Winsford Salt of the Earth

Provide a more democratic alternative to the current political tribalism.

This deceptively simple pledge asks us to accept two statements as fact.

First, that political tribalism had been negatively impacting WTC prior to the recent election, and secondly that WSotE have a plan that will deliver a more democratic town council.

In his support of this Cllr Welch - well known for making big statements without evidence - has made a number of claims.

“we are forever getting national politics rammed down our throats from the two parties¹⁾ currently running our Town Council”²⁾

Perhaps disappointingly for Cllr Welch, checking the agendas for last 4 years of the WTC Full Council is extremely easy³⁾ in 2023, and clearly shows that the previous council did indeed focus on issues within the remit of a town / parish council.

Several times during those years, WTC were petitioned to consider out-of-remit items such as “buses” (National level) or “town centre toilets” (County level) at town council meetings. These requests would be considered by a non-partisan panel of town councillors, however some people, such as former Cllr Dave Edwards, could not help but out themselves as clueless - by complaining that their pointless requests were not heard.

A rare exception⁴⁾ to this policy was made over the war in Ukraine, with no councillors objecting to the topic being placed on the agenda.

Hypocritically, since taking power WSotE have brought “buses” to the WTC Full Council meeting once more - eventually seeming to realise, as had the previous council, that “buses” are an issue a town council can do little about.

On the same line, WSotE also brought the issue of railway ticket offices being closed nationally to the September WTC full town council meeting⁵⁾.

So much for keeping national politics out of the town council.

“It is hard for local councillors with party loyalties to call out their seniors and directly tackle these issues on behalf of residents for fear of reprisals or career-damage”⁶⁾

The 'local councillors' referred to here by Cllr Welch are Labour Cllrs, and WSotE frequently single out Cllr Pardoe in particular in various social media jabs.

The 'issues' have included items such as the town centre redevelopment, the FA football stadium, potholes, and bus subsidies in Winsford.

An oft-repeated WSotE (WTC) accusation is that “things don’t happen because town councillors don’t make enough effort to hold county councillors to account”. Phrased as it is, the subtext is clear - that WSotE believe that Labour councillors are (for some unknown reason) deliberately or perhaps even vindictively holding up these projects.

Cllr Welch has clearly forgotten the Greedy Pig Saga during which town councillors, some of whom are now aligned with WSotE, along with Labour members petitioned CWAC to reconsider plans for the site⁷⁾, only to find that even town councillors lack the authority to change them.

It is a baseless accusation from Cllr Welch that Labour's town councillors have not been advocates to Winsford residents in bringing local issues to the attention of CWAC. Does he imagine that town and county councillors from the same party will not collaborate in bringing Winsford residents' concerns before Cheshire West?

Regardless of how much the town council (past or present) pestered CWAC, the town centre redevelopment could not have gone any faster, depending as it did on the receipt of a grant from national government - a lengthy process that was not helped by inflation caused by the same (Tory) government.

The pace of the FA football stadium project depends on the FA, not CWAC, and not the Town Council.

Potholes around town, which are the responsibility of CWAC, have become progressively worse as county council budgets have been slashed due to Tory austerity.

Dodging the potholes, bus services are poor not only in Winsford, but also in neighbouring towns, such as Northwich because not only are buses are privately owned in the UK - the government legally requires them to be. No amount of money or advocacy by independent local politicians will change those facts or address those problems, as they stem from national government legislation.

Cllr Welch does not like to accept that some local issues have their root at a national level, as it is inconvenient now that his pre-election promises are unravelling due to WSotE over-reach.

Predictably, six months in to WSotE's premiership, there is no evidence they have had any impact on Cheshire West councillors at all concerning the above issues.

Worse still, when WSotE (WTC) Cllrs Mellor and Murphy tried to call out their own (CWAC) seniors in relation to Pride and Bullying, Cllrs Boone and Clare couldn't help but double down on their outdated beliefs, causing a split that fractured WSotE completely.

“If elected, Winsford Salt of the Earth Councillors will work to achieve what’s the absolute best for us, instead of sitting in meetings in isolated groups sniping at each other”⁸⁾

According to more than one WSotE councillor, the fledgling non-party started to fall apart a mere 48 hours after the election. This was kept from the public eye for a brief spell however it became clear that issues surrounding the upcoming Pride event were contributing to the aforementioned split within the party. Cllrs Mellor and Murphy left WSotE (WTC), and Cllr Beveridge has since left the WSotE (CWAC) division.

The WSotE councillors might not snipe at each other (oh, but they do - ed), but then those that bother to turn up hardly say anything at WTC full council either - for example, Cllr Welch will either timidly request that Clerk Mark Bailey speak for him, or bark at fellow WSotE councillors to propose and second items from the agenda with virtually no debate, discussion or explanation given. The vibe in the room is very much that of a formal box-ticking exercise, as opposed to any kind of attempt to engage with each other or the public.

The evidence against this claim is littered throughout the WTC minutes - for example, the Labour councillors have collaborated with Liberal Democrats and independent councillor John Malam, to work on Open Spaces and the town park. Cllr Ailsa Gaskill took an active role on the finance committee.

“political tribalism is preventing people from having a proper say. We have seen many instances of self-praise and poor behaviour towards others, which sadly is typical within and between political parties, but is unacceptable and not how things should be done”⁹⁾

We have saved the best for last.

Prior to his election Cllr Welch supported Simon Boone, despite that Boone was well known to frequently accused Labour of fictional “bad behaviour”. Several WSotE councillors have subsequently shown they no longer support Cllr Boone and some have even called him out as a bully. None have yet apologised for taking part in his deceptive political campaign, however.

Cllr Boone has insulted Cllr Mellor and complained about lack of progress via his Facebook group, the Winsford Rodent Army¹⁰⁾ (WRA). For years leading up to the election, Simon Boone has demonstrated poor behaviour for towards the local Labour party, often resharing his own posts under various psedonyms, telling lies or exaggerating.

This *ahem* tribal behaviour certainly is “preventing people from having a say”! More than one resident has commented that they did not want to go into local politics because of his page, and yet Cllr Welch supported it openly prior to the coronation.

At this point in time, this pledge is impossible to fulfill. WSotE's chaotic approach to public relations has resulted in record low turnout to council meetings, and since there is no sign of this changing - That's a FAIL.