2017 Liverpool City Region mayoral election

Summary

The inaugural Liverpool City Region mayoral election was held on 4 May 2017 to elect the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and won by Steve Rotheram.[2] Subsequent elections were planned for May 2020 but were postponed until May 2021 due to the covid pandemic with subsequent elections due every four years. The metro mayor will have control over the whole Liverpool City Region combined authority area which consists of the following local authorities:

2017 Liverpool City Region mayoral election
4 May 2017 2021 →
Turnout26.1%[1]
 
Steve Rotheram 2018.jpg
Con
Lib
Candidate Steve Rotheram Tony Caldeira Carl Cashman
Party Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats
1st Round vote 171,167 58,805 19,751
Percentage 59.3% 20.4% 6.8%

Shows the winning candidate's majority (margin of victory) in each local authority.

Mayor before election

Joe Anderson (interim)
Labour

Elected Mayor

Steve Rotheram
Labour

The mayor will work with existing city and borough leaders to take forward the mayor's strategic plan. The metro mayor will have a budget of £900 million over 30 years with powers on education & skills, planning and housing, transport, health and social care.[3]

Background edit

Combined authorities were introduced in England outside Greater London by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 to cover areas larger than the existing local authorities but smaller than the regions. Combined authorities are created voluntarily and allow a group of local authorities to pool appropriate responsibility and receive certain delegated functions from central government in order to deliver transport and economic policy more effectively over a wider area. There are currently six such authorities, with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority established on 1 April 2011, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and three others established in April 2014, and a sixth in April 2016. If only two candidates stand, then the election is conducted under the first past the post (FPTP) voting system, where the candidate with the most votes is elected. If there are three or more candidates, as in 2017, the outcome will be determined by the supplementary vote system (SV). Voters make both a first and second choice, with any candidate securing more than half of the first-preference vote being elected. If no candidate reaches this threshold, then all candidates except those in first and second place are eliminated. Second-preference votes from these candidates are transferred over, and whoever has the most votes is elected.[4]

Candidates edit

Conservative Party

Conservative candidate Tony Caldeira is a businessman and was candidate for Mayor of Liverpool in 2012 and 2016.[5][6]

Caldeira's key policies were to:

  • Improve transport networks
  • Reduce planning processes
  • Deliver faster economic growth
  • Increase jobs and skills
  • Prioritise brownfield sites over greenspace for the building of new homes and workplaces
Get The Coppers Off The Jury

Candidate Paul Breen previously ran as an Independent in the 2007 Liverpool City Council elections for Norris Green. No manifesto has been published with Breen stating that the party's name speaks for itself.[6][7]

Green Party of England and Wales

Green Party candidate Tom Crone, Leader of the Green Group on Liverpool City Council and 2016 Liverpool mayoral candidate winning 11% of the vote.[8][9]

Crone's key policies were to:

  • Protect greenspaces by promoting development on brownfield sites
  • Invest in training and education for jobs in the low carbon industry
  • Prioritise a move to a low-carbon economy by supporting low carbon businesses and initiatives
  • Tackle air pollution
  • Invest in green energy and oppose fracking
  • Invest in public transport, walking and cycling to reduce reliance upon cars
  • Promote a move to non-diesel private and public transport
  • Make more public land available to community-led housing projects
  • Introduction of citizen forums
  • Creation of an elected assembly to scrutinise the City Region mayor
  • Commitment to gender, age and BAME balance in regional authority staffing
Labour Party

Labour candidate Steve Rotheram had been MP for Liverpool Walton since 2010, Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition since 2015, and former Lord Mayor of Liverpool.[10]

Rotheram's key policies are to:

  • Improve education
  • Make brownfield sites more attractive to developers
  • Cut the cost of Merseytravel's Fast Tag electronic pre-payment system
Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat candidate Councillor Carl Cashman is leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Knowsley Council having been elected in 2016.[11] At 25 years old he is the youngest of the candidates.[6]

Cashman's key policies were to:

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC)

TUSC candidate Roger Bannister is a member the UNISON public services union, is secretary of a local UNISON Branch and a member of UNISON’s National Executive Council.[12] He previous ran for mayor of Liverpool in the 2016 Liverpool mayoral elections receiving 5% of the votes.[6][13]

Bannister's key policies were to:

UK Independence Party (UKIP)

UKIP candidate Paula Walters is a civil servant and chairwoman of UKIP Wirral.[14] With no previous business experience she has previously campaigned against bridge and tunnel tolls.[6]

Walters' key policies were to:

Women's Equality Party

The Women's Equality Party candidate Tabitha Morton is Head of Integration at lock manufacturer Yale.[15][16]

Morton's key policies were to:

  • Reduce domestic violence against women and girls
  • Make sure women have a voice in important decisions
  • Support women lead businesses to reduce the gender pay gap
  • Set aside funds to train women in sectors where women are underrepresented

Results edit

Overall election result edit

Liverpool City Region Mayoral Election, 2017[17]
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Steve Rotheram 171,167 59.3%
Conservative Tony Caldeira 58,805 20.4%
Liberal Democrats Carl Cashman 19,751 6.8%
Green Tom Crone 14,094 4.9%
UKIP Paula Walters 11,946 4.1%
TUSC Roger Bannister 7,881 2.7%
Women's Equality Tabitha Morton 4,287 1.5%
Get The Coppers Off The Jury Paul Breen 729 0.3%
Majority 112,362 38.9%
Turnout 286,339 26.1%
Labour win

Results by local authority edit

Halton edit

Liverpool City Region Mayoral Election, 2017 (Halton)
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Steve Rotheram 11,636 60.6%
Conservative Tony Caldeira 3,928 20.5%
UKIP Paula Walters 1,191 6.2%
Liberal Democrats Carl Cashman 943 4.9%
Green Tom Crone 677 3.5%
TUSC Roger Bannister 503 2.6%
Women's Equality Tabitha Morton 245 1.3%
Get The Coppers Off The Jury Paul Breen 64 0.3%
Majority 7,708 40.2%
Turnout 19,492 20.5%

Knowsley edit

Liverpool City Region Mayoral Election, 2017 (Knowsley)
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Steve Rotheram 17,861 69.3%
Conservative Tony Caldeira 2,577 10.0%
Liberal Democrats Carl Cashman 2,385 9.3%
TUSC Roger Bannister 980 3.8%
UKIP Paula Walters 888 3.4%
Green Tom Crone 768 3.0%
Women's Equality Tabitha Morton 256 1.0%
Get The Coppers Off The Jury Paul Breen 61 0.2%
Majority 15,284 59.3%
Turnout 25,973 22.7%

Liverpool edit

Liverpool City Region Mayoral Election, 2017 (Liverpool)
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Steve Rotheram 63,241 69.6%
Conservative Tony Caldeira 9,409 10.3%
Liberal Democrats Carl Cashman 6,053 6.7%
Green Tom Crone 5,376 5.9%
TUSC Roger Bannister 2,729 3.0%
UKIP Paula Walters 2,298 2.5%
Women's Equality Tabitha Morton 1,541 1.7%
Get The Coppers Off The Jury Paul Breen 277 0.3%
Majority 53,832 59.2%
Turnout 91,697 28.6%

Sefton edit

Liverpool City Region Mayoral Election, 2017 (Sefton)
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Steve Rotheram 30,061 54.3%
Conservative Tony Caldeira 14,574 26.3%
Liberal Democrats Carl Cashman 4,152 7.5%
Green Tom Crone 2,323 4.2%
UKIP Paula Walters 2,064 3.7%
TUSC Roger Bannister 1,248 2.3%
Women's Equality Tabitha Morton 797 1.4%
Get The Coppers Off The Jury Paul Breen 138 0.2%
Majority 15,487 28.0%
Turnout 55,934 26.9%

St Helens edit

Liverpool City Region Mayoral Election, 2017 (St Helens)
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Steve Rotheram 15,643 50.2%
Conservative Tony Caldeira 8,293 26.6%
Liberal Democrats Carl Cashman 2,299 7.4%
Green Tom Crone 1,961 6.3%
UKIP Paula Walters 1,683 5.4%
TUSC Roger Bannister 786 2.5%
Women's Equality Tabitha Morton 443 1.4%
Get The Coppers Off The Jury Paul Breen 83 0.3%
Majority 7,350 23.6%
Turnout 31,462 22.9%

Wirral edit

Liverpool City Region Mayoral Election, 2017 (Wirral)
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Steve Rotheram 32,725 49.4%
Conservative Tony Caldeira 20,024 30.2%
Liberal Democrats Carl Cashman 3,919 5.9%
UKIP Paula Walters 3,822 5.8%
Green Tom Crone 2,989 4.5%
TUSC Roger Bannister 1,635 2.5%
Women's Equality Tabitha Morton 1,005 1.5%
Get The Coppers Off The Jury Paul Breen 106 0.2%
Majority 12,701 19.2%
Turnout 66,891 27.8%

References edit

  1. ^ "Elections 2017".
  2. ^ "Liverpool 'metro mayor' results: Labour's Steve Rotheram elected". BBC News. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Liverpool City Region". centreforcities.org. Centre for Cities. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Candidates and agents at mayoral elections in England - Part 5: Your right to attend key electoral events". electoralcommission.org.uk. Electoral Commission. December 2016. Pdf.
  5. ^ Bartlett, David (17 November 2015). "Who could be the first directly elected mayor for the Liverpool city region?". Liverpool Echo. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Liverpool City Region mayoral election: Candidates spell out key policies". BBC News. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  7. ^ Thorp, Liam (5 April 2017). "Who is the mysterious mayoral candidate who wants to "Get the Coppers off the Jury?"". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Tom Crone's Manifesto". April 2017.
  9. ^ "Liverpool Mayoral election Results 2016". Liverpool City Council. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  10. ^ "Steve Rotheram MP enters Liverpool Metro Mayor race". BBC News. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Pugh welcomes Lib Dem nomination for Metro Mayor". Champion (free newspaper). Champion Media Group. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  12. ^ "Vote Roger Bannister For a Mayor Who Fights Torries" (PDF). TUSC. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  13. ^ "TUSC announces candidate for Liverpool Mayor". ITV News. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  14. ^ "UKIP announce candidate for Liverpool City Region Mayor". ITV News. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  15. ^ "Tabitha Morton". LinkedIn. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  16. ^ "Meet your candidate: Tabitha Morton". womensequality.org.uk. Women's Equality Party. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  17. ^ "Liverpool City Region Elects: Results". Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

External links edit

  • Centre for Cities