Notes from the North: The far-right haunt Southport and Reform UK bangs down a legal threat
All the highlights from our exclusive reporting as part of The Lead North.
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A first-person account of the return of the far-right to Southport
Fifteen months ago, fuelled by misinformation, mistrust, anger and prejudice, riots broke out in Southport in the wake of the murder of three girls in Southport.
Those attacks started outside the town’s mosque after inaccurate reports emerged that the attacker had been a Muslim. Petrol bombs were thrown and police officers were attack.
Southport is still healing from these events in their totality, writes Southport Lead editor Jamie Lopez, and the presence of a ‘freedom march’ in his town at the weekend was the subject of the latest edition of his newsletter.
“Throughout all of it, one thought remained constant - why here? Again, Southport’s different areas range between being 91 and 98 per cent white. What it does have, however, is a recent, tragic past which can and will be exploited by those who seek to promote hatred and division.”
A conflict of interest? Don’t even ask the question
The party of transparency Reform UK, responded to questions about a conflict of interest in plans to close care homes in Lancashire with a legal threat, The Lancashire Lead revealed this week.
And that legal threat came despite County Hall bosses now conceding that Cllr Graham Dalton, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, will be advised to declare his professional interests in future.
The stance from Lancashire County Council is that Cllr Dalton’s role at First for Care GB Limited does not demonstrate a clear and direct financial benefit for him even if the closures go ahead after the planned adult care review. They believe it could be classed as a ‘non-pecuniary interest’ – which should be declared in meetings – but does not prevent participation in decision making.
It was only when pressed by The Lancashire Lead that the Reform UK county councillor was forthcoming with a denial that his business could profit from any closures.
A safer Calderdale?
Boosted summer activity in three Calderdale towns saw shoplifting reduced by almost 40 per cent as a result of action.
The Government tasked politicians with policing responsibilities to work together to take visible action to help restore confidence in local communities.
Focusing on anti-social behaviour and keeping town centres safer, the campaign, called Summer Surge, was led in Calderdale by West Yorkshire Police with Calderdale Council and others supporting.
Key aspects were increased visibility including deploying more officers, supported, for example, by the council’s Community Safety officers.
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