By Councillor Tony Dawson
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson has suspended his deputy, Councillor Lynn Hinnigan over blatant breaches of COVID lockdown guidance following an internal Labour Party investigation. And he has apologised to residents of Merseyside for the terrible example his Cabinet have set.
Thousands of locked down Merseyside residents who saw photos of Ms Hinnigan and fellow Labour Cabinet Member Barry Kushner gallivanting around in busy garden parties at their homes clearly took this as an extra ‘green light’ to behave how they like and flocked to Southport and Formby beaches over the last weekend. Ms Hinnigan initially tried to pass off her 50th birthday Party as ‘just people dropping off presents, but the published photos showed otherwise.
Joe Anderson said: “As Mayor, I have made regular pleas for people to follow the guidelines to protect both their own health and the health of others. Never before is there a greater need to be considerate of how our actions will impact on the health of others, regardless of how hard it is.Therefore, at a time when the population is expected to follow those guidelines, I expect members of the council, and in particular members of my Labour group, to show leadership in their communities.”
“This crisis is not over and we all should stick by the rules – and I mean all of us.”
Explaining that Councillor Hinnigan has joined Cllr Kushner tin being suspended without pay for two months, he said: “I would like to offer my sincere apologies for their actions.”