Links to Videos
Overview & Scrutiny 23 September 2010
Links to Overview & Scrutiny Committee Videos
Cllrs Andrew Dawson and Alan McKie kayak on the River Weaver Kayak Trail 2 September 2010
- Cheshire West & Chester Council meeting 22 July 2010 - Frodsham Town Design Statement speakers: Cllr Herbert Manley, Cllr Andrew Dawson, Cllr Mark Stocks
- Cheshire West & Chester Council meeting 22 July 2010 - Budget Outturn: Cllr Les Ford
- Cheshire West & Chester Council meeting 22 July 2010 - Education attainment in the Borough for the academic year ending 2009 - Question from Cllr Andrew Dawson to Cllr Arthur Harada
- Cheshire West & Chester Council meeting 22 July 2010 - Water usage and King Arthur - Question from Cllr Andrew Dawson to Cllrs Richard Short and Lynn Riley (part answered by the Leader Cllr Mike Jones)
- Cheshire West & Chester Council meeting 22 July 2010 - highway safety and looked after children educational attainment and psychological services - Questions from Cllr Andrew Dawson to Cllrs Lynn Riley (answered by the Leader Cllr Mike Jones) and Cllr Arthur Harada
- Safer routes to schools - could we do more?
Frodsham & Helsby Councillor Video - Cheshire West & Chester Council 7 April 2009
Links to Podcasts
This is podcast is an extract from the public meeting held on 10 September 2010 in which the community considered whether or not in wished to club together with a view to buying 3 fields presently up for sale in Frodsham. The podcast simply covers the description of the fields and the issues for the community raised by Cllr Andrew Dawson and does not cover the question and answer session of the deliberation that followed.
We were fortunate to have an impromptu visit from Graham Evans MP - unfortunately his speech wasn't recorded.
You can download the podcast either by clicking the title - or by searching for 'Frodsham and Helsby' in iTunes.
- Frodsham & Helsby Conservative Candidates Election Podcast
Cllrs Dawson, Ford and Ingram are the Conservative party candidates for the new Cheshire West & Chester Council which will come into being in shadow form after elections on 1 May 2008. In this podcast the candidates discuss why they are standing and what they see as good governance for the new Council.
You can download the podcast through iTunes - just search for Frodsham - or directly by clicking here.
- Crowmere Lake
The podcast published on 21 September 2007 is Crowmere Lake - Frodsham Town Council's problems is about the difficulties the Town Council is grappling with regarding Crowmere Lake. Crowmere Lake is just off Dobers Lane - directions to get there are in the podcast. Frodsham Town Council is looking closely at the issues and wants to hear from anyone with views about the issue and how the problems may be solved, reduced and as needs be paid for. If you wish you can contact Cllr Dawson with your views too.
Cllr Andrew Dawson produced a podcast for "I'm a Councillor get me out of here!" - aimed at school age children and young persons this is also available.
Please click here to be directed to the podcasting host site where you can either stream or download the podcasts.
Happy listening!
In the Press
The work of your Councillors is regularly commented on in the press. The following links take you to where we are reported most often.
Use their on-site search facilities to search either for the Councillors individually or for the item of interest.
Press Releases
Frodsham Town Council rejects “man of talent”
in Alice in Wonderland co-option debate
There were heated exchanges at Frodsham Town Council tonight (23 June 2008) when the Council considered co-opting members to fill two vacancies on the Council.
There were 3 candidates for the 2 vacancies. The 3 candidates were Mark Ingram, Alec Robertson and Kyle McGregor. All of the candidates are members of political parties.
Mark Ingram is one of the three elected Conservative Councillors for Frodsham & Helsby in May 2008 on the Cheshire West & Chester Shadow Authority. He is also a Councillor for Frodsham North on Vale Royal Borough Council. Alec Robertson stood as a Labour candidate in the recent Cheshire West & Chester elections for Frodsham & Helsby and finished a distant 6th. Kyle McGregor works in Labour MP Mike Hall’s office. Both were acknowledged as members of the Labour party at the Town Council meeting.
Cllr Andrew Dawson challenged his fellow Town Councillors on the Labour dominated Town Council not to vote politically. He pointed out that in the last 2 elections in 2007 in Frodsham and 2008 for Frodsham & Helsby the Conservatives were the largest party. These comments brought heated exchanges.
Cllr Tony Hinkins, in a reference to Cllr Ingram, called him a “high achiever” and a “man of talent” but then questioned whether he was the right sort of person to serve on Frodsham Town Council. Cllr Brian Lloyd stated that he did not see his role on the Town Council as being political.
Cllr Andrew Dawson commented: “Its like being in a parallel universe with the Labour Town Councillors stating they are not acting politically and then seeing them voting en bloc for the candidates who are members of the Labour party. I respect Cllr Lloyd as a worthy political opponent and a member of the Labour party and Labour leader on Vale Royal Borough Council – but for him to tell me that they are not acting politically stretches my imagination. It is like something out of Alice in Wonderland. Now you see me at Vale Royal – I’m a Labour politician. Now you see me at Frodsham Town Council I’m a-political! I’m an elected Conservative Councillor for two Councils – I don’t pretend I am anything other than a Conservative when I am doing my best on Frodsham Town Council where in common with everyone else ,until tonight, I was elected unopposed.”
In the voting for the co-options both Alec Robertson and Kyle McGregor received 8 votes to Mark Ingram’s 2 and were duly co-opted to the Council adding to the built in Labour domination.
Cllr Andrew Dawson stated: “The main problem with Frodsham Town Council is that not enough people come forward to stand. We did not have elections in 2007 as we only had enough candidates for the vacancies. In my view this Council needs a good shaking-up to make it act more for the community it represents. Simply adding to the Labour domination does not inspire me with confidence as frankly the track record of Frodsham Town Council is very poor. One only has to think of the £40,000 spent on legal fees over Crowmere lake without proper stewardship by the Council to see what I mean - especially when the Council only brings in around £130,000 a year.”
At the end of the lengthy Town Council meeting and after other business had been concluded Cllr Dawson indicated that as Chairman of Scrutiny on Cheshire West & Chester Shadow Authority one of the options that Authority is likely to consider going forward is giving Parish and Town Council’s a role in scrutinising the performance of the new Authority. The flip side would be the new Council also scrutinising the performance of the Parish and Town Councils. This latter thought brought notable unease including an expletive from a leading Labour party figure! From the public's point of view, a spotlight on the performance of FTC would be no bad thing.
The Weaver Vale Constituency Labour party website boasts about Labour’s role on Frodsham Town Council stating:
“Welcome to Labour in Weaver Vale. We have over 300 members living in a wide area of Cheshire covering Northwich, Frodsham, Helsby, parts of Runcorn and many rural areas. A Labour Member of Parliament - Mike Hall Control of Halton Borough Council Provide effective opposition on Vale Royal Borough Council A leading role on Northwich and Frodsham Town Councils.”
So when Labour politicians say they are not acting politically in a Town Council meeting, yet boast publically about their “leading role” on that same Council you might think they are trying to have it both ways. That said, bearing in mind Labour’s track record you can well understand why the Labour Councillors on Frodsham Town Council might be trying to distance themselves from the party!
Notes:
1. Many parish Councils are a-political - but not Town Councils like Northwich and Winsford - why is Frodsham different?
2.The vacancies on Frodsham Town Council arose through the death of Cllr Colin Pritchard and the retirement through ill-health of Cllr Jack Fiddler.
3. Cllr Andrew Dawson is an elected Conservative Councillor serving for Frodsham North on Vale Royal Borough Council and Frodsham & Helsby on the Cheshire West & Chester Shadow Authority as well as serving on Frodsham Town Council.
4. Cllr Mark Ingram is an elected Conservative Councillor serving for Frodsham North on Vale Royal Borough Council and Frodsham & Helsby on the Cheshire West & Chester Shadow Authority.
5. In the 2007 elections in Frodsham for Vale Royal Borough Council the Conservatives fielded 3 candidates, 2 in Frodsham North (Cllrs Dawson & Ingram) and 1 in Frodsham South (Cllr Lynn Riley) all 3 were elected. The Labour party fielded 4 candidates and only Cllr Brian Lloyd was elected. Total votes cast for each of the main 3 parties combined in those 2 wards combined was:
CON 2019 (805(Dawson) + 747(Ingram) + 467(Riley));
LAB 1645 (662(Lloyd) + 451 (Taylor) + 450 (Maddock) + 82 (Greggs));
LIB DEM 985 (460(Bath) + 444(England) +81(Whaley))
6. In the 2008 elections for Frodsham & Helsby the total votes cast for each of the main 3 parties was:
CON 6739 (2303(Ford) + 2254(Dawson) + 2182(Ingram))
LAB 3574 (1389(Lloyd) + 1149(Beech) + 1036(Robertson))
LIB DEM 641 (641(Laming))