Liverpool consultation under way over future of mayoral role

Ballot boxes have been placed in key locations across Liverpool for a public consultation which could see the role of mayor scrapped.

The city has had a directly elected mayor since 2012 but in January the council voted to ask the public for thoughts on how the city should be run.

Three options have been mooted - leader and cabinet model, committee system, or maintaining the mayoralty.

People will be able to express their views at 18 sites including libraries.

Letters began landing on doormats in the city last month, providing a secure online link for households to take part in the consultation process which runs until 20 June, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Ballot boxes have now been set up in a bid to make the process easier for the public and encourage more people to have their say.

But councillor Richard Kemp, leader of Liverpool Liberal Democrats, said it was "too little and far too late", adding the letter "advising people about the consultation was dreadful".

"We immediately complained about the style and said that we believed it was clear that the council wanted to minimise the public's involvement," he added.

The council previously decided against holding a formal referendum on the grounds of it being too costly at £450,000.

However a formal referendum on the plans could still be held, should a petition of 5% of electors be presented to the council asking for a vote on whether to change the governance model.

In her manifesto, Liverpool's current mayor Joanne Anderson, who was elected in May 2021, said she would campaign for the role to be scrapped or to "sack herself" if she won.

She has since said she would maintain a neutral position.

Dan Fenwick, Liverpool city solicitor, said the council wanted to give "as many people as possible the chance to have their say" and recognised that "not everyone has easy access to a computer".

"We've introduced this to ensure that those without access to the online survey have an additional way to respond in addition to emailing the council or in writing."

He said the boxes were sealed for security reasons and "will only be opened during the evaluation."

Any decision taken will take effect from the elections held next year and will be binding for five years.

The ballot boxes will be at Central Library as well as at sites in Allerton, Childwall, Croxteth, Dovecot, Everton, Fazakerley, Garston, Kensington, Lee Valley, Norris Green, Parklands, Old Swan, Sefton Park, Toxteth, Wavertree and West Derby.

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