DCSIMG

Independents on council announce their new leader

Councillor Gary Wilkes

Councillor Gary Wilkes

GARY Wilkes is the new leader of the Metro’s Independent Group of councillors.

The 41-year-old NHS maintenance man was elected to the position today after the party’s poor showing in the local elections saw group leader Coun Brian Merry (Bryn), his father Coun Bill Wilkes (Winstanley) and former Lib Dem mid term defector Coun Joe Haley (Astley Mosley Common) all lose their seats.

The election result leaves the independent group with seven councillors, still one seat behind Coun Michael Winstanley’s Conservatives, who remain the official opposition.

Coun Wilkes said: “I’m very humbled by the Independent Group voting me as their new leader. I pledge to serve them and the public with the best of my ability putting people before politics at the forefront of all decisions.

“We are now starting plans to win back the seats we have lost. Because the local elections ran alongside the national elections, this gave New Labour the edge.”

He claimed that this year’s local elections have proved to be “one of the dirtiest” he had ever been involved with.


Comments

There are 25 comments to this article

Page 1 of 2


25

thepainoffranzen

Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 06:28 PM

good riddance and thank god you are not a councillor all the residents in golbourne can sleep well tonight knowing that peter franzen is not running down the streets.xx



24

thepainoffranzen

Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 06:21 PM

Mr Franzen tut tut you are playing your old games again please tell me again how many councillors your party has got on Wigan council ............................................................ mmmmmm not 18 anymore hey mmmm do you still get your subs off your councillors .......i will be watching this space and watching out for your name appearing i am your shadow you will never know where i will be but i will be watching every word...xx



23

Britishlady

Monday, May 17, 2010 at 01:40 AM

Owd Sod..............spot on..............



22

Owd Sod

Sunday, May 16, 2010 at 03:59 PM

if you are an independent how can you have a leader



21

Britishlady

Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 12:51 AM

Webmaster............................Please, please get the paragragh issue sorted...........Thank You.



20

Britishlady

Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 12:51 AM

Webmaster............................Please, please get the paragragh issue sorted...........Thank You.



19

Britishlady

Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 12:50 AM

Webmaster............................Please, please get the paragragh issue sorted...........Thank You.



18

Britishlady

Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 12:50 AM

Webmaster............................Please, please get the paragragh issue sorted...........Thank You.



17

Britishlady

Friday, May 14, 2010 at 11:51 PM

loyal n ancient............................... please answer ................ several leading Labour Politicians were once active supporters of Communism, a political philosophy that has been responsible for the murder or manslaughter of at least 50 million people ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,its practioners even made the murder of six million by Hitler look the work of a amateur,..............................Lord Peter Mandelson, ex communist...........wears a £3, 000 wrist watch, fiddles his Mortgage, gets his boyfriend illigally into the UK............How can anyone defend this lot of Liars, Buggers and Thieves ?????



16

Britishlady

Friday, May 14, 2010 at 11:38 PM

loyal n ancient...................you ask "please answer the statement regarding the BNP website being taken down and the threat to life to your 'pathetic, desparate & incompetent leader'" ................................. I would ask you, as you say you have a open mind to ask yourself, is everthing reported in the media, actualy truth and fact ?....................A good site to answear you ? i s Liars, Buggers and Thieves, it is not a British National Party Site, as is The National Tax Payers Alliance, or Migration Watch, all have no connection with The British National Party............open mined people are takeing a look, and decideing for themselves.......................



15

Britishlady

Friday, May 14, 2010 at 11:30 PM

loyal n ancient........................................................... you state ...... 'pathetic, desparate & incompetent leader'......Nick Griffin MEP. British National Party................................. The Majority are appalled ............................. Britain suffers from more than 27,000 crimes per day, or more than ten million crimes per year – the direct result of decades of softly-softly politically correct policing and a failed social engineering policy which has put the rights of yobs and criminals above that of victims.,,,,,,,,,,,,,, According to the Office for National Statistics’ British Crime Survey of 2008, 22 percent of people in Britain will be the victim of some crime during the course of a single year.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, , - Free the police and courts from the politically correct straitjacket which is stopping them from doing their jobs properly;,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, - End the liberal fixation with the “rights” of criminals and replace it with concern for the rights of victims – and the right of innocent people not to become victims;,-,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Re-introduce corporal punishment for petty criminals and vandals;,,,,,,,,,, - Restore capital punishment for paedophiles, terrorists and murderers as an option for judges in cases where their guilt is proven beyond dispute (such as with DNA or other compelling evidence).,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Get respect and justice back in 2010......................... Nick Griffin MEP. British National Party.................................



14

loyal n ancient

Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 12:57 PM

Britishlady....The miners strike was 25 years ago. So Militant was you indiscretion of youth?



13

loyal n ancient

Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 12:55 PM

Britishlady......I have an open mind. You seem to be a politician and not answering the question Youthful indiscretions? If it wasn't so gut wrenchingly serious that would be a laugh. He has followed NF beliefs since. When did he deny the holocaust? Not when he was in the NF!!......Naivety of youth can be a defence but this is not the case........But please answer the statement regarding the BNP website being taken down and the threat to life to your 'pathetic, desparate & incompetent leader'.



12

Britishlady

Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 01:55 AM

loyal n ancient................Nick Griffin and one or two other British National Party. activists were NF supporters in their youth they must never be forgiven for youthful indiscretions ?.......................YET several leading Labour Politicians were once active supporters of Communism, a political philosophy that has been responsible for the murder or manslaughter of at least 50 million people ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,its practioners even made the murder of six million by Hitler look the work of a amateur,..............................Lord Peter Mandelson, ex communist...........wears a £3, 000 wrist watch, fiddles his Mortgage, gets his boyfriend illigally into the UK............How can anyone defend this lot of Liars, Buggers and Thieves ?????



11

Britishlady

Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 01:40 AM

loyal n ancient.... I was 20 years old when I was drawn into Militant Politics, .............the Miners Strike etc, .............35 years on,,,,,,,,,,,, I have different views and life has taught me everthing is not black and white,..................opinions, one, beleives when young and naive, should not haunt you througout your life..................example being Jack Straw, Alan Johnson, and the list is endless, all former Communists..............................why can these Labour politicians ignore their former beliefs, but not Nick Griffin ?



Page 1 of 2


Logged in as:


Please adhere to our Community guidelines

Your view

Please to be able to comment on this story.

Find It

"Business owner? - Claim your business and Advertise with us"

In association with qype logo

Looking for...

Featured advertisers

Jobs

Search for a job

Motors

Search for a car

Property

Search for a house

Weather for Wigan

Saturday 04 February 2012

5 day forecast

Today

Light snow

Light snow

Temperature: -1 C to 2 C

Wind Speed: 18 mph

Wind direction: South

Tomorrow

Cloudy

Cloudy

Temperature: 2 C to 6 C

Wind Speed: 10 mph

Wind direction: West

Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.