Liverpool Lib Dems name candidates for City Mayor and Police Commissioner

This picture of Cllr Kris Brown and I was taken after an afternoon’s campaigning in Allerton and Hunts Cross Ward in advance of this year’s local elections

Liverpool’s Lib Dems have named the first of their three Citywide and Merseyside wide Candidates to take on Labour at the local elections in May.

Woolton Cllr Kris Brown is set to challenge for the Elected Police Commissioner’s position while Liverpool’s Lib Dem Leader will fight to become the City Mayor.

What makes these candidates unique is the fact that they both will seek to abolish the positions for which they are standing.

Cllr Kris Brown explains, “On May 7^th Liverpool electors will have no less than 4 ballot papers to fill in for City Region Mayor, City Mayor, Elected Police Commissioner and a councillor for each ward. I don ‘t believe that there is any justification for all these elected positions as the holders of many of them have made little or no impact on the lives of the people of Liverpool.

In our regular conversations with people throughout the City they are consistently unable to name either the Police Commissioner or Regional Mayor and although they do know who the City Mayor is they don’t approve of what he is doing”.

Cllr Kemp added, “Lib Dems have continually opposed the positions of elected city mayor and elected police commissioner. If we revert to having a Council Leader and incorporate the role of the Elected Police Commissioner, we could save up to £1.8 million which we all think could be better used on front line services.

Throughout the Liverpool City Region, the Lib Dems are the main opposition to Labour and are the only opposition Party to be represented on all 6 Councils.

In Liverpool we could act quickly to cut costs and delete the role. The Police Commissioner will take longer but we would immediately initiate talks with the Government.

In addition, Lib Dems have named the first of their candidates for Liverpool Wards:

Allerton Hunts Cross Ward:   Cllr Mirna Juarez

Childwall Ward:          Pat Moloney

Church Ward:             Cllr Andrew Makinson

Cressington Ward:      Richard Clein

Mossley Hill Ward:     Rob McAlister-Bell

St Michaels Ward:      Chris Collins

Woolton Ward:          Cllr Malcolm Kelly

I believe that this is a strong team for Liverpool who can work with other existing Councillors to lay the foundations for a change in the direction and image of Liverpool that we so badly need”, Cllr Kemp concluded.