The Liberal Democrat Sefton Council Group has decided to open membership of the group to any progressive independent councillor who would like to join. Currently the Liberal Democrats are the largest opposition group on Sefton Council ( the other two are the Conservatives and Independents).

The new grouping to be formally called “The Liberal Democrat and Progressive Alliance Group” is according to Lib Dem leader ,John Pugh open to any councillor or future councillor who shares a progressive agenda with the right values.

“This isn’t just a re-branding exercise”, says Cllr Pugh, " In a post Covid age there’s a wholly understandable weariness with point scoring party politics,and party labels and branding can be as much an obstacle as a help in getting constructive outcomes."

Some Independent councillors,I know, have deeply Conservative or socialist roots, but for others being a member of a larger group may have its attractions.

Given the current grip that Labour have on the council, there is a democratic need to scale up the scrutiny of policy and opposition where necessary. That can be done by people working together and sharing expertise locally when they have got a common agenda and shared values. Often though what stops this is some passing feature of national party policy that has little local relevance.

Working together outside the party political bubble may be a risky step but it is certainly worth making the attempt and we are prepared to make it.

So John Pugh wants to back Tony Dawson as a Independent but since tony is not a lib dem , pugh is forming a new group . A new name will not hide the past

" Help. We Can't Win Here"

Rotfl

What self-respecting Independent would join
a group of LibDems lead by Cllr. Pugh?


Cllr. Pugh

…a rose by any other name?

Is there anywhere where it lists who is up for election in May and who the candidates are? I can't seem to find this information anywhere.

Originally Posted by roving-eye

The Liberal Democrat Sefton Council Group has decided to open membership of the group to any progressive independent councillor who like to join.

the Lib Dem’s are not progressive, they’ve been holding Southport back for years with their anti-outsider and not willing to work with other parties. The constant sniping from Dawson and Shaw would put anyone wanting to join their party.

The new grouping to be formally called “The Liberal Democrat and Progressive Alliance Group”

Good anagram of “ha, poor relic, garbled advertisements” which is fairly apt for some of the Lib Dem press releases that are just garbled adverts for the Lib Dem’s.

“This isn’t just a re-branding exercise”, says Cllr Pugh, " In a post Covid age there’s a wholly understandable weariness with point scoring party politics

......

Often though what stops this is some passing feature of national party policy that has little local relevance.

Absolute unashamed hypocrisy, the Lib Dem’s have been by far the worse party for this over the years to Southport’s detriment, you only have to look at the wording in the motions submitted, the stories released and the behaviour of some of their councillors to see Cllr Pugh is talking tosh and this is a cynical attempt to stay relevant in an age where some May question “what have the Lib Dem’s actually done for the town that’s “progressive”. If Cllr Pugh is serious about this as a party “leader” he needs to control the behaviour of his councillors, which to date he has not been able to do.

Jog on by Cllr Pugh. You had your chance and delivered zero for SPT.