Guardian Review: 2nd November

All change at Warrington Borough Council.  Bin strike continues.  And the inquest into the death of Sir Bobby takes place in Warrington

UPDATE 5pm Friday 3rd November.  WBC have confirmed a third round of bin stikes WILL go ahead from Wednesday 8th November.

The new editions of the Guardian have hit the news stands, so Smithy caught up with Community Reporter, Tom Bedworth to find out what’s in this weeks paper.

This week there’s been two high-profile resignations.  Warrington Borough Council.  Clr Russ Bowden – who’s the Leader – and his deputy, Cathy Mitchell.

Both have announced that they will not be seeking re-election in May.

This news comes as we hear that the Council is likely to be in debt to the tune of £2b by the end of 2026.

You can read the full story online here.

No private bin collections

As strike action continues, WBC have explained why they can’t organise private bin collections.  They can’t do it for legal reasons – because the money we pay to the Council is a tax and not a service payment.

The current bin strike will end on Monday 6th November.  However, a third notice of strike action has been served by UNITE meaning that (as it currently stands) there will be no collections between Wednesday 8th to Monday 20th.

This latest round of strike action could be averted however.  On Wednesday 1 November, the three trade unions – UNITE, UNISON and GMB – met nationally to discuss the pay offer and we have since received confirmation that the pay offer has been agreed.

WBC have therefore have asked UNITE to call-off the strike.  We are still waiting for a response – but we’ll update you on-air as soon as we can.

More tributes for Sir Bobby

As tributes continue to flow in, the inquest into the death of Sir Bobby took place on 1st November at Cheshire Coroner’s Court in Warrington.

Find out more in the latest Guardian!

Header image: Racklever