New monthly SSAFA Merseyside Coffee Morning inviting veterans to join them

THE Merseyside Branch of SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity has launched a monthly veterans' coffee morning in Speke. The 1st was held on Thursday, 5 May 2022, but from 6 June 2022 onwards, they will be held on the 1st Monday of the month. The venue will be Unit House on Evans Road, beginning at 10am and running until midday. The coffee morning, Branch Secretary, Hazel Kemp, said:- "… this is a fantastic chance for a relaxed chat and a bit of banter over a brew."

She added:- "Lockdowns over the past two years have left a lot of people feeling isolated, and sometimes looking at a screen for a Zoom or FaceTime call just isn't the same. Veterans aren't immune to feeling in need of a bit of company, as well as the kind of banter that they enjoy with like-minded people, and so we decided to start this new group. Any veteran of any of the Services is more than welcome to come along, have a chat, have a brew, and make some new acquaintances."

1 of those that veterans might meet is Wayne Kitney, the new Branch Chairman of SSAFA Merseyside. Taking over from Lorraine Jackson, Wayne has more than 21 years' service in the Regular and Reserve elements of the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC), and its predecessor the Royal Corps of Transport.

Reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Wayne was made CO of 156 Regiment, RLC (V). One of the most noteworthy events during this time came in March 2003 when his regiment deployed a squadron to Iraq. This deployment was the 1st time a complete sub-unit of reserve soldiers had deployed to a war zone since the Second World War. Lt Col Kitney continued in command of his Regiment until April 2004 when he took up his final military appointment as the Staff Officer responsible for Reserves (SO1 Res) at HQ 5 Division in Shrewsbury.

Of his appointment to SSAFA Merseyside, he said:- "I consider myself very fortunate in taking over as Chairman of the Merseyside Branch as it is very well run and supported by a group of very committed individuals. However, we are all aware that the coming years will be challenging and will probably require some changes in how we support our clients. I'm a firm believer in 'if it isn't broke, don't fix it', but we will need to embrace and adapt to the changing situation."

The Speke veterans' coffee mornings will be held at Unit House, Evans Road, Liverpool L24 9HZ. For more information, visit:- SAFFA.Org.UK/Merseyside.

Local Elections 2022 - Liverpool City Region

IN Liverpool City Region, 5 of the 6 Local Authorities have held elections on Thursday, 5 May 2022:- Wirral Council, Sefton Council, Halton Borough Council, St Helens Borough Council and Knowsley's Council. Liverpool City Council did not hold a local election this year. Overall the elections have not seen a major shift locally, with Labour still in overall control of most of the Region's Councils. We attended North Sefton Count, that was not a very eventful night, except for 2 recounts of 2 wards and a small error in the turnout figures that was quickly rectified. You can watch the Live Stream video we conducted on our Facebook Page. Turn out in Sefton North was as follows... Meols:- 3089, Cambridge:- 3540,  Dukes:- 3546, Norwood 3123, Birkdale:-  3513, Ainsdale:- 4223, Kew:- 3144.

Liverpool City Region Seats by Political Party:-

► Liverpool - Labour

Did not hold local elections.

► Sefton:- Labour Hold

Counting complete. After 22 of 22 seats declared.

Labour - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 17, this means a changed of:- +1 . Councillors overall total:- 48.

Liberal Democrat - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 2, this means a changed of:- 0 . Councillors overall total:- 8.

Conservative - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 3, this means a changed of:- -1 . Councillors overall total:- 7.

Independent - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 0, this means a changed of:- 0 . Councillors overall total:- 3.

► Halton:- Labour Hold

Counting complete. After 18 of 18 seats declared.

Labour - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 16, this means a changed of:- 0. Councillors overall total:- 48.

Conservative - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 1, this means a changed of:- +1. Councillors overall total:- 3.

Liberal Democrat - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 1, this means a changed of:- 0. Councillors overall total:- 3.

Green - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 0, this means a changed of:- -1. Councillors overall total:- 0.

► Knowsley:- Labour Hold

Counting complete. After 15 of 15 seats declared.

Labour - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 10, this means a changed of:- -2. Councillors overall total:- 32

Green - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 2, this means a changed of:- +1. Councillors overall total:- 5.

Independent - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 2, this means a changed of:- +1. Councillors overall total:- 5.

Liberal Democrat - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 1, this means a changed of:- 0. Councillors overall total:- 3.

► Wirral:- Labour Hold

Counting complete. After 23 of 23 seats declared.

Labour - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 9, this means a changed of:- -3. Councillors overall total:- 26.

Conservative - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 8, this means a changed of:- +1. Councillors overall total:- 24.

Green - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 4, this means a changed of:- +2. Councillors overall total:- 9.

Liberal Democrat - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 2, this means a changed of:- 0. Councillors overall total:- 6.

Independent - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 0, this means a changed of:- 0. Councillors overall total:- 1.

► St Helens:- Labour Hold

Counting complete. After 48 of 48 seats declared.

Labour - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 29, this means a changed of:- -7. Councillors overall total:- 29.

Independent - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 7, this means a changed of:- +4. Councillors overall total:- 7.

Green - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 6, this means a changed of:- +3. Councillors overall total:- 6.

Liberal Democrat - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 4, this means a changed of:- 0. Councillors overall total:- 4.

Conservative - Councillors elected in 2022 total:- 2, this means a changed of:- 0. Councillors overall total:- 2.