‘Proud to be council’s first female leader’
IN THE year Sefton Council celebrates its 50th anniversary, the borough now has the first female council leader in its history.
Marion Atkinson was confirmed as Sefton’s new council leader at a full council meeting on January 18 and is now the only female leader in the Liverpool City Region.
Cllr Atkinson took over the role from Cllr Ian Maher, who had led the council since 2015.
Labour officials carried out a number of interviews for the role but in the end decided Cllr Atkinson was the only appropriate candidate for the role.
Cllr Atkinson is no stranger to Sefton Council, having served on the local authority since 2011.
She is also part of a family steeped in local politics and is the niece of Bootle MP Peter Dowd.
She said: “My family have been involved in local politics for hundreds of years and been public servants for years. To carry that on is important to me.
“I’ve been delivering leaflets since I was eight years old and I’m not going to stop now!”
The significance of being Sefton Council’s first female leader is not lost on the councillor for Molyneux ward.
She said: “I feel really proud to be the first female leader of Sefton Council. On a personal level, I think it’s taken too long, but we are where we are.”
The journey to becoming the first female leader of the council is also something which speaks to the importance she places on social mobility.
She added: “I come from Bootle and it shows there are opportunities for women and girls to be elevated into these leadership positions.”
Sefton Council shares many of the same challenges as other local authorities around the country – namely funding cuts and the effect on public services.
Sefton’s new leader is under no illusions as to where the responsibility lies.
She said: “I think the cuts we’ve had from central government have been a serious challenge. Over 50% of our budget has gone since 2010 and there’s a consequence to those cuts.
“You’ve even got Michael Gove’s council saying they can’t carry on what they’re doing!
“Despite that, we are trying where we can to make sure to keep services our vulnerable residents need.”
A priority issue more pertinent to Sefton Council is the historically poor performance of its children’s services which has been mired in a series of crises after an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted report in 2022.
It is an issue which is of huge concern to the residents of Sefton who will be keen to hear what’s being done to address the issues.
Cllr Atkinson is clear progress is being made and praised staff for their passion and commitment.
Asked how the council is supporting staff and contributing to improving Sefton’s children’s services, she said: “Children’s services is an absolute priority for me. It is dead centre of everything I am looking towards for the future.
“We are on a journey with children’s services. We start from a place where we need to do better. We will do better.
“They’re our kids at the end of the day and we need to make sure they’re not only looked after but are supported in their ambitions and helped to thrive and enjoy life.”
Asked about the other priorities for her first year, the new leader cited the delivery of effective adult social care and also the financial challenges of reopening Southport Pier.
A report published at the end of 2023 detailed a catalogue of problems with the decking and structural steel which will cost approximately £13m to put right.
Sefton Council funded exploratory works to get an accurate assessment on the full costs of repairs to Southport Pier and began discussions on the costs of maintaining it.
Cllr Atkinson says she is committed to securing a pathway to reopening the pier but wants to be honest with people about the challenges it will bring.
She said: “I’ll work with anybody to get that pier open, but at the moment, the council just hasn’t got the money.
“We have shown our commitment to Southport Pier, but let’s not forget why it was closed in the first place – it was not safe.
“I will make no apologies for keeping visitors, residents and children safe.
“Again, it’s very difficult when you have no money and you have all these competing priorities and are trying to deliver services for vulnerable people.
“I don’t think it’s fair that councils should feel the financial burden of maintaining historic assets – we need to get support from central government.”
Despite the extensive problems on the new leader’s to-do list, Cllr Atkinson is also keen to bring focus to some of the positive achievements within the borough and highlight what residents have to look forward to.
A big part of this will be the transformation of Bootle Strand and a £20m regeneration plan supported by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
A masterplan was published by Sefton Council in January 2023 and described changing the Strand from a predominantly retail based centre to an area including more community-focused offerings.
There are high-profile events coming to the borough facilitated by the opening of the Salt and Tar venue and the Music Weekender festival in Bootle – Tom Jones and Status Quo have already been announced.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2024, talk turns to the forthcoming General Election and Cllr Atkinson’s hopes for a new government.
She said: “They [Tories] need to go. We’ve had 14 years of unfairness.”
The leader is keen to contribute to the conversations around what local authorities need from a new government and what future financial support will look like.
For now, Cllr Atkinson is focused solely on Sefton and the residents who live there.
Before leaving the interview she finished with a final call-to-action. She added: “People are relying on us so let’s not mess about and let’s get on with it.”