By Joe Riley, Conservative councillor for Harington Ward, Formby
Voting in the parish and borough elections on May 4 is not only a precious and too often taken for granted democratic right, it is a lifestyle choice.
It’s your opportunity to say how you want your neighbourhood to be financed and run. Also how you want it to look and be protected.
In Sefton, Conservative participation in the elections is vital to oppose the runaway arrogance and financial irresponsibility of a Labour administration which does little (or even absolutely nothing) for those living in whole swathes of prime residential areas such as Formby, Freshfield, Hightown, Thornton Crosby, Blundellsands, Lydiate and Maghull.
Council Tax has INCREASED by a phenomenal 38 per cent over the past 11 years while standards of infrastructure maintenance, provision of services and care of heritage sites has DECREASED at a truly alarming rate.
And why?
Because of top-heavy management structures and runaway expenditure on dogmatic socialist propaganda projects: none more so than the acquisition of Bootle New Strand - bought for more than £30m, now worth virtually half that amount, but still costing £4m a year in debt charges.
That, incidentally, equates to more than half the total council tax income from my own ward. A situation which continues to both alarm and infuriate my constituents.
When they ask me what can be done about it, I always tell them that they must use their votes as part of an overall strategy to hold Labour to account.
I also tell them that local elections are all about such local issues. They should be thought of as such and not used to return verdicts on national government.
There is no doubt that if all true-minded Conservatives turned out en masse in local elections, we could displace existing Labour councillors and deter future socialist pretenders.
Our only enemy is apathy.
Which is why Conservative votes are vital in the forthcoming elections.
