FLEDGLING political party Farnworth and Kearsley First has been urged to ‘reconsider’ its commitment to achieving independence for the towns.

The party’s first councillor, Paul Sanders, who triumphed in the recent Farnworth by-election, took his seat in the council chamber for the first time on Wednesday night.

But he found his party under attack from fellow Farnworth ward councillor Jean Gillies at the meeting of the full council.

She said: “Farnworth and Kearsley First has stated they want Farnworth to break away from Bolton and become independent and manage their own budget

“I suspect they are taking this policy statement out of either ignorance or political gain because I know Farnworth receives a higher amount of council resources than many other areas.”

Cllr Gillies listed housing benefit, council tax support, breakfast clubs and free swimming lessons as examples of support for the town – as well as funding for schools.

And she asked deputy leader Cllr Ebrahim Adia to give a breakdown of costs for Farnworth residents if the breakaway were to take place.

Cllr Adia welcomed Cllr Sanders to the council, but said he was "gravely concerned" about his party’s commitment to independence and urged a rethink.

He told the chamber that Farnworth schools benefited to the tune of £32m, while £17m in housing benefit was paid out.

And he said that if the town were to continue to be funded at the same level by an independent administration it would need to hike council tax by 62.5 per cent – possibly more without "economies of scale".

He added. “In my view the idea of independent council has clearly not been thought through. Primary legislation would be required to create Farnworth Borough Council.

“How would the additional public expenditure needed to create this be justified?

“If independence was granted the new administration would need to meet its statutory obligations around highways, social care, the protection of vulnerable residents, emergency planning and its roles as an employer. The list goes on and on and on.”

He continued: “As a Labour council we have also listened to residents’ concerns about their town centre and have enlisted the support of Andy Burnham to support our plans to regenerate the town centre.”

After outlining the financial implications of a breakaway more he said: “In view of this I would ask Cllr Sanders to reflect on his party’s position on this issue.”

Cllr Sanders said after the meeting: “It would appear that Labour is not even attempting to fight on the fairness of spending in the borough and going straight for F&KF’s aim of leaving the borough. 

“Ultimately, the decision will be up to the people of Farnworth and Kearsley through a referendum. F&KF will continue to fight for fairness of spending – this was the main message in my campaign and I believe ultimately the reason why I was elected.”