"He said his profile in the region may well have made him a scapegoat for voters and the opposition" - nothing do with poor policies and lack of investment in the town then, Mr Goddard?!! Stockport was recently voted the worse town for shops closing, the parking fees in the town car parks discourage people from staying more than 2 hours, the pavements in Merseyway are broken and unsafe, the town looks dirty and run down and neglected. We need a leader who can change that and make Stockport a better place to be - other towns in Manchester are managing it!