What's at stake as Sefton braces for historic election
The first election of its kind for two decades lands during rare political events
Hello and welcome to the midweek edition of The Southport Lead.
Tomorrow is election day and it is a particularly significant one here in Sefton. Normally, only one third of the council is up for election each year and, on a council where one party holds such a large majority as Labour does on Sefton Council, it means the potential for change is limited.
However, due to the election boundaries being redrawn, this year is different. For the first time in more than two decades every single seat on the council is being contested and no-one is guaranteed to still be in post after the vote.
Coming at a time when national politics is entering unchartered territory with the traditional two main parties no longer the most popular, the potential for change is massive. It was seen last year when Lancashire County Council was won with a huge majority by Reform UK and, while that appears much less likely here, you’ll do well to find anyone willing to give a confident prediction on what to expect.
Today’s newsletter takes a closer look at the election and on Friday, I’ll be in Aintree trying to make sense of things as all 66 results are declared in one venue - wish me luck!
Southport briefing
🍽️ The Brewers Fayre restaurant based at Ocean Plaza could close down amid a major restructure of the business. Whitbread, the company which owns the brand and its associated hotel Premier Inn, announced that it considering closing all of its remaining Brewers Fayre and Beefeater sites following in a move which would also affect the Morris Dancers site in Scarisbrick and potentially affect 3,800 jobs nationwide. The proposals come after Whitbread began a new review of its business in November and criticised higher employment costs introduced in the last budget. It has however also suggested the move would clear space for profitable parts of the business as part of an existing longer-term strategy. Dominic Paul, Whitbread’s chief executive, said: “We plan to convert all our remaining branded restaurants to an integrated food and beverage offer that is preferred by our hotel guests and will unlock the addition of more highly profitable extension rooms. Our continued efforts to drive our commercial plan and efficiencies will extend our market-leading position and allow us to take share from our competitors, many of which are struggling to grow.”
🤝 Meanwhile, another Southport hotel has seen a takeover delayed - but its administrators insist the deal is still progressing. The Waterfront Hotel, formerly the Ramada and Bliss Hotel, has been run from administration since the collapse of its parent company and in October, The Southport Lead reported a sale to a new operator was imminent. In their latest update, administrators Paul Davies and Sandra Mundy of advisory firm James Cowper Kreston said they now expect to the sale to be completed within three months but did not specify the cause of the delays. They have also refused to name the prospective purchaser but did say they have taken over the day-to-day management of the hotel.
🐝 People are being encouraged to wear yellow on World Bee Day as part of a tribute to Bebe King. A 5k run is also being held that day - May 20th - to support Bebe’s Hive, the charity set up in memory of the eight-year-old, and runners are also being asked to wear yellow for that. Organised by The Southport Strollers, the community event is open to all and will start from the Lifeguard Hut at Ainsdale Beach at 7pm. The Southport Strollers said: “We’re coming together for a one-off, special community 5k run, in support of Bebe’s Hive CIC. We are inviting voluntary donations to Bebe’s Hive CIC, and will collect cash on the night. This will be an easy, social 5K run - approximately 2.5k out and back. This is NOT a race – there will be no timing, and no prizes - just about a social community event. Please wear yellow, with voluntary donations, cash, all for Bebe’s Hive.This run is about bringing people together, remembering Bebe, and supporting an incredible cause.” To mark this year’s campaign, a special ‘Celebrate Bebe’ t-shirt has been created in collaboration with Westcoast Workwear. The shirts are available now via the online merchandise portal.
Historic result possible as Sefton Council braces for first election of its kind in two decades
By Jamie Lopez, additional reporting by Emma Morgan
Labour faces a battle to hold onto its control of Sefton Council when voters go to the polls tomorrow (May 7).
The party has had control of the council for the past 14 years, with no single council holding more than half the seats in the previous 26 years before that. As the party faces huge challenges and a potential leadership contest nationally, Sefton’s Labour branch will be hoping its support base will have maintained enough locally to defy polls covering the whole country, with potentially thousands of seats expected to be lost nationwide.
The borough’s unique layout - spanning staunch Labour-supporting areas in the south to more unpredictable and diversely supported parts in the north - make it all the more harder to predict. Combined with the growth in support of Reform UK and the Green Party nationally and a smattering of strongly supported independents in various wards, confident predictions of this year’s result are hard to come by.
While Reform UK won a large majority at Lancashire County Council last year, few expect similar to occur here in Sefton. The Southport branch lies in disarray, with one candidate exposed for hateful social media posts by this title and no-one within any level of the party willing to say who is even in charge locally.
Among the political figures who The Southport Lead has spoken to in recent weeks, few are willing to make any sort of prediction on the overall outcome of tomorrow’s election. Labour hope to remain in power but few are willing to speculate on whether they will still hold a majority of seats or will have to rely on the support of others to approve their plans.
For the Liberal Democrats, there is a sense of opportunity to make inroads and have greater representation on the council and there is an expectation that it will remain the second largest party. The Greens meanwhile are also hoping to gain an increase on their current one councillor, with seats targeted both in Southport and elsewhere in the borough. For the Conservatives, key seats in its target Southport wards are the main focus.
