Independent Conservative Councillor David Barton is not letting pressing court cases interfere with his campaigning for a better Lord Street. Councillor Barton continues to issue press releases and use social media under his slogan (a quotation from CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia) "Onwards and Upwards".



"Up and Up" is also the title of a recent Coldplay track which includes the lyrics:

"Lying in the gutter, aiming for the moon
Trying to empty out the ocean with a spoon
Up and up, up and up."

Councillor Barton's comments on the Southport BID’s involvement with the resurfacing of Lord Street have put him in direct conflict with Hugh Evans of the Southport BID who has issued a statement that the councillor's comments "are simply wrong and misinformed. Southport BID was not ‘tasked’ to deal with the Lord Street resurfacing works."

The BID have drawn question to Councillor Barton's public posture of being co-operative in campaigning for the town centre, saying that:

"Councillor Barton has repeatedly shyed away from accepting numerous invites to meet with the BID. The BID was not ‘tasked’, as he says, to deal with the resurfacing works. He, as an elected Councillor for Sefton Council, should well know that the responsibility for resurfacing lies with Sefton Council’s Highways Department"

“Over the past few months Cllr Barton has sent us a number of written questions relating to the role and responsibilities of the BID. We have provided him with the answers to all the questions he has asked. Despite that he still clearly fails to appreciate what the BID was set up to do and how it works alongside Sefton Council."
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“We, of course, share his passion for Southport and have offered to sit down with him on more than one occasion to explore ways of working together for the benefit of everyone who has an interest in the town centre. Such a meeting would be far more helpful than attempted point-scoring in the local media. However our offer of a face to face meeting with him have been ignored.”