7 Council in crisis, Census lights up city

City Braced for Political Shockwave

By RUAIRI WALSH

Apolitical shockwave hit Liverpool at the weekend after it was reported that Liverpool City Council could be placed under special measures and put under the control of central government.

The decision came after an investigation following the arrest of former Mayor Joe Anderson in December on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidation. Mr Anderson claims to be innocent of the charges and has resigned from his position.

These events led to a Best Value Report being commissioned by the Government, to be led by Max Caller, looking into property management, regeneration, highways, contracts and planning at the council over the past five years.

Robert Jenrick, the Local Government Secretary, is set to announce the results of the report later this week but reports suggest that the city will be put under the control of Government commissioners.

“It’s a hugely unusual measure taken by the government, assuming that special measures go ahead.” says

Professor of politics at the University of Liverpool, Jonathan Tonge. “It’s only been done three times before and never for a council the size of Liverpool with almost half a million residents within the city’s borders. So, this is a very unusual step - it’s a step of last resort, one that the government only uses very sparingly.” According to Prof. Tonge, the effects of this will be long-lasting. “The special measure can be used indefinitely. The secretary of state normally states a period at which he anticipates those special measures lasting for, but they can be extended or shortened at the discretion of the secretary of state. “In the previous three cases the special measures have lasted three years, so we’re not talking about a quick fix here. If the commissioners come in to run Liverpool or parts of Liverpool City Council they could probably be there for several years.” In these other cases the consequences have been profound. Prof. Tonge said: “Well, in two of the three cases, basically the council was subject to a clean-up, so the commissioners came in, looked at the books, criticised what had gone on 

‘This is a very unusual step - it’s a step of last resort ’

Liverpool Town Hall

Richard Kemp, leader of Lib Dems Liverpool

CENSUS TURNS LIVERPOOL PURPLE

By SAMUEL HODGKISS

As Census 2021 got under way at the weekend, many of Liverpool’s most famous landmarks turned purple to celebrate the event taking place.

The Office of National Statistics organised the event with other landmarks across England, Wales and Northen Ireland also taking part, including the BT Tower in London and Blackpool Tower.

The event was organised to celebrate and raise awareness for the Census, a decennial census for England, Wales and Northern Ireland supplying important figures and statistics of every person in the countries.

Key sectors that are expected to have significant changes in the diversity of their figures since 2011 are related to sexual orientation, coinciding with the rise of the LGBTQ+ community and gender neutrality.

The census also helps control hospital and school numbers allowing each community to be given the correct budget and resources they need, determined by the population data collected. Another significance is that this year marks the first time filling out the information has been mainly online since it started back in 1801. However, if some people fail to fill out the form before Sunday’s deadline, they risk facing a fine up to £1000.

Pete Benton, Director of Census Operations at The Office of National Statistics, spoke about the significance of the celebration of Census 2021.

“The census is such an important

City Braced for Political Shockwave

in the past and basically ran financial aspects of the council’s activity.” In Northamptonshire, the council was simply deemed as ineffective and was broken up.

“If Liverpool is incapable of governing itself via the existing councillors, all 90 odd of them who are on the city council, that’s a pretty damning inditement of the performance of Liverpool City Council over the last few years.”

Because of this, Prof. Tonge expects there will be a reaction from the city.

“It’s a big thing for Liverpool, in that we’re losing an element of our local democracy. People elect their local councillors and their mayor and neither of those sets of people will be as powerful as would otherwise be the case after May’s election once the commissioners, assuming they come, run part of the city’s activities.

“I think local people will feel very annoyed. They’ll feel local democracy has been usurped - that you’ve got a Conservative government in effect running a labour council. That’s how some people on the ground will look at it.

Others may breathe a sigh of relief and think the city council and the Mayoralty has been dysfunctional in recent years, one is the subject of a police investigation, even though the ex-mayor denies all wrongdoing and some people will be glad that the commissioners will be coming in and blowing away a few cobwebs and improve the administration of the city so I think reaction will be mixed.”

“But the optics don’t look good- A Conservative Government that has not had a Conservative councillor elected on the city council since 1994, coming in and taking control of a city that has overwhelmingly voted Labour in recent years.”

In the face of the political fallout, Labour have not yet responded for comment.

A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said in a statement: “The government’s Best Value report is due to be published later this week, until that time, there is no comment from the council.”

Opposition parties, on the other hand, have been outraged.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Liverpool City Council and Mayoral candidate, Richard Kemp said: “Well we’ve known this is likely to happen for some time but certainly we’ve certainly known its more likely to happen since mid-December when the inspection team was appointed, and the first visit of the inspector took place. That always is followed by intervention because the assumption is there must be something to find out and deal with otherwise the inspector wouldn’t be put in, it’s a very rare event.

“What we’re seeing is absolutely unprecedented. No one in living memory and probably beyond can ever remember a situation where there are six police investigations into the work of this council. In which there have been 16 arrests of 15 people, one of whom is the political head of the council and a government inspection team is put in which, in itself, are rare events. We are in the middle of the biggest political storm that Liverpool or any other council has seen in living memory.”

Independent candidate for Mayor Steven Yip has written an open letter to Robert Jenrick opposing the appointment of commissioners, saying: “Sending in commissioners would inevitably be seen locally as a “takeover” by Whitehall and risk making matters worse.

“Liverpool has been brought low by individual egos and the ruling party’s sense of entitlement. It would be unfair to ask Liverpudlians to pay a further price for the failings of a discredited Council. I urge you to allow the people of this great City to drive the necessary process of reform, beginning at the ballot box on May 6th.”

Leader for the Green Party and Mayoral Candidate Tom Crone agrees with Yip in opposing bringing in commissioners.

“At the end of the day I would not want a Conservative-appointed commissioner to be taking over Liverpool. Essentially, I don’t think the Tories have got social justice, equality, climate change at the forefront of their thinking. Which is what I believe in, that’s what I’m standing on.

“We need a fresh start, that could be with many different parties represented, it could involve a cross-party cabinet, could involve independents, could involve a lot of people. But I am absolutely opposed to the idea of the commissioner coming in.”

Cllr. Crone feels that abolition of the position of the Mayor entirely would be the best way forward, long term in the city.

“The Green Party has always been in favour of other models. We were the only party to vote against the Mayoral model.

“We would like to revert to the committee system, where councillors would have a lot more of an active role in development and scrutiny.”

Tom Crone, Leader of Green Party Liverpool

‘Sending in commissioners would inevitably be seen locally as a ‘takeover’ by Whitehall and risk making matters worse ’

CENSUS TURNS LIVERPOOL PURPLE

undertaking that helps inform the vital services we all rely on every single day within our communities,” he said.

“We wanted to shine a purple light on the buildings and landmarks that matter most to their local areas, highlighting the importance of the census in helping shape the communities we live in.

“We’re thrilled with all the support we have received so far and would like to thank the many buildings and landmarks for their participation.

“Now is the time for everyone to complete their census and be part of history.”

With St. George’s Hall, the Cunard Building and the Chinese Arch all proud participants in the nationwide event, Liverpool City Council emphasised the importance of Census 2021.

A spokesman said: “The whole population has the chance to provide the information that ensures all communities are represented in decisions on funding and services. This could mean things like doctors’ surgeries, housing, or new bus routes.

“Census 2021 will be crucial in giving a snapshot of life in 21st Century.

“It will highlight areas of deprivation, it will show the ethnic make-up of the country, it will provide information on our living arrangements, health, education and the jobs we do and the data from it will help inform policy at a local and national level for years to come.” St George’s Hall