Southport Labour has accepted a challenge issued by the local Liberal Democrat Party's new candidate to a debate in the town.

The Lib-Dem's parliamentary candidate John Wright made an "Any time. Anywhere, On any issue" offer to Labour saying he has to "earn the right" to be the main challenger to the town's Conservative MP.

His Labour opponents, however, highlighted that they have already earned that right through the ballot box after last year's general election result which saw the Lib-Dems pushed firmly into third place and as such any debate must also include the town's Tory MP who is their primary concern, not the Lib-Dems.

Labour point out that John Wright has no known record of activity in Southport previously and so has much work to do before he can even be considered a challenger to themselves but welcomed the fact that the Lib-Dems have now appointed a candidate from outside the town, which after years of attacking Labour and the Tories for doing just that comes as an interesting about-face and change of approach, they say.

Despite this, Labour's Parliamentary Candidate for Southport Liz Savage says she will happily meet the challenge but that a proviso must be met beforehand to ensure that respect is restored to local politics:

" We believe strongly in a local healthy democracy so are happy to have an independently organised hustings style event across a range of topics with all of the major parties and their candidates. We want to bring respect back into local politics so a condition is that the current lowbrow tactics by the local Lib-Dems must stop.

We realise that there can sometimes be a toing and froing of "X" is deluded with this policy or "Y" is foolish for this attitude during political exchanges but we feel the Lib-Dems have been sinking lower and lower for some time and in the last few weeks we have heard a series of increasingly reckless claims from them.

Two days ago they put out a bizarre and truly appalling allegation that Southport Labour were "in bed" with those who had committed a criminal act by hurling a rock through a car window in another part of the country in what they claim was a Brexit related incident, something that has absolutely no connection to us whatsoever except in the increasingly overheated imagination of the local Lib-Dem party.

In the last days of the election they also claimed that instead of just being part of the normal democratic process, for us to have a candidate standing in Kew was part of a 'dirty tricks campaign to control Southport'. During that they described her as a "faceless" Corbyn candidate, despite the fact that Janis Blackburne is a respected local cub scouts leader and actually romped home with a 400 plus majority.

Similar scare tactics were used in Norwood by the Lib-Dems, where we returned an even bigger majority of over 650. It doesn't appear to be doing them much good but we are concerned they will put residents off engagement with local politics through such behaviour.

Both Cllrs Blackburne in Kew and Mhairi Doyle in Norwood are determined to represent their wards while respecting residents. We feel this has been sadly lacking for some time from the Lib-Dems.

Much of the current animus from them locally stems from their electoral setbacks we think and also the reaction to their treatment of the Kew Park Campaigners.

Instead of doing the decent thing and simply apologising for the attack they launched on the two young mums from the campaign at the Area Committee, the Lib-Dems dug themselves a deeper and deeper hole. They want to try to blame us and the campaigners for their own misfortune by wrongly claiming they have been smeared, rather than looking at their own actions which were the root cause of their problems.

This week they complained that Labour were "opportunist" over the matter as if somehow we were supposed to simply stand back and let them get away with what we felt was a shocking display of contempt for local residents, as well as their subsequent shoddy treatment of the park campaign. The Lib-Dems might not like it but we won't stand idly by when we believe residents are being abused like that.

Nor was it just ourselves at the time but also an independent, formerly Tory, councillor who felt standards had badly fallen at the Area Committee; even the official young observers took them to task at the next and final meeting for the behaviour and attitudes on display there.

We have supported the park campaigners throughout and have long said we will help them if we can, so it would be remiss of us not to take this opportunity to call again for a full apology to finally be issued by the remaining Lib-Dem councillors to the campaigners for the treatment received at that Area Committee meeting and afterwards.

If the Lib-Dems do that and agree to retract their recent wild claims against us, so restoring some much-needed civility back into local politics, then we will be more than happy to meet them and the local MP for this debate. Out of respect, UKIP and the Greens should be invited too."

More windbaggery. The Tarletonian Skem councillor says "We want to bring respect back into local politics..." while regularly slagging off every politician from any other party. Hypocrtical numpty. She "accepts the challenge" but only on her own terms, with preconditions. How brave ;-)

Originally Posted by dav

More windbaggery. The Tarletonian Skem councillor says "We want to bring respect back into local politics..." while regularly slagging off every politician from any other party. Hypocrtical numpty. She "accepts the challenge" but only on her own terms, with preconditions. How brave ;-)

Not a Labour fan but felt the response was well-reasoned. Would certainly support even a Labour candidate over anyone the Lib Dems have put forth thus far.

Originally Posted by dav

More windbaggery. The Tarletonian Skem councillor says "We want to bring respect back into local politics..." while regularly slagging off every politician from any other party. Hypocrtical numpty. She "accepts the challenge" but only on her own terms, with preconditions. How brave ;-)

Dav, you really are an unpleasant fellow. Are you still smarting that your equally unpleasant comments about the new Norwood councillor didn't pay off and she got a resounding win?
As to Liz, given that she has earned the right through hard work and results at the ballot box to be the main challenger to the town's Tory MP, unlike the Lib-Dem candidate, and the MP is her focus not the Lib-Dems, seems fair to ask that he is there.
Also, given the LD's behaviour of late it is fair enough to make the request for a return to respect in local politics.
Of course, as I recall, at the time you rather dismissed the awful treatment meted out to the two young mums from the park campaign, giving the biologically impossible advice that they should "grow a pair". So I suspect the whole sense of this will pass you by.

Originally Posted by Gwhizz

Are you still smarting that your equally unpleasant comments about the new Norwood councillor didn't pay off and she got a resounding win?

Indeed it is sad that our ward is represented by Blow-in MBE and two turncoats. Not that it matters given everything is decided in Bootle anyway.

As to Liz, given that she has earned the right through hard work and results at the ballot box to...

... fail at becoming our MP. I remember her nasty shrieking and name calling at the hustings before her election failure. Damien was a rose between two thorns as the Lib's rubbish picker and your main squeeze traded insults about him. Thankfully, he came up smelling of roses and we had the correct result for the town (admittedly, from a poor field).


When you see how Momentum Labour operates nationally - the bullying, the anti-semitism, the sexism, the racism - it is rather rich for the local rep to pretend they're all about respect. Thuggery, more like.

Originally Posted by dav

Indeed it is sad that our ward is represented by Blow-in MBE and two turncoats. Not that it matters given everything is decided in Bootle anyway.






... fail at becoming our MP. I remember her nasty shrieking and name calling at the hustings before her election failure. Damien was a rose between two thorns as the Lib's rubbish picker and your main squeeze traded insults about him. Thankfully, he came up smelling of roses and we had the correct result for the town (admittedly, from a poor field).


When you see how Momentum Labour operates nationally - the bullying, the anti-semitism, the sexism, the racism - it is rather rich for the local rep to pretend they're all about respect. Thuggery, more like.

What a delight you are, pleasantries just swirl around like petals in a breeze every time you tap away at the keyboard Dav.

BTW, do you have a little man running around saying "De plane, de plane boss" in your garden, as you appear to live on Fantasy Island?

Your hustings recollection at the very least seems to be a case of false memory syndrome... but hey, if you think Damien is a rose then that's entirely up to you. It's nice to know you have some feelings after all. So sweet you finally expressed something other than bitterness.

Originally Posted by Gwhizz

....... the MP is her focus not the Lib-Dems................

Should she not have the town of Southport as her focus, informing us on how she would set about improving our lot rather than slagging off Damien Moore who has at least managed to rid us of the continuation of LibDem dominance here?

Originally Posted by Gwhizz

Also, given the LD's behaviour of late it is fair enough to make the request for a return to respect in local politics.

Ah yes, I remember those days well, before the likes of Dawson & Co came along to make Southport politics as filthy and horrible as the water off our coast.

Originally Posted by MargeSimpson

Should she not have the town of Southport as her focus, informing us on how she would set about improving our lot rather than slagging off Damien Moore who has at least managed to rid us of the continuation of LibDem dominance here?

Ah yes, I remember those days well, before the likes of Dawson & Co came along to make Southport politics as filthy and horrible as the water off our coast.

Tbf, the primary concern thing was in relation to the challenge... and she's not "slagging off" Damien in this. If you mean will she stop criticising him, I strongly suspect not, she fervently disagrees with his politics as he does hers... but they at least clash on policy or actions, rather than indulge in the sort of lowbrow stuff the Lib-Dems are going for at present.

As to those you refer to... the way their new candidate is going he might make them look tame. Seems it was he behind the tweet referred to.