Sir Ron slams poor excuse for Council meeting

Sir Ron slams poor excuse for Council meeting

Forums set up to replace Area Committees across the borough have been likened to ‘popping in for a cup of tea and chat’ and will serve no real purpose, according to Sir Ron Watson.

Sir Ron has railed against the proposals describing them as a ‘very poor substitute’.

Mr Watson, the former leader of Southport Coun- cil, is back in local politics after winning a seat in Dukes Ward in May’s local elections.

But he is furious about plans put forward after the axing of the Southport Area Committee, which he said was a ‘direct assault on democracy.’

Despite a last-ditch attempt to save the committee, it was finally killed off at a meeting of Sefton’s Full Council at the start of the year, in a controversial move blasted by leading high profile figures from across the political spectrum including Sir Ron.

Opponents described it as a move with “as much concern for democracy as a Soviet Politburo.”

In October, councillors ‘called in’ Sefton Council’s decision to abolish the three Area Committees for
Bootle, Sefton Central and Southport after a Sefton Council Working Group recommended Constituency Forums should instead be set up for the three areas, with their responsibilities transferred to other council committees.

The new forums were given the go-ahead despite members of Southport Area Com- mittee voting to save the original system.

Now Sir Ron has panned proposals put forward by the Labour Cabinet Lead for Corporate Services, Councillor Lappin.