Member Article

Liverpool as first to city to elect mayor

Liverpool will become the first city in the UK to hold elections for a directly elected mayor.

Last week’s meeting of Liverpool City Council resulted in an overwhelming victory for the pro-mayor lobby, meaning voting will take place in May.

Through the City Deals initiative, the Liverpool will receive certain devolved powers, in a bid to help the city attract private investment, address skills gaps and create new jobs.

Frank McKenna, Chair of Downtown Liverpool in Business, has long campaigned for referendum.

He said: “This result sets a real national precedent and it is great news for Liverpool as it means that we will be ahead of the game now in terms of making the most of this fantastic opportunity.

“It is quite clear that Liverpool’s business community want an elected mayor. A large scale poll we conducted last week showed that over 70% of people were strongly in favour of the decision, and Leader of Liverpool City Council, Joe Anderson’s somewhat controversial decision for bypassing a public referendum on the matter means we will start seeing the impact more quickly than other cities.

“I believe that Joe Anderson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, is the right man for the job, and will now in a position to drive the growth we need to see on the back of the £130m funding coming to us as a result of this decision.”

“Liverpool is now in a strong position to deliver a whole raft of vital development programmes, and the additional private investment will make a huge economic difference across the region.”

Following Liverpool City Council’s talks with ministers, the next step will be the formal notice of election and nominations, which will close on Wednesday April 4.

Cities Minister, Greg Clark said: “It is fantastic to see Liverpool become the first city in Britain to seize the opportunity on offer.

“This deal will be a major boost to the standing of this great city, both within Britain and on the world stage.

“Liverpool has seized the chance to attract private investment, create jobs and build a prosperous future. This is, I hope, the first of many such deals with our cities.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .