MP slams Warrington Labour councillor over priorities

Mr Carter said of Cllr Sarah Hall: "I don’t need any Labour politician to tell me where my priorities should lie."

This comes after Cllr Hall - Labour's Warrington South candidate at the next general election - accused Mr Carter of not having his constituency as a priority.

Mr Carter's priorities have come under fire from a Warrington Labour councillor (Image: Parliament TV)

Cllr Hall's comments came following the announcement that the money freed up by the cancellation of HS2's northern leg would go into the Network North project - something proposed to help level up the north of England's transport systems.

In October it was announced that some £36billion would be freed up by scrapping the northern leg of HS2.

However, £235million of the Network North funds have been diverted to fix potholes in London, which has been met with criticism given that London is not in the north or the Midlands, which is where the funds were intended for use.

A leaked WhatsApp chat shows Mr Carter championing the move: "Positive news for London colleagues – fixing potholes in the capital.”

Cllr Sarah Hall has taken aim at the Conservative MP for Warrington South.

Cllr Hall has criticised Mr Carter's reaction to the Network North funding for London (Image: Cllr Sarah Hall)

Speaking to the Warrington Guardian, she said: "As if we needed further evidence that the Conservatives don’t care for the north, they announced £235million in Network North funding for London. 

“It is beyond a joke, the north and our towns and cities always come second to the south. 

“We already receive less in transport funding than other parts of the country including the capital, the decision by the Department for Transport just reinforces these inequalities. 

“The Conservatives claim to have a plan; unfortunately, their plan just appears to be a continuation of the decades of inequality and underinvestment in our northern towns and cities. 

“Andy Carter’s priorities are clearly not in the north or in Warrington South. 

“We need a strong voice for Warrington South, not an incompetent MP championing the needs of London when our town is crying out for investment.”

The Tory MP says he does not need to listen to Labour councillors about where his priorities should lie (Image: Parliament UK)

Clapping back at the local councillor, Andy Carter MP said: "Here we have a Warrington Labour councillor rushing to issue a press release about my work as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department of Transport in London, yet she’s not uttered a single word about issues that really matter in Warrington, like the £1.8billion of risky council debt that she’s voted for.

"She’s said nothing about the areas where improvements are needed following the SEND review of the council’s Children’s Services, which she holds direct responsibility for, and she didn’t utter a single word on the bin strikes at Christmas, which left rubbish on the streets for 10 weeks, because she’s hand in glove with the unions. 

“I don’t need any Labour politician to tell me where my priorities should lie.

"Since becoming the MP for Warrington South I’ve secured over £42million for a new fleet of zero-emission buses, a new bus depot and funding to reduce fares and provide additional weekend and evening services and new routes, it’s one of the largest Government investments into bus services anywhere in the country.

"On top of that Warrington will receive an additional £33.8million from the Government for road resurfacing works across Warrington, fixing potholes and maintaining our highways as a result of changes to Network North.

"Perhaps at some point, she’ll tell the Warrington Guardian what her party’s transport policies are and how they’ll benefit Warrington South, does she want to reinstate HS2 and if so, how is she planning to fund this?”