Race is on for Lib-Dem candidate for Liverpool elected mayor race

Richard Kemp

THE race is on within Liverpool?s Liberal Democrats to find a candidate for the elected mayor battle, writes Marc Waddington.

Although the party says it is opposed to the new system without a referendum, senior figures said they ?would not leave any election unfought?.

While the party?s members are remaining tight-lipped about front runners, the deputy leader of the Lib Dem group on the council, Cllr Richard Kemp, is a leading contender.

In the last week, council leader Joe Anderson announced a ?deal? with the Government that would unlock around ?130m of cash for the city to spend on big projects such as school building, which Cllr Anderson said would be dependent on going straight to elections rather than hold a referendum.

At the council cabinet meeting, he argued that the Lib Dems should use the election battle as a referendum and, if they won, revert back to the current system of having a council leader and a cabinet.

But Cllr Kemp said the advice he had had from ministers suggested the winning candidate would not have the power to make that change. He said that nonetheless the party would put up a candidate: ?We don?t believe in elected mayors but, if they are to be, then it should be the choice of the people. If the people said they would want one, then we would clearly accept that.

?We are not going to leave an election unfought.?

A poll of 500 business people in the city, conducted by lobby group Downtown Liverpool in Business, found that 72% were in favour of an elected mayor system.

Chairman of DLiB Frank McKenna said: ?It is encouraging to see nearly three-quarters of those polled want to see an elected mayor in Liverpool established now.

?The cost associated with holding a referendum, and the time it would take, have been avoided, and that is viewed positively by the vast majority of businesses.?

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Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2012/02/06/race-is-on-for-lib-dem-candidate-for-liverpool-elected-mayor-race-100252-30272887/

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