On Thursday, residents across Sefton will be voting to elect their local councillors, their Police & Crime Commissioner and their next Liverpool City Region Mayor.

Conservative Leader on Sefton Council, Mike Prendergast, is asking residents across Sefton to vote for change in Sefton.

Councillor Prendergast said, “For too long Labour have taken their position across Merseyside, including Sefton, for granted. The simple fact is that across the Liverpool City Region, they have been in charge for too long and have failed the people of our region.

In Sefton, we’ve seen millions wasted on dilapidated shopping centres in Bootle, vulnerable children left at risk because of a failure in political leadership, historic assets like Southport Pier and Carnegie Library in Crosby left to fall into disrepair and overdevelopment on our green spaces like we have seen in Maghull and Formby.

In Southport, Labour installed cycle lanes across our town centre, damaging local businesses and limiting accessibility to town centre services for those who rely on their cars. Only the Conservatives have consistently opposed this scheme, twice voting to remove them and stopping their extension.

All the while your Council Tax has gone up by around 43% since Labour have run Sefton.

Are your bin collections 43% better, are social services 43% better; is anything better after 12 years of Labour in Sefton?

Labour have used some of those Council Tax rises to give themselves an over 6% pay rise. Local Liberal Democrat’s abstained on this crucial vote, refusing to vote against increases in councillor’s allowances.

Only the Conservatives on Sefton Council voted against the latest Council Tax rise and voted against the increase in councillor salaries. No other opposition party in Sefton has done this.

I don’t think we should be raising Council Tax to pay councillors more.

We all want better local services and lower Council Taxes; I believe that can be achieved through better management, less waste and by properly engaging with our business community.

There is an alternative to simply putting up Council Tax to pay for Labour’s mistakes.

There is a lot going on in the world right now but it’s important to remember that local elections are about local issues. Across Sefton we, unlike other opposition parties, are fielding a full field of candidates who will work hard for you and your family, who want to see lower Council Tax and better local services.

Things in Sefton can be done differently, there is another way.

So on Thursday, even if you’ve never voted Conservative before, vote for change on Sefton Council and let’s start fixing what Labour have broken.”

Originally Posted by editor

In Southport, Labour installed cycle lanes across our town centre, damaging local businesses and limiting accessibility to town centre services for those who rely on their cars. Only the Conservatives have consistently opposed this scheme, twice voting to remove them and stopping their extension.

How does our local 'Anti-Cyclist' propose to reduce car-usage and cut CO2 emissions, if he makes cycling more risky and less attractive to people?

We all want better local services and lower Council Taxes; I believe that can be achieved through better management, less waste and by properly engaging with our business community.”

Pie-in-the-sky, mate. How, particularly in the face of annual inflation, do you intend to 'lower' Council Tax?

Mike Prendergast is seeking election to Parliament as a Conservative in West Lancs constituency. Given his remarks in his Press Release voters might suppose he is all in favour of central government squeezing local government finance year after year! Mike appears to believe that "better local services" will be achieved "by properly engaging with our business community" — rather like water companies' privatization, Mike?

The electorate has already voted for change, that's why they no longer control Seftom.

Conservative Leader on Sefton Council, Mike Prendergast, is asking residents across Sefton to vote for change in Sefton. It seems Sefton's voters have, broadly, the same Council as before; except Cllr. Prendergast now leads a diminished band of Conservative Councillors.