Southport Lib Dems admit £5k donation to Botanic Lake Appeal came from public funds

Lib Dems admit £5,000 Botanic Lake donation came from public funds and not their own pockets

Southport journalist Martin Hovden writes: I've deliberately held back before writing this article as it concerns the amazing Botanic Lake Appeal Fun Day held last weekend.

The event was a huge success, attracting thousands of people of all ages, and was a huge tribute to all those who made the day possible, especially Jess Thwaites and David Rawsthorne. I don't want to take any of the well-deserved shine off that marvellous community effort.

However, just a few days after the fun day, the three Liberal Democrat councillors for the Meols ward (which includes Botanic Gardens), issued a Press Release saying they had made a £5,000 donation to the appeal to make the lake a safer place. They included a picture of themselves - Councillors Yaso Sathiy, Gareth Lloyd-Johnson and John Dodd - in Botanic Gardens.

A wonderful gesture and great news for the appeal organisers. But the councillors did not explain where the money had actually come from, giving the clear impression the £5,000 had come from their own pockets. Untrue.

After I contacted all three councillors, they confirmed the cash had in fact come from “ward funds”, a sum of money given to each ward by Sefton Council to be spent on local ward issues. There was not a word about ward funds in their Press Release. I also asked why that had not been made clear in the first place.

Speaking on behalf of the three councillors, Cllr Lloyd Johnson said: “The money is indeed from our ward funds,” adding: “We feel the Press Release is correct and do not wish to amend it.”

Some may say what difference does it make? It's important because it's about the honesty, decency and transparency of our local politicians. They make decisions every day that affect all of us in many different ways. We need to trust and respect them, even if we don't share their political allegiance.

This was clearly a deliberate ploy by the Meols councillors, designed to gain positive coverage for themselves – paid for by the public purse.

Expect to see plenty of pictures in next year's local council elections of the three councillors in...Botanic Gardens.

All this could have been avoided if they'd just been honest and open in the first place. They could have used it as an opportunity to tell other community groups in Meols that public money is available for worthwhile causes.

Perhaps the three Lib Dem councillors don't want to go down the same disastrous road as their former Lib Dem colleagues in Kew.

A few years ago, a group of young mums started a campaign to improve the play area outside Kew Woods Primary School. They turned to their three Lib Dem councillors for financial support from “ward funds”. They were denied. As a result, the former Lib Dem-stronghold of Kew is now Labour-controlled.

And by the way, according to the Sefton Council website, Meols Councillor Sathiy is a governor at...Kew Woods Primary School.

Small world.