A FORMER councillor is to stand as a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Ellesmere Port and Neston as an Independent at next year’s General Election.
Composer Jonathan Starkey has pledged to donate 10% of his parliamentary income to local charities.
Mr Starkey, who has three young children, said he is passionate about education, and wants to improve it at grass roots level.
The former Conservative councillor for Ledsham wants to get the recently restructured Cheshire West and Chester Council to breathe new life into Ellesmere Port.
He said: “Regeneration is a complicated mixture of business, housing, schools, policing and access to local services all working together to make a vibrant community.
“Start messing around with that formula, failing to pay attention to the warning signs of decline or failing to maintain one part and the whole starts to fail.
“Once it goes beyond a certain point then it becomes too expensive to retrieve the situation without a major overhaul. This is the problem which faces the new authority.
He added: “At present I cannot see any immediate change or constructive improvements for the town centre or surrounding areas under a Labour government no matter who controls the authority, it is a matter of money.”
He will fight to keep the Vauxhall car manufacturing plant in Ellesmere Port.
He also plans to campaign to clean up politics in Westminster following recent MPs expense claims revelations.
He said: “The MPs expenses scandal has created a measure of mistrust among people and we need new representatives in parliament, new blood to shake up the system.
As a local candidate born and bred in Ellesmere Port Mr Starkey pledged to represent: “Ellesmere Port in Westminster unlike Andrew Miller who represents Westminster in Ellesmere Port.”
He added: “I am of the community for the community. I plan to give Ellesmere Port constituents more value for money than they are getting out of Andrew Miller
He accused Mr Miller of being a ‘photocall MP’ who ‘always votes’ with the government on issues.
Mr Starkey has also pledged:
“To provide more value for every taxpayer pound than Mr Miller.
“Not to employ any member of my family for my constituency work and to employ local people instead.
“To make every penny of my expenses voluntarily transparent going beyond parliamentary and/or legal requirements.”
Mr Starkey challenged Mr Miller to a public debate on issues affecting the constituency.
