Consultation plan could axe Liverpool mayor role

Plans which could see the end of Liverpool having a directly elected mayor will move forward next week.

But the current mayor says holding a formal referendum on how the city should be governed will be too expensive.

Instead, the council's ruling Labour group is proposing to hold a consultation on whether to ditch the role.

Councillors will vote on the plans next week.

Liverpool City Council adopted the mayoral model of governance in 2012 without a referendum.

Under the current system voters directly elect a mayor every four years.

However, under a leader and cabinet system the largest political party on the council would elect a leader who would then lead the authority.

The first elected mayor, Labour's Joe Anderson, stood aside in last year's council elections after he was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause bribery and witness intimidation. He denies wrongdoing.

He was replaced by Joanne Anderson, who pledged in her election campaign that she would lobby to scrap the role.

Last year, Liverpool City Council committed to asking residents how they would like to be governed - and the word "referendum" was used in a full council vote on the issue in January last year.

But the motion which will be considered next week says holding a standalone formal and legally binding referendum in a year when there are no local council elections would cost at least £450,000.

The Labour group believes a consultation would be much cheaper, at £120,000.

The council is currently struggling to find £34m of savings in its budget this year.

It is also having to find extra money to pay the salaries of commissioners appointed by the government after a damning inspection report.

The details of how a consultation would be conducted have yet to be confirmed.

Ms Anderson told BBC Radio Merseyside she wanted the consultation to be "meaningful" and transparent.

"I'd like to see people talking at bus stops saying 'what do you think of this model?'" she said.

"I'd like to hear people in cafes debating it. I am not sure everyone is that interested but some people are passionate about it and I want to hear that.

"It can't be a tick box exercise. That's why we want it to be a poll. It's a clear yes-or-no result and everyone has a chance to have a say."

She indicated the council would consider sending information out with council tax bills and running an online poll.

Liverpool's Liberal Democrat leader Richard Kemp welcomed the move, having long criticised the role alongside Green group leader Tom Crone.

But Mr Kemp called for a clear timetable for action.

He said: "After the three-month consultation the council has two options. It can hold a referendum on the top two ideas or alternatively, it could then to choose which model to go for given the consultation results. This seems the likely way forward. Even then the timescale is unclear."

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