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Local Elections May 2008
THIS year's local council elections on 1 May 2008 ended in
Sefton again with no one political party securing enough votes to
snatch overall power. It seems that the political landscape of
Sefton cannot be changed into having one party in over all control,
for Sefton now heads into its 24 year as a 'hung authority'. The
Liberal Democrats remain the largest party with 27 seats, even
managing to gain a seat from the Tories, by winning Manor ward. In
Southport, all the councillors up for election have retained their
seats.
In Liverpool the Liberal Democrats can potentially retain control of
the council. The Lib Dems now have 46 seats, Labour have 39, the
Liberals have 3 and Greens won 2.
On the Wirral, it was quite a battle as the three main parties took
to the ballet boxes to try and brake a 6 year deadlock. Even though
only 34 seats were needed for a majority, Wirral remains a hung
council. The Wirral Council now has Labour as the majority party
with 25 seats, Conservatives 20 and the Lib Democrats 19.
Over all 2008 was a generally poor night at the polls, so will 2009
be any better? Things to keep an eye on for 2009:- Nationally, the
Tories will now feel they can capitalise on the gains, so both the
Liberal Democrats and Labour parties now need to up the anti. One
concern expressed to us is that the BMP votes across the UK and on
Merseyside seem to be increasing. Locally Ellesmere Port and Neston
Council, along with five other boroughs and the Cheshire County
Council are going to be replaced with two new authorities in 2009.
So 2009 looks like being a very interesting year politically... So
who will be in power on a local level and on a national level by the
end of 2009 is an even more interesting? 2009 looks like it will be
a good battle at the poles on Merseyside and maybe nationally..!
Email us your predictions for 2009 and also your views on how the
elections have gone this year.
NATIONAL WORK FROM HOME DAY 2008
ON Thursday, 15 May 2008, will be
National Work from Home Day. So please let us know if you stayed at
home! According to Work Wise UK this will be the largest
mass absence from work for a generation, in the UK. They
expect an estimated five million people staying at home, but none of
them will be making excuses, and none of their employers will be
accusing them of skiving. So are your employers holding an event
that day...? According to 'Work Wise UK',
this will be the third National Work from Home Day organised by
'Work Wise UK', a national not-for-profit initiative to
promote “smarter” working practices, such as flexible,
remote and mobile working, and working from home. Its objective is
for half the working population, some 14 million people, to be given
the opportunity to work smarter by 2011. Also lowering emissions
from the mass travelling coursed by going to work. So please
do let us know what you think about this, via emailing our news room
at:-
news24@southportreporter.com. |
