Stockport Liberal Democrats

Ian Powney, the councillor who first won the Bramhall South and Woodford seat from the Conservatives has stepped down as a Councillor on health grounds. A by-election will be held to replace him in late October/early November.

Cllr Powney won an historic election in the ward in 2022, beating the Conservatives who had held the seat for over 14 years. The first Lib Dem to represent the ward, Ian went on to champion road safety issues and protection of the area’s green belt.

Ian said: “I have immensely enjoyed my time serving the communities of Bramhall and Woodford over the last two years. Working alongside residents and my fellow councillors has been a true honour. While I am saddened to be stepping down, it is the best decision for my health. I want to take this opportunity to thank the residents of Bramhall & Woodford for electing me, and for all their support over the last two years.”

Lib Dem Group Leader, Cllr Mark Hunter, said: “We will sorely miss Ian’s presence on the Council, he has been an astute and diligent councillor, who has excelled as a local champion for Bramhall & Woodford. His work on the Audit Committee has proved invaluable, particularly under the difficult financial constraints the Conservative government have left us in.”

Tom Morrison, MP for Cheadle, said: “I want to thank Ian for the years of hard work he has put in. It is his tireless work that made the ward winnable for the Liberal Democrats, and I would like to wish him all the best. Whenever I speak to the residents of his ward, many have a warm word to say about him, and he will no doubt be sorely missed.

“On a personal level, Ian is a true Liberal Democrat legend locally. Without him we would never had the breakthrough locally. I’ll miss working with him.”

Following their elections as MPs for Cheadle & Hazel Grove constituencies respectively, Tom Morrison & Lisa Smart have made the decision to step down as councillors from Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council with immediate effect. This will result in by-elections in both Cheadle West & Gatley ward and Bredbury Green & Romiley ward in October.

Tom Morrison, MP for Cheadle, said: “Following my election as MP for Cheadle, I have been hard at work, getting my office set up, hiring my staff, and representing my constituents in Westminster. From fighting cuts to the Winter Fuel Allowance to championing the issues that matter to residents, I am working hard to be the best MP that I can be for my constituents.”

“As well as the honour of becoming Cheadle’s MP, this year has brought me other great news; my partner Louise and I are expecting our first baby in the New Year. I feel so lucky that I will be able to raise our family in the wonderful place that is Cheadle.”

“While my passion for public service knows no bounds, unfortunately I cannot say the same about my time. To make sure I am best serving Cheadle as its MP, I have made the decision to step down as local councillor for Cheadle West & Gatley. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the residents for their support over the last six years.”

Lisa Smart, MP for Hazel Grove, said: “It has been an absolute privilege to be a councillor for Bredbury Green and Romiley for over eight years, and I look forward to being able to carry on my work for the people here as their MP.

“I am proud of the work that I have been able to do with my fantastic ward colleagues Mark and Angie, and the campaigns we’ve run with this wonderful community. Our community is at its strongest when it comes together such as when we called for and then secured repairs to the Forum Theatre and I will champion the need for further funding as the MP. I look forward to continuing to work closely with local councillors for the benefit of people here whether it’s protecting our green spaces and rivers, fighting to get our hospital the repairs it needs or to ensure fair funding for our schools.”

Cllr Mark Hunter, Leader of the Lib Dems at Stockport Town Hall, added: “Whilst we were all delighted when Tom and Lisa were elected to parliament in July, we knew that this inevitably meant their time as councillors and as members of this Group would be coming to an end. I want to thank them both for the energy and wisdom they have brought to the Group and which I know they will continue to bring as our local MPs. I look forward to rolling up our sleeves for the resultant by-elections and getting two new Liberal Democrats elected as new colleagues.”

Stockport’s Liberal Democrat Group have submitted a motion ahead of the next meeting of the full council on 1st October, calling on government to think again about it’s planned change to eligibility criteria for pensioners to receive Winter Fuel Payments, a move that is going to remove this vital support from over 50,000 pensioners across our borough, almost 90% of those currently eligible.

Speaking after submitting the motion, Cllr Mark Hunter, Leader of the Council and of the Lib Dems at Stockport Town Hall, said: “Removing Winter Fuel Payments from all pensioners who are not in receipt of pension credit will leave many residents currently on the margins of fuel poverty struggling to heat their homes and stay alive this winter.

“We fully understand the mess left to the public finances by the outgoing Tory government which the new Labour government are trying to tackle, we believe the criteria being applied are too narrow and consideration needs to be given to those pensioners who either do not qualify for Pension Credit or have not yet applied. Other criteria have been suggested by various bodies and we call on Labour to do the decent thing and reconsider this, trying to find a way of giving support to those who rely on it at present.

“As a council we have done much over the past two years to encourage the take-up of Pension Credit and to provide warm spaces over winter to help people avoid crippling bills heating their homes. The government need to meet us part way and relax the criteria to protect our vulnerable older residents.”

Following the announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister of a new approach to planning and Local Plan-making, accompanied by the imposition of compulsory, nationally set housebuilding targets, Stockport Council have been forced to pause the consultation on their draft Local Plan which had been scheduled for this September and October.

Cllr Mark Roberts, Cabinet Member with responsibility for delivering the Local Plan, said: “We are of course frustrated that we have had to pause the consultation on our draft Local Plan. We knew that a new Labour government was likely to mean changes to planning and housebuilding would be coming down the track, but we faced a deadline of June 2025 to have submitted a Local Plan for inspection by the Planning Inspectorate and therefore had to press on immediately after the General Election.

“The plan we had ready was a Local Plan for Stockport that would have delivered the right homes in the right places and the right planning policies to protect our environment and the local character of our borough whilst delivering sustainable growth. It took account of local residents’ concerns about developing on our precious Green Belt, damaging our local environment and the very things that makes Stockport such a lovely place to live. Seven of the nine other authorities in Greater Manchester who continued with the GM Spatial Framework/Places for Everyone face a similar increase in housing targets despite claims made by Labour locally.

“It is now clear that, both locally and nationally, Labour doesn’t care about these concerns or the impact the colossal increase in mandatory housing targets will have.

“Nationally, Labour are saying “we know what’s best for you”, whilst locally they are saying “don’t build in our back yard”, creating nonsensical scare stories about filling the town centre with skyscrapers. It is really disappointing to see their local leadership turning their backs on the collaborative, cross party approach to the much-needed regeneration and investment in our town and district centres and which brought a Mayoral Development Corporation to Stockport.”

Councillor Mark Hunter, Leader of the Council and of the Lib Dems at Stockport Town Hall added: “We absolutely accept the urgent need for the right mix of homes, including affordable and social housing, but there is no easy solution to this. Labour seem to be making the same mistake as their Conservative predecessors in giving the power and profits to developers ahead of allowing local people to shape the place we live in. Their plans to ignore residents’ wishes and concrete over the green spaces that they hold dear was not mentioned in any of the leaflets they delivered across the borough in the recent local or national elections.

“We will continue to work towards delivering a Local Plan which protects the character of the borough and which delivers the right homes in the right places, taking a ‘brownfield first’ approach, using previously developed land, but it seems clear the Government will force us to build on the Green Belt to meet their centrally-imposed housing target. I firmly believe that central government targets, however well intended, should never trump local decision making.”

In response to a media enquiry quoting comments by the Stockport Labour Group Leader, Cllr Mark Roberts, Cabinet Member with responsibility for delivering the Local Plan, said: “The Liberal Democrats have set out a clear vision for the Borough’s future that worked hard to take into consideration the concerns raised by local people about developing on our precious Green Belt whilst delivering the policies needed for sustainable growth. This was built on the brilliant foundations of the regeneration work we see currently transforming the town centre’s brown field sites and ensuring those benefits reach everyone.

“We absolutely accept the urgent need for more homes and for more affordable and social housing. It is disappointing to see Labour’s local leadership seemingly turning its back on a collaborative, cross party approach to regeneration and investment that they have repeatedly tried to take credit for. Residents see through their spin and rightly expect better.

“Labour politicians in the recent Local and General elections should have been upfront and honest about exactly where they want to concrete over the green spaces residents hold dear and backing the imposition of arbitrary spreadsheet targets, rather than allowing local authorities to determine what works for their area. The communities across our borough will rightly be concerned about disproportionate and less sustainable development. It’s clear, however, Labour locally and nationally doesn’t care about these concerns or the local environment we hold dear, and the very thing that makes Stockport such a lovely place to live.

“The mask of hope on this new Labour Government is slipping fast with them quickly demonstrating a “We know what’s best for you, so suck it up” attitude, that demonstrates utter contempt for local people.

“We will be reviewing the detail of the Government instruction but it does look like Labour are intent on concreting over the Green Belt across Stockport and the wider GM region instead of supporting our Lib Dem plan for the much needed right homes in the right places.”