The Lancashire villages of Hesketh Bank, Becconsall & Tarleton

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Tarleton Parish Council Elections 2007
Mere Brow Ward
A message from Glenys Simpson

I have lived in Tarleton for over 35 years and, now that I'm retired, have time to do something about a situation that has concerned me for many years. In the 1970s, Tarleton and Mere Brow had Parish Councillors who were independent of any political party. Unfortunately, since that time more and more councillors have affiliated themelves to a political party and have chosen to adopt the party line, rather than to do what is right for their electors.

Even worse, some councillors have attempted to make a political career out of standing for more than one council - who can say where such a councillor's priority lies? With the County Council? With the District Council? Or with the Parish Council? I have my own opinion about this, and wonder whether getting quite well paid for attending West Lancs District Council or County Council meetings might have the effect of leaving the unpaid Parish Council business trailing behind in the priority list.

This isn't being fair to voters!. When the same candidate stands in Mere Brow for both District Council and Parish Council seats, you are restricted to having only a single person to contract should you have a problem or any concerns. However, if there were different people filling all the posts, you could have THREE councillors in Mere Brow - one who was paid to sit in Ormskirk on West Lancs District Council, and two others who served you on the unpaid Parish Council. To make matters worse, even our already well-paid Conservative County Councillor is standing in Skelmersdale to try and get himself elected to another paid seat on West Lancs District Council, as well as standing in Tarleton to try and get on the Parish Council. It just shows that it's the status and power that matter, NOT which village or district is being represented. The location doesn't matter - just get elected anywhere and at any price seems to be the Conservative motto.

Party Political interests are desperately trying to take over - instead of councillors trying to do what they individually think is right, the party machine will be dictating what happens in our village! Please support an INDEPENDENT council and vote for an INDEPENDENT councillor.

What are my aims?

  • If elected to represent Mere Brow I will work with ALL Parish Councillors to keep expenditure within inflation. At the recent Parish Council Annual Budget Meeting, only one of your Mere Brow Councillors turned up, and then she voted in favour of a 27% increase in what you pay to the Parish.
    This isn't good enough! Our incomes aren't increasing at that rate, so why should their expenditure! I think the council should keep expenditure within inflation, and if elected that's what I'll be voting for.
  • I'll also listen carefully to what residents call for - and to examine the possibility of Mere Brow seeking greater independence by moving out of Tarleton and into a more sympathetic neighbouring council area. I'd be very interested to hear residents' views about this, and to see what we could (or should) do about it.
  • I will continue to fight to keep Party Politics out of the Parish Council.
    Political parties may be all very well at the District Council level in Ormskirk, or at the County Council but not here in Mere Brow and Tarleton where all councillors should be working to make our village a better place to live. I'd like to think that our Parish Councillors were working for the electors of the parish, not just for their own Political Party.

Glenys Simpson

Vote for an INDEPENDENT councillor