On the Wirral, public trust goes up in smoke

Dear readers — Last week, pyres built in preparation for 5 November on the Woodchurch estate and in Birkenhead’s North End were lit a fortnight early. Depending on who you talk to, this was due to Wirral council, Merseyside Fire & Rescue, or the housing firm Magenta threatening to pull them down. Denials, accusations and disinformation abound, both on social media and in person. While both impromptu events went off without major injury, it’s fair to say residents’ attitude towards those in authority is colder than the autumn air right now. Are these one-off happenings, or indicative of a more profound breakdown between the less well-off of the Wirral and its chaotic, cash strapped local council?

That’s all in today’s story. But first, your Post briefing.

Your Post briefing

Two of Liverpool’s most prominent public servants have been beefing again on social media. Nick Small, the councillor for the City Centre North ward and cabinet member for growth and economy, spotted a change to reignite his feud with independent Orrell Park councillor Alan Gibbons in the form of a poster. The flier advertised a panel discussion featuring Gibbons and Your Party’s Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn at the Adelphi on 9 November, but despite being posted by Socialist Alternative on behalf of the Revolutionary Ideas festival, Small insinuated that Gibbons, his Independent group on Liverpool city council, and Your Party could be fined by the council for “flytipping”. Gibbons responded with his previous letters to city council leader Liam Robinson about Small’s behaviour, which includes an alleged incident between the two on Castle Street and Small’s connection with a controversial car parking company. If either councillor is reading this, The Post has a, ahem, Beautiful Idea: we’re happy to sell tickets to any kind of celebrity boxing event featuring the two of you — perhaps with Gladiators-style pugil sticks instead of gloves?

Speaking of X, a video that went viral over the weekend may have landed a member of Merseyside Police in hot water. The force confirmed they received a complaint about the video featuring an officer which was circulated on X and TikTok. In the video, seemingly filmed on Concert Square, the officer appears to say to a member of the public: "Do you have a problem?", before adding "you just... want to video people... bit noncey that, mate." The context for the statement, other than the member of the public filming several officers, is not clear. The slang “noncey” refers to paedophilia, but in recent years has widened in usage to mean creepy, obsessive or questionable behaviour. Posting on X, Merseyside Police said: "We uphold and expect the highest standards of conduct and values from all our officers and staff.”

And another viral video doing the rounds: Hiroshi Suzuki, the Japanese ambassador to the UK, paid a visit to Liverpool last week and declared scouse from Ma Boyle's alehouse to be "boss scran". He also met metro mayor Steve Rotheram on his trip, to explore how to deepen the relationship between Japan and the North West. Watch the video here.

On the Wirral, public trust goes up in smoke

I’m washing the dishes around 8pm when the explosion happens. 

At first, I rationalise the noise must be a particularly large and probably illegal firework — the kind that typically close out Olympic opening ceremonies but could easily terrorise small countries into signing disadvantageous trade deals. 

But when I catch sight of an orange glow in the sky, roughly where last year’s community bonfire on the Woodchurch estate had been, I think I should probably investigate. So I grab my raincoat and German shepherd and headed towards the fire.