Canal27ways

Category: Labour Party

  • Council gets to lock horns over Children’s Service Failings

    Council gets to lock horns over Children’s Service Failings

    Previewing a big week for Trafford Council with Children’s Scrutiny on Tuesday and a full council on Wednesday.

    August is usually a quiet month for councillors, but two critical inspections have created a political crisis, and the Conservatives weren’t going to let this go without another vote of no confidence in Labour’s leader, Tom Ross.

    Conservative Motion

    It’s nearly 2500 words. That’s huge for a motion – 4 pages long.

    Link to the full Conservative Motion

    If you can’t face 2500 words, the motion can be split into two halves.

    First Half – What has happened

    The conservative motion opens with the historically correct reminder that in 2015 Trafford’s children’s services were judged to be ‘Good’ whilst under Conservative control.

    It goes on to say that subsequent reviews marked a decline (under Labour control) culminating in the current review.

    It criticises Trafford’s leadership (Labour’s) for not being on top of performance shortfalls throughout this time.

    Second Half – What is to be done about it

    The Conservatives say the council should:

    • Record its profound concern and apologise to children and families
    • Thank its frontline officers and foster carers
    • Recognise the record as representing a serious failure of governance and accountability
    • Declare a loss of confidence in its political leadership
    • Call on the leader (Tom Ross)to resign
    • Call on the Council Executive to recognise its part in this and look to restoring confidence in political oversight
    • Establish an independently chaired Children’s Services Improvement and Assurance Board
    • Require the administration to publish an improvement plan with regular reports to children’s scrutiny
    • Require a specific report into failings in the ‘front door’ to children’s services and the failures in oversight.
    • Look for commonalities in the preparation for each of the negative Ofsted reports
    • Receive a further report at full council as to progress
    • Affirm that it’s about day to day standards not just for Ofsted

    Thoughts on the motion

    This is a better motion than we’re used to from the Conservatives and I suspect they’ve had some help. It gets a little bit messy towards the end by being too prescriptive, but overall it does what the Conservatives want it to do.

    Labour’s response

    I really expected Labour to take a position that the Conservatives had rushed to produce a purely political motion when the seriousness of the situation called for a measured approach that had already begun. I expected them to simply vote against this motion. Instead, they’ve made amendments.

    Labour Amendments to Conservative Motion

    I’m really surprised how much of the Conservative Motion survives amendment. It leaves a lot of the tale intact.

    Additional Points inserted by Labour’s Amendment

    The narrative history in the first half of the motion is tweaked to include a number of mitigating factors.

    • The budget for Children’s Services was reduced by the Conservatives after the ‘Good’ Ofsted
    • Within the latest ‘Inadequate’ Ofsted there some recognition of improvements in specific areas, notably report writing and support for children subject to protection plans
    • There had been a 60% increase in demand in the past 12 months
    • Ofsted recognised corporate and political commitment to children and that there had been additional investment
    • The ‘Expert Advisor’ being sent in by the Dept for Education as a consequence of the ‘Inadequate judgement’ will have a positive diagnostic input

    The above points are quite reasonable inclusions. It leaves the basic narrative intact. However, one of the smallest amendments in that first section is perhaps the most controversial.

    In 2026, Ofsted again found that leaders did not fully understand the scale of serious problems until inspectors arrived and did not possess a wholly accurate self-assessment of service quality and impact.

    is amended to

    In 2026, Ofsted again found that service leaders did not fully understand the scale of serious problems until inspectors arrived and did not possess a wholly accurate self-assessment of service quality and impact.

    The Ofsted report does not distinguish between service leaders, corporate leaders or political leaders. I really don’t like this particular amendment, leaders should stand with their teams, not washing their hands of them. I’m not impressed at all by this amendment and perhaps it highlights bigger issues.

    Amendments to the 2nd half of the Conservative motion

    They add some new measures

    • Recognise the record as representing a serious failure of governance and accountability
      (is softened)

    The amendment deletes the paragraphs criticising the council leadership and executive.

    It adds some new measures

    • Seek support from an independent improvement partner through a local authority that demonstrated outstanding practice in Children’s Services
    • Bring tangible and practical improvements to partnership working in Trafford including partners in health and Greater Manchester Police.
    • Calls on all partners in Trafford to recognise the challenge and allocate and identify dedicated and consistent resources to Trafford and the new Improvement Board.

    Labour has the numbers, if its councillors turn up

    This will be one of those meetings that will have the strongest of three-line-whips. It used to always be impressed on new councillors that there may come a time when councillors are expected to fly home early for important votes. It actually did happen famously about thirty years ago with regard to Greater Manchester’s Public Transport Authority when the votes across the councils of GM were almost in balance.

    I think we’re slightly softer these days, but it’s hard to see how an executive member could stay in post if they miss Wednesday’s vote.

    Had I still been a councillor, I would have supported the Labour Leadership and voted for their amendments. I would have blamed the leadership for their lack of openness. I would have told them in the corridor they’d brought this on themselves, but I would still have voted for them. I’m glad to be out of it.

    It needs stating

    There needs to be changes in how Labour’s leadership in Trafford operates. They’ve been found wanting.

    Scrutiny

    Scrutiny of Trafford’s approach to the Ofsted verdict is actually the day before council. Sadly, it’s just a verbal presentation. Whilst it will be worth watching on Youtube, its hard to see how much input scrutiny is going to be allowed to make. I hope I’m wrong.

  • Just to be different!

    Just to be different!

    Good News!

    LabourList, the independent platform for Labour supporters, published its roundup of positive news this morning.

    Despite the challenging times for Labour, the update is surprisingly encouraging.

    The LabourList summary highlights several promising initiatives that show why having a Labour Government matters:

    • Proposals to protect unmarried couples by ensuring access to shared property and inheritance rights, addressing the current lack of financial safeguards when relationships end, which often leaves vulnerable individuals—especially survivors of domestic abuse—at risk.
    • Plans to double the maximum duration of closure orders for dodgy high street shops.
    • Measures requiring tech companies to automatically block nude images on children’s smartphones and tablets by default.
    • A £20 million investment enabling high street opticians to refer patients directly to NHS hospital eye services.

    And it doesn’t stop there.

    This morning the government announced a £4.5 billion plan to expand walking, wheeling and cycling, aiming to build 5,000 new active‑travel routes, install 10,000 safer crossings, and shift more everyday journeys—especially school runs—away from cars.

    • Delivering this will save households money, including up to £1,700 per year if a second car is replaced with active travel for short trips
    • Improve public health, potentially freeing up 1.7 million GP appointments and reducing 4.4 million sick days annually
    • Cut carbon emissions and reduce congestion
    • Boost local economies through healthier, more connected communities.

    Locally, the emphasis on walkability fits very well with Stretford’s resurgence and indeed Urmston’s long term prosperity. Urban centres are increasingly the biggest gainers from trends towards local provision.

    So, in this vein, last night’s Planning Committee welcomed the application for Grub’s open food hall application in Stretford. The assumption was very much on a walkable destination.

    And lastly, keeping up the positive news, I was delighted to see that our hospital trust MFT, which runs most of our hospital facilities in Trafford and Manchester including Trafford General, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Wythenshawe Hospital amongst others has in the words of Manchester Evening News surged up the rankings.

    I have a personal reason for taking particular pleasure in MFT’s improved performance having served as a governor of the trust for the past three years. So I know how hard everyone within the trust has worked to achieve this. Big congratulations to everyone xxx

    (It looks like I am soon to submit to a major procedure in the hands of the trust, so I need to be nice haha)

    Featured Image: “Can you guess which house the Manchester City fans live in?” by Dunk 🐝, CC BY 2.0 gently cropped

  • One week to go

    One week to go

    There’s an election going on. Who’d know it?

    It’s a daily conversation on the media. We’re told it’s going to be a defining moment. Yet in Trafford, speaking for myself, in Lostock and Barton ward, it doesn’t feel to have caught alight.

    I know the Labour team here have been working hard, I’ve even delivered a couple of leaflet rounds myself, but where’s the buzz? And ok, I’d like to think we’ve worked hard as Labour for the ward, but we know that Brand-Labour is not at peak popularity, so why is it so quiet?

    I’ve seen a few Green Party posters and garden stakes, so there’s some activity out there and they’re on record as saying they’re targeting Longford ward. I received a national leaflet from their party, but nothing local.

    I know Reform voters will be an element in this election. Reform have been the big winners in council by-elections this past 12 months. However, those by-election wins were not achieved under the radar. They employed the exact same methods that the established parties apply. We all saw them pile into Gorton and Denton. Yes, I know they have their own TV station and are skilled in social media, so they’re not without election resources that are being applied in Lostock and Barton, but there’s still no substitute for knocking on doors. I think Reform will be delighted to get to 250 votes here.

    The Conservative Party in Trafford is an enigma. They remain the natural challenge to Labour in Lostock and Barton, but they’re flailing. The centre ground abandoned, I see no evidence of a strategy to capture the agenda beyond riding the occasional wave of discontent.

    Making up the five parties, we have the Forward with Timperley Party standing as Lib Dems here. I’m being rude, but they really do need take an interest in life outside Timperley. If anybody here has received engagement from the Lib Dems, I’ll take that back.

    I think the energy of an election can be a good thing that enables the repair of a party to begin, but where is that energy? The demographics of Trafford still have favourable segments for Labour, the so called Urban progressives and those with young families, for example. So, it will retain a good portion of its vote. At the same time, those segments moving away from Labour are spreading themselves thinly across too many alternatives. There’s a sense that Labour are braced for a trap-door to open, but watching their opponents fight over the lever. I don’t know how it will pan out but my feeling is that the lever will be barely pulled.

    Most of the postal votes are already in I think, so for many the election is over. But where was the debate, where was the challenge?

    Elections are a time to scrutinise.

    I want to celebrate Labour’s family hubs, the sure start centres of today, but I want the party to be challenged on whether they’re reaching every family that needs them.

    We’ve seen a lot of road patching in the last couple of months, are we extracting value for money? Are the patches going to last? Are they sufficient quality? Other parties should give their alternative approaches.

    Labour at least has a manifesto. I have not been able to find a manifesto from any of the other parties standing here in Lostock and Barton. Isn’t that appalling!

    I want to know how other parties propose how to address Trafford’s continuing budget deficit. Trafford’s Conservatives have put together a video at least touching upon the issue, even if their identified waste had no connection to the budget.

    Despite the absence of contesting programs, the one thing I will guarantee is that all parties that don’t lose all their seats, will see the election as ringing endorsement of every approach each party adopts for the next 12 months.

    Lastly, despite my criticism of each and every party, the greatest culpability probably lies with ourselves. We don’t have to allow this state of affairs. We’ve never had greater ability to hold hustings and publicise them. We have allowed ourselves to be passive observers of an election when it’s our only chance to hold our borough’s leadership to account. It doesn’t have to be like this.

    Prediction Votes

    Most Votes across Trafford Labour Party
    2ndGreen Party
    3rdConservative Party
    4thReform Party
    5thLiberal Democratic Party

    I’m not going to predict seats. There’s some close ones, so it’ll be interesting nonetheless.

    Photo by Tom Fisk from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/vehicles-racing-on-a-racetrack-12646461/

  • May 2026 Local Elections: Predictions for Trafford

    May 2026 Local Elections: Predictions for Trafford

    Whose flagship will run aground?

    Nominations have closed on the May 7th local elections. In the 21 wards of Trafford, we have five parties contesting every seat:

    PartyCandidates
    Conservative21
    Greens21
    Labour21
    Lib Dems21
    Reform21

    The Reform breakaway party Advance, are contesting 6 seats. In addition there’s 2 independents and there is a lone Social Democratic Party candidate in Sale Central.

    What’s going to happen when the votes are counted next day on May 8th?

    Ben Walker is a respected pollster who came closest to predicting the last General Election result. He writes for the New Statesman and is founder of the Britain Elects aggregation site. He’s also a Labour Councillor in not so far off, Chester. I have a lot of time for Ben.

    A Labour bloodbath across England? Won’t it be worse in Trafford?

    If that’s the forecast for England, what on earth is it going to like in Trafford where we’ve been hit by one the worst government settlements in the country? We’ve had to put council tax up beyond the maximum allowed, we’ve had to borrow millions just to keep the town hall doors open. It’s surely got to be worse here?

    Here’s my take.

    I predict Labour will remain comfortably the largest party and will win the popular vote.

    There will be no bloodbath here.

    Yet, it could still be seminal in terms of the Tories vacating their position as contenders for power.

    It’s often that the biggest factor is the quality of your opposition. Labour is extremely fortunate that the current Tories are contesting their right flank more than trying to win the centre ground.

    Clearly, the presence of Reform and Advance are factors in this, but it’s got to be said there’s little evidence of the Tories wanting to widen their appeal. We’ll see, but this is Trafford, it was once their flagship.

    Labour will be glad too, to have a Lib Dem party in Trafford that’s made itself into a single issue party focused entirely on Timperley.

    The Greens may prove themselves to be the biggest threat, but it’s proved hard for them to get a foothold in the north of the borough. If they can take a seat in Old Trafford, they’ll be pleased with their progress, but only if they hold on to their Altrincham and Hale seats.

    Reform managed to lose a seat this week to the Greens in a Kent by-election. The public are picking up that Reform can’t run councils. They’re struggling in Kent, they’re putting Council Tax up in Worcestershire by the largest amount in the country.

    The real question will be as to whether a solid performance across the wards by Labour will be seen as a ringing endorsement of their programme. I would argue that you need to look at the total Labour vote, not just the seats.

    2024 votes across Trafford

    Labour29,33841.83%
    Conservatives17,64525.16%
    Green12,64318.03%
    Lib Dem7,98311.38%
    Reform1,5952.27%
    Independents8421.20%
    TUSC880.13%
    70,134

    Can the Greens come second?

    Reform only contested a handful of seats in 2024, so it’s inevitable their vote will grow. Could we see the Greens come second in the vote this time around? It would only require a 3.57% swing from the Conservatives. Given the disproportionate impact of Reform, I am going to stick my neck out and make that my prediction.

    It’s possible Labour lose more votes, but it’s increasingly likely the Tories will suffer the bigger fall from grace.

  • Getting tetchy!

    Getting tetchy!

    I read a really good piece in the Manchester Evening News by Hannah Richardson. It captured perfectly the mood of Trafford Council.

    The Conservatives blamed Labour, Labour blamed the Conservatives, and the Greens pointed the finger at every other party present.

    Hannah Richardson MEN
    Manchester Evening News

    We’re still waiting for the Government’s decision. It normally lands by the end of January, so everyone’s feeling a bit on edge.

    Somerset Council has already had to postpone their budget meetings in the absence of the final settlement.

    One can imagine that the team led by Nico Heslop (Director of Finance) at MHCLG has had its work cut out in listening to the protestations of councils like Trafford over the proposed settlement.

    My guess is that we will learn our fate this week. It will be good to channel all this nervous energy into constructive activity.

    The Conservatives as main opposition party will want to put an alternative budget forward. The other parties might want to propose tweaks. They clearly need to see the Labour budget first.

    If the law dictates that it all has to be done and dusted by March 11, we really need that final settlement agreed.

    Link to Manchester Evening News Article on the Council Meeting of 28 January 2026

  • Weekly Update

    Weekly Update

    Quite a light week for meetings. Planning committee met on Thursday with a comparatively light agenda, but that was my only obligatory meeting.

    We had our monthly advice surgery on the 5th. Since I won’t be standing for re-election next May (2026), potential replacements are proactively getting involved now, ahead of the selection process. I feel awkward. I want to separate myself from choosing a successor. Candidates to replace me had been invited to come along to the advice surgery. I didn’t know in advance. I was very uncomfortable. It’s an odd position to be in.

    I hasten to underline that this is just for the Labour candidacy. I never take the voters for granted. The Labour candidate will be selected 31st May. I continue to be a Labour Councillor until 7th May 2026.

    In terms of significant casework, I followed up on social media complaints about NHS lists at Revive Dental at Nags Head Circle. NHS patients had been informed they needed to sign up for private provision to remain on a dentist’s roll. We’re seeing this a lot throughout Trafford, but I’ve been asking questions of both Public Health and the Integrated Care Board (NHS).

    I was pleased to see clearance of the bike lanes on Barton Dock Road together with some lovely planting of flowers on the verge.

    That’s what I call a cycle lane!

    They even watered the flowers the following week, so they’ve done a really good job.

    Stretford Town Centre

    I know the town centre is not Lostock and Barton Ward, but many residents here (including myself) consider themselves proud Stretfordians, and we’re passionately interested in how the regeneration of Stretford meets our needs.

    The last vestiges of the Mall close at the end of August. Some businesses, such as Heron and Aldi retain their premises; others will have new premises in the new layout, and others will sadly depart.

    I’m particularly sad to see Uplift go. It’s no exaggeration to say that the Uplift café has personified the spirit of Stretford since before Covid. They’ve kept going, they’ve delivered art, craft, music and energy to the community when it’s been most needed.

    If you’ve not been following the co-owner Georgie’s video’d walks to work each Saturday on Facebook, you really should dip in and watch a few while they’re online.

    The Uplift Collection

    Frustratingly, we still don’t have a firm grasp of the grand design for Stretford. We have themes of longer hours and an increase in the night-time economy. There’s an aspiration for independent retail, but at the same time, there’s an expectation of corporate uniformity in terms of operating hours. I know there’s a tension there for some smaller operators who are being asked to commit to the project.

    Hopefully, we’ll hear exciting news soon about who’s coming. I think those existing traders need to hear it too.

    There’s been good news that Stretford Beach has won an award. It needs café seating and trade, but I like how it might evolve.