The die is cast. Walsall is about to have its first Lib/Lab Pact administration as the Labour Group endorsed the deal hammered out between Lib Dem Leader Cllr Ian Shires and his Labour counterpart Cllr Sean Coughlan in a series of meetings since the Local Elections on 5th May.

Welcoming last night’s decision of Walsall Council’s Labour Group Lib Dem Group Leader Cllr Ian Shires said ” As a Democrat and a Federalist I welcome this opportunity for our two left of centre Parties to work together with the people of our borough to change our Council from one which in recent years has increasingly turned its back on its people to one which includes and involves its people in the decisions it has to make.”

In answer to a question from BBC Radio WM’s Adrian Goldberg who said it seemed that the Liberal Democrats in Walsall were prepared to jump into bed with anyone; first the Tories now Labour, Ian said “Sure in the past we had done deals with the Tories but that was because Labour would not talk with us back then.

“Increasingly over the past two years our two left of centre Parties had worked more and more together culminating in us coming together at the February Budget meeting of Walsall Council to defeat the Tory cuts Budget in favour of a composite Lib Dem/ Labour alternative which saved amongst other things the seven libraries under threat of closure by the Tories and reinstated much of the cut in funding to Walsall CAB.”

The plan is to build on this important milestone together with the work done by the two Parties on the Community Cohesion agenda so important to turn the differences that exist in our diverse communities into strengths as we forge links with past when our District Centres had their own Urban District Councils.

We have a two year window of opportunity to clean up the borough, tackle the ever present inequality which leads to so much division and waste of potential. Coupled with this we intend to explore ways in which we can involve people in deciding how what resources we have as a council under the Tories at Westminster hell bent on ever more austerity.

In two years time, if we are successful, Walsall will be a very different place. As well as looking cleaner and greener it will be one where all our residents will be able relate to and feel proud of where they live and work.

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