THE Globe can tonight present the full speech that former Labour Cllr Denis Knowles made at Wallasey Town Hall shortly before he sensationally quit the party to join the Conservatives.

Here it is:

"With permission Mr Mayor, I would like to make a personal statement...I have decided to resign from the Labour Group. I think it is right that I should explain my reasons to the council and my constituents.

"However, the problem now is that that the mistakes that were made in the period leading up to this issue have not been addressed, which I believe is damaging the party's prospects and will continue to undermine the authority of the leader and directly affects our work and responsibilities.

"I believe it is duty of all responsible political leaders right across the borough, whatever view they took on the SAR, to focus on reuniting local communities in order to support the people and their desire to keep open much loved facilities and to re-establish the authority of the Council and to heal the bitter divisions that preceded the SAR decision.

"I am sorry to say that the Labour Group is not doing this.

"This resolution was passed but it does not create the best arrangements for the reconstruction of the borough's leisure facilities.

"The unchallenged resolution would have risked continuing local divisions and resentment against the Lab Lib/Dem coalition.

"I believe that coalition should and could have respected the general public and told the officers that this was a red line for us, and worked for a local agreement to a proper process to establish an interim way forward.

"This would have been an honourable and wise role for the coalition and one that the local community would have united around.

"Undermining local democracy and the authority of the council creates a risk of instability, bitterness and growing anger that will threaten the future of us all, as representatives of the people.

"I am ashamed that the Labour Group agreed the resolution that was tabled at the cabinet and shocked by the secrecy and lack of consultation with departments with direct responsibility for the issues referred to in the resolution.

"I am afraid that this resolution undermines all the commitments I have made to my constituents about how the asset review would be organised.

"Clearly this makes my position impossible and I have no alternative than to resign the Group whip.

"All of this makes me very sad. I believe that the group whom I served since 1996 has a record of which all who share the values of the Labour party can be proud of.

"We have achieved a lot, and taken the lead on many issues which is a fine role for us to have been responsible for.

"There is much left to do and I am very sorry to have been put in a position where I am unable to continue this work with the Labour Group.

"I do think, however, that the errors we are making with recent initiatives flow not from Labour's values, but from the style and organisation of our leadership, which is undermining trust and straining party loyalty in a way that is completely unnecessary.

"This undermines people's respect for the council and the trust in what we say and do.

"In our first term the problem was spin - endless announcements, exaggeration and manipulation of the media that undermined people's respect for the government and trust in what we said.

"It is accompanied by a control freak style of governance, which has created many of the problems of excessive bureaucracy and centralised targets that is undermining the success of our public sector reforms.

"There is no real collective responsibility because there is no collective, just diktats in favour of increasingly badly thought through policy initiatives that comes from on high.

"The consequences of this are serious.

"Expertise in our system lies in departments. Those who dictate from the centre have full access to this expertise and they do not consult. This leads to bad policy.

"In addition, under our constitutional arrangements - legal, political and financial responsibility flows through the leadership.

"Increasingly those who are wielding power are not accountable and not scrutinised.

"Thus we have the powers of a presidential type system with the automatic majority of a parliamentary system.

"My conclusion is that these arrangements are leading to increasingly poor policy initiatives being rammed through council - straining and abusing party loyalty, and undermining the people's respect for our political system.

"These attitudes are also causing increasing problems with reform of the public services.

"I believe that after long years of financial cuts and decline, that public services need reform to improve the quality of services and the morale of public sector workers - the two being inextricably linked.

"We do not, however, need endless new initiatives, layers of bureaucratic accountability and diktats from the centre.

"We need clarity of purpose, decentralisation of authority and improved management of people.

"We need to treasure and honour the people who work in public service.

"If public servants are given that framework to work with they work with dedication and pride and provide a service that is second to none.

"I have two final points. The first is for the Labour Group, and in particular the cabinet members as I have said, there is much that our group has achieved which reflects Labour's values and of which we can be very proud.

"But we are entering rockier times and we must work together to prevent our government departing from the best values of the party.

"To the leader [Steve Foulkes] I would say that he has achieved great things since taking over from Dave Jackson but, paradoxically, he is in danger of destroying his legacy as he becomes increasingly obsessed by his place in history.

"Finally, I am desperately sad to leave the party.

"I apologise to those in the group who have told me I had a duty to stay. I will continue to do all I can to support my constituents I have been working with.

"It has been an enormous honour to represent the party. It is a very fine organisation of which can be proud. We have achieved a lot but there is much left to do. I am sure others will take it forward.

"I hope the party will see sense before it is too late."