EX MAYOR'S DISAPPOINTMENT

The name of Tony Squires, who has been town mayor twice and has served as a town councillor for 28 years, will not be on ballot papers for the town council elections on May 1.

He lost his nomination for the Ham ward he has always represented when party branch members voted for three other candidates.

Mr Squires admitted he was disappointed to lose his place on the town council after so long. "I love being on the town council. It's been part of my life all this time. I am sad, but that's politics.

"I was not elbowed out. There was a vote of branch members and I was not selected. It's a democratic process. I have been a member of the Labour party for 45 years and I'm not likely to change my spots now.

"Having been the first Labour member of the town council, and seeing the party building up from nothing to now controlling the council, makes it very disappointing.

"But it's not the end of the world, and I am still standing in the Arun elections. And I would like to thank everyone who voted for me for the town council in the past."

Mr Squires, whose wife, Wendy, is the current town mayor, effectively lost his nomination because of a Labour reshuffle which moved George O'Neill from his previous town council seat at Wick into the Ham ward, making way for Alan Butcher to move into the vacant Wick nomination.

Mr Butcher was given the safer, Wick nomination after being elected to Central ward four years ago only with the slimmest of margins.

Mike Northeast, Labour group leader on the town council, said he was sorry to lose Mr Squires, especially as they had stood together in Ham ward several times. "It's a shame he has been beaten in the democratic process. A lot of people didn't want him to go and he was made other offers, but it was his decision not to take them.

"There were four of us up for selection for three nominations, and any one of us could have lost out in what was a secret ballot."