The leadership of a new political grouping formed of ex- Labour rebels and independent councillors has been confirmed.
Former Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Cllr Anna Rothery, has been named as leader of the new Liverpool Community Independents group that officially came together last month when five Labour councillors formally resigned from the party after being suspended when they voted against the annual budget and paired with three other ex-party members. Warbreck Cllr Alan Gibbons will be the group’s deputy leader.
Joining Cllrs Rothery and Gibbons in the new group as Alison Clarke, Rona Heron, Joanne Calvert, Alfie Hincks, Sam Gorst and Sarah Morton. The five Labour members were suspended when they broke ranks over the annual budget put forward by the controlling group.
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The group has assigned policy area responsibilities and has vowed to not use a whipping system for its members. Cllr Rothery said the group will look to hold Liverpool Council and other parties to account.
She said: “Our entire group is made up of principled like-minded people committed to representing the wants, needs, aspirations and the best interests of the people of Liverpool. We have left behind the petty politics and in-fighting to offer our city a real alternative committed to challenging national government cuts and the negative impact they have on the people of our city.”
An ultimatum was issued to the party’s head office that led to the official breakaway group after the councillors felt they had been left “in limbo” for too long. Cllr Gibbons was also expelled from the party just hours before the new group was officially confirmed.
He said: “I think it is a good time to have a new, independent voice in the council chamber. Liverpool is at something of a crossroads.
“As yet, nobody has been held to account for the failings listed in the Caller Report. We have yet to see any return on the large amount of council taxpayers’ money invested in the commissioners.
“Then we have the prospect of another daunting budget. More than ever before we need transparency, accountability and a budget in the interests of the city.
“The Liverpool Community Independents will work collectively for a better future for Liverpool.” The formation of the new group still leaves their former party with comfortable control of Liverpool Council, with two thirds of the seats on the local authority held by Labour.
Their numbers could be bolstered if the party holds onto a seat in Fazakerley vacated by another budget rebel, Lindsay Melia, who resigned as a councillor following the budget vote in March. Cllr George Knibb, who joined the ‘rebels’ in voting against the budget in March, has not opted to join the group but did leave the Labour Party after breaking ranks.
Mayor Joanne Anderson expressed her and her party’s disappointment at the group’s decision to go it alone.
