DOES Wirral want or need a Metro Mayor?

It seems the debate is now on to see whether it would work here in Wirral and with other members of the super authority.

Our local political leaders have already been visited by Lords - Heseltine and Palomo - for a briefing on elected mayorship.

Lord H, former minister for Merseyside, extolled its virtues.

Now Cllr Phil Davies, leader of Wirral Council, wants to find out more and sit around a table to thrash out what it means, as he said on BBC Politics programme this weekend. Southport’s seasoned MP John Pugh wasn’t keen.

He believes that what works in Greater Manchester might not work in Greater Liverpool, or Greater Gotham as the Inferno affectionately calls it..

Councillor Davies says the issue could even come to a referendum.

Hooray! That word “consultation”

again. The metro mayor got the OK from chancellor George Osborne, who clearly sees that the idea will work, as all ten local authorities have a united vision.

Manchester has always been streets ahead of other councils when dealing with transport, fiscal issues and business support. They are forward-looking and do not waste time on petty squabbling and the type of in-fighting that gives Merseyside a reputation for playground politics.

It seems politicians in Birmingham are also up for an elected metro mayor following what they view as an upbeat move in Manchester.

Before politicians here sit around a table or plan a referendum, it is time for an all-party declaration to say who stands for what, and where. Tell voters the pros and cons of devolution.

How will Wirral benefit with more power shifting from Westminster to town halls?

Manchester greets its metro mayor in 2017.

So it’s time our elected representatives got the ball rolling.

 

GRANT’S TV Rant: After the depressing Benefits Street (which happily changed its mind about bashing Birkenhead) now comes a documentary that puts the “grim”

in Grimsby..

“Skint” is the stark title of a very stark programme probing the town’s problems with real-life characters that seem to have served an apprenticeship not with Lord Sugar, but Jeremy Kyle.

This version should be called “I’m on a Council Estate - Get Me Out of Here.”

In contrast, on BBC2, it was a focus on Hooray Henrys in a new series called “Posh People.”

A look at high society down South where they gulp champagne as often as we up North drink mugs of tea.

Can’t we see a normal family who are living a happy life and manage to stay together with optimism?

Time to dig out my video of It’s A Wonderful Life.

From now on I will switch off the telly on Morose Mondays.

 

I SEE the piano from the film Casablanca fetched £2m at auction.

It brought back memories of a similar sell-off I attended back in the 1990s.In my role as showbiz reporter I went to a private viewing of an auction for some of the most iconic props from world-famous movie stars.

Wearing white gloves, I picked up bowler hats worn by Laurel and Hardy. But the one simple item that moved me was a signed ticket stub from Harpo - from my heroes, the Marx Brothers.

It would have cost £150 back in the 90s. I was tempted to splash my rent money on it but I came to my senses.

Now I hear another item has come up for sale, the lion’s costume from “The Wizard of Oz.” It is expected to raise more than half-a-million pounds. When the lion originally set off down the Yellow Brick Road he wanted courage. Now in these commercially-driven times, he’s seeking investment.

 

EVEN in an age of social media saturation, where we can’t survive without our mobiles, Facebook or tweets, it is encouraging to know that old-fashioned communication methods can get their message across.

The Inferno refers to the striking, hand-painted poster hanging on a hedge fence near the Upton by-pass.

It simply says: “Frack Free Upton.”

Peter Grant