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Stockport Lib Dem leader Cllr Iain Roberts has described the resignation of Government minister Jim O’Neill as a “hammer blow” to the Northern Powerhouse project.

O’Neill, an internationally respected economist, was one of two ministers driving the Northern Powerhouse forwards. He was brought up in Gatley, Stockport.

“It’s difficult to under-estimate just how much opposition there is in parts of Government to devolution and the Northern Powerhouse project,” Cllr Roberts said. “Without Osborne and O’Neill pushing, it would never have got off the ground. Now both are gone, there seems to be no-one fighting for the North and for Greater Manchester down in Westminster.”

The Liberal Democrats are calling for more powers to be passed down to local areas.

“We know the problems and we can do a better job than central government of fixing them,” Iain said. “But unless there’s a real and genuine commitment to the Northern Powerhouse from Government, it isn’t going to happen.”

The news has been reported by the Manchester Evening News here.

Liberal Democrats are urging residents across Stockport and Greater Manchester to have their say in the GMP consultation over how the public will be able to contact the Police in future. The survey can be found here.

“There are just a few days left to respond to the survey,” said Lib Dem leader Cllr Iain Roberts. “It’s absolutely essential that we are able to contact the Police effectively.”

As part of the Community Engagement part of last night’s Full Council Meeting, Superintendent Jo Rogerson of Greater Manchester Police spoke to councillors about forthcoming changes to the way policing will be organised across Stockport.

Greater Manchester Police are in the middle of a review into their Police Enquiry Counters – the places where members of the public can go and speak to someone about a problem, and most are where those on police or court bail can make their formal “appearance” to meet their bail conditions. There are 22 of these across Greater Manchester, with two in Stockport.

The most heavily used in Stockport is at Cheadle Heath Police Station, and this is likely to remain after the review. The other is on the ground floor of Fred Perry House, co-located with the Council customer enquiry reception. The police have found that their service is very lightly used and cannot carry out the full range of functions available at other Enquiry Counters, such as bail appearances. It looks quite possible that this will close.

Supt Rogerson also gave councillors an update on changes to policing across Stockport. Police will now be organised into 8 policing teams, each focused on one geographic area. Pairs of policing teams will be based in “deployment stations”, the local police stations in Reddish, Cheadle Heath, Marple and Hazel Grove. Some of these have recently been (or are about to be) refurbished to be fit for purpose.

Each policing team will provide 24/7 cover through teams of Inspectors, Sergeants, Police Officers and PCSOs and whilst they will be tackling the full range of police work, key priorities will include domestic abuse, anti-social behaviour and hate crime.

Councillors were given the opportunity to ask Supt Rogerson questions about these proposals and thanked her for a very clear presentation.

• Experienced Trafford councillor and NHS worker, Jane Brophy, selected by Greater Manchester Liberal Democrats for the mayoral election.
• Cllr. Jane Brophy: “Looking forward to being a fresh voice for Greater Manchester residents.”
• Cllr Iain Roberts: “I have worked closely with Jane. She is experienced, enthusiastic and passionate. Greater Manchester needs a Mayor who will fight for us and Jane is that person.”

Jane Brophy won the nomination to be the Liberal Democrat Candidate for the elected Mayor of Greater Manchester on Wednesday evening. This followed a hustings meeting in the city centre and a ballot of the party’s members across Greater Manchester.

Cllr. Jane Brophy said: “I am absolutely delighted to have been selected by the Greater Manchester Liberal Democrat members.

“I’m looking forward to being a fresh voice for residents living in Greater Manchester, and campaigning on issues that will make a big difference to our world class city.

“I will be working tirelessly to highlight issues such as improving public transport, reducing air pollution, ensuring quality affordable housing and improving hospitals and health across the city.”

At the packed out meeting on Wednesday, which saw a record turn out for the city-wide party, Ms Brophy said that she would prioritise transport, environment and mental health if elected as Mayor of Greater Manchester; areas she has extensive experience in.

She also works for the NHS as an Allied Health Professional in the field of dietetics, public health and nutrition.

Stockport councillor  Iain Roberts said “Jane and I have worked closely together and I am certain she is the best choice for Mayor of Greater Manchester. Jane has the passion and the vision to lead our great city.”

Ms Brophy has been a councillor in Trafford for 16 years, most recently securing 52% of the vote in the 2016 elections.

Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “I am so proud to have Jane representing the our party in this Greater Manchester mayoral election.

“Jane is an experienced and hard-working councillor who has won stunning victories against the odds, and this election is an opportunity for her to do it again.

“Jane Brophy and the Liberal Democrats offer a fresh and exciting alternative to ‘more of the same’ in this election, and I know Jane and her team will campaign hard on issues that matter to local residents.

“I can’t wait to join Jane, John and the rest of the Manchester team.”

Stockport Liberal Democrats have tabled a motion to the next meeting of the Full Council to congratulate our Olympians for their successes in Rio and anticipating further medal success at the Paralympic games, which start on 7^th September.

Cllr Mark Hunter, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Stockport Council, said: “It is with immense pride we note that Team GB came second in the medal table at Rio, with a record haul of 67 medals including 27 Golds.  This is the fifth consecutive Olympics where our medal haul has increased and we won Gold medals in 15 sports, more than any other nation.

“Special mention must be made of Stockport’s own Kate Richardson-Walsh, who led the women’s hockey team to victory and became Team GB’s flag bearer for the closing ceremony.”

Cllr Lisa Smart, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Bredbury Green and Romiley, said: “It is not just the athletes but also their support teams and families who have done so much towards this great achievement.

“A large number of our elite athletes live, work or train in and around Stockport and we want to mark their achievements and recognise the example they set by inviting them to a special reception with the mayor.

The Paralympics look set to bring yet more exciting sport and medal success over the coming fortnight.”

Stockport Liberal Democrats have continued their campaign against cuts to our Health Service by tabling a motion to be debated at the meeting of the Full Council next week.

Cllr Iain Roberts, Leader of Stockport Liberal Democrats, said: “Having raised the issue of increases to staff car parking charges, the wider cuts to hospital services and, most recently, the increased patient and visitor parking charges at Stepping Hill Hospital we are bringing a motion to the Council which highlights our concern about the way the Conservative Government is failing to provide fair and transparent funding for our health service.

“A key issue is the continual cuts to preventative budgets including Public Health, which will only lead to ever more demand for expensive and unnecessary hospital admissions.”

Cllr Keith Holloway, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Stockport Together, said: “The under-investment by the Conservative government in both NHS and non-NHS Health Spending puts at risk our efforts to save money by pooling our budgets with the Clinical Commissioning Group to deliver preventative health care and makes it more likely that the NHS will face a major crisis in the near future.”

The text of the motion follows and will be debated by the Full Council on Thursday 15th September:

Health Service Cuts

This council meeting notes with grave concern:

•  Stepping Hill Hospital’s budget deficit, which has led to proposals to close a ward, to lose 350 full-time equivalent staff, to increase parking charges for staff, patients and visitors and to sell off part of the hospital site;
• The £30bn black hole in NHS funding, acknowledged by all parties in the run up to the last election; 
• That £22bn of this funding gap is to be tackled through spending cuts in the NHS;
• That KPMG have been brought in to Stepping Hill Hospital and University Hospital of South Manchester Foundation Trusts under the NHS Improvement Programme to support local managers to find savings, at a reported cost of £2m per hospital;
• The draft Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs), which are likely to result in further cuts to services in hospitals; and
• The Conservative government’s cuts to the local public health budget, including in-year cuts totalling well over £2m for the current and previous financial years, with a further 2.5% cut announced for next year.

This council meeting believes:

• The medium-term solution to these issues is the Stockport Together approach of local services delivering preventative health care and avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions;
• To achieve this, it is imperative that in the short-term we have sufficient investment for both the hospitals and the local provision; and
• That under-investment by the Conservative government in both NHS and non-NHS Health Spending such as Public Health makes it less likely that the Stockport Together-style approach will work and makes it more likely that the NHS will face a major crisis in the near future.

This council meeting resolves:

• To reaffirm its commitment to Stockport Together and the use of pooled budgets with the Clinical Commissioning Group; and
• To ask the Chief Executive to write to the Health Secretary, calling for fair and transparent funding for our NHS and non-NHS Health Spending.

Moved: Cllr Iain Roberts
Seconded: Cllr Keith Holloway