Council Leader David Baines says: “I’m very happy that St Helens Borough Council tonight voted for St Helens Borough Labour – Working All Year Round’s proposal to switch to all-out elections from 2022.
It will save £150k of public money, and is more democratic. It’s the right thing for the borough and the right thing for the council.
The move was opposed by the Greens, Tories and Lib Dems (though the Lib Dems apparently got confused and voted for all-outs accidentally).
It’s not a party political issue, it’s about what’s best for St Helens. The certainty it will give the council will allow longer term planning, and that stability is much-needed in these turbulent and uncertain times.
I’m proud of what we’ve achieved as a Labour council, especially so in the last 12 months, and not least through the Covid crisis. We’ve introduced a lot of changes in the past year and that process is ongoing, as we strive to improve and do better.
Labour will be the only serious option on the ballot paper in those elections and my colleagues and I are looking forward to further developing and presenting our plan for the borough.”