Liverpool to get elected mayor
COUNCILLORS in Liverpool last night voted to change the city’s constitution to elect a mayor for the city.
The decision will see elections for a mayor take place on May 3, alongside local government elections. The mayor will take up his or her responsibilities on May 7.
The vote follows the negotiation of a new “City Deal” with central government that will see new powers devolved to the city and the creation of a single investment fund of new and existing public and private money, initially worth £130 million but with the potential to grow to £500m-£1bn.
The mayor will sit for a period of up to four years and will form a cabinet from the city’s 90 councillors.
The city was due to be one of 11 to host a referendum on whether or not to create an elected mayor in May, with the subsequent Mayoral elections then due to be held in November.
However, councillors voted to forego the referendum and instead simply hold elections for a mayor in May.
The vote, at an extraordinary council meeting, was passed by 62 votes to three, with 12 abstentions.
The City Deal cash was not dependent on the city having a mayor, but central government had indicated that moving to a mayoral model would provide accountability for new funds and a new set of devolved powers.
Among the benefits Liverpool will derive from the City Deal are the establishment of the first Mayoral Development Corporation outside London, supported by a Local Finance for Growth package.
This includes a new Enterprise Zone for north Liverpool and the city’s Central Business District, with the potential to capture the benefits of growth in business rates and reinvest them in other parts of the city.
The new mayor will also sit as chair of a new investment board which will contain all of the city’s assets including land, buildings and other assets that were previously under the control of the North West Development Agency.
Speaking about the formal offer of City Deal status to Liverpool, Council leader Cllr Joe Anderson said: “For the first time in decades, we are being given the chance for power to be returned to the city from Whitehall. It is a huge moment for Liverpool.
“The deal is bespoke to us. It gives us direct control over our destiny and brings with it new investment in the future of Liverpool.”
