(Further) kick in the teeth for Labour in Sefton Central and Bootle
Former Labour councillor Paul Larkin has delivered a further kick in the teeth to the party after agreeing to be the chairman of the local Liberal Democrat party in a key marginal seat.
Cllr Larkin, who represents Bootle's Derby ward, defected from Labour to the Lib Dems in May saying the party was "deaf" to the concerns of voters.
Last night he was chosen as the chairman of Sefton Central and Bootle.
Labour are expected by many to lose Sefton Central, a new constituency made up of the current Crosby seat, at the next General Election.
Claire Curtis-Thomas, the current Crosby MP, will be standing down at the election.
It's also worth pointing out that Cllr Larkin was Ms Curtis-Thomas's election agent in 2005.
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David Bartlett
City editor of the Post and Echo covering politics, regeneration, and urban affairs.
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Isn't there a picture of him with his eyes open?
That picture surely demands some sort of 'sleepwalking to disaster' or 'i'm going into this with my eyes open' header?
Why is this a kick in the teeth David? The Liberal Democrats are nowhere to be seen in Bootle, let alone in Derby ward. I imagine he was the only man for the job, as opposed to the best man for it (although perhaps they are one and the same!). Either way, this is unlikely to be a major problem for the local Labour Party - Larkin was a divisive party figure, a poor campaigner, a useless councillor. Labour's loss is the Lib Dems... er... loss!