A FORMER council leader will stand in his twelfth borough council election next month.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Ian Marks is bidding to retain his Lymm North and Thelwall borough council seat on May 2.

He has contested 11 borough council elections to date, along with standing as a general election candidate in Warrington South in 1983, 1987 and 2005.

Cllr Marks – who was the leader of the council between 2006 and 2011 – says ‘this will definitely be the last time I stand’.

“Politics and democracy in this country and on the council are not in a good state,” he said.

“We have a dreadful government and sadly the atmosphere on the council is toxic.

“It is a sad state of affairs but not so surprising, that many parish councils are uncontested on 2 May and there are not full slates for the borough seats.

“My parish ward of Lymm North is one of the many that is uncontested so I will become a parish councillor without anyone voting for me because there are no candidates of another party. This is bad for democracy.”

Furthermore, Cllr Marks says finance is the ‘major issue’ facing Warrington Borough Council and ‘indeed almost every other council in the country’.

He added: “Warrington is not on the verge of bankruptcy and I deplore the scaremongering that been put out on both printed and social media.

“It is not at all clear what will happen, but unless something changes and more funding is available, vital public services will be at severe risk.

“It is a great shame that the Tory opposition continually talks down the council with constant criticism and has nothing positive to say and expresses little concern about the people of Warrington.

“If I retain my seat I would like to work with others to bring back a culture of co-operation and cross party working.

“We need to pool our ideas to do everything we can to improve the way of life for our residents.

“Between 2006 and 2011, I led a coalition of Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. We worked together and I am very proud of all we achieved for the town.”