Elections results 2021: Joanne Anderson elected Liverpool city mayor

Labour's Joanne Anderson has been elected as the city mayor of Liverpool.

The councillor, who has represented the Princes Park ward since 2019, made history as she became the first black woman to lead a major British city.

She claimed victory after voting went to second preferences, winning 59.2% of the vote while independent candidate Stephen Yip came second with 40.8%.

Ms Anderson said "today is the beginning of the fresh start we all want and need" for Liverpool.

Despite a tumultuous few months for the Labour party in Liverpool, it has retained control of the city council as well as Knowsley, Halton, Sefton, Warrington and St Helens councils.

Wirral has remained under no overall control with Labour as the main party.

Ms Anderson, 47, was selected as Labour candidate for the mayoral election after the previous mayor, Joe Anderson, stood aside due to an ongoing police investigation.

Labour has controlled Liverpool City Council for a decade but has come under intense scrutiny in recent months following Mr Anderson's arrest along with four others in December.

It follows an investigation by Merseyside Police into building and development contracts in the city.

Mr Anderson, who is not related to the city's new mayor, denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any offences.

In her first speech as mayor, Ms Anderson apologised to the people of Liverpool for the findings of a highly-critical report into the governance of certain areas of the city council.

"I have always held an unshakeable sense of justice and this is one of the reasons I have stood for the role," she said.

"I am wholeheartedly determined to put our city on a restorative path after a difficult year."

She said she was "proud and honoured" to be the first black woman directly-elected as a mayor of a UK city and the city's first ever female leader.

"Liverpool has always been a city of firsts - one that does things differently and that charters its own path. Today we made history," she said.

Shortly after the arrest of Mr Anderson and four others in December, the government announced an investigation into the council's planning, highways, regeneration and property management departments.

It was later revealed that government-appointed commissioners will oversee parts of Liverpool City Council after inspectors found a "serious breakdown of governance".

By Claire Hamilton, BBC Radio Merseyside political reporter

It is an historic day for Liverpool - Joanne Anderson's the first woman to lead the city council and the first directly-elected black woman to lead any local authority in the country.

But while the new mayor Anderson, who was described as a breath of fresh air by Keir Starmer, says she is going to do things differently, she has got to work hard to win back the trust of the people of Liverpool.

Her first challenges are implementing the findings of the Caller Report and the prospect of government-appointed commissioners coming to the Cunard building, where her office will be, to oversee aspects of the council's operations.

These "dysfunctional" parts of the council- planning, highways and regeneration- was why Stephen Yip's campaign was fought on transparency and accountability.

He says people told him on the doorstep they were disillusioned with Labour - they wanted change.

They have definitely got change. Joanne Anderson is no career politician, but she's still wearing the red rosette and Liverpool remains Labour.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]