Caption: Julie Kirwan, left, and her husband, David, second from right, with colleague and Wirral Tory parliamentary candidate Esther McVey, outside one of their offices
TWO well-known figures on Merseyside's legal scene have prompted turmoil in Wirral's Conservative Party by quitting the group.
David Kirwan, a solicitor who runs Kirwan's Solicitors, which has bases in Liverpool, Prenton and Moreton, resigned the Tory whip a month ago citing his frustration at not being allow to speak on 'matters of his importance.'
Now his wife Julie, who has tried to win a seat for the Tories in Wirral for three years in a row, has also resigned from the party. She is office manager for Kirwan's Solicitors.
The pair announced their resignations via a press release.
It stated: "The Conservative Party in Wirral was thrown into new turmoil following the resignation of one of its leading activists.
"Julie Kirwan, chair of Upton Ward, quit because of interference' by the Wirral West Management Committee in her ward.
"Mrs Kirwan's decision comes just weeks after her husband and leading solicitor David Kirwan resigned the Conservative whip to become an Independent councillor for Hoylake and Meols.
"The final straw for Mrs Kirwan came when party bosses in Wirral told her she would have to seek reselection as a candidate in Wirral West rather than simply being nominated as a candidate in Upton, where she narrowly lost out in May's elections.
Mr Kirwan intends to continue representing his ward, Hoylake and Meols, as an independent.