Will another one bite the dust?

Break away ballot
Mar 2 2005
By Gary Stewart, Midweek Advertiser, Sefton and West Lancs

A COUNCIL vote will tonight decide whether or not West Lancashire will jump ship from the North West Regional Assembly.

A motion tabled by council leader Cllr Geoff M. Roberts will put the issue before the full chamber:

"That this authority gives notice to the North West Regional Assembly by the 31st March 2005 that it intends to withdraw from the Assembly and cease paying its subscription on the 31st March 2006."

Speaking to the Advertiser ahead of the vote, Cllr Roberts explained why he had tabled the motion: "There are a number of reasons. First it's our party's policy not to have regional assemblies anyway. So that's one.

"More important is that the North West Regional Assembly now appears to be a dead duck."
Cllr Roberts said that issues over the assembly budget had prompted his action.

"We had a meeting of the policy committee three or four weeks ago at which the budget for the forthcoming year was discussed,'" he said. "We found that there was an overall increase in the budget and that Labour and Liberal Democrats had voted against a reduced budget."

Following the well-publicised failure of a regional government referendum in the North East he said that he could not reconcile a body whose powers were reducing with one whose budget was increasing.

"All the Conservative members of the body agreed that we would give notice and withdraw," said Cllr Roberts, who pointed out that WLDC would not be the first council to leave the assembly.

"Local authorities still have to be consulted on issues such as transport and housing so we will not be disadvantaged just as Lancashire County Council have not been.

" William Roberts, a Labour county councillor and district councillor for Tanhouse in Skelmersdale, said: "There is quite a lot of dissatisfaction with the unelected assembly

"Lancashire County Council of course pulled out of it at the start of the regional campaign when they thought the assembly was using its funds wrongly. Cheshire County Council has also withdrawn.

"West Lancashire probably feels it is paying into it and getting nothing out of it."
However he warned against the district council losing its influence on such issues as council housing: "If they can persuade their tenants to transfer the housing stock then that might be fine.

"However if they withdraw and leave the regional assembly to make decisions about housing and West Lancs has no representative to challenge them it could be a costly move."

One year's membership of the North West Regional Assembly currently costs around £4,800.