime OBE, whose integrity is beyond reproach, and/or simply read his piece in the Stockport Express 27th February 2008 about disgraceful Liberal Democrat campaigning tactics.
It really is tedious and time-consuming having to correct Liberal Democrat mischief, but someone has to do it.
I rest my case m’lud!
Kind regards,
Linda
Dear me, Linda. Is that really the best you can do?
I’ll repeat: the information about Maureen came from Maureen herself, directly. If she tells me it’s wrong, I’ll happily amend it.
I think you’ve shot yourself in the foot by mentioning Mary Hampson – your own smear leaflet at least had the decency to admit the truth – that it was an honest mistake on our part.