Tory candidate's radical plans to 'cut two towns adrift' from Wigan council and abolish Greater Manchester mayor
manchestereveningnews.co.ukRadical plans to abolish the Greater Manchester mayor’s role and for Leigh and Atherton to be ‘cut adrift’ from Wigan council control have been put forward by a Conservative candidate.
Former Wigan town mayor Michael Winstanley is vying to replace Tory MP James Grundy, who is not seeking re-election in the seat he took from Labour in Leigh and Atherton for the first time ever in 2019.
Mr Winstanley, 53, was speaking after last week being selected as the Conservative candidate. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he had always been against the creation of the Greater Manchester mayoral role, currently occupied by Andy Burnham, and called for a referendum on whether it should be continued. “If we are going to have one, there should be a proper structure to hold him to account," he said. “There used to be four scrutiny committees on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, but now there is only one, and the fire authority has been abolished.
And he [Andy Burnham] claims credit for whatever Government initiative that comes out, for example the £2 limit on bus fares, which was a national initiative. READ MORE: It's one of the 'coolest places to live in the UK', but some people in this Greater Manchester area feel left behind "All he’s done since he came into office is increased the mayoral precept [included in the council tax to pay for services like fire and police] so that people are worse off.
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk
