Upcoming elections will “provide some stability” for two of Liverpool City Region’s beleaguered areas, according to the Metro Mayor.
In six days' time, thousands of voters from across Merseyside will go to the polls to choose their next city and borough councillors. In Wirral and Liverpool, every single seat is up for grabs for the first time.
Liverpool’s travails have been well documented, with the 2021 Caller Report shining a light on failure and mismanagement that were rife within the authority and the shockwaves that have rippled through ever since. In the same year, Wirral Council was criticised for its own financial conduct, with leaders accused of being unable to make difficult decisions.
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Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram told a meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority he hoped the ballot could ring in a fresh start and stronger future for the areas.
On the elections, Mr Rotheram said: “They’ll see people going to the polls in all but one of our boroughs this year and we’ll see all-out elections on the Wirral and in Liverpool, and that will hopefully provide some stability for the next four year administration. We’ll also see Liverpool City Council revert from the Mayoral model, back to a leader and cabinet system which we’ve got in four of the five other areas.”
The former councillor also paid tribute to the outgoing Mayor of Liverpool as the governance model faced its major change. He said: “Mayor Joanne Anderson will be standing down as part of this change and she’ll be the first to say the circumstances of her election were far from ideal as she walked into a very challenging situation.
“I think we can all agree she’s led the city through a very turbulent period and made history as the first black, female city leader in the UK, so let’s hope there are others that follow in her footsteps.” The Metro Mayor added how he looked forward to working with the new leader of Liverpool Council, “whoever that may be,” but said he hoped to see an “old friend” in the form of former Merseytravel chair, Cllr Liam Robinson, at the helm of the local authority next week.
In Liverpool, 85 councillors will be elected in 64 newly drawn ward boundaries, as a result of the recommendations made in the Caller Report. At least 18 new members will be returned to the Town Hall after more than a dozen sitting councillors indicated they would be stepping down.
Across the River Mersey, 66 councillors will be voted in as representatives of Wirral Council, with three members per each of the 22 wards.
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