Mayoral model receives most votes from residents in Liverpool governance consultation

The Mayoral model received the most votes from residents in a consultation run by Liverpool City Council on how it should be governed from 2023.

The model of a city Mayor who is directly elected by voters every four years received 4,709 votes (40.9%). This compares to:

  • A council led by one or more committees made up of elected councillors: 32.9% (3,793 votes).
  • A Leader who is an elected councillor, chosen by a vote of other elected councillors: 23.6% (2,721 votes).
  • No preference stated: 2.5% (296 votes).

The consultation was launched in March this year. It was held online and via postal ballot, and included a letter being sent to every household on the electoral roll in the city. It was supported by a digital, radio and print media campaign and ended on 20 June.

The outcome of the consultation will be reported to the local authority’s Constitutional Issues Committee on 11 July.

The consultation details will then go to Full Council at Liverpool Town Hall on 20 July, to be discussed and voted upon by all of the city’s 90 councillors.

Any change in governance will take effect from the elections in May 2023, and will be binding on the council for five years.

The consultation results report can be found at: https://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=1815&MId=19812.

City Solicitor, Dan Fenwick, said: “The council’s objective was to reach out to as many people in Liverpool as possible to ensure they knew about the consultation, so that they could have their say, over the future governance of Liverpool City Council.

“The results of this consultation will now be reported back to Full Council, which will make the final decision on whether to keep the mayoralty or move to a different model of governance from May 2023.”

Liverpool had previously ruled out a referendum on whether to change governance arrangements on cost grounds as it was estimated it would cost £450,000, compared to £120,000 for the consultation.