A week's a long time in politics, as they say!
The reason this is so relevant to our campaign is because the politics of our situation, the port, and port access is what will determine what does, or doesn't happen next.
As ever, we never endorse one party over another but it's a fact that Liverpool remains a Labour stronghold, so here are some thoughts from us about last week's elections...
Steve Rotheram won by a huge margin and got a resounding mandate to be our next Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
Why is this important?
Devolution means that the Combined Authority is getting more and more powers - and funding - from Westminster, including those relating to transport.
So, with Steve being Labour, a Labour-led Sefton Council and, crucially, current Sefton Central MP Bill Esterson in situ as Shadow Roads Minister, we believe they are ideally placed to get this road proposal cancelled in favour of proper solutions for moving freight which respect the people of South Sefton, our health and our environment... not the cheap and nasty road proposal on offer.
Locally, Labour remain strong in Sefton, but there were a couple of specific things to highlight.
In Church Ward, Neil Doolin became Sefton's first ever Green Party Councillor.
With Church Ward being right next to Rimrose, this means we should have an even greater environmental focus on the issues of air quality, green space and sustainable transport. It will be interesting to see what additional roles/committees Neil is able to join to influence things here.
As he departs this Ward, we want to go on record and say a public 'thank you' to Paul Cummins who was instrumental in the formation of our charity Rimrose Valley Friends. Paul has been a big advocate for the campaign, attended and spoken at all our biggest demos and has opposed the road plans throughout, and we wish him all the best.
What next?
As with the Council and Mayoral elections, we'll be seeking statements on port access from all constituency candidates for Bootle and Sefton Central as soon as a general election is announced.
In the meantime, we crack on.
Please continue to like and share our posts and get involved in our demos and activities wherever you can.
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