Radio 'interest'

Readers may be interested to know that at last December’s council meeting the Liberal Democrats tabled a motion that the council should call for the BBC to create a dedicated BBC Radio Cheshire station to fill the final gap in their north west local radio jigsaw.

This unremarkable and seemingly uncontroversial motion was ferociously opposed by Cllr Mike Hannon in a speech so full of scathing criticism that I wondered if I was hearing correctly.

His sole ground for insisting the Labour group support him in rejecting the motion (which they all did) was that a Radio Cheshire would compromise and undermine Radio Warrington AM.

I was so astounded by the vehemence of his oratory that I wondered why.

It’s standard council procedure that before every council meeting the chairman invites all councillors to declare any interest in items under discussion.

On this occasion Cllr Hannon, a director and chairman of trustees of Radio Warrington AM, failed to mention and have his interest in Radio Warrington AM recorded.

On this evidence the Labour group seem happy to have Warrington lost in the BBC’s north west/Liverpool agenda.

Had the Labour group known of Cllr Hannon’s direct interest in Radio Warrington one wonders whether they might have voted differently.

Probably not and their tribal selfpreservation instinct would have prevailed. But that’s not the point.

The declaration of interests is there for a reason.

The public is already disillusioned with politicians in general and this sort of cavalier attitude to the democratic process hardly helps.

Anyone interested in seeing the workings of the council might be interested in the continuing series of videos I have recorded on YouTube. Just google ‘warrington council meetings youtube’ and look for the description starting ‘A personal initiative….’ It’s usually at the top of Google.

RICHARD BUTTREY
Stockton Heath

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