No-one was more shocked, saddened and disappointed by the news on Monday night that Paul Brant had resigned from Liverpool Council than me.
I don’t know why he felt he had to resign and I have no intention of speculating on his reasons. I have always found Paul to be a man of utmost integrity and possessing a faithful commitment to the City of Liverpool. Although I did always agree with his reasons and arguments – let’s face it for 17 years we have sat on opposite sides of the Chamber – I have never once doubted his motivations.
Paul Brant was a star on the Labour benches, knowledgeable, committed, able to put forward arguments in a clinical way; able to disarm people with a sharp reply but more likely to do it with an unthreatening joke or a whimsical query. Politics generally does not have enough people of Paul’s calibre. All Parties struggle to find people with political commitment; community commitment and intellectual capacity. Paul was one of the few in Liverpool who ticked all those three boxes. I know that he will be a particular loss to the Labour Group but Liverpool as a whole will miss his sharp brain in the current financial difficulties.
