Referring to Labour’s notorious strong-hold in the City Council, Vince Cable warned that it would be “dangerous” for Manchester to fall back into a “one-party state.”
Since 2016, Manchester City Council has revelled in tremendous Labour support and faced just one member of opposition in former Liberal Democrat MP, John Leech.
Before then, the council was painted an uninterrupted red, consisting entirely of Labour councillors.
Naturally, the party’s leader is now calling for more Liberal Democrat votes from Manchester’s voters, as all council seats are up for re-election on Thursday due to boundary changes.
Cable says that Leech needs a few more companions in the chamber in order to make a real difference.
“It is not healthy for any council to have no opposition,” said the 74-year-old.
“John needs more Liberal Democrat colleagues to continue holding Manchester Council to account.”
He also added a number of Leech’s accolades from his two years on the council, including exposing the city’s lack of affordable housing and “misuse” of public money.
With this in mind, the Liberal Democrat manifesto for Manchester focuses on key aims such as building affordable housing, ending to homelessness, strengthening mental health care and increasing support for entrepreneurs.
However, the party agrees that they will need more than one councillor in order to implement these.
Leech, the current councillor for Didsbury West, said: “I need [voters] to vote for the Liberal Democrats three times, wherever they are, so that I can come back with a team around me.”
Image courtesy of BBC via YouTube, with thanks.
