Labour wants to “finish the job of fixing the city” as it bids for four more years in charge of Liverpool Council.
Party officials, councillors and candidates gathered at the Big Hope Project in Kensington as group leader Liam Robinson set out Labour’s priorities for May’s all out elections. In seven weeks time, the city will go to the polls to choose 85 new members of the city council.
In a bid to retain the balance of power at the Cunard Building, the city’s Labour group has set out its manifesto, named “Our Plan Our Liverpool.” Cllr Robinson, who represents the Kensington and Fairfield ward, said he wanted to “enthuse and excite” members ahead of May’s ballots to deliver a “strong and ambitious agenda for the city.”
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The cabinet member for finance acknowledged the group “haven’t always got it right” and the people of the city have always seen the Labour Party “at its very, very best.” He said: “Let me be very clear, I get it and we get it.
“We will never ever take votes for granted at all.” Cllr Robinson said he wanted to “finish the job of fixing the city” and paid tribute to the work of outgoing mayor Joanne Anderson. He said Liverpool had “turned a page” and referenced how the group had been taken out of special measures by the Labour party’s national executive committee earlier this week.
Outlining the group’s pledges, Cllr Robinson said: “I want to say to the people of this city, our priorities are your priorities.” Among the promises made in the manifesto include a drive to make Liverpool a “zero-homelessness city” by identifying those at risk “so we can get them off the streets for good and help them turn their lives around.”
Cllr Robinson said his group wants to build at least 8,000 new homes for rent, purchase and mixed tenure, while also introducing at least School Streets where pedestrians take priority over cars, as well as working to ease congestion on other roads. The Kensington councillor said he wanted the city to deliver 2,000 electric vehicle charging points and would be bidding for a “major European football final” to be held in Liverpool.
Taking aim at opposition parties, Cllr Robinson said the Liberal Democrats “sat on their hands” while budgets were slashed and whether it’s “the Greens or the so called independents - as very few of them are truly independent - they offer nothing positive.” Closing his speech, Cllr Robinson said it was “important who leads Liverpool” including “what they stand for and what their interests are.”
Guest speaker Angela Rayner MP, deputy leader of the Labour Party, described Liverpool as the “home of socialism” to warm applause. She said the city “doesn’t deserve to have to beg” government for funding, adding “I know it’s been hard, it’s been incredibly hard… but there are good times ahead of us and Liverpool will be at the heart of that.”
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