Liz Savage to be thanked for Tory Terry scraping back in Ainsdale

The efforts of Skelmersdale Labour councillor Liz Savage made the difference which allowed Sefton Tory leader Terry Jones to scrape back in as councillor in Ainsdale Ward on May 7th. Last year, Lib Dem Haydn Preece beat the Conservative candidate in Ainsdale by a knife-edge majority of 28 votes.

While Labour was never in any danger of being ‘in the frame’ for Southport’s parliamentary seat, Liz Savage’s campaign efforts persuaded enough former Lib Dem voters to support her council candidates this year – thus securing two council seats in Southport for the Tories.

In Ainsdale ward, Terry Jones slipped back with a majority of less than 300 over Lib Dem candidate Lynne Thompson. Over 600 new voters supported the third-place Labour candidate in the ward – more than enough to see off Terry Jones twice over had they voted for someone with a chance of defeating the Conservative. Labour has never won a single Sefton Council seat in Southport in hundreds of contests over more than 40 years.