Knowsley Council axes its controversial Labour conference appearances

I’ve previously covered Labour-run Knowsley Council’s controversial payments of over £250,000 during the last dozen years for official presences at the Labour Party conference. During that period the council never paid for presences at other party conferences saying that, “Knowsley does not attend any other party political conference, it attends the Labour Party Annual Conference as the party in power.”

However, despite the change of government last autumn, Knowsley Council continued with its payments for Labour’s autumn 2010 conference and did not make any appearance at the conferences of either of the two parties in power. The council also stonewalled attempts to get it to answer questions about this financial arrangement.

But, Knowsley Council has now said that it will no longer pay to appear at any party conferences, bringing an end to its highly unusual policy. Some other councils have also paid over the years to appear at one or more party conferences, but these appearances have had far stronger justification than Knowsley. For example, Liverpool appeared at all three autumn party conferences in one year as part of its successful campaign to become European City of Culture.

By bringing its policy to an end now, and by having continued with its Labour appearances last year, the council is left with a track-record of paying to appear at Labour conferences both in power and out of power and never paying any other parties.