Bagillt West councillor steps down with immediate effect due to ‘personal reasons’

A COMMUNITY leader who represented a Flintshire village for more than a decade has stepped down with immediate effect.
Bagillt West councillor Mike Reece announced today  that he had resigned his seat on Flintshire Council due to personal reasons.
The Labour politician said he didn’t want to discuss the motivation behind his decision in detail, but indicated that problems within his ward had made it difficult to continue.
Cllr Reece also said he had become frustrated with the bleak financial outlook facing local authorities like Flintshire, which needs to save an estimated £13.5m next year to balance its budget.
He said: “I have enjoyed doing it, but different things come along and you think ‘Is it worth it?’ and at present it’s not worth it.
“I tried my best for the village, but sometimes you can’t get everything done.
“The funding Flintshire’s got now is near enough non-existent and there’s been cutbacks on everything.
“I will miss it, but there are certain things that have taken place which I don’t want to mention.
“There’s ongoing issues that hopefully now I’ve stood down will die a death for whoever takes over.”
Cllr Reece was first elected to the county council in May 2008 after beating Liberal Democrat candidate Terry Withington by 333 votes to 198.
He then stood unopposed at the next two local elections in 2012 and 2017 respectively.
Council leader Ian Roberts paid tribute to the work carried out by his colleague after news of his departure broke.
He said: “We are saddened to lose Mike and he was an excellent councillor for Bagillt West.
“He was a good advocate for his community and was a very good colleague to work with on the county council.
“We respect the reason for his resignation, which is for personal reasons.”
A by-election is expected to be held to choose Cllr Reece’s successor at a later date.

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter (more here).