Deposed council leader vows to fight on

The deposed leader of Wyre council has vowed to stay in politics, saying he may set up his own political party.
Councillor Peter GibsonCouncillor Peter Gibson
Councillor Peter Gibson

Peter Gibson was removed from office at an extraordinary meeting of Wyre Council on Thursday night, after fellow councillors accused him of turning at up meetings "the worse the wear" for drink.

But now he has hit back, denying that he has a drink problem, and vowing to stay on as a councillor.

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The Tory councillor said: “I have had a lot of people contact me saying they’re disgusted

“I’ll take my time and think about it. Whether I stay in the Conservative party or go independent is the next decision - so we’ll have to see.”

Coun Gibson, who lives in Poulton and represents Breck ward said: “I’m staying as a councillor. I might concentrate on Poulton. There might be an opportunity for the Poulton Independence Party.”

Such a party would, he said, concentrate on issues such as “no more licensing, no more development, money raised in Poulton for the Council Tax stays in Poulton.”

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The motion to remove him from the leadership was passed by 31 votes to none, with eight abstentions.

Coun Gibson also said the meeting, held while he was on holiday in Portugal, was “a political trick”.

He said: “The holiday had been booked for weeks and so there was no way I could change it. It had all been paid, so I was on the way to Portugal and they called this meeting. My diary is open. It’s not a closed diary. "

He said he has health issues with both diabetes and blood pressure and reference to drink was just “an excuse”.

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He said: “If you have diabetes like I have it can sometimes look like you’ve been drinking. They didn’t look at that and I also have highish blood pressure.”

The new temporary leader of the council is Coun Gibson’s deputy Coun Alan Vincent, a solicitor and county councillor.