The Liverpool City Region Mayoral Election: A Breakdown
On the 6th May 2021 the Liverpool City Region is set to elect its new mayor who will chair the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, with the last election having been in 2017. This will be only the second election of its kind after Westminster devolved greater power to certain regions in 2016, creating the role of regional mayors.
Mayor of Liverpool City Region
The Liverpool City Region Mayor (otherwise known as Liverpool’s Metro Mayor) has power over several areas, such as transport, economic development, and regeneration. They also represent several council areas spanning across the region, and these are: Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral, and Halton in Cheshire.
Election System
As with other mayoral elections, the system used to elect Liverpool’s new mayor will be the Supplementary Vote (SV) system, which involves choosing a first choice and second choice candidate on your ballot paper. If a candidate receives over 50% of the vote, they are elected Mayor, however if no candidate receives a clear majority the election comes down to the top two candidates. Voters’ second preference votes are then added to the top two candidates’ vote shares to decide a clear winner.
Previous Election
Figure 1: Liverpool City Region Mayoral election results for 2017
Steve Rotheram, standing for Labour, won the Metro Mayoral election in 2017 with a large majority of 59.3% overall share in votes cast. The overall turnout of eligible voters was 26%. Rotheram will be standing again for Labour in the 2021 election, and currently is set to be a strong favourite to win. In his last term he has overseen billions in investment for the region, introduced half-price bus travel for apprentices and introduced the Households into Work initiative, designed to get long-term unemployed adults back into work.
Steve Rotheram (Labour), current Mayor for Liverpool City Region.
Candidates
Steve Rotheram (Labour) is running for a second term on the following policies:
The guarantee of a job, training or an apprenticeship opportunity for every young person out of work for more than six months
A plan for an integrated London-style transport system, including contactless payments, daily fare caps, an improved bus network, new Merseyrail stations and a walking and cycling network
A Green Industrial Revolution to tackle climate change, including a Mersey Tidal Power scheme and a ‘Good Homes Standard’ to promote quality, energy efficient new homes
Jade Marsden (Conservative Party) has made a few pledges so far:
Better access for young people to training and apprenticeships, so people get access to quality jobs that pay a good wage
Get a grip of air quality and put an end to the jams on the roads. A solution that benefits both businesses and commuters to benefit the economy
Drive for more investment into the area, support local businesses and secure more jobs for the area
Andy Corkhill (Liberal Democrats) has a list of five priorities for the area:
Revolutionise transport
Promote more equal education
Enhance the region on a global level
Protect the European Union citizens’ rights
Concentrate on the Climate Emergency
Tom Crone (Green Party), who is currently a Green Party councillor for Liverpool, will be standing for the second time after 2017. The Greens pledge that their City Region Mayoral candidates will all be advocating for:
stronger democracy and accountability
greener transport
stronger protection of the environment
As these Mayoral elections near, remember that regional mayors have the power to make significant difference in their respective regions through the funding and devolved powers granted to them, so make sure to get out and vote for the party whose pledges you support the most.
Register to vote here: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
Fran Robson, Policy and News Analysis Associate