Man’s ad campaign over Wolverhampton care home closure

A businessman who offered £80,000 to keep a care home in Wolverhampton open has started a campaign against councillors who voted to shut it down.

Trevor Beattie placed newspaper advertisements picturing nine members who voted to close Underhill House in January underneath the word ‘Evict’.

The adverts urge voters not to re-elect them when they stand in next month’s local government elections.

But they were criticised by the Labour group, which voted against closure.

One of the residents at the home was 106-year-old Louisa Watts, whose family failed to keep it open despite a legal challenge.

‘Offer rejected’

A video called The Eviction Of Louisa Watts, posted on YouTube, is believed to have been uploaded by Mr Beattie.

Mr Beattie is the Birmingham-born advertising boss behind campaigns such as the Wonderbra ‘Hello Boys’ slogan.

He told BBC Radio WM people who felt powerless in the face of local authorities now had a chance to show how they felt.

“I tabled a lot of my own money to keep the home open for another year. That offer was rejected out of hand,” he said.

“Therefore I’m reinvesting that money towards an advertising campaign to remind people they have a chance to express their views on the council.”

The advert shows pictures of the Conservative council leader Neville Patten alongside his fellow Tory councillors Andrew Wynne, Barry Findlay, Christine Mills , Matthew Holdcroft, Neil Clarke, Patricia Patten and the Liberal Democrats’ Malcolm Gwinnett, who are all on the cabinet and up for re-election on May 6.

The councillors featured are members of the ruling Tory and Lib Dem coalition. The Tories currently have 27 members and the Lib Dems five.

Shadow council leader Roger Lawrence said his Labour group had consistently voted against the closure but he did not agree with Mr Beattie’s approach.

“In my politics I play the ball and not the man. I don’t appreciate personal attacks, using pictures of these nine people in this way is wrong,” he said.

Going strong

One of the people featured in the poster campaign, Malcolm Gwinnet, said: “When I was told about it I thought it was one of those comic capers, a joke to be truthful.

“I’ve seen it on the website now and when I looked at it I thought that’s a bit unfair.”

Mr Gwinnet said officers had told councillors that moving residents to a new care home would allow them to receive better care, which is why nine members had voted for the closure of Underhill House.

He said three weeks after the move he had spoken to a carer, a worker from the new care home and a council officer, who had all reported that the residents had settled in well.

“They said Louisa Watts was doing a lot better, her bed sores were clearing up and she was walking about and eating more and seemed to be quite happy there as did the other residents,” he added.