Stockport Liberal Democrats

Stockport Council has once again been commended for its outstanding work, this time by the prestigious Local Government Chronicle awards 2024.

The LGC awards is one of the most important events in the local government calendar which every year sees Council staff commended for the work of teams across local government. This year Stockport was nominated for Best Small Team, Best Medium Team, Rising Star and Childrens Services.

For the Best Medium Team, Events & Hospitality staff were nominated for constantly reinvigorating their approach to events to ensure Stockport remains one of the best wedding venues around. The Stockport Family, Drug and Alcohol court were recognised for their pioneering work based on parents and professionals collaborating together to make a real difference in families lives. Meanwhile Luke Green narrowly missed out on the Rising Star award for his work on ensuring children got back to learning amid the RAAC crisis in schools.

Cllr Jilly Julian said,

“It’s great to see that even though we didn’t win all the awards we were up for, that Stockport council staff are rightly being recognised as amongst the best in the country. It can often get lost how hard Council staff work to make the lives of local people better, be it through improving the area or by directly providing the help and support people and local organisations need. We work with our Council staff every day, so we know how brilliant they are, but its excellent that they are getting their plaudits nationwide.”

Stockport’s winner came from the ‘Best Small Team Award’ which saw the Mayoral Development Corporation team take home the prize- presented by Stockport’s own Will Mellor. The MDC team is responsible for overseeing the regeneration in Stockport Town centre, which amongst other things, saw the new Stockport Interchange bus station and Viaduct Park open in spring.

Leader of the council, Cllr Mark Hunter said,

“It’s fantastic to get independent recognition of our teams amazing achievements, we know how hard they work to provide the best for the borough, all you have to do is walk through the Town Centre to see how good they really are, so it’s fantastic to see that one of the most important awards in local government agree with us. The multi-million pound development across the town centre is completely transformative and they show no sign of stopping.  Well done all!.”

Today the Liberal Democrats released their General Election manifesto- ‘For a Fair Deal’. A fully costed policy programme that has the ambition needed to provide meaningful change to people across the country, while rejecting the divisive policies and rhetoric in favour of well-constructed policies designed to directly improve people’s everyday lives. This involves an ambitious plan to revive people’s faith in the NHS.

Cllr Mark Hunter, leader of Stockport Council said-

“We are delighted to present our manifesto to the public, who will be able to see fully costed policies that are central to rectifying the damage done by the Conservatives to our country. Nationally, confidence in the NHS is at a low point, whilst on our doorstep, the appalling condition of Stepping Hill hospital is obvious for anybody to see. The Liberal Democrats have a clear plan to invest in our NHS and prevent expensively firefighting crisis after crisis.”

The manifesto targets several other areas of failing infrastructure in the UK, including a guarantee to end the lack of access to dentists, to protect our environments from water companies dumping raw sewage into our rivers and lakes and measures to improve policing to make communities feel safe again.

Amongst these measures, however, is a clear personal priority towards improving the deal for both paid and unpaid carers, indicated by Ed Davey talking about caring for his disabled son, in the parties political broadcast released last week.

“Anybody who has watched our Party Election Broadcast will have been moved by Eds’ story, but it is a story that so many can relate to. In Stockport we have over 30,000 unpaid carers, and our plan will provide a fair deal for them, including paid carers leave and a statutory guarantee of regular respite breaks.”

The release of the manifesto comes as Stockport Liberal Democrat councillors and activists have been campaigning in prime target seats in the North West of Cheadle and Hazel Grove. Candidates Tom Morrison and Lisa Smart, both local councillors, are building on a clear second place finishes to the Conservatives in 2015, 2017 and 2019 and have been named the favourites to win the seats according to a New Stateman Forecast.

In the Stockport constituency itself, Cllr Wendy Meikle is also looking to build on a strong performance in the 2019 general election by joining her colleagues in campaigning for a fair deal for the people of Stockport.

Sunday the 2^nd of June will see Stockport mark its annual LGBTQ+ pride event in the town centre, where the Stockport  Liberal Democrats will be proud to fly the flag with our own stall.

The event will be based in and around the market place, with a parade, stalls and a stage with live performances, as the town celebrates Stockport’s LGBTQ+ community

Liberal Democrat Councillor, Jake Austin said

“We are looking forward to another fantastic Stockport Pride festival this weekend, marching alongside families, friends and our communities to show our support for the LGBTQ+ people of Stockport.

As Liberal Democrats we are proud to support everyone, no matter their background. Stockport Pride brings our community together to celebrate the diversity of our borough, and every year Pride becomes bigger and better. We can’t wait to be there on Sunday!”

For more information on Stockport Pride visit the Stockport Pride website

Following a strong performance in the Local Elections earlier this month, the Annual Council meeting this afternoon confirmed that the Liberal Democrats will continue to lead Stockport Council for the year ahead.

At those elections, the Lib Dems were successful in defending every seat they already held whilst also making 2 gains from Labour, leaving them just 1 short of majority control of the council.

Cllr Mark Hunter, confirmed as remaining the Leader of the Council until May 2026, said:

“It was an honour to be confirmed once again as Leader of the Council. Work has continued since the elections to drive things forward, making sure residents gain the full benefits of the feel-good factor that’s everywhere in our borough right now.

“Having recently been awarded The Sunday Times ‘best place to live in the North West’, we are determined to ensure that we make the most of this time in the spotlight to push forward with the further regeneration and development of the place we all call home.  The £1bn regeneration of the town centre, including the new Viaduct Park and transport interchange, will be followed shortly by the launch of the consultation on a Local Plan for Stockport, delivering the right homes in the right places whilst protecting our green belt.

“The positive vision we have for Stockport has been fully supported by residents at the polling stations and we’re looking forward to repaying their faith in the coming months and years.”