Southport's Conservative MP has been heavily criticised for "pie in the sky" politics after claiming Southport is to receive £25m in investment from the government.

Damien Moore made the claim at the weekend but opponents are already pointing out that there is little to back it up and say that the Conservative MP has a track record of making "wild" claims that later prove to have little substance.

They cite how previously he repeatedly boasted of securing a government fund running into hundreds of millions of pounds to save high streets and yet Southport has not received a penny from it.

The Tory politician made several claims over a period of months that he'd had a role in establishing the Future High Streets Fund and also that Southport would benefit from part of it. Press releases from the MP were initially resplendent with claims such as:



"Damien Moore MP attended the Southport Bid conference on Friday 8 February to discuss with prominent business leaders how to attribute part of the £675 million fund he secured from the Chancellor in November to Southport"


Quotes from him on the subject were a regular theme of his self-promotion. Perhaps in a portent of the bad news to come, some began to downplay his role in securing all of the cash but still claimed Southport would benefit:


"High streets like Lord Street are instrumental in bringing people together... Only recently I secured part of the 675 million pound future high streets fund from the chancellor so that Lord Street can be restored to its former glory."


Respected local Tory politicians who backed his claims have also been left red-faced, such as Ainsdale Councillor Tony Brough. He went on record to proclaim:


"I am delighted that our Member of Parliament is such an avid supporter of bringing locals back to the high street. Damien Moore MP has demonstrated this by securing part of the 675 million pound future high street fund for Southport."

Labour opponents at the time refuted claims that the MP had secured the money, stating that it was little more than a Walter Mitty style boast by him.


Now, they say this latest investment announcement from the Conservative MP appears to be an attempt to divert attention from his previous claims - which have been exposed by recent news that while around 100 towns are due to benefit from that fund, Southport has been ignored by the government.


Liz Savage, Labour's Southport Parliamentary Candidate, believes that is devastating news for the town and says this new claim is just the latest in a series of fantasy stories from the Tory politician:


"We have heard all sorts of tall tales from him since he was elected, from falsely claiming credit for a number of local initiatives to even trying to kid local residents that the soon-to-be upgraded Merseytravel trains are down to the Tories. This one though was especially cruel."


"His wild boast of securing the £675m looked foolish at the time but there was hope his claims that Southport would get part of this money to help save Lord Street would prove to have some merit at least. Instead, they have been shown to be particularly hollow and reckless."


"The news that the town is not even one of the additional 50 to receive the Future High Street Fund after the initial allocation adds insult to injury and is a bitter blow. We can only wonder if this was why he recently deleted all his tweets and Facebook posts from before a few weeks ago?"


"Now, he is announcing that apparently Southport is to get £25m in investment via a different fund but in reality, the only thing that has been decided at this point is that this time the government will allow Sefton to make a bid for some of the money."


"There is no indication of any actual amount for Southport from the government because no amount has been set. In fact, there is no guarantee at all."


"Indeed, the MP seems blatantly aware of this as elsewhere he downgrades his own claim of £25m to one of "up to £25m" - knowing this covers anything from £1 up."

"We welcome any investment here, as after years of Tory and Lib Dem cuts the town desperately needs it, but his claim Southport is getting £25m looks like another of his reckless, empty boasts and yet more pie in the sky politics from Southport's Tory MP."

"Much like when he claimed to have saved the RBS branch in Birkdale, only for them to close it shortly after, so far all we have had is empty words and promises from an empty MP."



"No doubt, as usual, he will try and blame the local council or some other body for his own failings and those of his party but the fact of the matter is that he made the boasts and failed to deliver on them and in his duty as the local MP - so now it seems his ploy is to make some more to cover up."


"Labour meanwhile is aiming to bring 1,000 jobs to the town through Sefton Council's deal with Southport Pleasureland. I'm working with Sefton Labour Group and Steve Rotheram City Region Mayor to ensure that Southport gets access to the city region's £500 million Strategic Investment Fund."



"We've already held meetings with some of the town's leading business people and Steve Rotheram made it clear that if they work with the local authority to present a strong plan then Southport can get access to that funding, as Labour wants to see its fortunes revived."


"Even when not in government, Labour is doing more for Southport than the Conservatives do while actually in power."

"Labour meanwhile is aiming to bring 1,000 jobs to the town through Sefton Council's deal with Southport Pleasureland. "

Another pie in the sky comment....

How many work at Pleasureland at the minute, perhaps 200 during the summer season, so working on your logic, they must be looking to increase the size of Pleasureland 5 fold?

Another round of point scoring before the general election Labour don't want, and even if they do get into power which according to the bookmakers is extremely unlikely.

"The Conservative Party are the clear favourites to win the most seats if an election were held now, according to the most recent data released from bookmakers.

As of this morning (03/09/2019), the Tories have a 1/3 predicted chance of winning the most seats, which is an equivalent percentage chance of 75%.

On the other side of parliament, Labour’s odds have drifted throughout the year, meaning they now have odds of 4/1, equating to a 20% implied probability chance."

So, if Labour do break the betting banks, what happens next????

They'll negotiate a new Brexit deal with the European Union then campaign for it to be REJECTED....

Isn't politics marvelous....Muppets!!!!!!

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/1...new-towns-fund

And

https://assets.publishing.service.go...100-places.pdf

I used to have respect for Liz but of late I feel she’s just become like the others only wanting to take political potshots at the other parties to look like a least worst option.

Surely in the interest of the town the best approach would be to get some good proposals to submit in for the new towns fund to try and get the maximum £25m (if it’s there) for tyre maximum impact rather than jump to trying to do down another party for political gain.

Originally Posted by Username2016

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/1...new-towns-fund

And

https://assets.publishing.service.go...100-places.pdf

I used to have respect for ... political gain.

I used to have respect for a lot of your comments but lately you appear to have gone rather off the boil... the point that you seem to be missing is that this MP has a habit of making big boasts such as this from front page of today's Midweek Visitor shouting about a '£25m windfall':
" I am delighted to have delivered the single largest direct investment in a generation."

BUT ....NOTHING has yet been delivered, indeed when you look at it more closely all that has happened is that Sefton is allowed to bid for UP TO £25m, no guarantee of anything like the £25m the MP is claiming - yet noone is holding him to account on this (except Liz) - what on earth do the local journo's in this town do anymore?

Especially as he did this before - claiming he'd secured £675m Future High Streets Fund and Southport would get part of it... again, just swallowed whole by the local media and only Liz held him to account then... and she was proved right - Southport got nothing from it - no-one takes delight in that but if the local media won't hold him to account then Labour have every right to point out that's he's taken Southport for a ride before and is already his claims here FAR exceed what the current situation allows.

It seems local journos are incapable of highlighting this, so Labour must.

It's also a way of keeping up pressure to make sure that his promises are kept. If he renages on this as well, he's toast.

(Well, he would be if the local media wasn't so busy cosying up... but Labour will do their job for them if they cannot.)

As such, it really wouldn't surprise me if some money does eventually come this time (after basically a decade of cuts they are trying to hoodwink folks by splashing a bit of cash before the next election) and it'd be nice to have something finally... but let's see how much that actually is and let's not just swallow whole that it is £25m.

Also, £25m or not, it will still not go anywhere near covering the £230m plus they've taken from local govt services. It's like someone mugging you of your week's wages and then giving you a couple of quid back to get the bus home and expecting you to thank them for it.

Originally Posted by gnalist

I used to have respect for a lot of your comments but lately you appear to have gone rather off the boil... the point that you seem to be missing is that this MP has a habit of making big boasts such as this from front page of today's Midweek Visitor shouting about a '£25m windfall':
" I am delighted to have delivered the single largest direct investment in a generation."

BUT ....NOTHING has yet been delivered, indeed when you look at it more closely all that has happened is that Sefton is allowed to bid for UP TO £25m, no guarantee of anything like the £25m the MP is claiming - yet noone is holding him to account on this (except Liz) - what on earth do the local journo's in this town do anymore?

.....

It seems local journos are incapable of highlighting this, so Labour must.

wow, that was quite the response, not sure I’m more surprised than that or that people still read the midweek visiter! We also don’t have many local journalists these days, we have politicos hiding behind “community contributor”.

However back to the point, none of the local politicians have delivered much yet we have the likes of Dawson criticising others like the Lib Dem’s actually did anything.

Fundamentally the town would be better served by the politicians having progressive and positive ideas rather putting more effort into releasing statements “slamming” others to make sure that someone doesn’t look better than they are. Liz could have much better said “great that there is potential for this money and this is what we propose it is used on....” instead she didn’t and like the others more energy is put into finding evidence to do the others down, which benefits no one in the town.

Originally Posted by Username2016

wow, that was quite the response, not sure I’m more surprised than that or that people still read the midweek visiter! We also don’t have many local journalists these days, we have politicos hiding behind “community contributor”.

However back to the point, none of the local politicians have delivered much yet we have the likes of Dawson criticising others like the Lib Dem’s actually did anything.

Fundamentally the town would be better served by the politicians having progressive and positive ideas rather putting more effort into releasing statements “slamming” others to make sure that someone doesn’t look better than they are. Liz could have much better said “great that there is potential for this money and this is what we propose it is used on....” instead she didn’t and like the others more energy is put into finding evidence to do the others down, which benefits no one in the town.

Cheers :) And if you read it above.. not only does it welcome the chance of there being some cash but it also highlights what Labour is doing... and sorry but while I get your well-meaning intention but it is naive IMHO, I just don't see the sense in reinforcing this Tory MP's boasts - it gives them credence when they deserve none, or at least questioning given his record - and if anyone had done as you suggest with his previous claim over the £675m they'd look just as daft as he did when none of the money arrived.
The Lib Dems delivered nowt here, Moore neither so far - though he's falsely claimed all sorts. Liz is actually managing to get a few things done while not even being elected yet. If she gets the chance she'll be an excellent constituency MP.

Originally Posted by gnalist

.....and sorry but while I get your well-meaning intention but it is naive IMHO, I just don't see the sense in reinforcing this Tory MP's boasts - it gives them credence when they deserve none.

I think you’re naively assuming you’re bright enough to patronise me ;-) However putting that aside I do feel Liz should maybe write her own press releases as like your “wow” response to the reader it comes across as throw as much mud at the wall and hope some sticks.

She’d be better placed if she focussed on what she will do and can do rather than blowing out someone else’s candle in the hope of her candle shining brighter.

I seem to recall similar comments made about the money to the NHS that Mr. Moore said was being paid. The money was paid as he said it would be! You will also note that money is being paid into education, crime and more to the NHS - but money from the central government is never paid IMMEDIATELY!

Originally Posted by gnalist

Cheers :) And if you read it above.. not only does it welcome the chance of there being some cash but it also highlights what Labour is doing... and sorry but while I get your well-meaning intention but it is naive IMHO, I just don't see the sense in reinforcing this Tory MP's boasts - it gives them credence when they deserve none, or at least questioning given his record - and if anyone had done as you suggest with his previous claim over the £675m they'd look just as daft as he did when none of the money arrived.
The Lib Dems delivered nowt here, Moore neither so far - though he's falsely claimed all sorts. Liz is actually managing to get a few things done while not even being elected yet. If she gets the chance she'll be an excellent constituency MP.

Then you must be blind to what is happening in Parliament. Mr Moore has and is doing what he promised, and he is to be congratulated in that he supports the majority vote in Southport, which is what he was elected to do!

Originally Posted by Username2016

I think you’re naively assuming you’re bright enough to patronise me ;-) However putting that aside I do feel Liz should maybe write her own press releases as like your “wow” response to the reader it comes across as throw as much mud at the wall and hope some sticks.

She’d be better placed if she focussed on what she will do and can do rather than blowing out someone else’s candle in the hope of her candle shining brighter.

Not at all, am quite sure noone is bright enough for that in your view ;-) but wasn't my intention at any rate, just my opinion. Liz does plenty of both, it's that some folks only see what they want to - the simple fact is the man has a record for fanciful claims - you can give him a free pass all you like but if the local press won't challenge him on it, Labour will. Think we kinda covered this now so wish you well, and enjoyable as ever tbh.

Originally Posted by said

Then you must be blind to what is happening in Parliament. Mr Moore has and is doing what he promised, and he is to be congratulated in that he supports the majority vote in Southport, which is what he was elected to do!

You don't even live here.. you agitate for the right from your armchair in Chester... as to what relevance your comment has to the quote you used, I've no idea and less interest.

Originally Posted by said

I seem to recall similar comments made about the money to the NHS that Mr. Moore said was being paid. The money was paid as he said it would be! You will also note that money is being paid into education, crime and more to the NHS - but money from the central government is never paid IMMEDIATELY!

This would be amusing if it were not such a sign of how low standards have slipped under the Tories - though welcome it was a bit of money (just over a million) paid to provide a portacabin style extension to a desperately overstretched A&E with record waiting times and patients piling up in the corridors & after one of its consultants was one of the 68 from across the country to tell May how the NHS was falling apart at the seams! A hospital that also had a £30m deficit - it was not something to crow about, nor does it compare to the failure re. the much vaunted £675m which failed to materialise here at all - which as usual you conveniently ignore. As you do the fact that the govt has not made any mention of Southport getting an actual £25m - only Moore has.

Originally Posted by gnalist

Not at all, am quite sure noone is bright enough for that in your view ;-) but wasn't my intention at any rate, just my opinion. Liz does plenty of both, it's that some folks only see what they want to - the simple fact is the man has a record for fanciful claims - you can give him a free pass all you like but if the local press won't challenge him on it, Labour will. Think we kinda covered this now so wish you well, and enjoyable as ever tbh.

You’re welcome ;-)

Do still think your election tactics are wrong and at this rate you’ll just help John “who is he”/generic Lib Dem empty vessel Wright in at this rate. I find it baffling the rose tinted memories of the Lib Dem’s some have both in local politics and national politics some have.