Conservative group leader slams Labour MP’s plan for Southport pier ownership transfer

Following calls from Southport’s Labour MP to transfer ownership and responsibility away from Southport, Mike Prendergast, Conservative Group Leader on Sefton Council, has called the plans “ridiculous” and “straight from the socialist playbook”.

Mike Prendergast said, “Southport is a fantastic place to live and work. I’ve lived here for 25 years, I got married here and it’s where I’m bringing up my children. To me, Southport is my home and I’m incredibly lucky to live in such a place.

“Unlike Southport’s Labour MP, I don’t think our town centre, our seasonal economy or our Victorian heritage are hinderances or liabilities. They are assets that if, looked after properly, bring economic growth and prosperity to our town as well as a sense of civic pride.

“The problem is Labour haven’t looked after them, they’ve neglected Southport and failed to realise that Southport is actually a huge asset for Sefton and should be one of the main drivers of economic growth in Sefton.

“The suggestion that because Labour run Sefton Council failed to properly maintain our pier, with the most recent botched repairs being carried out in 2017 on Labour’s watch, we should now take ownership out of local hands and away from Southport is ridiculous.

“Sefton Council was provided with £2 million by the Conservative government to maintain Southport Pier. They had the money to maintain the pier but didn’t do the work.

“Yet our pier is closed because the Labour council hasn’t properly maintained it, oversaw botched work in 2017 and have failed to provide any kind of timescales for when it will be reopened.

“What’s all the more galling, is that during this time, Labour in Sefton did borrow £32.5 million to buy a shopping centre that’s now worth less than £15 million and the loan taken out to buy it will actually end up costing Sefton Council taxpayers £42.5 million. A disastrous commercial decision from Labour in Sefton.

“Transferring ownership of our pier to a quango, most likely based in London, in order to pass the buck isn’t going to wash with the people of Southport. It’s a total abdication of responsibility by Labour in Southport and Sefton, a form of communal ownership straight from the socialist playbook.

“Southport’s Labour MP talks about our town being in decline, I think Southport’s best days are ahead of us and rather than suggesting we give away one of our most prized and iconic assets why doesn’t he lobby the Labour government to allocate the funding to get the repairs done and get our pier open again.”